The iPhones have landed, iPlan in tow

Day one of iPhone release week begins today dear friends, so you can expect a flurry of activity throughout the week as we ready for Friday the 29th. The first iPhone shipments began arriving this past weekend at various airports across the nation -- apparently greeted by armed personnel -- and will soon be in the loving arms of FedEx. The shipping plans for Friday call for FedEx drivers to deliver the goods in teams (one must carry the boxes, the other wields a big stick) for the 6pm store opening. The Boy Genius may have found some details on the iPhone data plan, purportedly dubbed the "iPlan." The word is that this unlimited data plan -- unlimited at EDGE speeds is, of course, by definition a bit limiting -- will squeeze your wallet for between $34 and $44 dollars and may include 2,000 or unlimited text messages. Keep an eagle eye on AT&T's site for that; we can't all get into line on Friday without knowing what we're signing up for, right? We hope?

Read - iPhone data plan
Read - iPhone shipment details

[Justin @ Jun 25th 2007 1:52PM]

$44 bucks for data on this thing. Outrageous considering what they currently charge for PDA data. Man I hope AT&T does not take the low road and just fleeces the crap out of people they know will get the phone no matter what. That might work for a quarter, but will kill them long run. They can either build good will long term or permanently kill consumers view of them. $44 buck would go a long way towards killing it.

[Kevin @ Jun 25th 2007 5:43PM]

AT&T already charges $40/month for their PDA data plan... I should know, I almost bought one before they let that little nugget of information slip.

While $40 is outrageous to begin with, $44 for data and 2000 text messages is less so.

[Michael Emmons @ Jun 25th 2007 6:50PM]

I'm just wondering if we will be _required_ to buy the iPlan with the iPhone. I'm already an AT&T customer and my current plan is fine with me. I have no interest in EDGE internet or SMS. I rarely text anyone and if I'm not in range for free fast WiFi I won't be surfing the internet.

[Gordy @ Jun 25th 2007 1:52PM]

Must...resist...iPhone...RDF...too...strong...

[Gadget Chick @ Jun 25th 2007 1:55PM]

i think that its completely unfair to consumers to wait until the last week to realease plan options. i love apple but they're whole "secrets" strategy is absolute bullshit and really could hurt iphone sales in the end. for 500 fucking dollars i deserve to know what im buying into, especially if it involves contracts.

[Iulius @ Jun 25th 2007 3:01PM]

Smartest. Engadget. Reply. Ever.

[narrativium @ Jun 25th 2007 4:04PM]

So wait. Who says you have to get one the day it comes out? Wait for solid info, then do your research and make comparisons. And if they're sold out by the time you do that, you'll wait a few months to get one. If this is a problem for you, it's just one you'll have to deal with.

[anonymouspimp @ Jun 25th 2007 4:27PM]

I am not sure if their strategy will hurt sales at all. It's no secret that the iphone is way over-hyped. They want people to buy it without knowing everything. If they have days/weeks/months to sit and ponder the purchase, there is a very good chance the consumer will talk himself/herself out of the purchase. This is a proven strategy for Apple.

The less people know about it, the better. Their target market, especially the psychotic apple fanboys (not saying you ALL are psychotic) don't give a rats ass about the quality of the product (see: iPod), all they know is that they are supposed to really want one... and for no reason, think its better than what is currently available. The Apple execs see this and are taking full advantage of it. They expect to (and probably will) sell out on opening day.

AT&T jerk: "You want to research and compare phones? go ahead, if you want, but these will be sold out by the time you finish... but you can get it in a couple weeks when we get more!"

Impulsive Consumer: "Well, i've been waiting for a long time... and I don't really have time to... well... its pretty expen... I... ok, i'll take it. I don't wanna wait a few weeks if I decide i want it."

[Neal @ Jun 25th 2007 4:50PM]

I have to agree here, I also found out that there are even more secrets to come (yea, big surprise I know). Look for a large announcement on Weds. from an unlikely source, which may turn a lot of opinions about the iPhone around.

[makayla @ Jun 29th 2007 12:50PM]

for real! just do some research PLUS everyone knows that apple is going to come out with a new phone or something once practicly everyone buys the iPhone....its just going to happen so i say your best bet is to wait and research before you go sighing contracts and all

[travis @ Jun 25th 2007 1:58PM]

iPlan = iRipYouOff

ugh, still buying one though.

