iPhone Data Plan Subsidized?

[LiveFaith]

iPhone data on AT&T is only $20 for unlimited EDGE. I (Treo 680) and all the rest are paying $40 for the same service. In the course of 2 years this totals to a $480 rebate for the iPhone. Now that's an incentive that makes this thing look like a world killer. Cut&Paste or not!

Will data on the others drop?

[dstrauss]

HAdn't really factored that one in since I'm on a grandfathered Unlimited Medianet for $19.95 now. For new users, it could be a saving.

[Scott R]

LiveFaith, the iPhone data pricing is consistent with their smartphone unlimited data plan, so it's not unique to Apple. Unfortunately, Treo and Blackberry users are forced to pay more for no good reason other than they can get away with it. Isn't it possible, though, to use the smartphone data plan add-on with the Treo? What happens, for instance, if you bought a simpler smartphone with the $20 add-on, and then used that SIM in an unlocked Treo?

[surur]

The feature phones have medianet at $19.99.

Smartphones have the pda plan at $39.99

The iPhone's plan is $19.99. Therefore AT&T sees it as a ...

Surur

[Scott R]

The distinction between "feature phones" and "smartphones" seems silly to me nowadays. S60 devices are smartphones, and I'm guessing S60 phone buyers get the $20 plan, no?

[surur]

Originally Posted by Scott R

The distinction between "feature phones" and "smartphones" seems silly to me nowadays. S60 devices are smartphones, and I'm guessing S60 phone buyers get the $20 plan, no?

I believe the E62 had to get the PDA plan. Its obviously about fleecing business users, or people who actually use their device for work, vs just for fun and games.

Surur

[taylorh]

AT&T's rule so far has been:
If it has a QWERTY keyboard, it's a PDA, thus PDA Plan. (I'm not joking, it's seriously what they say.)
If it does not have QWERTY keyboard, it's not a PDA, thus Media Max (or Smartphone Max which is the same exact thing.)

The iPhone doesn't have a QWERTY keyboard, so this rule so far remains consistent.

By the way it's a ridiculous ****ing and flawed rule.

But I was also thinking that since you can't tether with the iPhone, perhaps AT&T considered that and reasoned with making the data $20 (Media max pricing) because there's no room for abuse with tethering. Unlike a PDA.

[taylorh]

Originally Posted by LiveFaith

iPhone data on AT&T is only $20 for unlimited EDGE. I (Treo 680) and all the rest are paying $40 for the same service. In the course of 2 years this totals to a $480 rebate for the iPhone. Now that's an incentive that makes this thing look like a world killer. Cut&Paste or not!

Will data on the others drop?

Just as a tip. YOu know if you drop down to $20 Media Max it will also work with that 680, right? You should be able to add that online yourself when you log in to your account.
Even though a 680 is a "PDA" I think it should only have the $20 plan, unlike some of the more powerful PDAs.

[taroliw]

That is true, so long as the applications you use don't mind being behind a NAT firewall. In my case, IPSec VPN and Exchange push not only forced me to the ISP APN but actually all the way out to the "internet" APN (for mobile-terminated data).

[bruckwine]

So then AT&T is the problem..and as said you can always get an unlocked phone for $399 (has the price dropped?) and use medianet by getting a "free" phone from AT&T and who would be the wiser?