The same day Nokia announced the future release of its N96 high-end smartphone in North America, AT&T came up with two new international data plans for Apple's iPhone or iPhone 3G. The plans are available as of tomorrow and, as AT&T puts it, they are intended to help iPhone owners in staying connected no matter where they might travel.

The new iPhone plans include 100MB and 200MB of monthly data respectively. For the 67 countries where AT&T offers international discounts, the 100MB plan costs 119.99 USD per month, while the 200MB one is available for 199.99 USD per month. Quite expensive - but then again, using a mobile device outside your home country was never cheap, especially if you also want to browse the Web or download stuff.

The new offerings are only available to users who have already subscribed for an AT&T international smartphone plan, which can include either 20MB or 50MB (across the same 67 countries).

"AT&T has worked diligently to provide affordable options for international roaming because the feature-rich mobile experience of iPhone is indispensable to users. With these new international data plans, iPhone users can access more data in more countries for less cost," stated Bill Hague, executive vice president of International for AT&T's wireless operations.

Launched in North America on Jully 11, the new iPhone 3G can currently be bought only from AT&T or Apple, for prices starting at $199 (the 8GB version) and $299 (the 16GB version), only with the signing of a two-year contract agreement and an expensive data plan. The iPhone 3G will be offered by Best Buy too, starting September, but unfortunately its prices will not be lower. As for the old iPhone, it is no longer being sold, but there are still lots and lots of users who own one.