On Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:09:41 -0800, Dan Abel > wrote:

>Didn't we just have this interchange?
>
>My daughter wanted an Iphone. As I remember, they were US$600 plus
>US$100 a month. She didn't want one *that* bad.
>
>The second generation Iphone came out in the last few months:
>
>http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-pho...ones/apple.jsp
>
>8GB new US$199 (2yr contract), US$99 refurb
>
>16GB new US$299, US$199 refurb
>
>We used to have Cingular, but now AT&T bought them out, so we already
>had the service:
>
>http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-pho...ckages-details.
>jsp?q_sku=sku3270242&q_package=sku3130222&_reques tid=383238
>
>We have a family plan, so it costs US$10 a month for the basic service
>for her phone.
>
>The US$30 for data is not optional with the Iphone, and covers unlimited
>data within the US.
>
>Text messaging is separate. I don't remember what my daughter has, but
>the price ranges (see above) from US$.20 per message, to US$20 per month
>for unlimited. For US$5, you get 200 messages per month.
>
>I didn't see any other charges. I tried to look up GPS, but it didn't
>like my browser. GPS was listed as a feature, and there was nothing
>about a charge for it. You do need some kind of data plan, but since
>that isn't optional, it doesn't add to the cost, over and above the
>US$30.
>
>I don't want one, but if I did, I would be looking at US$99 for the
>phone plus US$30 a month, in addition to the US$10 I now pay per month.

I second your description of the cost. That's what we pay, except I
have another phone (not iPhone) so our base is higher before the data
charges.

I got D one for Christmas, and she loves it. She has scores of free
apps on it by now and is still adding on. When we're in the car, she
can jack it into our audio system and run a Pandora station for us. Or
select from any one of scores of NPR stations (Incidentally, she likes
the one from Point Reyes up near your stomping grounds, but that's
probably just because she loves the scenery and imagines it as she
listens).

Over the holidays, my daughter did something similar for me with her
docking station one night while I cooked dinner. About 15 minutes
into the Pandora Richard Thompson station, I figured out that I don't
need a radio anymore.

What we have here is a disruptive technology approaching maturity.
--

modom