AT&T CEO Regrets Offering Unlimited Data

As most Apple followers know, AT&T offered unlimited data plans at $30/month when the iPhone first came out. However they quickly removed this option, making users either pay for a certain amount of data (200 MB, 2GB, or 4GB), or pay-per-use. So, until Sprint decided to offer unlimited data plans for the iPhone 4S, users had to settle with this option.

Now, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has expressed regrets about offering unlimited data. “My only regret was how we introduced pricing in the beginning, because how did we introduce pricing? Thirty dollars and you get all you can eat,” he said in the on-stage interview at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference on Wednesday. “And it’s a variable cost model. Every additional megabyte you use in this network, I have to invest capital," he said at a recent conference. He also said he didn't like Skype and iMessage, because AT&T doesn't generate as much revenue from them. However, AT&T has remained the most prominent iPhone carrier, with 60% of current iPhone users using AT&T. They had $29 billion in sales last quarter.

Interestingly, Sprint has not expressed any concerns about their "everything" plan, which includes unlimited data. In fact, they recently stated that they would continue to offer this plan for the iPhone even when it got 4G abilities.

Samsung Galaxy Note: Bridging the Gap

When I see someone with a tablet in one hand and a smartphone in the other, two things typically go through my mind; first, I think, I'm jealous but then I think, Isn't that an overkill? A smartphone and a tablet? That's about $800 up front, and $70 a month for the smartphone. And for some reason, I think that I'm not alone in thinking these thoughts. And if I'm correct, that means AT&T and Samsung could've thought of the next big product category.

The Samsung Galaxy Note

Whether you prefer calling the above device a tiny tablet or a supersize smartphone, Samsung's idea is to use it to create a whole new category of products that bridge the gap between a smartphone (3.5" to 4.6" screens) and tablets (7" to 10.1" screens). It's easy to tell the way Samsung developed the Galaxy Note's screen size; their largest smartphone has a 4.6" screen, and their smallest tablet has a 7" screen. Calculate the average of the two and you get 5.3"; that's the exact size of the Galaxy Note's screen.

These types of devices are off to a slow start, but Samsung does have faith in them. When Dell tried to launch a similar product, the Dell Streak, it was a failure. They soon took it off the market. (Then again, you could say no one would buy a smartphone from Dell regardless of how good it was.) And when Samsung first introduced the Galaxy Note, no carrier wanted to take up the offer, but AT&T made a last-minute decision to take a chance with it at CES.

Nevertheless, Samsung's new phone has many features that make it quite appealing to the public. First of all, its ability to serve as a tablet and a smartphone make it very appealing to the people who love technology but are budget-conscious at the same time. Not only is it's price only $200 (You'd expect it to be somewhere between the price of a smartphone and the price of a tablet), but its plans are relatively cheap. You can get it for $60 a month with talk ($40) and data ($20).

The standout feature of the new device is that it comes with the Samsung S Pen, a stylus for writing on the screen. To quote Samsung, the stylus can be used for "accurate sketching and artwork, and instantly capturing ideas freely before they float away." Included with the smartphone is S Memo, the best note taking app I've seen yet, which Samsung says is "designed to record all forms of user-created content."Your notes can include pictures, voice recordings, and text, whether it be typed or handwritten.


The other rather appealing feature of the Galaxy Note is its ability to split screens. The screen is big enough to be divided into two sections, one for each app you're running. This is compatible with almost every app available on Android 2.3


Whether this new device will be just another fad or a revolutionary new device, only time can tell. But that this device is unlike any other seen before, that we can all tell.

New Study Reveals AT&T is the Fastest Carrier, Sprint with the Most Dropped Calls

Metrico Wireless has just released the results of a study based on 21,000 nationwide web page downloads and 6,000 voice calls that has revealed some very surprising results.

AT&T was by far the fastest carrier in terms of data speeds. AT&T is usually regarded as very slow, but for some reason the iPhone 4S loads web pages very quickly with AT&T. Verizon's data speed came in second place, while Sprint's data speed only reached an average of 581 kbps on the iPhone 4S. This speed is 5x slower than AT&T's data speed. As for calling, people you call will be able to hear you best if you use Sprint, but you will be able to hear people you call best with AT&T.

The most surprising piece of data that the study revealed was the dropped call rate of all three carriers. While most people would assume that AT&T would have by far the highest dropped call rate, Sprint actually dropped the most calls with a 3.7% dropped call rate. AT&T came in second with a 2.8% rate, and Verizon came in first with a 2.1% dropped call rate.

Verizon cuts iPad 1 Wi-Fi prices to $299-$499, AT&T still at $429-$529 for Wi-Fi+3G

Would you really love to get an iPad but not love to drain $500? Well, you can get a Wi-Fi only iPad 1 for just $299-$499 from Verizon! While Apple is only cutting prices by $100 on the first iPad, Verizon is cutting prices by $200 as they get rid of the last iPad 1s. If you would like a Wi-Fi+3G iPad 1, you can get a 16GB model for $429 from AT&T and a 64GB Wi-Fi+3G model for only $529 from AT&T. Talk about deals...

