So the iPhone drops this friday at your local Apple store and AT&T store. Here are my thoughts on what you should consider before purchasing an iPhone:

On a related note, there is a post on Macrumors.com with some speculated data plan rates. The rumor is the data plans will range from $35 to $45. The readers of Macrumors are up in arms about this pricing but have no idea what they’re talking about. This comment matches my thought process:

I know a lot of you are using old plans with old pricing that is technically no longer available, but that’s not a real comparison. The question is this: if I were to sign up right now for a basic voice plan + unlimited data *as a new customer* for each carrier, how much would I pay? I looked at the 4 major carriers:

T-Mobile: 1000 minutes (non-rollolver) + Unlimited Data & email = $70

Sprint: 450 minutes (non-rollover) + Unlimited Data = $90

Verizon: 450 minutes (non-rollover) + unlimited data = $80

At&T: 450 minutes (rollover) + unlimited data = $80

So T-Mobile is a moderately better deal, although the rollover of At&T will balance out the minutes difference for most people. Yes, you are limited to EDGE with the iPhone, but people seem to neglect that 3G coverage is fairly rare in the US. There are plenty of people who simply CAN’T use 3G, whether the phone has it or not.

So please, somebody explain to me how At&t’s plan is out of line with what is currently available. Is it expensive? Yes, but it’s the same damn price as everybody else. This is the wonderful world of american wireless networks. The iPhone’s data pricing looks to be right in line with the competition. What is all this complaining stemming from?

Welcome to smartphones people. The iPhone pricing AND it’s data plans are right in line with your typical smartphones. (albeit on the high end for initial price) Some of you don’t remember when the Treo first came out, it was pushing $600 and the Nokia N95 is pushing $1000!!! It kills me how people see the name “Apple” and immediately start dissecting the price. We’ll see on launch day how things turn out.

Update – TUAW reports the iPhone data plans have been announced and they’re cheaper than anticipated! $60/$80/$100 for 450/900/1350 minutes respectively and ..get this.. all include unlimited data. So all you nay sayers can kindly take a chill pill.

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