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goodbye unlimited data

I don't know if this is good or bad honestly..

Will the 15$ one be bumped down to 10? if you already have a 30$ a month data package?

Does this mean smartphones are now not required to have data packages at all? I am ready but, I didn't see anything in detail..

Either way.. I am reserving judgment..

I honestly think most of us probably never needed the 30$ "unlimited" to begin with..

*edit*

either way.. even if it is a total ripoff.. at least at&t FINALLY gave us something to work with... because the "15$ unlimited data for dumb phones" and the "30$ unlimited data for smart phones" was stupid to begin with.. They would take 5$ off for one but, not the other.. they never really clarified why one was one price and the one was the other.. sure they said "more data is used" but, never really went past that.

*edit 2*
Reading over tethering information and realizing the Evo launches Friday

I am willing to bet this is somehow in responce to that.. I wonder if at&t has something juicy up its sleeve..

I don't like the "unlimited option" but, if they will knock the over all price down from 15$ to at least 10$ if just for the first 200 mb.. I could settle for that..
 
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This paragraph was the most informative:

Everything launches on June 7, except for iPhone tethering -- it'll launch when OS 4 does. In the meantime, we're told users can sign up for the $30 plans both on their phones and iPads if they'd like to be grandfathered in. Follow the break for more details along with AT&T's full press release.

June 7th. Somebody said the HTC Aria was launching on June 7th at an event. Could this all coincide?

Also, this implies very strongly that iPhone OS4 (and thusly the next-gen iPhone) will NOT launch on June 7th.
 
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Yeah, goodbye unlimited plans but hello $5. The chances of you going over 2GB/mo with a smart phone are extremely small. My wife is a heavy data user and only uses 400-450 without ever using wifi. Now granted she's not constantly download attachments from her e-mail but that's about all she doesn't do.
 
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but...once you drop off unlimited to save $5 for a few months, you then are locked out from ever getting it again...as far as I have read.

I have not hit 2gb yet, but if/when(LOL) they get a larger screen/fast Android phone, I can easily see going over 2GB a month.

The tethering charge seems pretty ridiculous since it does not increase your data cap.
 
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If I upgrade another phone on my plan to the $30 unlimited package between now and June 7th, will I be able to keep that unlimited package even after this new rule goes into effect?


AT&T makes sweeping changes to data plans, iPhone tethering coming at OS 4 launch -- Engadget

DataPlus / DataPro

  • The existing $30 fair-use "unlimited" smartphone data plan is being replaced by two new options: $15 per month for 200MB and $25 for 2GB (called "DataPlus" and "DataPro," respectively). Customers currently on the $30 plan are welcome to stay on it, but they can switch at any time without extending their contract.
  • AT&T's new overage system is arguably the game changer: on the $15 plan, you'll pay $15 for each additional 200MB, but on the $25 plan, you'll pay $10 for each additional GB. It's simple and straightforward -- but most importantly, it won't bankrupt you if you go over by a gig or three in a month. This compares to $50 per gigabyte of overage on AT&T's 5GB DataConnect plan for laptops.
  • The carrier's going to be very flexible about changing between the DataPlus and DataPro plans -- if you're on DataPlus, for example, and you discover that you're blowing past your allotment, you can choose either to start DataPro the following billing cycle, pro-rate it, or apply the higher plan retroactively to the beginning of your current billing cycle. That's pretty wild.
 
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Yeah, I think that the only way I could get near to going over 2GB might be when I finally do get a new phone & start streaming Pandora on the ride to work.

After doing a bit of research it seems Pandora uses something like 28.5MB/hr. That can certainly add up quick if you're listening a lot. Guess it depends on how long your trips to(and from?) work are. An hour each way would put you at 1225MB a month on average.
 
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After doing a bit of research it seems Pandora uses something like 28.5MB/hr. That can certainly add up quick if you're listening a lot. Guess it depends on how long your trips to(and from?) work are. An hour each way would put you at 1225MB a month on average.


Sadly AT&T has been talking about tiered data for years so I knew it was going to come at some point. But I do think they have set the bar way too low. They can claim all they want what the adverage customer uses but as 4G hits as well as flash there will be a lot more data being used by people. And there is the fact of skype so people could have cut down on the mins part of a plan but with the killing of unlimited data that will not happen. I could have understood a 5gb cap on it but not any less.


And the people it hits the hardest are those that have gotten ipads and were hoping to be able to turn the service on and off as they felt like. I knew there was a reason they did not do the ipad under a contract. And then there is the person like me that has a feature phone right now because they do not offer a smartphone I want. Well I can not get an unlimited data plan to have grandfathered in which means I am looking even harder now at changing carriers.
 
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@all those people who say that they will never go over 2GB a month anyway, why the hell do you have a smartphone then? Listening to Pandora and streaming a few videos easily gets me over 1.5 GB a week. The 2GB limit is an outrage and makes smartphones useless.

I would guess people have smart phones to use them for staying connected. Not for an entertainment center. But that's just my considering that I can stream pandora and video on my dumb phone.
 
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I would guess people have smart phones to use them for staying connected. Not for an entertainment center. But that's just my considering that I can stream pandora and video on my dumb phone.


Even if they do use it as an "entertainment center", they may not have to rely on their cellular connection for internet access. As for streaming internet radio, the few stations that I listen to, I just record them (mostly DJ sets from www.ibizasonica.com) and save the file(s) to the phone (woohooo built-in 32GB storage :D).

Having XM in the car covers a good portion of any road trip, leaving smartphone duty to "slingmobile"...whenever that gets here for Android.
 
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I will probably (bill payers premission granted)

Sign up for the "dumb phone" unlimited data...

Then get a n1 for my bday coming up.

What really bothers me.. is they never said the "dumb phone" data was being grandfathered in..

I asked around here not long ago.. and dumb phones going over 200 Mb seems pretty easy to manage :/

So.. What I am wondering about.. is are they trying to get EVERYONE on a 25$ a month plan?

Either way.. I am hoping the dumb phone plan is grandfathered in cause I would imagen its easier than you think to hit 200 mb on a dumb phone..

I think this is kinda convluted.. Cause a heavy dumbphone user could probably hit 400 MB a month.. and a person who only has a smartphone for wifi purpoes at school could use 0 mb a month :/....
 
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I believe they are trying to fool people into getting out of unlimited data plans BEFORE Flash(HULU), video chat and other high data products hit.

I have seen quite a few people saying they are going to save $5 a month since they only use 1.5Gb of data a month. That might be true now, but the iPhone is getting "better" multitasking which will typically increase data consumption, I think the new apps which are being introduced with OS 4 will also increase data useage.

For us on Android, Flash Lite in 2.1 and full flash in 2.2 should help to drive up data rates even for people who do not plan to continuously stream videos.
 
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