How much will an iPhone cost you?

Was anyone able to switch to the 200-minute plan for $10 cheaper that Erica mentioned? I called AT&T at 1-800-331-0500 but they said that only senior citizens could get a cheaper plan...

does the iPhone not fall under the $99 / mo unlimited plan that AT&T offers?

Enough

this phone is so great that it's worth the price
http://www.iphone-3g-mobile.com/APPLE-IPHONE/PRICE-OF-THE-NEW-IPHONE-3G-HOW-MUCH-TO-SPEND-TO-GET-ONE

This article mainly addresses a switch to AT&T as a provider new to you, but what about if you use AT&T now and wish to start using the phone? In my experience it has been a $20 monthly premium to get unlimited data and the visual voicemail. At the time of the iPhone's release it was the best data deal going if you already accept the cost of cellular service. AT&T's other data plans at the time cost more like $50/month for unlimited data. Is this still the case?

Bare minimum?

I'm on my wife's family plan, since I'm a family man. I (she) pays 9.99 per month for my voice, and $20 for data. Plus we have family unlimited texting for $30, which covers all 5 of our phones. That means I get unlimited data and text, plus voice, for only $30 per month. ATT has CHEAP iphone rates, assuming you get the right broad.

Do we know for sure that 3-G data for the iPhone will be 20 bucks a month? I am pretty sure that comparable 3g data packages from Sprint and Verizon cost 50-60 bucks a month and they are anything but "unlimited".

My monthly bill with the current iPhone is already right at a hundred bucks. I doubt I would upgrade to the new phone if it meant 140-150 dollars a month just for faster web browsing on my phone or that I had to constantly check my data usage. That is what makes the current iPhone so liberating is that you don't have to worry about all that.

I plan on getting my first iPhone as soon as the 3G iPhone is available. I'm currently on Verizon, but my wife is on AT&T. When I get my new iPhone, I'm going to pay the ETF for Verizon and join my wife on a family plan with a new phone number (she's currently on an individual plan).
The AT&T rep who sold us her Blackberry said this could be done easily and still allow my to take advantage of any subsidizes that come with the iPhone.

Based on others' experiences with adding an iPhone to an existing plan, how easy/difficult will it be to activate my iPhone and add it to her plan, while converting it to a family plan? Is there a step in the iTunes activation process to do this, or will I need help from AT&T? I understand that the process might change some with the new phone, but what were your experiences with the first generation iPhone?

Thanks!

This assumes that you don't have a cell phone to begin with. That's how it "costs" you $720 per year. I pay about $900 per year for a cell phone now, so by your logic getting an iPhone saves me $180 per year!

The cost of the phone and the ETF I would have to pay to Sprint are the largest cost factors. At this moment, it would cost me $700 to get an iPhone. That's as much as the yearly service cost!

I get the point of the article, but saying getting an iPhone will cost $720 per year and that the cost of the phone "only minimally affects" my bottom line isn't true at all.

So, essentially, Erica is regurgitating past posts without bothering to update her information, or even providing useful information - well, as long as she gets to grind her axe on TUAW time, I guess, the world is okay.... :-(

To wit:

- First of all, the new iPhone II may come with a separate, or changed plan, to support the 3G service.

- Additionally, the majority of her 'advice' hinges on unlocking and jailbreaking your iPhone - a task which might be just a tad more difficult with iPhone II, since Apple now will need the useful band of idiots a lot less, and thus iPhone II may find itself quite difficult to hack for her posse - rendering the entire 'advice' null and void.

- It would have been nice if she had bothered to include how many minutes (and SMS) the base plan at $59.99 comes with (450 minutes, 200 SMS, and 5,000 nights/weekend minutes).

- her pet plan, which takes multiple hoops to jump through, only 'saves' $10 a month (yes, $120 a year), but includes 250 minutes less, and no SMS. At 15 cents an SMS, if you use the same 200 SMS messages, you'd pay $30. Suddenly you're $20 over the basic plan - not really a saving, now is it? To equal the $10 difference, you would be allowed to send just 65 SMS messages.

- She also forgets to mention that on the 'cheap' plan, additional minutes over the 200 minutes will cost you 40 cents a minute. 25 minutes later, you're paying the same as for the basic plan, but getting shafted every additional minute, and SMS message, courtesy of Erica.

- she conveniently left off the $100 unlimited plan AT&T is now offering (thanks, Dale)

Let's face it, Erica doesn't care about saving herself, or you, any money with her advice (either that, or she fails at the use of a simple calculator as well) - she has her personal axe to grind further, regarding avoiding paying 'the man', and trying to stick it to Apple. If she;'s struggling to pay an extra $120 a year, then she has no business having an iPhone.

As it stands, cellular bills are a normal fact of life for pretty much anyone with a mobile phone - as such, the AT&T rates are not just competitive, but thanks to roll-over minutes, and the included unlimited data plan, they are actually cheaper than most of the competition out there.

For most people whose time is valuable (i.e. those with a job), jumping through the additional hoops, watching over your minutes, etc costs far more in your personal time, than the $120 you allegedly save - and if you ever let off your vigilance, you end up paying A LOT more with Erica's advice.

Caveat Emptor - and be warned of false prophets.