iPhone 3G S pricing: Existing customers, beware
The "early upgrade" price for existing customers
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)
One of the most attractive aspects of the new iPhone 3G S is the pricing; US$299 for the 32GB model and US$199 for the 16GB model isn't bad. Even better is the US$99 for the old iPhone 3G with 8GB. But beware; not everyone qualifies for the announced pricing right off the bat.
The truth is, these prices only apply to new customers, new lines of service, and contract renewals. If you're still under contract, including existing iPhone 3G owners, you're probably not eligible for the upgrade. AT&T claims that most iPhone 3G owners will be eligible for the announced pricing only after 18 months. However, you'll still qualify for an "early upgrade price", which are US$499 for the 32GB, US$399 for the 16GB, and US$299 for the old 8GB iPhone 3G--that's only if you can't wait the six or so months to get the new phone. If you don't want the two-year contracts at all, you'll have to cough out the full price of the phones, which are US$699 for the 32GB, US$599 for the 16GB, and US$499 for the 8GB.
I bought my iPhone 3G in August of last year, and so I tried to see what price I would get when I tried to buy the latest iPhone 3G S. The above is the screen shot of my online order.
Notice that it says that my eligibility date is 04/15/2010, which is about a couple more than the 18 months stated. I've heard plenty of coworkers say their eligibility date is early December of this year, while others said their eligibility date is February of next year. It seems like there's some inconsistency as to when existing customers can truly qualify for the announced pricing. On top of that, it looks like it costs another US$18 to upgrade at all.
Of course I understand that AT&T doesn't need to cater to its existing customers; we've already signed our souls away to them. This happens with almost all cell phone carriers, not just AT&T, and this is nothing new. But that doesn't change that it's just a little frustrating to know there are these little hidden annoyances that happen to us existing customers just because we gave them our business before everyone else.
(additional information via Gizmodo)
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Mine was for 8/26/09. I pulled the trigger anyway in anticipation of me wanting to upgrade to the 5th gen iPhone. I know that's a little far out but I'm in the situation I'm in right now cause I didn't get the 1st gen iPhone when it first came out and fannied about till March of last year. Doesn't matter either way because I paid $400 that time as well. More to the point: AT&T really did stick it to a lot of us who are pretty close to completing 18 months of our contract. It also frustrates me to no end that they are unwilling to extend us the same subsidy they are willing to give new clients. I mean, they would still be making money off of our new contracts (more, in fact) simply because they make their money on the service and data plans. With the iPhone they've decided to make a little money off the phones as well. I know most consumers in the US think $600-700 for a phone is a lot, but it really isn't considering the whole iPhone eco-system. The only reason I wouldn't buy it unsubsidized is because it still remains locked to AT&T's network and they refuse to unlock it (I tried buying an 8GB iPhone 3G a couple of months ago). If and when Apple finally offers the unlocked iPhone over here I'd gladly pay more for that than deal with AT&T and feel like I got shafted. I understand AT&T not wanting to fully subsidize subscribers till they fulfill at least 18 months of their contract, but they should at least meet us halfway and require we only extend a year instead of two.
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