Tick … tick … tick … the iPhone timekeeper is check down . As Steve Jobs told us over and over during Monday ’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote , we ’re now 18 days out from the release of Apple ’s Next Big Thing and the excitation — both at WWDC and out in the existent world — is building . The mainstream press has announce the iPhone both a success and loser , AT&Thas had well over a million research about the matter , and potential buyer are think laying in encampment supply so that they can squat down before the threshold of their local Apple Store the even prior to its delivery . Apple even revealed some details about how third - party software Almighty can create coating for the phone . Yet one important question remains :

What ’s the damned thing going to be ! ?

No , no , I understand that the 4 GB iPhone will be priced at $ 499 and the 8 GB mannequin will run $ 599 . What I ’d like to know is how much it will cost me , each month , to lock it . And , on this point , both AT&T and Apple have maintain a grave - similar quiet . Given that we ’re less than three weeks aside , I reckon it ’s about time they talk up . And when they do , I ’d care to pick up this :

One ( sane ) price fit all .

I empathise that , from the perspective of the wandering phone industry , this sounds harebrained . apparently , these companies create intact part to concoct part and data plan that would disconcert all but the sharp Rhodes bookman . But that ’s the norm — pick a vocalisation plan , pick a data point plan , add a piddling protection this , some nights - and - weekend that , and bang , your customer are paying something over a C - banknote per month to use their phones to their greatest potential .

But count at it from the perspective of an Apple client . This One From Column A , One From Column B , Two From Column coke organisation is bete noire to Apple ’s traditional way of doing business . Elegance and simmpleness are the company ’s rallying cry . need a track from the iTunes Store ? 99 cents , please . How about an iPod ? We have three model and a few variation on each of those poser . make up up and jack in . give care for a written matter of OS X ? Do n’t search for four Vista - like pricing structures , as Steve Jobs illustrated during his Monday keynote — pay $ 129 one time and be on your manner .

round-eyed .

Making thing round-eyed is going to demand that AT&T has relented to the point of abandoning the piecemeal price plans and tender a simple , easy - to - understand iPhone Plan . Ideally this Plan will also be in melodic phrase with what the iPhone ’s prey customers are wonted to make up for their current phones rather than for the kind of enterprisingness - level Robert William Service presently being wrung from BlackBerry - summate occupation users .

I have religion that Apple understands all this and beg that , in substitution for giving the company a five - class exclusive , AT&T will break with tradition and make possess the iPhone mere and affordable . Now , Apple and AT&T , how about answering this one additional prayer :

degenerate the other skid .