- Feb 14, 2004
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Wow...that's terrible. I HAD to buy an iPhone 3G because my 1st-Gen EDGE phone was losing service every other call. The 3G fixed that when I upgraded a couple months ago. Now I have to pay $400 to get the new one, instead of $200? Derrrr...I guess I could save $25 by doing early termination ($175), then signing up for a new plan ($199), which would be $375 vs. $400 lol...
Wow. I can't believe they didn't offer regular pricing for the new iPhone for existing iPhone customers. I want one, but I'm not paying $399 to get one.
And you have every right to complain that AT&T's policy is arbitrary/lame/whatever; I just find it hilarious that apparently this same policy didn't get people riled up until this phone, lol.
Ah, well in your case then I apologize, but I think in general (per Slashdot, Giz, Endgadget, and Techcrunch), waaaay too many people seem to be just awakening to the fact that this is the way it has worked all along.
Lets all be honest here though we knew that at that price a new iphone in a year would get people pissed off. I mean take at look at L4D 2, all the forums are demanding a price cut for an upgrade of the older version of the game. I know this is a different industry but its the same outcry of emotion.
A) Overlooked in the why can't I upgrade argument is the fact that V1 users COULD upgrade to 3G regardless of their contract when the 3g was released. So there is an inconsistency here. I understand the argument why AT&T is doing this, but keep in mind there is precedent here.
B) Don't fall for the "Delivers by June 19th" bit. According to multiple people, that's probably not true. When you order online, you still get to choose shipping. Who would pay $10 for 2nd day if it delivers by june 19th either way? And worse, when you get the email confirmation from Apple, it says it ships on June 19th. So if you are choosing between store pickup and online delivery, you might want to consider this
B) Don't fall for the "Delivers by June 19th" bit. According to multiple people, that's probably not true. When you order online, you still get to choose shipping. Who would pay $10 for 2nd day if it delivers by june 19th either way? And worse, when you get the email confirmation from Apple, it says it ships on June 19th. So if you are choosing between store pickup and online delivery, you might want to consider this
Well to be fair, until the iPhone I wasn't aware of a compelling 1-year upgrade cycle. I had a Razr phone back in the day and was perfectly happy to keep using it for two years so I could switch phones without penalty.
But in general I want to clarify my views versus those of Motionman. I'm NOT upset at AT&T or Apple for wanting to make their original investment back. Building customer loyalty is nice, but it's silly to do so if you have to take a loss and your competitors sell identical products. Some day the iPhone won't be an AT&T exclusive so AT&T does need to recoup its money in a reasonable time frame.
HOWEVER, since AT&T seems happy to sell an iPhone for $200 if they know I will pay them a monthly fee for two years, why not let me buy an unlimited number of iPhone generations so long as I add another 2 years onto my existing contract? I don't mean start another 2-years right now, but rather if I have 11 months to go, I get a new iPhone for $200 and now have a 35 month contract.
Of course such a system isn't necessarily sustainable on the customer side for a lifetime, but its quite sustainable for a few product cycles.
Another point worth mentioning: Apple did everything but publicly repudiate AT&T at WWDC. They explicitly stated that other carriers (but not AT&T) have committed to tethering and MMS. My guess is that AT&T's relationship with Apple may be nearing its end (else why slam them publicly?). In which case AT&T would want to lock people in, meaning they should be willing to subsidize the iPhone now lest people switch to competitors once the contract expires.
They recently changed the policy on ETF assessments. I believe on contracts committed after May 2008 your ETF is reduced by $5 for each month into your 24-month committment, so you might not have to pay the full $175.
- Feb 14, 2004
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Hah, nice! The iPhone is pretty much my only "luxury" item and I do like upgrading when new features come out, but I sure miss that $199 price! $399 was okay for the first-gen, and $199 for the upgrade, but back to $399 for the third-gen doesn't make much sense to me (plus I can't sell my 3G for $399, but I can sell it for $199! haha).
Bummer.
alevasseur14
Golden Member
- Feb 12, 2005
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- Feb 14, 2004
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iPhone 3GS specs:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/0...0mhz-cpu-256mb-of-ram/
600MHz CPU, 256MB of RAM, PowerVR SGX graphics chip that supports OpenGL ES 2.0 (old iPhone 3G - 412MHz CPU, 128MB RAM).
http://www.engadget.com/2009/0...0mhz-cpu-256mb-of-ram/
600MHz CPU, 256MB of RAM, PowerVR SGX graphics chip that supports OpenGL ES 2.0 (old iPhone 3G - 412MHz CPU, 128MB RAM).
Don Vito Corleone
Elite
- Feb 10, 2000
- 30,029
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I find your paranoia a little troubling given your profession, which I share. It's ridiculous to call AT&T's holding you to the terms of your contract a "lack of business sense."
- Feb 14, 2004
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The 3GS has an oleophobic coating:
http://www.appleinsider.com/ar...leophobic_coating.html
Finger-print resistant & cleaning is as simple as wiping the screen with a soft, lint-free cloth (instead of a damp one like the iPhone 3G).
http://www.appleinsider.com/ar...leophobic_coating.html
Finger-print resistant & cleaning is as simple as wiping the screen with a soft, lint-free cloth (instead of a damp one like the iPhone 3G).
Don Vito Corleone
Elite
- Feb 10, 2000
- 30,029
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