The price iPhonebois will pay for an early upgrade
Summary: If you've bought an iPhone 3G and you signed up for a 2-year contract, then that contract still has at least a year to run. However, AT&T will give you access to an early upgrade ... for a price! A hefty price!
If you've bought an iPhone 3G and you signed up for a 2-year contract, then that contract still has at least a year to run. However, AT&T will give you access to an early upgrade ... for a price!
[UPDATE: Apple revises upgrade policy.]
The iPhone 3G was released July 11th last year, and iPhonebois flocked to be the first to throw their cash at Apple in exchange for the new handset. In exchange for getting their hands on the new handset iCustomers had to sign up to a 2-year contract with AT&T. Two years seemed like nothing, so people signed up like mad.
Fast forward less than a year and Apple announced at the WWDC keynote that a new iPhone, called the 3G S, would be available from June 17th. What this means is that if you were one of the first to get your hands on an iPhone 3G, congratulations, you now own a fossil that less than a year old.
But wait! AT&T will allow those most loyal customers, folks who stood for hours in line to buy the iPhone on the day it was released, to upgrade. However, to reward their loyalty, AT&T will charge them for the upgrade, and charge them big style.
The new base price for the iPhone for new and qualifying customers (folks who have come to the end of their contracts) is as follows:
- iPhone 3G S - $199 (16GB) and $299 (32GB)
- iPhone 3G - $99 (8GB)
- iPhone 3G - $149 (16GB) ... while supplies last
Sounds good. However, if you are currently mid-contract, the price quickly goes stratospheric.
First, you have to agree to a new 2-year contract. No getting away from that. You don't get your hands on a 3G S without reaffirming your allegiance to Apple and AT&T.
Then there's an $18 upgrade fee. Doesn't sound so bad, but even if you're OK with all that, you'll still pay a premium to get your hands on the new handset:
- iPhone 3G S - $399 (16GB) and $499 (32GB)
- iPhone 3G - $299 (8GB)
Put another way, you pay an extra $200 on the price of the handset. On top of that, and the upgrade fee, you also have to pay another $18 One-time AT&T Upgrade Fee.
Oh, and finally there the $30 a month charge for the data plan and extra for text messaging. MMS messaging, which is supposed to make an appearance later this summer, is bound to cost extra, as will Internet tethering if AT&T ever gets its act together.
That's the thanks that you get for being a valued AT&T customer.
I'm not sure how many people would be willing to pay such a hefty premium to get their hands on an iPhone that's a little faster, has more capacity, has a better camera and features a coating that resists fingerprints. I invite those who are interested to contact me for a game of "find the lady" (I'll prove to you that it's fair because there's a guy that keeps winning). Oh, I've also got some magic beans you might be interested in buying.
Seriously, this is no way to treat loyal customers. Back when $200 was slashed off the price of the iPhone, angering many, Steve Jobs wrote an open letter to customers promising to "do the right thing" for valued iPhone customers. I wonder whether Jobs will intervene again, especially given that the iPhone has been successful in pounding the competition into the dust and doesn't need customer goodwill to be a success.
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Talkback
I understand
These companies are always nicer to new customers then old ones. The first company that treats new and old customers equally will wipe everyone else out.
Rules of Oligopoly
Mobile phone service is soooooo much better in many parts of Europe and Asia because there's lots of competition. Nothing will ever improve here until people get fed up enough to force real change. Or to restate realistically, nothing will ever improve here....
Unfortunately thats a sin in this country.
People aren't going to band together here and force anything on corporations. Thats a sin here. Everyone is just supposed to work hard on their own and never unite to get something done together.
RE: The price iPhonebois will pay for an early upgrade
If Verizon had the iPhone
Every carrier does it.
Sprint does it too.
what you got, until your time is up, and just
thing all of the people getting the new model
now will be in the same situation next year.
My rule is. no early upgrade. I live out the
term, and then when that is done, i start
looking again. So say if I bought iPhone 3g
last year, I would wait till the following year
and upgrade to yet the next iteration of
iPhone. or whatever may be hot at the time.
If you choose to pay the tax for early upgrade,
well then that is your perk. don't cry about
it. if you need the latest and greatest be
prepared to pay up.
It's not AT&T's fault...
OMG Sleeper!
Now boys and girls, if you want a company to cover part of the cost of
your toy (subsidy) then <i>man up and live by what you agreed to in
exchange!</i>
Yes, I know you didn't have a choice, but for the first year of it's
existence no one wanted to pay full price for an iPhone and there were
outcries upon outcries for a subsidized version. subsidies come with
time limits or no company would do it - they'd go broke.
