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AT&T Gives Up on the iPad 3G Unlimited Data Plan

mashable.com

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Re: AT&T Gives Up on the iPad 3G Unlimited Data Plan

#101

Post by dnsworks »

illumin8 wrote: post #34
gte910h wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is my FTC complaint. You too can file one! https://www.FTCComplaintAssistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=e... Apple computer advertised 2 different models of the iPad: one at $500 with wifi only Internet capability, and one with wifi and 3G coverage for $14.95 for 250 MB of data per month, or $30 a month for unlimited data (provided by AT&T) This 3G was a no contract plan, requiring no longterm committment from con…

Good letter. I have a feeling the class action attorneys are going to have a field day with this one.

My understanding is few companies have as many class action lawsuits against it as Apple. Perhaps Microsoft is the only one who has more. An old customer of mine is a lawyer specializing in class-action lawsuits, last time I talked to him about it he had filed suit against Apple seven times.

Re: AT&T Gives Up on the iPad 3G Unlimited Data Plan

#102

Post by Terretta »

chaosmachine wrote: post #6
gte910h wrote: post #3

The sign up any time you want unlimited plan is why I waited a month for the 3G to be available and why I paid a 130 dollar premium... This is completely untenable for apple to allow this to happen not even six months later. As a matter of fact, the announcement is VERY suspiciously timed exactly 1 month and 1day after the sale of the 3G ipads, making them unreturnable!!!

If you bought it from a big box store (rather than directly from Apple), you can probably still return it. Most stores will give you 2 or 3 extra days past the "30 day" limit, you just need to ask a manager.

BestBuy iPads came with a yellow sticker limiting to 14 days, not 30.

Re: AT&T Gives Up on the iPad 3G Unlimited Data Plan

#103

Post by Terretta »

jonknee wrote: post #32
bretpiatt wrote: post #29

For some perspective on how low 2GB is, this isn't just about video, it is audio streaming too... Pandora uses 64 kbps for normal quality and 128 kbps for high quality. 64 kilobits (Kb) = 8 kilobytes (KB) 8 kilobytes = 0.008 megabytes (MB) 0.008 MB per second * 60 seconds = 0.48 MB per minute 0.48 MB per minute * 60 minutes = 28.8 MB per hour 28.8 MB per hour * 8 hours = 230.4 MB per work day 230.4 MB per day * 23 wo…

True, but if you're at work it can just go over WiFi (or just use Pandora on your computer). I think it's a bum deal because the terms changed just a month in, but as an iPad owner I'd have to try hard to use 2GB per month outside the range of WiFi.

Quite a lot of folks use 3G at work to avoid monitoring and/or the corporate firewall.

Re: AT&T Gives Up on the iPad 3G Unlimited Data Plan

#104

Post by Terretta »

tjmaxal wrote: post #41

I hate to say this because it just makes me angry but it's all our fault. If we didn't buy so many ipads with practically criminal TOSes then we wouldn't be stuck with a device that is tied to one of the worst cell phone providers in the world. If more people demanded open network selection, and refused to buy an ipad until it was available on any network then we would have the features we want.

You can use other GSM providers with the iPad, it's not locked to AT&T.

Re: AT&T Gives Up on the iPad 3G Unlimited Data Plan

#105

Post by awa »

I might be totally wrong, but the date (June 7) and the fact that this is being announced just after a month of iPad launch might mean Apple might have dropped a bomb on AT&T internally (like no more exclusivity) which would be announced in WWDC and AT&T is retaliating.

Re: AT&T Gives Up on the iPad 3G Unlimited Data Plan

#106

Post by cwp »

ben1040 wrote: post #99
cwp wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "unlimited" access that you have with high-speed internet isn't really unlimited. The limits are just measured differently. Whether it's 2GB/month or 30Mb/s, you're still limited to some amount of data over some amount of time. On top of that many (all?) ISPs will cut you off if you "abuse" you're "unlimited" dataplan. The point here is that cellular bandwidth is scarce. Apple and Google jump through all sorts of…

As for consumers putting up with it, we'll see. People never had problems understanding how long-distance worked. And charging by the minute seems to be working well for Skype. That's because a minute of usage for both Skype or long distance calling is easily quantifiable. If I talk on the phone for 10 minutes at a long distance rate of 10 cents a minute, easy, that's a buck. Heck, it was easy 10 years ago when we ha…

You've just restated my points 1) and 2). But it's not as much a problem as you think. Long distance charges usually aren't predictable in advance: you know you're being billed by the minute, but you don't know how long the conversation will be, and you probably don't know the per-minute rate. What's the rate when calling an Irish cell phone? Or a landline in Guayaquil, Ecuador? You can probably look it up, but it's not simple.

On the flip side, even as a "sophisticated" user, I can't tell how much bandwidth a given video will use, or how long I can afford to stream Pandora to my phone. But it doesn't mater. My carrier provides an app that I can use to check my usage, and I can see how much I've used as a percentage of my limit. It's easy to get a sense of "been watching a lot of video lately, gotta ease up on that," or, "oops, downloading that ISO over tethering wasn't a good idea." It's not long before you have an intuitive sense of what things cost, in terms of bandwidth. I find I don't have to pay much attention unless I use tethering, but my data plan has 6GB cap.

Re: AT&T Gives Up on the iPad 3G Unlimited Data Plan

#107

Post by IPPlanMan »

File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC is empowered by law to investigate and address deceptive marketing practices such as these by Apple and AT&T.

It’s easy and takes only a few minutes to file a complaint.

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

Here’s the company info to make filling out the forms easier:

Apple 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014 408-996-1010

AT&T 175 East Houston Street Dallas, TX 78205-2255 210-821-4105.

I believe that the key points are: Apple touted and advertised the $29.99 data plan as a major inducement to buy the iPad 3g. Apple described it as a “breakthrough deal” with AT&T, leading consumers to believe that Apple had locked in the terms and price. A key, heavily advertised, feature was the ability to jump between plans or have no 3G plan as dictated by needs and budget. The “grandfathering” announced by AT&T forces customers to either keep an unlimited plan continuously active in order to not lose it. The change in the plans has significant impact on the value of the device and the manner in which it can be used. We want AT&T and Apple to honor the advertised deal, not give us money, a coupon, a refund, free service for a month, etc. (That’s what I want, anyway.)

If you’re one of the people cheering because your bill got cut by $5 per month, don’t bother with replying to this. This is a legal issue related to FTC rules and regulations on false and deceptive advertising, not whether you like the new plans better because you don’t happen to move more than 2GB per month.

Re: AT&T Gives Up on the iPad 3G Unlimited Data Plan

#108

Post by IPPlanMan »

IPPlanMan wrote: post #107

File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC is empowered by law to investigate and address deceptive marketing practices such as these by Apple and AT&T. It’s easy and takes only a few minutes to file a complaint. https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/ Here’s the company info to make filling out the forms easier: Apple 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014 408-996-1010 AT&T 175 East Houston Street…

You can also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau

http://www.bbb.org/us/

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