Existing AT&T customers with unlimited data plans on their current iPhones will be happy to note that they can keep their data plan when placing pre-orders for Apple’s iPhone 4S today. TMO has confirmed that this option is not available, however, for new customers.
When going through the order process at Apple’s Online store, customers are presented with either 3 or 4 options depending on the status of their current account, if any. New customers or, really, anyone that doesn’t already maintain an unlimited data account can choose from one of three options:
- 200MB for US$15/month (with additional data costing the same $15 for another 200MB in the same month)
- 2GB for $25/month (with additional data costing $10 for each extra gigabyte of data or portion thereof)
- 4GB for US$45/month, which includes AT&T’s Mobile Hotspot feature, allowing wireless tethering via your phone (additional data here costs the same $10/GB).
Customers with existing accounts containing unlimited data plans are given four options when upgrading to iPhone 4S, the first three matching the three above with the additional option being unlimited data for US$30/month. Note that unlimited data does not permit tethering, so users wanting to tether — in this case that means turning your iPhone into a wireless hotspot for your laptop or iPad — will have to go for the 4GB, $45/month option for the ability to do that.