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January 9, 2007

speculation

MW07: Cingular pimps the iPhone, but leaves out key details

Posted Jan. 9, ’07, 11:58 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Apple » Speculation

Cingular and AppleThe eleventy-billion dollar question when it comes to the iPhone is the service. We know Cingular will be the exclusive provider, but nothing has been said on what that service will cost your average Dan MacUser (he’s, er, Scottish). Cingular voice plans start at $40/month and run to $200/month. But at the moment, Cingular bills data separately which often adds on at least $10 or $20 a month, depending on the amount of data you’re allowed to transfer.

Will iPhone users have to shell out $60 a month just to use the fantastic features of their new device, or will Apple and Cingular work out a deal? The keynote told us that the price of the device is with a 2-year contract, but we know little more than that at the moment. Cingular has invited interested parties to enter their email and be notified when the iPhone is available; Apple has done the same on their site. Six months is a long time to go, but there’s a lot left to learn about Apple’s newest platform.

Update: From the horse’s mouth (sorry Apple PR): “Internet access is required and a broadband connection is recommended. Apple and Cingular will announce service plans for iPhone before it begins shipping in June.” Not too much clarification, but it’ll have to do for now.


4 Comments

Jeremy McCullough said:

Thankfully, they chose to include WiFi, which is great. You're not forced to have a data plan in order to use the internet features. I'm so used to wireless providers preventing useful features like this in order to make a bigger profit. If anyone had the power to change that, it was Apple, and thankfully...they did.

January 9, 2007 12:04 PM
Inkling Author Profile Page said:

Given that the iPhone won't be out until June, Apple should consider compiling and releasing a version of this Safari lite for iPhones that'll run on Macs. It would give developers a browser to test against and, by looking like an iPhone, it'll encourage web sites to support the small format screen. Finally, it'd give users a handy, light-weight browser.

January 9, 2007 12:41 PM
Tony Di Giacomo said:

I don't see a problem with the Internet portion of the phone as it connects by WiFi. Now you can sit in the coffee shop and surf the web without bringing your laptop. But I hope there is a decent price for data transfer on the cell phone side otherwise it will get expensive real quick.

January 9, 2007 1:03 PM
nelsorp said:

the biggest dissapointment i see at this point is being limited to cingular as the only provider. i had such a bad experience with cingular, they could give me the phone for free, and i probably wouldn't take it. if they would offer unlocked versions, that might make it worthwhile.

January 9, 2007 1:43 PM

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