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AT&T (NYSE: T) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) on Tuesday announced monthly service plans for the forthcoming iPhone that run from about US$60 to about $220 per month. All feature unlimited Web and e-mail 
as well as a so-called Visual Voicemail feature that lists voice messages in e-mail fashion.
The packages also include rollover minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. However, those who use their mobile phones for extensive text messaging might be unimpressed with the 200 monthly SMS messages that the plans include. Increased message limits are available for more money, the companies noted.
There's also a one-time activation fee of $36, and Apple said signing up can be done easily through iTunes, a free download for both PCs and Apple computers.
Choices Galore
iPhone service plans require a new two-year service agreement with AT&T, the companies said. In addition to the least expensive, $59.99-per-month plan, which includes 450 minutes, there is a $79.99 plan that buys 900 minutes, a $99.99 plan with 1,350 minutes, a $119.99 plan with 2,000 minutes, a $169.99 plan with 4,000 minutes and a $219.99 plan with 6,000 minutes.
Family packages are also available, ranging in price from $80 for 700 shared minutes to $310 for 6,000 shared minutes. Each additional phone costs $29.99.
Current AT&T customers can add iPhone data plans. All add unlimited Web, e-mail and Visual Voicemail, but pricing varies based on the number of text messages included. For $20, users get 200 text messages, for $30, they get 1,500 and for $40 they get unlimited messaging.
"While operators are giving away free phones for a two-year 'premium' contract, with iPhone, AT&T has broken that jinx," Strategy Analytics analyst Bonny Joy told MacNewsWorld. "It was quite expected that for iPhone, AT&T would attach a premium data plan with some of their existing plans."
Click Your Voicemail
The most unusual aspect of the service packages is that all iPhone plans include Visual Voicemail, which the companies call an industry first. A feature found in most Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) packages, Visual Voicemail will show iPhone owners a list of their voice mail messages. They'll be able to choose which to hear without having to first listen to any that came first.
"Just like e-mail, Visual Voicemail on iPhone enables users to immediately and randomly access the messages that interest them most," Apple and AT&T said.
The companies wanted "to make choosing a service plan simple and easy, so every plan includes unlimited data with direct Internet access, along with Visual Voicemail and a host of other goodies," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
'Value Proposition'
The plans' prices seem fair, especially considering the fact that they include unlimited data, Gartner (NYSE: IT) Analyst Michael McGuire said. "They're reasonable, if I compare it to my own plan," he told MacNewsWorld. "At least they're not completely out of the norm."
Only time will tell whether consumers believe the iPhone's features are worth the initial hardware cost plus the cost of switching to AT&T (if they're not already customers) plus the monthly fees, said McGuire. "They'll ask themselves, `Is the overall value proposition interesting enough for me?'" he said.
"It's pretty much in-line with what we've seen from AT&T for other devices, and it's pretty consistent with industry trends," NPD analyst Ross Rubin told MacNewsWorld. "With Apple controlling all the media transactions for the iPhone through iTunes, the question has been, how does AT&T monetize this product?"
Monetization will happen through customer acquisition, Rubin said, although he doesn't believe there will be "waves of consumers moving to AT&T" just because of the iPhone. "There are a lot of factors that go into choosing a phone," noted Rubin. "Coverage is really important. You are buying the device and the carrier. They're inextricably linked, which is one strong reason Apple decided to partner with a carrier. It's very difficult to go it alone in this space."
The Kitchen Sink
The heavily hyped iPhone combines Apple's first mobile phone with a widescreen iPod and includes Internet access either over the AT&T cellular network or over WiFi hotspots. It also features, as Apple puts it, "an entirely new user interface based on a revolutionary multi-touch display and pioneering new software that allows users to control iPhone with just a tap, flick or pinch of their fingers."
The devices go on sale Friday at 6 p.m. They will be sold through Apple's retail and online stores as well as at AT&T's retail stores. The units will be available in a 4 GB model for $499 and an 8 GB model for $599.
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