Its all a marketing plan to sell more phones and make a little more money. There are many people out there that will buy the phone for that much that can't qualify for a contract (bad credit, under age, etc...). I think its a smart move on AT&T's part to rake in a few extra bucks.
Hi Brian

I understand that there are people that may not be able to get the IPhone because of bad credit or being under age - the thing that makes me squirm is the price of the phone itself, and then when you buy this phone, you have to buy the $~70/month plan to
use the phone - As it is, everyone wanted the IPhone in Vermont, and was screaming for it, but I don't see a need to go out and buy the phone, because I could not afford to keep both my landline and my cell if I had to pay that much. Being on a fixed income, I have to be extremely careful how I spend my money - and I want to make sure that I am getting a fair shake for my money

Since AT&T took over Unicel in Washington State and the Northeast, I have had to totally make a transition to a new company. Unicel did not seem to know what AT&T was going to do, and AT&T at first did not seem to care about Unicel's customers, and they charge
DOUBLE what Unicel charges for unlimited services ($55.00 VS. $99.00) - I had unlimited with Unicel, so I wanted a comparable plan with AT&T. After waiting 2 weeks (and we would be required to change to AT&T by Dec. 28, 2009, buy new phones, and all that) I finally decided to make the change, go for the 900 minute plan ($59.99/month, Unlimited Nights and Weekends and Unlimited Mobile to Mobile), just so I was ON their network. I also did not like the fact that thousands of Unicel Customers were affected with this change, and no real "information" was being stated on their website on the transition, I filed a complaint with VT ATG's office, which got me a shot at speaking to a person from the Office of the President of ATT Wireless - I calmly explained my situation, stating that I could not make an informed decision based on information on the site, and that I had Lifeline Linkup on my $55.00/Unlimited Unicel plan, but since AT&T took over, Unicel customers who use Lifeline Linkup have no choices, no plans, and all that.
What transpired next was a deal that I was able to take advantage of - I was allowed to keep the 900min/month plan for this cycle, then at the next cycle, would be changed to the 450 min/month and would get 5,500 Rollover Minutes (12 months * 900 minutes/month would be 5,500 Rollover minutes - and I would get 5,000 Night and Weekend Minutes and Unlimited M2M - and this would be adjusted if necessary so I could keep my cell affordable. They also stated that information would be updated on the ATT transition page as well.
Basicually, I wanted to get a fair shake, and as a customer, I feel that I got it

I had to spend $142.00 on equipment, but in the end, they set my bill at $48.00/month and that was a good deal for me

Brian
Edited by **Brian**, 21 March 2009 - 07:58 AM.