[chris @ Jun 25th 2007 7:43PM]

You fail at life... Now pull your pants down, grab your ankles and take the $500 beating.

[Brett Sterling @ Jun 25th 2007 1:59PM]

When I first heard about the phone I was so excited, I told myself I was defiantly going to buy it. But the more and more I heard about the phone it makes me want to phone less and less. I have $750 (extra cash for the phone and a case or whatnot) saved up for the phone but I might be spending it elsewhere. Poor iphone I had such high hopes for you.

[t-bone @ Jun 25th 2007 2:37PM]

So you might end up settling for a WM smartphone that you'll have to reset at least once a day, has poor memory management, and much lower storage space?

[Sherlock Homez @ Jun 25th 2007 2:47PM]

You have got to be joking me....

What did you expect to pay for unlimited data plan? Your a complete moron if you think it was going to be less than ~$40.

Sorry you saved up at all, why would you have even wasted your time if you run away once you hear the cost of the data plan. Are you a complete moron?

[Jack Storm @ Jun 25th 2007 2:54PM]

@Sherlock Homez

I pay ATT 24.99 for my unlimited data plan on my great 8525 which has speeds higher than edge.
The only thing that will make it worth it, is unlimited text. I pay 19.99 more for the unlimited text so all together around $45 for all my data, unlimited.

[tcc3 @ Jun 25th 2007 2:55PM]

But on the gripping hand, he'll have a phone that can do high speed data, runs a vast library of third party apps, has a usable keyboard, a better choice of carriers, a replacable battery, and wont cost anywhere near $600 with subsidy.

[Bob @ Jun 25th 2007 6:28PM]

Sherlock Homez

I pay $15 for unlimited data and $15 for unlimited text on Sprint so yeah, $44 is way too much.

[Jeff Lewis @ Jun 25th 2007 8:11PM]

Note to T-Bone...

I've owned two WM Smartphones - an iMate SP3i and my current HTC Wizard (T-Mobile MDA), and sorry - they don't lock up every day. In fact, I can't recall the last time they locked up. And yes, I have a lot of skanky stuff installed (I'm a developer, ya see).

I'm not sure what you mean by 'poor memory management' other than perhaps the fact that it will leave small apps running. That's not hard to fix if it's a real problem. Again, it's never been a significant issue for me.

As for lower storage space - depends on how you compute it. See - there's one thing I can do with my Wizard or SP3i that you can't do with your iPhone... I can add more memory. Most of my installed apps are sitting in a 2GB memory card leaving most of the memory free for running apps.

4GB and 8GB miniSD and microSD cards are on the way and aren't that expensive.

Oh.. and there's one other thing I can do with my phones that you can't do with an iPhone - write and install REAL apps and add-ons. So if I don't *like* the apps that came with the phone, I'm not stuck with them. HTC has already written a user interface shell to bring some of the iPhone features to their HTC Touch. It's just a matter of time before someone writes a full iPhone-like suite - it's not that difficult.

And let's not forget text input - which a growing number of reviewers are calling out as being 'not that good' on the iPhone (as reported here on Engadget). On the smartphones like the SP3i we get T9 since they're not touch screen, but on the PocketPC Phones like the Wizard, we get block letter (aka Graffiti), character letter (aka Jot), virtual keyboard (large and small keys with gesture and word prediction) and of course handwriting reco, which works VERY well. The Wizard also adds a slide out physical keyboard that hides away when you don't need it.

Oh.. and one more thing...

The Wizard only cost $399 at T-Mobile. it's successor - the HTC Wing is better and even cheaper - just $299 right now ($499 retail with $200 discounts). Even their 'unlimited' data plans are similar...

Which reminds me - $33-$44 for a dataplan - does that include any airtime minutes? Or are you going to have to buy TWO plans - one for data and one for voice?

[Brett Sterling @ Jun 25th 2007 9:54PM]

@Sherlock Homez

I figured the data plan would be in the ball park of 15-25 dollars, sorry I made the assumption based on all the phone carriers. But good job making yourself look like an ass. Hi-5

-Brett

[t-bone @ Jun 26th 2007 12:40AM]

@Jeff Lewis:

It seems I've hit a nerve with the WM crowd. I never expected my comments to get voted down. The only reason I bring it up is because while WM does offer quite a lot and I really appreciate it, it sometimes really sucks. I've installed maybe 4 common applications on my PDA and use it mostly for basic PIM and it still occasionally locks up. I don't know why(I actually do) people put up with devices that will freeze when they aren't even being pushed close to their limits. I think you just got lucky.

