I was going through AT&T's stipulations of use regarding their 3G network.

1. Smartphone and Laptop 3G connections have different pricings.

I'm assuming that they need to charge higher for Laptops because of the way they use the Internet. When they browse, they really browse. On Smartphones, however - browsers are inherently crippled and difficult to use; my presumption is that the Unlimited Data Plan exists because AT&T assumes that "there's only so much you can do with a Smartphone." Verizon would probably have more control over this issue since their phones are not SIM Card - dependent.

The obvious high - bandwidth applications have already been excluded in their Terms and Conditions: Webcams, P2P applications, Slingbox feeds, etc. Notably, undisclosed tethering of the Smartphone to your Laptop (turning it into a 3G Modem) is prohibited. All understandable.

The premise would be that we'd be paying far more than what we'd actually be using in reality. I guess a good analogy would be GEICO trying to insure as many safe drivers as possible.

2. Smartphones are potentially capable of doing more than what AT&T's current stable has to offer.

Now, I'm probably one of those "reckless drivers" GEICO wouldn't want to insure. Let's say I do a LOT of browsing 24/7, and my Smartphone has a 4800mAh battery...

What happens should I decide to waste my time on YouTube or decide to download a 200MB Service Pack from Microsoft? None of these activities are specifically covered in the agreement. Moreover, the newer mobile browsers (upcoming Opera and current Skyfire) are highly dependent on server caching and will definitely require higher data transfer rates.

How will that be factored in? What's bothersome is this part of the agreement:

"AT&T reserves the right to (i) deny, disconnect, modify and/or terminate Service, without notice, to anyone it believes is using the Service in any manner prohibited or whose usage adversely impacts its wireless network or service..."

Any thoughts?