IPhone news and information

Archive for April, 2008

According to Fortune, AT&T's going to further subsidize the iPhone down as much as $200, making the final retail price a scant $199 with two-year-contract. The rumor is that the $200 bonus will only be available in AT&T stores, not in Apple stores, so people buying and exporting or using it with T-Mobile will be paying the higher price. Current first-gen iPhone users probably won't get this $200 subsidy when upgrading either, unless perhaps they renew for another 2 years.

If you're buying straight from Apple, it seems like their prices will still be $399 and $499 for the 8 and 16GB models. Fortune's source also says that the phone will have GPS and be 2.5mm thinner, not thicker as previously indicated. And you'll know when the new phone is coming—Apple will cut off shipments of the old phone in order to clear up inventory and give a subtle hint that you should wait before buying. [Fortune]

Samsung's long-linger F700/u940, has been rumored to hit the big V for a while, but Phone Area's reporting that it's now locked and cocked in Verizon's internal InfoManager as the Glyde, though sans date or price. Spec sheet confirms cam's cut to a paltry 2MP but all the old specs look otherwise intact, but with added goodness of EV-DO, and Verizon's usual scarlet bag of tricks like VCAST and VZNavigator. [Phone-Arena]

The "near future" for the impending iPhone data plan for the deaf was apparently four months. Dubbed the Text Accessibility Plan for iPhone, it comes with unlimited text messaging, browsing and email. It's now available for new and current iPhone users for $40 a month, though you've gotta clear an eligibility application to get it. Full details below.

The iPhone is now even more accessible for Americans who are deaf or have a hearing or speech disability. Today, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) announced a new Text Accessibility Plan (TAP) for iPhone, designed to give iPhone customers with disabilities the choice of unlimited text messaging, Web browsing and easy access to e-mail for $40 a month.

"Our Text Accessibility Plan allows customers who are deaf or have hearing or speech disabilities to literally tap out their communications on the go," said Carlton Hill, vice president of Product Management, Voice Products and Affiliate Marketing for AT&T's wireless unit. "Now with TAP for iPhone, users can tap, flick and pinch the innovative Multi-Touch touch screen for a completely new world of functionality."

This new plan is available to new and current iPhone users with qualifying disabilities through AT&T's National Center for Customers with Disabilities (NCCD). To qualify for the iPhone TAP, customers must complete an application for eligibility. The form is available for download at

During the iPhone activation process, customers sign up for a standard iPhone voice and data plan. After the iPhone is activated, customers can e-mail, fax or mail the eligibility form back to the NCCD to change their rate plan to the TAP for iPhone.

Current iPhone customers who qualify may also submit the NCCD application to request the TAP for iPhone. Customers can contact the AT&T NCCD with questions at 866-241-6568 for voice calls or 866-241-6567 for TTY calls.

AT&T offers TAP plans to qualifying customers for use with most handsets across AT&T's portfolio. The NCCD also helps AT&T customers with disabilities with a variety of applications that aid in wireless communications. These include Mobile Magnifier, which enables individuals who have low vision or are blind to zoom in on the screen and Mobile Speak, which reads aloud menu options.

Verizon Wireless and AT&T's quarterly earnings are both out, with Verizon claiming the "highest net adds in the industry," 1.5 million new subscribers, while AT&T says they've pulled in 1.3 million. (They both made out like bandits money-wise, as usual.) Between them, that's 2.8 million new subscribers. Where are they coming from? As of December, CTIA reports an 84 percent penetration, with 255 million subscribers. That weird orgy of unlimited plans a couple months ago further suggests that the market's already pretty saturated. I mean, do you know anyone still in the market for a cellphone? Where are all these new subscribers coming from?

Sprint is one likely source of bleed out, if past trends continue—most recent quarterly report from Feb. has them losing 108,000, and they lost 60,000 the quarter before that. I suspect the upcoming report will be worse. And AT&T told us that they port more numbers from Sprint than any other carrier. But that doesn't add up to the millions AT&T and Verizon are piling on (especially when you consider T-Mobile added almost a million last quarter (PDF) as well).

So we talked to a couple of guys who get paid to think about numbers and the wireless industry over at Gartner. There's actually a few things going on here that'll let the wireless industry continue to grow at about 20 million a year through 2012, even though it already looks pretty gorged. For one, "subscriber" doesn't mean just you—if you have two lines, a business and personal, as well as a PC card, you add up to three subscribers. Gartner just calls them "lines" to be more clear, since there's a significant number of second lines out there.

And that's where there's a fair bit of growth now: Second lines (like for an iPhone) and data-only PC cards. Informal estimates put 8-15% of US subscribers having two lines. Also, not huge, but growing, are devices like Kindle, with embedded data. Wireless analyst Tole Hart says data will be increasingly driving revenues over the next few years.

Demographically, new subscriber growth is in a couple spots. The average starting age of cellphone ownership has inched down from 14 to about 12, heading downwards. There's also a significant portion of our grandparents who are just starting to pick up cellphones. And finally, there's a socioeconomic expansion: Hart mentioned Hispanic populations in particular as a source of growth.

The US phone market will reach the true "saturation point" in the next five years, at which point data will become more important than ever. Hence the push for 4G technologies and focus on making networks suitable for data (like Verizon's move to be open). That said, Verizon and AT&T will no doubt still be happy to report stealing customers from smaller carriers.