[Orff @ Jun 26th 2007 2:01AM]

A Motie engineer could give the iPhone a replaceable battery AND GPS using copper wire and a toothpick.

[JAmerican @ Jun 25th 2007 2:00PM]

Its at times like this when I love being a T-Mobile customer with my $6 EDGE :) and $50 Dash :).

JAmerican

[Jerry @ Jun 25th 2007 2:01PM]

$34-$44 is too much for edge speeds or any dataplan for that matter. Hell my home 12MB cable is only $49, and that works for unlimited data and unlimited devices, it's rediculus that cell companies think they can charge so much for phone data, which uses a fraction of what computer data does.

Currently I enjoy unlimited data on cingular erm, the "new" AT&T, using Unlimited Media Net for $14.99 on my 8525 so I guess I'll stick with that.

[Mile @ Jun 25th 2007 2:16PM]

No iPhone for yuo!

[Will @ Jun 25th 2007 2:43PM]

The iPlan reportedly at that price comes with not only unlimited data, but also unlimited texting. Currently I sit at $40/month for that with AT&T. So $45/month is not that far of a stretch.

[Constable Odo @ Jun 25th 2007 2:45PM]

I think it's all those darn towers and transmitter/receivers they have to put up everywhere so you get good reception that boosts up the costs.

$40 a month is nothing for a person living in America. I know guys that spend that much money on beer in a weekend. Do you realize how much money is spent every day on legalized numbers and lottery tickets. Not to mention casinos. Come on. This is the land of plenty. Sell your guzzler SUV and buy a sensible compact car and the money you save on gas in a month will easily pay for your iPhone contract. Better still, sell your car and ride public transportation so you can talk or look at videos on your iPhone while commuting to and from work.

How about giving up going out to baseball games, movies and fast food places. That'll save a ton of money. Put your whole life into your iPhone, forget that other useless stuff. Get a second job.

This is partly sarcasm, partly fact. Do whatever is necessary to manage your iPhone costs, but don't say it's impossible in this great land of opportunity.

[david @ Jun 25th 2007 2:07PM]

I think the blame lies with AT&T for the plan. Apple just signed a contract for them to be exclusive with AT&T and charged them for that privilege. Now AT&T sees nothing but $$ and is going to rape the consumer for the entire time it's exclusive. If I become interested, I'll wait for the Nano version next year when my T-Mobile Contract expires. Hmmm, Of course my company has an exclusive contract to buy from AT&T and we get discount plans. No, wait, stick to my guns, wait 'til next year. But I could get hit by a bus and die never having owned an iPhone, must buy now! No, wait, wife will kill me the day I walk in with a $500 phone, must resist! Maybe she would bury me with a fully charged battery in the phone or run a cable to the gravestone connecting to the iSolar charger!

[Constable Odo @ Jun 25th 2007 2:19PM]

Promise her good sex for a month (and deliver) and maybe she won't mind you getting an iPhone.

[david @ Jun 25th 2007 2:33PM]

LOL. Very true. We have actually discussed jumping to AT&T but we are gonna wait until our contracts expire in January. Even with our discounts on the plans, AT&T is too expensive at this time.

[Jay @ Jun 25th 2007 2:08PM]

Don't let AT&T fool you. you could get media net and it works fine on
edge non-3G lines. never pay 34 for just unlimited data. media nte is
20 bucks per month i have on my nokia and it works fine on edge.

[sparkx @ Jun 25th 2007 2:19PM]

That's a good theory Jay, and it will be interesting to see if it is true. But don't discount the chances that AT&T/Apple might have broken that with the design of the iPhone. For example, try putting your SIM with your unlimited medianet in Cingular's Blackberry 8700C. The network will refuse your data connection. So, while most phones will just connect up with the unlimited medianet, not all will, and I have a suspicion that the iPhone is one that wont.

I'm more curious to see whether or not you will be locked out of wi-fi if you don't have an Edge plan.

