If you were non-plussed to hear that AT&T was changing their data pricing plans for the iPhone and iPad come Jun 7th — the very day many of us expect the announcement of the 4th-generation iPhone during the WWDC keynote address by Apple’s Steve Jobs — then you might be happy to know they’re giving consumers some leeway. Some, but not much.
Looks as if AT&T doesn’t want too much bad publicity. Despite of one threat of a cease and desist to a blogger who wrote to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson [contact details] about the new iPhone/ iPad data pricing plans, they’re making some concessions. If you really really want the previously promised $30/month unlimited data plan for the iPad 3G, you can still get it, but with some conditions. If you don’t already have an iPad 3G, you have to order one before Jun 7th. When you get it, even if it’s after Jun 7th, you’ll be eligible to sign up for the original $30/mth data plan. Of course, if you already have the iPad 3G, you can get the data plan now, before Jun 7th.
So for some of us, that means we’ll have to race to order an iPad 3G. No word on whether any similar concession is available for the next iPhone, other than if you upgrade a current iPhone. (For example, as mentioned previously, I have an iPhone 3GS that I intend to keep, and thus my plan will stay at the 5GB/month cap. But I can upgrade my LG VU phone in August to a new iPhone. Unfortunately, I do not believe I’ll be able to get the 5GB/mth plan for that phone — which is a disappointment since my wife’s LG VU can be upgraded in October, and we were looking forward to video calling on the new iPhone. E.g., a feature that’ll eat up data.