AT&T slashes iPad 1 prices by $200-$300!

First Apple slashed the iPad 1 prices by $100. Then AT&T did the same. Now AT&T has sliced the prices of the AT&T iPad 1s by $200-$300! The new pricing is only $429 for a 16GB 3G model, $529 a 32GB 3G model, and $ a 64GB 3G model. Apple's prices remain at $529-$629-$729. The only question I have is why the continued to sell the 32GB model. Why would you buy it when you could have double the memory for free?

"No more free tethering!" says AT&T

A lot of people have been tethering with their iPhones without a tethering plan. They do this by using an app like MiWi paired with a jailbroken iPhone. While Verizon hasn't done much to stop it, AT&T is really cracking down on it. An interesting note is that no Android users reported this happening to them when doing similar things. iPhone users that do this have been receiving either this text:

Or this rather long email:

Dear XXXXXXXX,

We've noticed your service plan may need updating.

Many AT&T customers use their smartphones as a broadband connection for other devices, like laptops, netbooks or other smartphones– a practice commonly known as tethering. Tethering can be an efficient way for our customers to enjoy the benefits of AT&T's mobile broadband network and use more than one device to stay in touch with important people and information. To take advantage of this feature, we require that in addition to a data plan, you also have a tethering plan.

Our records show that you use this capability, but are not subscribed to our tethering plan.

If you would like to continue tethering, please log into
your account online at www.wireless.att.com, or call us
at 1-888-860-6789 Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. CST
or Saturday, 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. CST, by March 27, 2011
to sign up for DataPro 4GB for Smartphone Tethering.
Here are details on the plan:

DataPro 4GB for Smartphone Tethering
• $45 per month
(this gives you 4GB in total, combining both your smartphone data plan for $25 and the tethering feature, $20)
• $10 per each additional GB thereafter, added automatically as needed
• Mobile Hotspot capabilities are included for compatible Smartphones
If we don't hear from you, we'll plan to automatically enroll you into DataPro 4GB after March 27, 2011. The new plan – whether you sign up on your own or we automatically enroll you – will replace your current smartphone data plan, including if you are on an unlimited data plan.

If you discontinue tethering, no changes to your current plan will be required.

It's easy to track your usage throughout the month so there are no bill surprises. For example, we send you free text messages when you reach 65, 90, and 100 percent of your plan's threshold. If you would like to monitor your account more closely, go to www.att.com/dataplans to learn about other ways to track your data usage.

As a reminder, our smartphone data plans also include unlimited usage of Wi-Fi at no additional charge. AT&T smartphone customers can use Wi-Fi at home or on-the-go at any one of our more than 23,000 U.S. hotspots already included in your data plan.

Thank you for bringing your account up to date. We appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve your mobile broadband needs.

Sincerely,

AT&T

iOS 4.3 to only let you tether 3 devices?!

Here's a picture of an internal AT&T document. But, oh no, it says "AT&T Mobile Hotspot for iPhone 4 on up to 3 devices!" 3 devices? I've never seen a gadget that supports mobile hotspotting with any limit under 5 gadgets. Even the Verizon iPhone 4 will hotspot five devices!

Update: Only 3 Wi-Fi devices can be tethered through the MiFi connection. You can tether 5 devices if you'd like, but two will need to use Bluetooth or a USB connection. The Verizon iPhone could be the same.

AT&T Continues to Fight Back; offers 1,000 free minutes to iPhone users

According to 9 to 5 Mac and AppAdvice, AT&T has started sending messages to some AT&T iPhone owners offering 1,000 free minutes. You can accept them by replying "yes". Also, if you had noticed, AT&T's "Answer" ad was played before the Super Bowl

AT&T "Answers" to the Verizon iPhone

AT&T has just released their first iPhone ad attempting to have users choose an AT&T iPhone. It shows a husband at work. His wife calls, and asks if he's made plans for their anniversary. He says he did, but he is Googling "fine dining" while on the phone. The ad concludes with "Only AT&T's network lets your iPhone talk and surf at the same time". The ad is rather funny; you can watch it here

Existing Customers can now Pre-Order the Verizon iPhone!

Now that the Verizon iPhone is 8 days away from going on sale, Verizon is letting existing customers pre-order it. Apple's website is also accepting preorders. It is also confirmed that Verizon will let you use the iPhone 4 as a mobile hotspot. Here are Verizon's plans:

Talk:
$40/mo: 450 minutes
$60/mo: 900 minutes
$70/mo: Unlimited minutes

Messaging:
Pay-as-you-go: $0.20 per text, $0.30 per pic/video message
$5/mo: 250 messages
$10/mo: 500 messages
$20/mo: Unlimited messages

Data:
$30/mo: Unlimited data
$50/mo: Unlimited on iPhone 4, 2GB on Mobile Hotspot ($35 activation fee)