Apple Pressuring AT&T to Lower Rates in Face of Palm Pre Competition?

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

Confession: we secretly hope the Palm Pre does very well. Not because we want one ourselves -- we're pretty happy with the iPhone round here -- but because we want Apple and AT&T to think we want one so they continue to drive up innovation and drive down costs respectively. Competition is, was, and will forever be a Good Thing.

Case in point: we've heard rumors about Apple pressuring AT&T to lower data rates and/or offer lower price points for capped service. Wall Street Journal takes these rumors and shows why competitive pressure may be at the root of them with a little side-by-side comparison to the impending Palm Pre/Sprint rates. Neatly summarized:

So essentially, iPhone users have to pay $150 a month to match what Sprint will offer Pre users for $100

Hey, if Palm can get Apple to get AT&T to knock 33% off the monthly bill, more power to them (and money to us!)

[Thanks to the Reptile for the tip and @CRA1G for melting our hearts -- a little!]

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.