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Owners of Apple's iPhone have been in revolt over the size of the bills they receive from their network, some of which run to hundreds of pages.
One 23-year-old was so incensed with the 300-page bill she received from AT&T, the official network of the iPhone, that she made a video of it and posted it on YouTube and other sites. The clip has now been viewed more than three million times.
Justine Ezarik, a graphic designer (and 'Lifecaster') from Pittsburgh, said that her bill was so voluminous that it arrived in a box rather than an envelope. "Save a forest – use e-billing," a slogan at the end of her 60-second video read.
AT&T's bills are larger than normal because they detail every event that has taken place on the network, even if no charge has been occurred.
Many entries simply record, for instance, that a 'data transfer' has taken place – a reference to an iPhone having logged on to the internet - even though, on an unlimited data plan, internet access is free.
In an interview, Ms Ezarik reportedly admitted to sending 30,000 text messages a month, but her experience was by no means unique.
Several bloggers have posted about receiving bills of 50 to 60 pages in length. Mike Brophy, on his blog, General Theory of RIAtivity, showed a picture of a Maltese terrier sitting on his 127-page iPhone bill. "Seems like a real waste of paper (even if it's recyclable), gas and labour to transport this monstrosity of a bill to my mailbox," he wrote.
Yesterday, AT&T sent a text to all of its iPhone customers saying that as of the end of September, they would receive summarised bills. "We are simplifying your paper bill, removing itemised detail," the text read, advising customers that they could view comprehensive billing details online.
Customers who wished to receive a full paper bill by post could do so for $1.99 (£1) per phone line, the company said, and there would also be an option to switch completely to electronic bills.
Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesperson, told the New York Times that because of the "high data usage" of many iPhone customers and the "potentially voluminous bills that can cause," it made sense to switch to electronic bills.
The company had been planning to switch to summary bills, he said, but had decided to take the action sooner partly in response to the outcry from customers, which prompted one newspaper to write the headline: "How many trees did your iPhone bill kill?"
The iPhone, which was out in the US in June, is due to be released in Europe at the end of the year.
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Just to clarify for all the incredulous posters, 30,000 text messages is not the number send as the post indicates, but total messages sent/received. Services such as twitter, facebook, myspace often send sms for notification. I would speculate that the majority of her messages were RECEIVED from such services.
Greg Diebel, STOUGHTON, Wisconsin
sending 30,000 text message a month, that is nearly a 1000 text messages a day, if each message takes 30 seconds, that is over 8 whole hours every day, what a life? On the other hand IT companies should be the first to cut down on paper wastage
emerizian, Washington,
The word " bATTy " springs to mind.
Brian Charles Seals, Scarborough, Nth Yorks, UK
If I had a mobile. I'd prefer a detailed bill to ensure that I'm not overcharged...
CWW , Ipswich,
I have gone to their website (AT&T) AND called them at least 5 times to request paperless billing. ONCE, they did not send me all the pages and the next month promptly sent me another billing of at least 25 pages! Surprisingly, it has been two months now and I am still getting only the e-billing! Saved a tree! Way to go AT&T!
Thomas E. Morris III, Midland, Tx.
She explained on MacBreak Weekly that the 30,000 number includes texts she received from the likes of Twitter et al.
David, Dorset,
30,000 text messages a month?? Did anyone double check that before printing it?
that would be 1,000 text messages a day.
8 hours for sleep, allow 2 hours a day for eating, showering etc.. that would still mean 1.4 texts per minute for 14 hours a day every single day!!
No way.
Gary, Brisbane, QLD
My question is, if she is so tech 'savvy', why is she getting a paper bill? Should go to on-line bill only. 90% of my bills are that way now and trying to make it 99%. There will always be 1 or 2 that are mailed no matter what.
But 300 pages, a little extreme. Of course, she requested a detail bill and sent all those text messages. I have 2 phones and our combined bill only goes about 8 pages.
Print it only if I have a question to ask.
David Flynn, Kansas City, MO, US
She's american and she's good looking. What job?
JJ, Calgary, Canada
Don't worry about it guys. Let's say it takes 12 seconds for an experienced hand to send a text. That's about 3 hours and 20 minutes a day. So if she has a one our commute, there's two hours, and you really only need to look up at the road between texts right?
Then she takes a one hour break for lunch, and two fifteen minute breaks in the day, that adds up to 3 and a half hours. Plenty of time!
Of course, I would like it if AT&T would send a text to me notifying me when she's driving while texting.
Daniel, Boulder, USA
Not to mention her now arthritic thumbs from all that texting.
Matt, London,
Er, Mr Text, it doesn't add up that way. Quite possible she'd been doing some group texting. That's the only way it could have been possible, during the course of her job.
Niyi, yorkshire,
Mr Text!,
Ezarik's 1,000 text messages weren't necessarily unique. Many people send single text messages to multiple people. People in promotional work would send them to large numbers of people.
Lachlan Rhodes, Melbourne, Australia
Mr. Text: Right, her job is as a "Lifecaster"... hence the link to http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2145375.ece that the Times attached to the word "Lifecaster" in the article. Maybe it'll answer a few questions for you, and also lead to new ones.
Mr. Stating the Obvious, London, UK
I think she might have been a bit out with that calculation!
starling, Lancaster,
3 Million views? 300k you mean. I must admit though, thats a lot of paper for a bill.
Dave, Aspin, France
I don't believe she sent 30,000 text messages a month.
Don, london,
"30,000 text messages in a month".
30 days in a month... 1,000 a day, Say ten hours of texting a day.
That means this lady is sending effectively 100 messages an hour. THAT IS NEARLY TWO A MINUTE ALL DAY EVERY DAY!!!
Am I the only one who is slightly shocked by that?! And this woman is supposed to have a job!
Mr Text!, London, UK