david-0109 wrote ... but T-Mobile does have one year contracts.

It doesn't matter how long or short T-Mobile's contract is. Herbert Kliegerman signed a contract with AT&T. His contract covers two years. Unless he covered his eyes and stuck his fingers in his ears, Kliegerman was aware of the terms of his contract. He had a two-week grace period to get out of the contract. He did not take the out. His attorney seems to be trying to see how close he can get to a Rule 11 motion without stepping over.

Could someone please shot all those farking litigious Americans ? Aaaarrgh...

-t

Actually this guy bought three iPhones. That's what I read in another article. This guy was hired by RIM, Nokia, Motorola and Palm to start this lawsuit.

Only in America can user ignorance be used as an excuse to sue the manufacturer.

Whenever I have wanted to use a phone internationally (3 different phones), I have either had to agree to the terms and conditions online or had them read to me over the phone by a representative. This is where they have you acknowledge that you will be charged higher rates out of the country. So, is AT&T foregoing this step? If so, then maybe he has a case with AT&T, but I don't see the merit against Apple.

a) Battery life depends on the cellular network, location, signal strength, Wi-Fi connectivity, feature configuration, usage, and many other factors. Battery tests are conducted using specific iPhone units; actual results may vary. b)Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information.

There are some exceptions to the rules but for the most part we know how long iPod batteries last. You can always get them replaced or do it yourself.

[the device internationally can result in excessive data roaming charge]

The nondisclosure is on AT&T, not Apple. To ordinary users who are not geeks this is less obvious than you'd think. For 60/month I would be expecting data charges included.

As for unlocking, it's really a backhanded compliment to Apple-- for the design and price, customers expect the world from them-- not just North America.

Then the feeling of betrayal when slammed with an extra 2K data bill from AT&T-- not even for phone calls! Wow. Too bad Apple has to spend two years tethered to a service increasingly viewed as VENAL.

Interesting. Where I live i'd probably get a fine from the court because I'm wasting their time with a totally moronic law-suit. As a European resident I'm already used to mobile-providers ripping you off in an other country than your own. Amazing how US courts accept this idiocy... I always check the rates in other countries before I leave for a holiday.

lets be honest, americans have not had the luxury of unlocked phones, its the normal thing to be tied to a big corporations like AT&T and calling plans.... considering the way that apple is marketing the iphone, they deserve to be slammed for bundling it to 2 years contract without advertising anything. This practice should be illegal anyway.....

First, if the phone wasn't 'locked' down, the guy could've easily just bought a SIM card and not have an issue.

Second, the problem with the iPhone is that it will connect via EDGE on its own, even if you aren't using it at all.

Third, there's no way to turn off the data plan when you're out of country. You can't just flip an option that says "Connect only via wifi". You could be using your iPhone connected via wifi at some cafe, and the thing will just flip to the data plan because it thinks the signal is stronger. And it will do this without any warning or notice (unless you spend all your time looking at the wifi indicator).

Actually there is a way to disable EDGE and the data plan [SOURCE: http://tinyurl.com/ysj8nv ]

Follow these steps to disable data access (the AT&T rep will tell you that disabling data access is not possible, but it is):

1. Call the International Group at ATT - (800) 335-4685 2. Ask the customer service representative to enter an SOC code called “NWIX” 3. Have the AT&T rep. go into “Snooper” and remove all GPRS functionality for your device.

This forces your iPhone to only use the WiFi connection for pulling down all that data.

Jj

Great, but it disables it completely. What if you just want to disable it for the weekend? There should be an easy way to do it, not have to call some guy, tell him he doesn't know what he's talking about, then tell him exactly what he needs to do.

Great solution, though! Is it in the iPhone's user's manual?

he's going to be hating life when the iphone lovers discover that the google listing for Herbert H. Kliegerman bring up a ton of listings for a realty broker in new york that list both his cell and email address... maybe he'll sue google next for not understanding that information on the internet is made public!

There are so many things wrong with this lawsuit: 1. AT&T charged him, not Apple. 2. He didn't read his contract 3. He didn't check out the rates before hand 4. the most important of all: Apple didn't force him to use his phone outside the country!

Not a question of the contract, it's the functionality of the hardware. On my laptop I can turn WiFi off if I want. I can turn Bluetooth off if I want. Why should I not be able to turn the various function on or off on the iPhone, depending on my need for them, including the functionality of the phone and EDGE data network? I think the guy has a legit beef. Why should the iPod that's also a cell phone be dangerously expensive to turn on if you happen to want to use it internationally, phone functions aside? I don't think any explicit warning of the financial danger is made in Apple's promotion of the iPhone. Sure it switches seamlessly between EDGE and WiFi, but they never say "AND YOU CAN'T STOP IT"

Testudo -

Bullshit - YES you can get a plan that does not include the Data option_

http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2007/06/26/iphone-does-not-require-data-plan/

You can purchase an iPhone and select ANY plan AT&T offers - you just don't get certain options like "unlimited data" and visual voice mail"_

- this is old news Dude - catch up !!

ALSO -

Apple nor AT&T forced him to buy the iPhone in thefirst place_

This is very interesting. I attended my brother's funeral in the UK recently, purchased an iPhone and activated it as I was waiting to board my flight. My bills are normally $120 ish when in the US and around $400 when in the UK. I figured around $650 tops for this trip due to the communication needed in this sad time. Came home to find the bill at $1500. Scanned through and the extra from the estimate of $650 was data. I have taken this up with ATT and a manager was to call me back. Granted they were sympathetic but this is day three and no call. It raises a very interesting point on due diligence and responsibility. I am of the opinion that the target for feedback and recompense rests with ATT...however, at handoff, Apple should *ensure* that ATT are made aware of the roaming data feature (as it is not a flaw, just bad comms to the end user).

Should Apple compensate ATT for the adjusted reduction of a users bill? I would have to give that a nod and let them work out the details.

I will post back when the Manager has talked to me. (note - 'Manager' in this case and not the normal 'Supervisor')