Question about security deposit for AT&T wireless

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

Oh wise and sage DUers!

I think I am about to succumb to iPhone 3G mania this Friday, but I'm pretty sure I will have to shell extra money for the security deposit. Any idea how much that is for AT&T wireless? Also, for iPhone enthusiasts, what do the 8 GB v 16 GB really mean in practical terms vis-a-vis music/video capabilities?

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

1. Shameless kick! nt

[kay1864]

2. Here's what Consumer Reports has to say:

June 10, 2008

New iPhone: Lower price, higher cost

The new iPhone 3G, announced yesterday and available next month, costs $200 less to buy than its predecessor. But the new version will actually cost a little more to buy and use in the long run than its predecessor, due to higher service costs.

The new phone is $200 in its 8-GB version and $300 in its 16-GB version, compared with $400 and $500 for the older iPhones of the same capacity. An unlimited data plan with the new device is $30, $10 a month more than with the old iPhone. (The least-expensive voice plan, with 450 minutes a month, is the same price as with the old iPhone, at $39.99 a month.) Multiply the $10-a-month extra data cost times the required 24-month contract period and you're on the hook for $240 in additional charges for owning the new iPhone rather than its predecessor.

The hike in fees may be rooted in a change in the business arrangements between AT&T and Apple for the new iPhone. With the original iPhone, subscribers paid full price for the device, even though a two-year contract commitment was required—an unusual arrangement. The new version reverts to a more traditional business model for the industry. That is, AT&T will buy the phones from Apple and sell them to customers for less than they paid. Then they'll devote a part of subscribers' bills every month to reimbursing themselves for that subsidy.

So customers will pay a little more to buy and use the new device as the old, but they'll pay that slightly higher cost more slowly. The lower upfront cost likely will, as Apple's Steve Jobs predicts, allow some people to buy the device who couldn't swallow the $400 price tag for its predecessor. And, at $200 the iPhone 3G will be very competitively priced, given that plenty of plain cell phones that lack the iPhone's versatility cost that much or more. Also, new iPhone owners are getting a faster, more capable 3G network, rather than the slower AT&T EDGE (2G) network used by the older iPhones (the data plan for which will remain priced at $20 a month, according to AT&T).

All that said, the headlines proclaiming the new phone as cheaper than the old don't quite tell the whole story.

[kay1864]

3. And they offer an alternative:

July 03, 2008

Samsung Instinct: A budget iPhone alternative

Since it's little more than a week before the upgraded iPhone hits stores, it's hard not to measure the Samsung Instinct, a new Sprint-Nextel phone with multimedia features and a touch screen, against Apple's second-generation multimedia, touch-screen smartphone.

Some comparisons are impossible until we actually get the iPhone 3G. In initial tests, though, the Instinct appears to be an impressive performer. It costs less than the 3G—$130 vs. $199, with a two-year contract—and it has some features, like voice activation, that we expect even the new iPhone won't have. It's a little narrower, and thus more palm-friendly. However, it lacks iPhone features like WiFi access and the ability to handle Office-type documents. It's also offered by a carrier that's fared worse in our recent cellphone service Ratings (available to subscribers) than even AT&T, the exclusive iPhone carrier, which has been middling in subscriber satisfaction.

As we reported earlier this year, the Instinct has an iPhone-like 3.2-in. (diag.) touch-screen display with a virtual QWERTY keyboard. In our labs, the display was responsive and easy to read under most lighting conditions and the virtual keys proved to be well-spaced and, with the aid of vibration feedback, easy to hit with minimal errors.

Like the iPhone, the Instinct has a Rolodex-like interface for perusing your photo and music collections with a swipe of your finger. It proved easy to use. Surfing the Web was fast enough on Sprint's 3G EV-DO network, and you can even scroll up or down a Web page by tilting the Instinct while holding down the camera button. In messaging mode, you can use the included stylus to scribble numbers, letters, symbols, and punctuation (which the Instinct instantly converts into typed text) or to select Web links when surfing the Net—handy when links embedded on Web pages are too close to pick off with your finger.

You can even control the Instinct without touching it. The Speech to Action function, for instance, lets you search the Web, make calls, send pictures or text messages just by just speaking out terms. These searches, which take a little effort to master, are enhanced by Instinct's GPS technology, which factors in your current location while processing requests. For example, in Live Search mode, say "restaurant," and you'll see listings of local eateries. Select any in the list to call or to add to your contact list. You can also push the virtual car icon for audible, step-by-step driving directions to your selection.

Voice quality was very good when talking, good when listening—on a par with other CDMA phones. Talk time is adequate—just 3.75 hours. But the phone does come with an extra battery.

Besides GPS navigation, the Instinct comes with a music player and multitude of multimedia applications, including streaming TV and radio, music downloads, and game services. It supports Bluetooth data and stereo headsets and has a 1.9-megapixel digital camera that can record video. Like the iPhone, it has HTML support for glitch-free Web browsing; a visual voicemail application that lets you review your messages in any order you wish.

On the downside, the Instinct is a bit sluggish launching multimedia applications, and doesn't automatically switch views between landscape and portrait. And like the iPhone, it's also missing some useful features that are quite common on other phones, such as single-key, last-number redial and preset or customizable text messages.

Bottom line: The Instinct's a good choice if you're not already heavily invested in Apple's world—with, say your music collection in iTunes—and you're a satisfied Sprint customer in the market for a very capable phone with advanced features at a reasonable price. Others may want to consider other iPhone-like phones such as the LG Voyager and Samsung Glyde and, after next week, the new iPhone.

[kay1864]

4. Three more alternatives:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/news-electronics-computers/2007/12/verizons-new-music-phones-first-look-12-07/overview/verizons-music-phones-ov.htm

[mwooldri]

5. I had crappy credit when going for a cell phone 3 years ago...

... AT&T (then Cingular), Verizon, Alltel all wanted a $400 security deposit.

Sprint wanted $100.

Guess who i went with?

In experience it depends on company to company. I've read horror stories of people getting offered a massive security deposit with one company ($1000) and none at all with another.

And all the 8Gb vs 16Gb means is that you can store twice the amount of movies, music, video on a 16Gb iPhone than you can on a 8Gb iPhone. I don't have one but otherwise I hear they're identical otherwise.

Mark.