Rumor: Budget iPhone model expected, says FT.com

Aside from the fact that AT&T coverage where I live is spotty at best, the service plan is just too much for me.

I use about 1-2 hours of airtime a month in conversation, but the lowest plan I can get from AT&T is $30 a month for 350 minutes (and you have to get to the retention specialists to get that deal). Don't forget that after the $70 voice + data plan you're also paying about another $15 in taxes and fees.

I want to pay $50 a month, total, after everything. Heck, I'd pay $30 a month for unlimited data and $0.25 cents/minute for phone air time, but they won't give me that option.

All that said looking at voice + data plans from other carriers doesn't come out much better.

Orange in France has confirmed the new iPhone Video for the 19th of June.
You read it here first, soon it will be all over the blogs.

I have to agree with everyone on here who's saying the price of the contract is what needs to be changed. I don't care if at&t announced a free iphone tommorow until they create a different seperate lower cost phone plan i'm not buying it. So since I highly doubt that'll happen i'll probably have to pass and keep my ipod touch...

i'd like a 100 dollar iphone.

Dosent this kind of like, defeat the apple business model. I mean apple does make good products, but the fact is that the prices are high for a reason, perception is reality, and apple uses price very well to guide thinking about product value.

I would think a budget iPhone might defeat this somewhat.

I use the original 16GB iPhone (jailbroken & unlocked) because I'm not willing to move to O2 in the UK for poor reception and high cost of ownership. The 3G Pay-as-you-Go didn't appeal to me for being overpriced.

I'll wait and see what any new phone offers and whether there will be an easy jailbreak/unlock solution (if ever), otherwise I'm stuck with the 2G version. In any case, iPhone OS 3 is going to offer me quite a lot so I'm not complaining.

Budget iPhone = the single most retarded thing I've read all week.

You're screwed on the monthly plan - now if that was cheaper you'd see more happy people.

It's not the phone that's expensive. It's the service. I have to use a prepaid phone because I can't afford $70+ a month for something I would barely use for actual talking or texting. The internet part I'd use a lot, but the price cannot be justified.

It makes sense if you consider the rumor that AT&T is considering lower priced data plans.

Full tricked out models with video chat on the $30 data plans. And units without video chat for lower priced entry level plans, maybe with data caps starting at 400MB or something along those lines.

It would get more units into hands that don't need large amounts of data, yet the rest of the phone is fully functional and those people would also be using the App Store.

Since we are a 4 iPhone family, I'll give you a breakdown.

Father: (aka poster)
Has owned 1st gen, stood in line for 5 hours for 16 GB 3G on launch day, will sell 3G on eBay and purchase latest greatest. Favorite Apps: Pandora, Skype, Things. I purchase a lot of games but rarely play them. But since I can load them on all 4 iPhones for one price - it somehow justifies it.

Mother:
Initailly - couldn't care less about the iPhone, but me and the kids bought her one for Mother's day anyway. She fought it every step of the way. Wouldn't take 5 minutes to learn how to do anything and was often frustrated. 9 months later? Loves the damn thing and shows it off to everybody. ("Watch how the little blue dot follows you wherever you go on the GPS!") Favorite Apps: Scrabble, Scramble. (Seriously addicted to Scramble - needs help) Her current 8 GB 3G is all she needs.

Daughter:
Thought we were retarded for standing in line on 3G launch day. (Why can't we just get one in a week?) Personally, I kind of agreed since I already had the 1st Gen - but my son wanted his since it was his birthday present from 5 weeks earlier. She got caught up in the Apple mania at the store and had a good time. Favorite Apps: iPod, SMS, SMS and SMS. Her current 8 GB 3G is all she needs.

Son:
Tech addict like his father. He'll figure out how acquire the money needed to purchase the latest iPhone. Favorite Apps; iPod, SMS and every game ever invented.

What do all 4 have in common?
iPhones are always within arms reach wherever we go and if we ever had to go back to regular cell phones - it wouldn't be pretty.

Sidenote:
For those that think kids shouldn't have iPhones. My kids are 18 & 20 and pay their own bills.