Online retailer promises unlocked iPhones

[braj]

I really mean a great feature to have. You know if it did the fanboys would be playing it up instead of playing it down.

 

[oalvarez]

so its too slow for "Websurfing at desktop-class speeds. Like on the real internet" you say.

again, if that is what you use for your pda's for, i could see why.

 

[braj]

so its too slow for "Websurfing at desktop-class speeds. Like on the real internet" you say.

again, if that is what you use for your pda's for, i could see why.

That's what the device is marketed as. It's just a shame that as nice as Safari looks to be that in real life, away from a wifi network, you will be very limited in speed. Moreso than Opera or Blazer for example because Opera uses a proxy service to optimize the content and Blazer will look for a mobile page if available.

The bottom line is that 3G is the future (which is here now) and EDGE will disappoint. And more so than most other cell phones.

 

[Kupe#WP]

The bottom line is that 3G is the future (which is here now) and EDGE will disappoint. And more so than most other cell phones.

3G has been around for 3-4 years now. Edge is so...2003.

 

[conekkted]

I also can't believe that this thing is launching without 3G. What a colossal mistake. Some of the coolest things in the Apple demo will be a flop without 3G. Safari may be a great browser, but everyone will think it stinks simply because of its pitiful speed. And forget streaming video...that's a joke. And the download time on an HTML email with 2 MB of imbedded pictures will have people cursing at Steve Jobs. Same with the Calamari restaurant finder.

But here is the beauty of Apple's marketing. The devices will already be sold and past their 30 day trade in before the typical ipod crowd can figure this out. They will all say how they love the phone and that it would be perfect if it just had 3G. Then Christmas will roll around, when everyone isn't so uptight about loosening up the purse strings, and Apple will announce the new 3G versions of the iPhone. And everyone will go out and spend another $600 on the now-perfect phone.

 

[oalvarez]

that's my point; the lack of 3G does not diminish or reduce demand, that is unless you think 15-20mm in unit sales is a small number. many posters around here require it, consumer america doesn't necessarily need it.

yes it's nice but it isn't a requirement.

and how many Treos have 3G capability? and how long have they been being sold for?

 

[braj]

that's my point; the lack of 3G does not diminish or reduce demand, that is unless you think 15-20mm in unit sales is a small number. many posters around here require it, consumer america doesn't necessarily need it.

yes it's nice but it isn't a requirement.

and how many Treos have 3G capability? and how long have they been being sold for?

If a $600 WITH CONTRACT Treo was going to be released in a week I bet you you would hear far more complaints around here than what you are hearing about the iPhone.

 

[oalvarez]

again with the price complaint

you're right....$600 for a Treo? good stuff.

 

[braj]

again with the price complaint

you're right....$600 for a Treo? good stuff.

It's not a price complaint. If it has features that warrant the pricetag then the price doesn't matter. But you have to take price into consideration in evaluating any product. For $600 (for me) it better have all the bells and whistles because that is a premium price. It better have premium features. Low-end network speeds, no IM chat, these are things I'd want on a premium priced phone. If I didn't get them with a free phone for renewing my contract I'd still be a little disappointed. The Moto Razr you get for free from ATT right now has both. C'mon, get a clue. These are features it should have but doesn't, which are real drawbacks.

 

[oalvarez]

the iphone is not for you.

 

[mikec#IM]

hmmm

Why does eberyone say the phone is $600?

It's really $2,600 for the phone and 2 years service.

Not a price compliant, just an observation.

 

[braj]

Why does eberyone say the phone is $600?

It's really $2,600 for the phone and 2 years service.

Not a price compliant, just an observation.

I think the assumption is that you would have service anyway.

One other thing that makes me reluctant to get an iPhone when it develops more to my liking is that you can't get it unlocked. I bought my Treo unlocked so I could use a $20 a month unlimited data/200 SMS plan. It would have been $40 per month with the plan ATT steers you to to receive a discount. $240 more per year and I'd have to sign a 2 year contract. $480 for 2 years for data alone. I like having the freedom to switch carriers if I find something lacking and still use my old phones.

I actually went through hell with ATT when they were acquired by Cingular: we couldn't get new replacement phones for our family plan (stuck with way outdated choices), we couldn't get converted to Cingular members, and had to wait until our contract was up with ATT to switch to Cingular officially, though it was part of the same company. Now Cingular just became AT, I'm just glad we didn't go through that nonsense again. Thsi all happened just in the last few years. You can never tell what telecoms will do and who the best will be in the next year, so why lock yourself into anything?

 

[archie]

Why does eberyone say the phone is $600?

It's really $2,600 for the phone and 2 years service.

Not a price compliant, just an observation.

