iPhone family plans, more minutes available

Minimum new 2-year wireless service plan and activation fee required to activate iPhone features, including iPod

So if you decide not to keep the ATT contract, you lose the ability to play back your own music and video?

The key word, I hope, is activate. Presumably, once activated, the iPod feature would remain regardless of the phone contract. Not that it really matters, AT&T supposedly has a multiyear exclusive on the iPhone so there'd be no carrier to switch to anyway... unless you just stopped using the phone portion altogether, which's be a waste and you'd be better off waiting for the next generation iPod (with more storage space, as well),

...if you think about it. People want an iPod with a widescreen touch-screen. So, AT&T and Apple are trying to stop people from buying an iPhone to simply use it as an iPod.

...the listing of family plans on the Apple site is a little confusing. If you note the little asterisk by the Monthly Price, it says that this price "includes one line", and that each added line is $29.99. Does this mean a family plan with 2 phones on it really costs $109.99 for the cheapest plan?

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who cares if they buy an iphone to use as an ipod? if they're willing to fork out $500 for a 4 gig widescreen player... gawds, let 'em.

That's how I read it. One line costs $79.99 and each additional line is another 29.99, which is the normal $10 voice addition expense plus the $20 unlimited data charge.

T-Mobile not only offers a $39.95 pan, with 1,500 minutes and unlimited nights/weekend, but the T-Mobile unlimited data plan also only costs $19.95. In terms of pricing, the AT&T plans are in line with the rip-off pricing from other carriers, except for T-Mobile which has always had very aggressive pricing plans.

In fact, currently, I am on the $39.95 plan for 1,000 minutes, though am paying $10 for unlimited nights/weekend (total $49.95), and I would switch to that new pan if I weren't waiting for the iPhone. Of course, T-Mobile conveniently released this new plan, because they aren't worried about the iPhone. At all. :-)

I'm still going to keep my T-Mobile plan for a few months, after a switching to AT&T, so just in case AT&T sucks, I can go back (and keep the iPhone).

My wife and I are paying $49.99 (two lines) for a 1000 minute family plan w/ unlimited mobile to mobile. I have added a $5.99 T-Mobile Web, which gives me unlimited HTTP and IMAP/POP/SMTP for my MDA (Windows Mobile).

Soo... $56 / month on TMO vs. what, $90 / month on AT&T (two phones on family plan but only one line w/ data).

It sucks to be a Mac fanboy... which I am, I just can't bring myself to paying that much more a month. MDA does push email, Google Maps, browsing, music (syncs non-DRM content only), movies etc. so what is it that I would be getting from AT&T I am not getting now???? Here's hoping iPhones will start showing up as grey imports very very soon!!!

I'm already a Cingular/AT&T cutomer and conveniently (for them) my phone case recently cracked. But, I just can't see spending that much money on a device that will not hold a 10th what my video iPod will hold. Plus, who wants to spend $400-600 to beta test a brand new product?!?!

Methinks I'll get a cheap phone and wait for a large screen video iPod -- they can't be far behind, can they?

Next year, I'll consider an iPhone - after the bugs have been squished!