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Dr. Mercola
June 26 2007

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iPhone Will Cost You $6,000 to Operate!!

The iPhone was announced when I was at the Consumer Electronics Show in January of this year and tomorrow, June 29, it will be available. People have been camping out in front of Apple stores since Monday to get it, if you can believe it.

Apple has a history of being cutting-edge: it invented the PC as we know it today, and back in 1983 it was the first organization to introduce a personal computer that used the graphical user interface. The company went on to introduce the Mac in 1984, the Power Book 100 in 1991, and of course the iPod in 2001. Its latest device continues this tradition of innovation.

There are now over 10 million iPods, and they comprise nearly 80 percent of all MP3 players on the market.

I love gadgets, but I can assure you that this is not at all on my wish list. First of all, I simply hate PDA phones. If you want to answer e-mail on your phone or Blackberry, I find it far more convenient to carry a two-pound notebook and have a 12-inch screen and a fully functioning computer.

But, amazingly this version of the iPhone will not have a high-speed 3G Internet connection, so even if you choose to use the Internet and answer e-mail you will be doing it very slowly.

In all, for the iPhone and the two-year contract AT&T will make you sign, it can cost you up to $6,000. I can think of a far better use of funds -- I can buy a new notebook computer every year and have far more functionality.

Family plan (with extended minutes)

iPhone 3000 Nation 3000
iPhone 4000 Nation 4000
iPhone 6000 Nation 6000
Minutes 3000 3000
4000 4000
6000 6000
Unlimited data x $19.99
x $19.99
x $19.99
(Visual) voicemail x x
x x
x x
SMS 200 inc 200 inc
200 inc 200 inc
200 inc 200 inc
Nights + weekends unlimited unlimited
unlimited unlimited
unlimited unlimited
Rollover x not inc
x not inc
x not inc
Unlimited M2M x x
x x
x x
Additional lines $29.99 $9.99
$29.99 $9.99
$29.99 $9.99
Activation fee $36 $36
$36 $36
$36 $36
Monthly service $160.00 $149.99
$210.00 $199.99
$310.00 $299.99
1 line per month $160.00 $169.98
$210.00 $219.98
$310.00 $319.98
2 lines $189.99 $199.96
$239.99 $249.96
$339.99 $349.96
3 lines $219.98 $229.94
$269.98 $279.94
$369.98 $379.94
Cost for 3 lines, 1 year $2,639.76 $2,759.28
$3,239.76 $3,359.28
$4,439.76 $4,559.28
Cost for 3 lines, 2 years $5,279.52 $5,518.56
$6,479.52 $6,718.56
$8,879.52 $9,118.56

Some People Think it's a Good Idea

Many, however, don't share my opinion and believe the iPhone is a superbly engineered, cleverly designed and imaginatively implemented approach to a problem that no one has cracked to date: merging a phone handset, an Internet navigator and a media player in a package where every component shines, and the features are welcoming rather than foreboding. They believe the  iPhone is the rare convergence device where things actually converge.

Walt Mossburg, famous tech gadget columnist for the Wall Street Journal, tested the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the country. His verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions.

He said:

"The Apple phone combines intelligent voice calling, and a full-blown iPod, with a beautiful new interface for music and video playback. It offers the best Web browser we have seen on a smart phone, and robust email software. And it synchronizes easily and well with both Windows and Macintosh computers using Apple's iTunes software.

It has the largest and highest-resolution screen of any smart phone we've seen, and the most internal memory by far. Yet it is one of the thinnest smart phones available and offers impressive battery life, better than its key competitors claim."

You can also see NY Times columnist David Pogue's entertaining video review for more information

Wired June 26, 2007


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Posted On Jun 28, 2007
Most people don't realize that when they are signing a two-year contract that it can be literally thousands of dollars. 

Unfortunately, however, the numbers here are wrong, and the actual rate sheet can be found here:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.html

All-in-all the service charges are right in line with the other carriers, if not better in some cases.  It is less than what AT&T is charging its Blackberry users in fact.

The really interesting thing will be to see how many people are willing to pay $500 for the phone itself, and then what percentage of those people buy insurance.  Dropping that device could be pretty expensive!

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Posted On Jun 28, 2007
Actually the numbers here are not wrong, just incomplete.  I guess you were starting with the 3000 minute family plan and going up from there.

