Need Some Help Lifting that iPhone Bill?

Apple is not only known for its sleek and simple product designs, its success is actually built on it. Thus, it came as quite a surprise when AT&T's iPhone bills started coming in. Rather than a sheet or two of paper folded into a letter-size envelope, like many have come to expect for their cell phone bills, iPhone bills are so big and bulky that you may need help carrying them through the front door.

Okay, okay,  they're not so big that a person can't lift them, but they sure are cumbersome. Bills as long as 52 pages have been reported, and most are in the double digits. Plus, the bill is printed on both sides of paper, which means heavy reading for customers. (Source: arstechnica.com)

Why are the bills so lengthy? Because data usage is itemized whenever a user surfs the Internet, even if that user is signed up for the unlimited data plan.

And while AT&T gets so specific as to tell you the kilobyte amount each time an email is sent or something is downloaded, the usefulness of the descriptions are sub-par. For example, under the To/From heading for a data transfer, AT&T lists "Data Transfer." And under the type of file, users are likely to find the word "Data." (Source: arstechnica.com)

New York Times writer David Pogue blogged about his encounter with his first iPhone bill. "It's an unadulterated waste of paper, ink, and fuel to deliver it," he said. "Who the heck needs a breakdown like this? If AT&T thinks anyone cares, they should stick it on the Web, for crying out loud." (Source: nytimes.com)

I can't help but chuckle at Apple's sophisticated simplicity overshadowed by its partner, who didn't know any better than to deliver an encyclopedia-like bill on customers' doorsteps.