A.2. AT&T Fringe Cases

For most people, the plans described above are all they'll ever need. There are, however, plenty of oddball cases—business plans, family plans, pay-as-you-go plans—that might be worth considering. For example:

• Prepaid plans. AT&T's GoPhone plans are intended for people with poor credit (or a fear of commitment). You pay for each month's service in advance, and it's very expensive: $60 a month buys you only 300 minutes, for example.

  But here's the thing: There's no two-year commitment, no deposit, no contract. You can stop paying at any time without having to pay the usual $175 early-termination fee. Unfortunately, the GoPhone plans aren't available for the iPhone.

• Business plans. If you're using a corporate iPhone, you pay $45 a month for unlimited Internet use (on top of a voice plan). That's 50 percent more than the regular iPhone plan—because, as AT&T sees it, "Business customers tend to be heavier users of data than consumers." (Plausible? You decide.)

• Upgrading from an original iPhone. If you have an original iPhone, then you can get the iPhone 3GS for the new-customer price ($200 or $300), or the iPhone 3G for $100. Just bring your old iPhone to the store and get the new one activated. You can give the old phone to another family member, sell it, put it up on eBay, whatever you like.

  If you have an iPhone 3G but want the newer 3GS, however, things might get sticky. If you've had the 3G for under about 18 months, you may have to pay a $200 premium. That's to reimburse AT&T for your subsidized iPhone 3G. The gory details, if you care to read them, are here: http://bit.ly/pOkXz.

• Family plans. The iPhone can be part of an AT&T family plan. It works just like any other phone: For $10 more per month per person, it shares a pool of minutes with other phones belonging to the same family. (It still has to have its own $30-a-month Internet service, though.)