iPhone data plan

Now that the iPhone 4S will be available on three different US carriers, it's time to revisit data and voice plans available with each company. Aside from differences in their networks, AT&T, Verizon and now Sprint have a variety of pricing structures available to meet your mobile needs. Overall, with AT&T and Verizon offering the iPhone for some time now the two competitors have similar pricing, although Verizon offers more tiers for data and messaging.

Sprint enters the game with higher prices for single and family voice calling, however their data option is cheap and simple. A flat ten bucks every month gets you unlimited data and messaging. AT&T and Verizon charge extra for text or MMS message packages and stopped offering unlimited data plans on the iPhone long ago. It remains to be seen if Sprint's unbeatable data plan pricing can attract iPhone 4S customers looking for unlimited data.

New and existing Sprint customers can pre-order the iPhone 4 with iOS 5 for $99 starting on Thursday. The iPhone 4S can be pre-ordered at 12:01 AM PST (3:01 EST) on Friday via their online store. AT&T or Verizon customers can visit Apple’s website or call 1-800-MY-APPLE to order the iPhone 4S tomorrow.

The iPhone 4S features Apple's dual-core A5 processor, 8-megapixel camera, 1080p HD resolution video recording, iCloud and Apple's new voice command assistant Siri. The iPhone 4S is $199.99 for the 16GB model, $299.99 for the 32GB model and $399.99 for the 64GB model. All prices require a new or upgraded contract.

It's safe to assume things are going to get a bit competitive between U.S. wireless carriers if Sprint and T-Mobile are really going to be carrying the iPhone 5 next month. According to Bloomberg, Sprint Nextel Corp. will try to separate itself from the competition by offering unlimited data service plans with the iPhone 5.

An anonymous source said Sprint will begin selling the next generation device in mid-October, and plans to steal customers away from AT&T and Verizon by being the only carrier to offer unlimited data. Both AT&T and Verizon charge for their data services.

The party is officially over. iPhone owners who are using their devices as a cellular modem without permission from AT&T are about to see a change in their monthly bill. The wireless provider is about to act on the warnings it sent to users in violation of its terms of service earlier this year.

AT&T currently requires a $20 tethering plan to allow the iPhone to share its cellular data connection with other devices. The tethering plan provides 2 GB of data on top of the 2 GB Data Pro plan costing $25 monthly. Here's the catch: those subscribed to the $30 unlimited data plan aren't allowed to sign up for tethering at all.

With data-hungry Android devices taking over and the iPhone 5 due for release in the next month or two, AT&T is getting serious about usage tiers. iPhone owners who currently enjoy an unlimited data plan may think they have carte blanche to single-handedly dominate their local cell tower's data connection, however starting October 1st AT&T will be watching.

The wireless carrier plans to slow down transfer rates on the mobile devices of the top five percent of unlimited data users every month. Here's how it works: if you transfer enough data on your mobile device that you fall within the top five percent of users AT&T will throttle your speeds until the start of your next billing cycle. Of course, this won't happen immediately.