New iPhone Service Plan Will Cost You More with AT&T

If you haven't heard the buzz about the new iPhone, keep reading. The new iPhone 3G, just released, has tons of new features and it will be offered at more than half the price of the original iPhone when it first came out. It will retail for $199 even with all of the extras the phone has! The phone will connect to AT&T's 3G network, allowing for more rapid internet searching and emailing. Some people would say that the iPhone's web connection is pretty slow.

Right now, when you purchase an iPhone, you must purchase the data package from AT&T as well. The minimum amount you would have to spend is $60.00. According to the AT&T web site, that includes your usage minutes, 200 text messages, visual voicemail and unlimited data usage. That is the only way consumers may purchase an iPhone. The phone will not be activated under any other plan.

The AT&T web site reports that they will raise the minimum service required for use with the new iPhone to $70.00. All features of the iPhone would not function correctly without the data plan, so the carrier requires consumers to purchase the data plan along with the phone. Also, when you purchase the new iPhone, consumers will be required to sign a two-year agreement. Since they did the same thing when they first released the iPhone, I'm sure the company doesn't feel it will be an issue this go around.

So basically, the phone will retail at an extremely low price for its features, but we will pay more out of our pockets over the life of our two year agreements. AT&T can lure customers in with the $199 price and then get them to lock in for two years. They will definitely make up the money in that. Consumers are definitely more comfortable paying more money over time rather than a huge chunk of money up front.

Regardless, the phone is a hit in itself and well worth the costs. I would have to wonder though how much Sprint would charge for the data plans on their network. They have so many other options for consumers that are less expensive. I guess we will see once the Samsung Instinct hits the stage within these next few weeks. Per Sprint's web site, as of now, Sprint will be requiring consumers to get a Simply Everything plan the same way AT&T requires consumers to pay the $60 for the unlimited data usage on the iPhone.