Well that long awaited Apple 3G iPhone announcement has been done and dusted, and it actually turns out that some of the rumours are correct, such as a slightly thicker body, GPS, big price reduction, Exchange friendly out of the box, and the big disappointment of not available immediately.
According to a spokesperson over at AT&T, on contract requirements, present AT&T customers will gain a “new customer status” when it comes to the Apple 3G iPhone. So everyone will receive the pricing of $199/$299 with existing AT&T customers resetting their contract for two years.
Furthermore, something that isn’t surprising is that AT&T is going to up its rates for the new Apple 3G iPhone. For example today users of the 1st-gen iPhone pay less for voice+data plans than owners of other smartphones and PDA’s. The lowest rate from AT&T for the original iPhone was $59.99 with 450 anytime minutes and unlimited data; however, the Apple 3G iPhone user will pay separately for voice and data with a combined plan beginning at $69.99.
Business accounts will be paying $45.00 per user for unlimited 3G data, while personal accounts will be paying $30.00 per month. Please note also that if a user is using a personal account they will still be able to access their companies Exchange server.
Users will of course need to sign up for a voice account on one of these plans: $39.99 = 450 minutes / $59.99 = 900 minutes / $79.99 = 1,350 minutes / and $99.99 gets you unlimited. There are also family plans available at: $69.99 = 700 minutes / $89.99 = 1,400 minutes / $109.99 = 2,100 minutes / $149.99 = 3,000 minutes / and $199.99 will get you unlimited minutes, also to remember is that you will need to add an extra $10.00 per line to the family rates.
As for the speculation of the Apple 3G iPhone incorporating video and cut and paste functionality, well I’m sure Jobs would have at least mentioned it if the 3G had them; still gives us all something to speculate over when the next generation Apple iPhone hits the net waves, and all this starts over again.
Source — zdnet