http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20006659-266.html

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/att-poll-data/

AT&T is going to tiered pricing for data use. It's entry level is $15 for 200MB (and $15 for another 200MB). It's other level is $25 for 2GB and $10 for another 1GB.

These prices are lower than the current $30 unlimited packages which will no longer be sold. And the caps supposedly they meet the needs of 65% and 98% of smartphone customers respectively.

CNET is hailing this as a way to entice more people to get smartphones because data access will be cheaper and expects other companies to follow. Wired also confirms that most users will benefit, but notes that there are many complaining and does not believe its own poll results which show that one-out-of-five smartphone user exceeds 4 GB per month.

I personally see this as something others will use to their advantage. The caps are fine for most use, but are potential problems for downloading movies/shows/etc.  And that's where the advertising should really make this a problem. 

Also, it could not come at a worse time for Apple (which only sells through AT&T). Android systems outsold iPhone systems in the US in the first quarter of 2010 according to NPD (28% of market vs. 21% of market). Both trailed RIM's Blackberry (36% market share). 

In other words, if people are having to worry about the price of downloading a game and what that will do to their data plans ... I feel that it makes it harder for cell phones to truly replace dedicated gaming handheld machines (or consoles) as some have predicted.

Thoughts?

Sigh. And this is why I trust businesses even less than I trust governments, which is very little too.

I personally hate limited plans.  Worrying about how much you have used all the time is terrible.

Limited plans suck.  Unlimited plans are the way to go and they're snatchin' that away. 

Ah, well.  I like my Blackberry a lot better anyways - even if the iPhone has more functionality.

What ever they say, it's not about making it better for the consumer, it's about making more money for AT&T.  What they really want is overage charges. Just like banks don't really want your deposits anymore, they want to charge you fee's.

Trust business? It's in their best interest.

I'm not impacted by this because I'm in Canada, but personally I would find the change favourable. In a year of ownership, I've used less than 3 GB of data, and Rogers actually lets us tether up here. The big limit on how much I enjoy my phone is battery, not bandwidth, and it's a problem that I'm not sure is going to get better as hardware manufacturers keep competing with beefier processors, larger displays, and 4G radios (see reviews of EVO 4G).

The part of this new scheme that's bunk is the 200MB plan charging $15 for another 200MB. Go over your limit and you're paying more than a 2 GB plan for 20% of the bandwidth, and God help you if you need more than 400 MB.

Sounds like Apple is making a killing on the app store and AT&T wants a piece of that pie, by limiting data use they can make the most money cause there's less service they have to put out.

This is terrible no longer will you be able to stream from pandora watch netflix or do anything else without paying a ridiculous amount 

I'm guessing part of this might have to do with AT&T losing exclusive hold on the iPhone. Although given the experience I've had with limited data plans, I think a lot of people that don't have the unlimited data plans are going to get screwed.