[Mile @ Jun 25th 2007 2:26PM]

Motorcycle. But I remember when I bought my Moto smartphone from Cingular a couple of years ago...I had to go to a couple of stores before I was able to get their non-PDA data plan (for the cheaper price).

Last year when I upgraded to the 3125, I went to the same store and basically just renewed my contract so not as big of an issue (except that my 1000 text messages was chopped down to like 100 or 200).

[Jerry @ Jun 25th 2007 2:09PM]

Just give her a $500 gift card to Macy's and you're covered.

[david @ Jun 25th 2007 2:34PM]

LOL!

[Jerry @ Jun 25th 2007 2:11PM]

It works fine on edge and 3G. It worked great with my 8125, and works even better with my 8525. STAY AWAY from the PDA plans, they serve no purpose other than to steal your money.

[Todd @ Jun 25th 2007 2:13PM]

I have unlimited data for 19 bucks a month, and yes it's EDGE. I was afraid AT&T would do this, get all greedy and extort people buying the iPhone. To quote Cartman from South Park: "Weeeeeeeak!"

[Adam @ Jun 25th 2007 2:16PM]

I think ATT needs to throw in access to their Wi-Fi networks with the ability to roam at others. Think how many people are going to be paying for T-Mobile hotspots in Starbucks on their iPhones lol.

[Rishard Chapoteau @ Jun 25th 2007 2:17PM]

Ouch! I almost talked myself back into buying one of these, but not I might as well stick with what I have at that data plan price.

[Malcolm @ Jun 25th 2007 2:19PM]

hey does that 'Iphone on board' graphic come as a sticker to attach on my car window...

[Ellianth @ Jun 25th 2007 7:31PM]

yeah but you have to sign up for the iplan and then pay an extra 50 dollars for the sticker :p.

[Mile @ Jun 25th 2007 2:19PM]

Motorcycle. But I remember when I bought my Moto smartphone from Cingular a couple of years ago...I had to go to a couple of stores before I was able to get their non-PDA data plan (for the cheaper price).

Last year when I upgraded to the 3125, I went to the same store and basically just renewed my contract so not as big of an issue (except that my 1000 text messages was chopped down to like 100 or 200).

[Paul @ Jun 25th 2007 2:20PM]

Good Job for ATT. They see a business opportunity and they go for it. This is a product that is in extreme high demand, they shoul do everything they can do to optimize profits. This will have no negative effect on sales.

[jdinwiddie @ Jun 25th 2007 2:21PM]

I work for sales at AT&T and I think $34-$44 for the "iplan" would be great! (If this is true) That's about the same as it is for a PDA plan; I was worried they were going to charge $59-$79 a month for the "iplan", that would be outragous. I think the phone price is what's crazy, but people will still pay it.

[jay @ Jun 25th 2007 3:49PM]

34. yeah right. folks stay away from att's pda plan! go for the media net. same speed ssame benefits for 20 bucks.

you gotta be kinding me mr. att employee.

[jay @ Jun 25th 2007 3:53PM]

34. yeah right. folks stay away from att's pda plan! go for the media net. same speed ssame benefits for 20 bucks.

you gotta be kinding me mr. att employee.

[Jerry @ Jun 25th 2007 2:22PM]

You're right, no iPhone for me. I'll just wait for the Windows Mobile based knock offs - then I'll get hte best of both worlds:
Real third party app support
Customizable
3G speeds
Cool interface
Etc, etc etc

And it'll work on my media net plan, no having to spend $45.

[t-bone @ Jun 25th 2007 2:39PM]

Don't forget that you'll still have to drag some of the worst of both worlds with you. Things like constant freezing. I have a fairly new PDA and even with light use I still have to reset it too frequently.

[Constable Odo @ Jun 25th 2007 3:01PM]

It doesn't matter that your reasoning is sensible, practical and logical.... You still won't have an iPhone. So beautiful ladies won't come up to you saying, "Wow, you're an iPhone sort of guy and they just turn me on. Let's trade digits."

You probably only saw the edited version of the iPhone tour demo. You should see the uncut version.

[JC @ Jun 25th 2007 3:45PM]

With a nick like Constable Odo, it'll be a miracle ANY ladies come up to you, even with the irresistible sex appeal of an iPhone.