Real Cost of iPhone: Service Plan Revealed

Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:14PM EDT

See Comments (1226)

At long last the final shoe on iPhone has dropped: The cost of voice and data plans that you'll have to buy from AT&T when you purchase the device. The good news: It's not as bad as some had feared. The bad news: It's still going to cost you a pretty penny if you're used to paying $40 a month for a basic service plan.

Here's the damage: $60 a month for 450 minutes. $80 for 900 minutes. $100 for 1350 minutes. If you need even more minutes, plans continue to climb up to $220 a month for a whopping 6000 minutes. The good news: All plans include unlimited email and web, rollover minutes, unlimited mobile-to-mobile, and 200 text messages a month. All except the cheapest plan include unlimited nights and weekends minutes; the cheapest plan includes a mere 5000 of those. Contrary to earlier rumors there is no voice-only option for the iPhone: Remember you need data service to do all the cool email/web/mapping business that makes iPhone an iPhone, otherwise you've pretty much got a pretty brick in your pocket that can play Avril Lavigne tunes. Additional details are here.

Is this a good deal? Let's compare. AT&T's cheapest voice-only plan costs $40 a month for 450 minutes, 5000 nights and weekend minutes, and no data services at all. (Even text messages are about 15 cents a pop.) Adding $20 a month for unlimited web isn't a bad deal. For the $60 of the iPhone's cheapest plan, you can get AT&T's 900-minute plan with no data service.

Looking at it another way, AT&T's Messaging Unlimited plan (unlimited MMS/SMS messages) costs $20 a month extra. Its unlimited messaging and media plan (which gives you access to cellular video as well) costs another $40 a month. The company has a variety of data plans for web browsing phones. The closest to what the iPhone gets you is SmartPhone Max, at $30 extra per month.

Whew, that's a lot of numbers. Putting it all together, designing  a comparable plan to iPhone's $60 service on AT&T with a non-iPhone device would actually cost about $70 a month. Believe it or not, iPhone service is actually a bargain!

On the other hand, $60 a month or more isn't cheap. Over the life of the phone that equates to $1,440. Add in the price of the phone and activation fees and the cheapest amount you'll spend on an iPhone over the next two years is $1,975. You can almost buy a brand new MacBook Pro for that outlay. And don't forget the cancellation fee you'll pay on your old phone...

Overall I'm pleased. AT&T could have gouged consumers with a $100/month plan and few people would have flinched. Instead the company is offering an affordable option that should help to ease the sting of that initial $500 or $600 outlay. That said, I'm sure many will still find the plan too expensive. As always, I await your thoughts, opinions, and rants on the topic.

Comments on Real Cost of iPhone: Service Plan Revealed

Post a Comment

Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.

  • 28 Posted by dmaister on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    I am fine with my spring sero plan. $30 a month, 500 mins, nights starts at 7pm, and unlimited text and internet. beat that.

  • 29 Posted by adiver5@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    WHO IS GOING TO GET RICH?? To much to pay for a phone that only works when and where they want it to. So no way!

  • 30 Posted by sundayniagara on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    Sounds like AT&T isn't making much money on the iphone.

  • 31 Posted by nexusvt100 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:36PM EDT Report Abuse

    How do they justify unlimited data and web browsing, but a cap on text messaging? That's lame. If you do get this, I suggest, since you have unlimited web browsing, and want to send a text message, to go to the carrier's site (or a site that conglomerates all of the carriers) and send a text message directly from there. Then you won't cost you anything. Almost everyone who's interested in the iPhone that I know of will go through 200 text messages in like 2 or 3 days. Paying $0.15 per text message in excess of 200!!!!! per month is going to make your bill go WAY higher.

  • 32 Posted by jwa174900 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    with the at&t/cingular plan, you will need a lot more with all of the dropped calls,horrible customer service,and downright horrible quality overall, they should be paying us to use their crappy service,you might have to pay a little more somewhere else,ie verizon,but you get way way better service.cingular is by far, hands down the worst cell company out there,their customer service people lie thru their teeth and if you can get a call to last more than two minutes without it dropping you are doing great! I hope no one buys the i phone from them and I hope they go straight out of business! can you tell I am a disgruntled ex customer? go verizon!!

  • 33 Posted by bacahicks@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    The pricing of all these phones & plans are out of a lot of people's reach. What good are they to the people that may need one.

  • 34 Posted by mkoss84 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    wow 600 dollars. with that money you could get a PS3 which comes with the Blu-Ray player. or you could get a phone. that plays songs. i-anything is a ripoff. even itunes and ipods are a waste of money in my opinion.

  • 35 Posted by jwbrianlee on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    t-mobile's data plan has to be the best. $30 a month will get you unlimited data including email. their latest pda, the wing, has all the functions that you would be looking to do with the iphone and is just $300 after rebates

  • 36 Posted by am_2_lost on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    I who ? I what ? I AINT PAYING ! It aint that cool ...

  • 37 Posted by wmpaulfranks on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    Yes you could almost buy a MacBook for that price (over two years), but you can't put a MacBook in your pocket or call back home with it very easily (even Skype costs too).

  • 38 Posted by byaninab on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    Not bad at all! I am excited for this phone to come out!

  • 39 Posted by lookatthiskid16 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    uhhmm.. its called a computer!!! it has youtube and a phone why not youtube on the internet from your computer and mail from your computer lol

  • 40 Posted by emilyg3400 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    what a i----- RIPOFF!!!! AT&T? NO THANK YOU!

  • 41 Posted by r.starkweather on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    How did we ever manage life 20 years ago? And the kids only got $10:00 a week allowance. Maybe we walked more and communicated face to face.

  • 42 Posted by rivierawhite on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    why wouldn't you compare the plan to verizon, sprint, or t-mobile music phone plans? i think i pay $50 a month for my verizon music phone and get 1200 anywhere anytime minutes..

  • 43 Posted by sombra_de_te on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:32PM EDT Report Abuse

    To by something one doesn't really need is a waste of time and money. People should simplify

  • 44 Posted by glitterspark37 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:10PM EDT Report Abuse

    Their monthly plan sounds like a good deal. For all the text messaging + web + 800 monthly minutes i have right now I pay almost $100/month. They are saying I would only pay $80 with iPhone. not bad. However...$500 for a phone? I could buy a laptop with that money instead.

  • 45 Posted by motorola1951 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:26PM EDT Report Abuse

    i dont care how much!! ill buy it!! im only 15 hahahaa

Post a Comment

Sign In to Post a Comment

My Tech

Please enable your browser's cookies to activate the My Tech column.

Also on Yahoo! Tech

Computers Home Office Wi-Fi & Networking Phones & PDAs Cameras & Camcorders TV & Home Theater Portable Audio
 

Site Map | Tour | Subscribe to Yahoo! Tech

Question and Answer content at Yahoo! Tech is written by Yahoo! users at Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any Yahoo! Answers content. For more information, read the Full Disclaimer.

Opinions expressed by the Advisors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! receives no compensation from any manufacturer or distributor nor does it compensate any Advisor for the coverage of any product or service in any Advisor's content.