So we got what we asked for (not me, actually mine is a first gen) and
now we have to live up to our end of the bargain! Cry me a river.
RE: The price iPhonebois will pay for an early upgrade
that I don't think is fully explained in your post. For
simplicity's sake, I'm going to use the iPhone 3GS 16GB in
my examples.
First, the actual cost of the iPhone is $399, not $199. It is
$199 to you if you get a new 2-year contract and are
eligible for upgrade. AT&T pays $200 on your behalf.
That's subsidizing. If you buy a subsidized phone, and you
want to break your contract (to start a new 2 year contract)
then you are not eligible for another subsidizing. It's the
terms of the contract.
Second, it doesn't matter if you are upgrading from
another iPhone or not. If I had a 2 year contract with a
fully subsidized (free to me) crap phone and then tried to
get an iPhone within the first 18 months of the contract, I
would still have to pay the full price of $399.
Third, this is not a new practice, this is how it always has
been. Every carrier does this. It would be no different
anywhere else.
Oh, I see...
The whole concept of subsidization and contracts is absurd, plain and simple. I am OK with spending more on my high-function hardware and NOT having a contract.
Then do so. Pay the money for the phone
plan that does not subsidize the phone.
ATT is going to operate like many of the other
carriers. Buy a phone on a subsidy, and terminate
early to get the next best thing, be prepared to
pay. If you don't like it, the buy the phone
outright and ask for a plan that is not scaled to
subsidize the phone.
No
customers, primarily because it's so confusing. But it's a system that's
been in place for a long time, and now that the iPhone is involved,
suddenly it's a big issue.
iPhone caused this!
RE: The price iPhonebois will pay for an early upgrade
Think again
a reason.
Welcome to the United States of America, home of Capitalism (sic) and
corporations who exist to make a profit, NOT to cater to your whim.
re: screwed
from the 30 day grace to bring your phone back I'm sc@#$#[/pre]
I don't understand how this is a suddenly bad thing? Are you happy
with your 3G iphones? Did the announcement of the 3G S make your
current phones less useful?
If this announcement somehow affects you badly, why not wait instead
of buying your 3G phones 30 days ago? On every semi-tech site,
apple-related blog, news site, etc. they've been talking about the new
version of the iphone getting an announcement at WWDC. This site
alone had to have 20+ mentions of it over the past month.
[pre]From now on in the future Steve Jobs doesn't have to worry about
me being a loyal customer if this is they way ATT and Apple do
business. I can find other companies to get my service from if they are
going to go this route.[/pre]
Which other companies? Almost carriers in the U.S. do this. When you
buy a phone under subsidy, the service contract is what allows that
subsidy. You get a free phone, or a phone that costs less than msrp,
it's going to take you 12-18 months typically before you're allowed to
do another subsidy. I agree it sucks, but this isn't exclusive to Apple
and AT&T.
Want to skip that entirely? Buy a phone out of contract. Metrocell
seems a great option for that. Just expect a higher cost of entry you
when you do that.
RE: The price iPhonebois will pay for an early upgrade
on the other hand, keeping this contract thing in mind Apple didn't introduce a totally new iphone this year. just small modifications which won't really upset the current iphone users. I personally have no will to upgrade mine yet. So maybe next year when most of the current iphone 3g customers (over 2 millions) will be eligible to update their phone i can bet there is going to be a breakthrough upgrade in the iphone...
wait a minute.
so what is there to complain about??? suck it up. you have a 2 year contract!
i have a first gen iphone which was unsubsidized, so it doesn't affect me if i want an upgrade, but i will still have to sign a new 2 year contract, and when an upgrade comes out in another year i won't be whining about it.
SPOT ON!
If you HAVE to have EVERYTHING Apple releases the MINUTE its released then PAY THE BILL.
Its idiotic already. What a sense of entitlement! No one said you are entitled to *subsidized* products the second they're released.
If you're such an addict, pay the $500.
Walk Away!!!!
prices, including me. But when we renew our contracts or
upgrade to the next iPhone we reinforce AT&T's greed and
even strengthen their decisions to price gouge customers.
Walk away... Listen, I love the iPhone as much as the next
guy but when my two years are up I'm leaving AT&T and
it's ridiculous pricing structure. When enough people talk
with their wallets I guarantee you Apple and AT&T will take
notice!
But staying with AT&T and agreeing to pay their predatory
pricing isn't going to change anything not matter how loud
or often you complain.
Sprint has the right idea.... $99 unlimited everything!
Every carrier should offer this plan. No extras for texting,
MMS, etc..... Verizon and AT&T are nickel and diming us to
death!