PC World
By now you know the bullet points: the new 3G iPhone is smaller, cheaper, and faster than its predecessor. But at what cost? While we know what Apple has told us, it appears that AT&T is having its own say about the iPhone 3G and what it means for the future of the carrier’s relationship with Apple.

As with the original iPhone, you’ll have to sign up for a 2-year contract in order to grab an iPhone. The iPhone 3G will have slightly higher data plan prices than the original model: individual users will now pay US$30/month for unlimited data, and business users will have to fork over $45/month.

But there are also a pair of interesting behind-the-scenes developments in the Apple/AT&T relationship. According to the wireless provider’s press release, the two companies have ditched their revenue sharing arrangement: no longer will Apple get a cut of the monthly subscription fee that customers pay to AT&T.

To translate for us mere mortals: they’re artificially lowering the cost of the iPhone so they can sell more, and hence make up for the difference in cost. This does raise some questions, however: for example, it suggests that the price is subsidized in all 70 countries in which the iPhone is going to be on sale, since Steve Jobs said that the price would be a “maximum of $199″ globally.

So, is it too good to be true?




  1. Terry Love says:

    I don’t know about $199 max globally, here in the UK the price, if you go for the lowest tariffs is £99 for the 8GB model, (£159 for the 16GB), so I guess that’s close.

    On the lowest tariff, (£30 p/m) you don’t get many minutes (75) or text (125) and while that does include unlimited data that needs to be qualified so check the terms and conditions.

    Also it looks from my quick glance that leave your home turf and roam and data becomes very expensive (£3 / MB in the EU and £6 / MB outside the EU). If you go on holiday, leave the iPhone at home.

  2. mapleleaf says:

    Good Grief…

    Ozzies get ripped off again!

    http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/06/exclusive_optus_iphone_pricing_details.html

    99AUD and it’s not even unlimited.

    No Iphone for me :(

    Maple in Oz

  3. Cheesehead Dave says:

    I’d guess that Apple is hoping to make it up with more sales of .Mac er… MobileMe, and whatever cut they get from the iPhone application store.



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