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djrobx
join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA
 ·PHONE POWER
 ·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T CallVantage
·Time Warner VOIP
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to benc
Re: How Much Does It Really Cost to Own a Smartphone?
Agreed. Whenever I've bought a smartphone, AT&T lets me keep my family voice plan exactly the same. So if I were a regular non-data phone user and switched to an iPhone, it would cost me $30 more plus tax per month, or 720, more over the life of the 2 year contract. Add the iPhone 3G itself (as low as 99 plus tax plus bogus upgrade fee).
I preferred the older iPhone plan where the handset was more expensive, but was only +$20/month (and included 200 texts!).
I'm hoping at some point, as has happened with voice plans, text and data prices will get driven down by competitive pressure. Unfortunately,the iPhone has clearly demonstrated to providers that Americans prefer to pay lower upfront costs and higher monthly fees.
The only portion of my wireless bill that I really detest is the text plan, especially when I'm already paying for data. I can transfer 5GB of data for $30, but transfering 80kb (500 texts at max 160) worth of texts is an extra $5!?! At least with data, I see actual work going in to upgrade towers and have seen steadily improving performance.
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AT&T U-Hearse
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benc
Premium
join:2007-06-17
Glen Carbon, IL
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| said by djrobx  :The only portion of my wireless bill that I really detest is the text plan, especially when I'm already paying for data. I can transfer 5GB of data for $30, but transfering 80kb (500 texts at max 160) worth of texts is an extra $5!?! At least with data, I see actual work going in to upgrade towers and have seen steadily improving performance. It's for that reason that I don't like SMS, or text messages. Never have. I'm not necessarily against the overall concept (though I think that some people really go overboard with it), just that the price seems quite high for what you get, even with an unlimited SMS option.
I figure that it's better to use e-mail instead for this purpose. Using E-mail to SMS gateways, I figure that you can still send an SMS to someone. The difference being that if you use e-mail, you won't have to pay for the SMS, or purchase an unlimited SMS option.
Let's see:
Unlimited SMS costs $20/mo., usually.
Data can be $25-$35.
So, for only a little bit more, instead of SMS you can use e-mails, and on top of that get access to the Internet and so on. Plus, with e-mails you aren't limited to only 160 characters. | |
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