To just get one phone for a single person plans start at $60 and go up from there.

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Posted On Jun 28, 2007
Dr. Mercola also bought a Creative Labs Zen because it was cheaper than an iPod. I wonder if its still working??

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Posted On Jun 28, 2007
Ooops. Made the same mistake as Dr. Mercola by not researching. 
Dr. Mercola has thrown away his other mp3 players in favor of the iPod.

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Posted On Jun 28, 2007
My husband bought a Zen MP3 player almost a year ago, it still works great. My husband is a construction/carpentry worker so I am sure it has taken a beating, It was definatly cheaper than An Ipod so if it was to break its no problem to replace, can't say the same for the Ipod.......... And we do have 2 Ipods in the house, my teenagers were to cool to by something off brand, it will be interesting to see which lastes the longest

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Posted On Jun 26, 2007
Thank you. I have a clipboard, a cell phone and a pen. That's all I need when I am out in the field. I have my laptop if I want mobility. But all that means is I can either work in my office, or on my sofa, or on my bed. Not everywhere else. I'm happy.

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Posted On Jun 27, 2007
Very cool device i must admit but $6000 out of your pocket is not cool.

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Posted On Jun 28, 2007
I'm disappointed that the headline is so misleading.

the monthly data costs range from $60 - $100 = 720 / 1200 annually.  Plus initial cost $5/600 = 12/1800 p/a.  Less that 1/3 the 6000 price !!

Also, what relevance is the iPhone on this site ?

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Posted On Jun 29, 2007
Alex, I definitely agree with your disappointment that hte title is misleading.

I just wanted to also clarify. The data charge does not range from $60-100.  It's a flat +$20/month.  Whatever plan you have on ATT, you add $20 for unlimited data/web/etc. on the iPhone.  This is straight from Apple.com.

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Posted On Jun 28, 2007
Once again - what does this post have to do with nutrition and health? We all know that Dr. Mercola likes gadgets, but why does he always have to join the jealous Apple-bashing crowd? To his credit - this time he also tried to give voice to the pro-Apple side. But was it really necessary to come up with a misleading "National-Inquirer-like" headline? This really cheapens the content of this otherwise great site.

I have been a more than happy Apple user (professionally and personally) for 12 years. I don't need an iPhone and I won't buy one (yet), but it seems to be an incredibly well designed piece of equipment. Coming up with intuitive software that's elegant, powerful and easy to use is one of the most difficult things to achieve. Dr. Mercola's web designers (the ones who do this blog and the store) would surely benefit from taking a closer look at some of Apple's software products for their ease-of-use.

Please, this is one of the best (if not THE best) heath-related websites on the internet. Don't dilute it with off-topic and biased computer opinion pieces. Thanks.

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Posted On Jun 29, 2007
A cool device, looking forward down the road to see what's coming - these are just the early days.
Some of my reactions to this device over the course of the last few months:
The first came when I realized that it was going to be serviced soley by AT&T. I just got done with a 2-year contract with "Cingular", which changed its name to AT&T. I was horribly dissatisfied with their customer service, and also their coverage. It was real bad within my home, and then traveling to NJ this spring so much as my mother was dying - I could not even get a signal out by her house. That was really inconvenient, considering the purpose of my trips.
Their customer service is the worst I've seen.
I went back to Verizon, which offers me both spectacular customer service, and a phone I can use just about anywhere.
.
The second reaction was to the point that they replaced the plastic screen present in their early design with a glass screen that was not easily scratched. I've never had a phone I didn't drop at some point - this one looks especially slippery in the ads because of the way you are always changing the way you are holding it. I wonder if the glass screen cracks if you drop it? I know you're not supposed to drop cell phones.  Stuff happens, though.
.
Then there's the way the device magically morphs between shifts in consciousness - you get hungry, look for a restaurant,  and before you know it your talking to the restaurant to make a reservation for seven.
I'm thinking about the way the web has changed to become co-opted more and more by commerce. As an example, think about how helpful google used to be.
Search results used to bring up links that actually got me to places that would help me with researching a topic.
Now it seems to mostly bring up results that somebody paid google to show me to try to sell me stuff.
In some ways, iPhone's usefulness will depend on who "the man behind the curtain" is!

Dave

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