Another of mikec 's great pronouncements based on knowledge no doubt. "The iPhone will cost $2,600", says mikec.

We'll see about that.

Anyway; assuming your guess here is actually the case, how does this differ from others. You have to pay for data service if you want it. You have to pay for voice service if you want it. This is not a negative of the iPhone. It is like this with every phone made by these manufacturers.

BUT, what if you purchased an iphone and then got a voice plan and a data plan. Maybe this voice plan is $39.99 a month and data is $19.99 a month?

That's $1220 total with the iPhone included. You could be really far off here mikec. Even given a voice plan of say $49.99 a month and data plan of $29.99 a month, your still way over by more than $1000.

But I guess we'll just have to see who is correct, blah, blah, blah...


Can't be me who is correct though because I obviously have no idea what I am talking about.

 

[MacUser]

I think the assumption is that you would have service anyway.

Agreed. Friday we'll know if AT&T is going to try to gouge the iPhone customers with data plans....

 

[Malatesta]

Another of mikec 's great pronouncements based on knowledge no doubt. "The iPhone will cost $2,600", says mikec.

We'll see about that.

Well, if BGR is to be believed, this is the most detail as of right now:

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 message

+ Voice plan = ?

My only contention is that Sprint (and only Sprint) has really the only bargain prices for data, imo: $15 unlimited 3g.

Paying anymore than that and getting less speed is just an automatic turn off for myself but I'm sure if you are willing to drop $600 on the phone, paying $80+ a month for basic cell service is not an issue.

I highly, highly doubt we'll see $19.95 unlimited data plans though. The plans are supposed to be announced before Friday, according to AT&T.

 

[Certs]

I would agree with Mal and guess 40-50 bucks, to coincide with their pda plan.

Archie saying 19.99 is way too optimistic. not that I'm surprised

 

[mikec#IM]

Another of mikec 's great pronouncements based on knowledge no doubt. "The iPhone will cost $2,600", says mikec.

We'll see about that.

Anyway; assuming your guess here is actually the case, how does this differ from others. You have to pay for data service if you want it. You have to pay for voice service if you want it. This is not a negative of the iPhone. It is like this with every phone made by these manufacturers.

BUT, what if you purchased an iphone and then got a voice plan and a data plan. Maybe this voice plan is $39.99 a month and data is $19.99 a month?

That's $1220 total with the iPhone included. You could be really far off here mikec. Even given a voice plan of say $49.99 a month and data plan of $29.99 a month, your still way over by more than $1000.

But I guess we'll just have to see who is correct, blah, blah, blah...


Can't be me who is correct though because I obviously have no idea what I am talking about.

I am estimating a good usable number of minutes (1,000 or so) and unlimited data at $100 a month (inc taxes).

That is not outlandish and probably very close to reality. So that's 2,400+600.

My bad...it's actually $3,000.

 

[mikec#IM]

that's my point; the lack of 3G does not diminish or reduce demand, that is unless you think 15-20mm in unit sales is a small number. many posters around here require it, consumer america doesn't necessarily need it.

yes it's nice but it isn't a requirement.

and how many Treos have 3G capability? and how long have they been being sold for?

Several Treos that have been sold for over a year have had 3G.

 

[Malatesta]

consumer america doesn't necessarily need it.

yes it's nice but it isn't a requirement.

and how many Treos have 3G capability? and how long have they been being sold for?

That just seems to be an odd statement regarding a device who does nearly everything via the internet: email, YouTube, stocks, full Safari web browser, web-based applications, weather, Google Maps etc. to just sort of write-off 3g data as a non-issue.

If anything, this device is more reliant on data than any other device so far (weather, google maps, youtube are all 3rd party addons for other devices, not their main selling point).

As far as Treos go, the fact is that things like Blazer and PIE are optimized for mobile internet sites, so they consume less data and make browsing quicker. It's not that no one has ever thought of putting a full browser on a device, just that it is impractical for everyday use (and inefficient, since you are downloading and processing lots of irrelevant data).

That's the odd thing with the iPhone: full web browser at dial up speeds. It's sort of the opposite that you would expect for that evolution in web based applications.

 

[oalvarez]

again, it works adequately when using my T-Mo Pearl. i too check the weather, google, but do honestly do not view you-tube on my device. but when i do access the internet or even use the device as a modem it functions adequately. so, for me it works. it sounds like the counter arguement is that it won't work fast enough for what the iPhone is said to offer. out of curiousity, has it been tested or reported on by some outside source at this point? it simply doesn't make sense that they would produce a device that touts an internet experience but which doesn't deliver. for me it's pretty simple; i'll give it a try, if i find it to be too slow for what i use it for then i'll have a reason to return it. one thing it won't do is replace my Pearl for business use.