Apple Announces iPhone 3G S, Launching June 19th

[Chupa Chupa]

I camped out too, and bought mine on release date...and am told that I won't qualify for the discount until 12/14/2009. WTF! I'm sorry, but they should give the discount and *extend* your contract another two years. Even though it might be acceptable to do what they are doing, to me it smacks of just bad form.....

Yes, but then what would people say when they also double the ETF fee to cover both phones? They'd whine, of course. So the CellCos aren't going to make everyone happy regardless of what they offer.

People just have to get over the fact a SUBSIDIZED phone upgrade cycle is 18-24 months. If they want to buy something new before then they have to use 100% of there own dollars.

Personally I don't see the huge deal. Cell phones, even iPhones, don't change all that much in a one year time period. It takes two years to get even a scintilla of notable upgrades.

 

[wetrix]

The lack of a polishing cloth with the 3GS is a bit of a deal breaker.

 

[Balty]

I am in similar situation despite fact that I got 3G already. Bit the thing is this 3Gs is not worth an upgrade without front camera and iChat. Its just speed bump up plus video recording. Thats all what it is. I am waiting another year and see you then.

I'll see you then as well. I'll upgrade my 3G in another 12 months when my contract runs out.

 

[koobcamuk]

"To tether you need an Internet Tethering Bolt On: 3Gb for £14.68/month, 10Gb for £29.36/month. Both include The Cloud's Wi-Fi."

Crap.

 

[koobcamuk]

For UK people:

I just called Orange to cancel my contract, they asked why and I explained I wanted an iPhone. They told me they are getting the iPhone in Q4 this year, along with all UK phone providers as they exclusive deal with 02 is ending. He couldn't give me anymore info as "It's all going through marketing at the moment".

I cancelled anyway as I want the phone now, but its interesting to know.

Vodafone told me the same thing 18months ago. They want to keep people onboard.

 

[chrisbb]

i know this is a silly question....
If you're using your phone from home and you turn the tethering option on, does that count as "free" internet/wi-fi on the phone or does it still count as using the internet (and therefore be charged if you go over your data plan)?

 

[tejaykay]

Vodafone told me the same thing 18months ago. They want to keep people onboard.

Did they tell you that it was going to be Q4 2009?

 

[NATO]

UK : O2 Contract vs PAYG for my own circumstances

I would quite like a 3G-S so here's my plan:

Option 1 - Wait 6 months until my contract ends then get one on a new 18 month contract (in which time Apple might release a new version and then I'm in the same situation all over again).

Cost of iPhone: £184.98
Tariff : 18 x £34.26
TOTAL : £801.66

or

Cost of iPhone: £87.11
Tariff : 118 x £44.05
TOTAL : £880.01


Option 2 - Buy it on 'Pay as you Go' on release and then switch to a O2 Simplicity SIM (SIM-Only) tariff when my current contract expires. Calculated over 18 months for ease of comparison, but this leaves me free to change phone/contract as I wish as I'm not locked into a contract.

Cost of iPhone : £440.40
Tariff : (18 x £14.69) + (18 x £7.50 Internet Bolt-on)
TOTAL : £839.82

Not much of a difference in price over 18 months, plus by going the PAYG route I'm not tied into a contract and can change my tariff up or down every 30 days if desired. As much as I'd like to go contract, it makes more sense for me to pay a little more up front with very low monthly bills from then on.

 

[SeaFox]

So AT&T flips the bird to its current customers. Almost begging them not to upgrade.

How dumb is that company? How dumb is that company??

They got you to agree to a two-year contract for a phone they knew you'd want to replace in a year. Now you want to get a new phone but you haven't finished paying for the one you have.

And now you're pissed off at them, but you can't do anything about it because they got you under contract for months yet!

Who looks dumb now?

 

[michelle21]

Still trying to sort eveything out

SO I talked to the apple store, I talked to ATT and the best option for us to get the upgrade is to add an extra line of service. BoxyBrown in this forum also was helpful.

I went through the apple process and received this email. but I am still a bit confused. If I understand it correctly this doesn't mean very much, I still have to be at my apple store at some terrible hour in the morning.

Maybe I should just camp out in Ann Arbor where my local apple store is (55 miles from home ) and hit every club until morning

 

[HyperZboy]

i cant believe the price is higher for current customers! this is ridiculous, i was going to get one, but i guess im waiting another year...

what is the upgrade price for owners of the 2G iPhone?

I would say this is more important because that are the people most likely to upgrade. If I had a 3G i would definately not upgrade for just a video camera.

I concur. I'm a likely candidate to upgrade now, but I won't.
Gouging existing customers who paid $500 for the original is really unconscionable by Apple and ATT, especially in this current economic crisis and the 2 year contract for many of those people is currently up. Not to mention my 2 year contract ATT price per month was CHEAPER than the CURRENT deals being offered to people. As well as the fact, well, let's face it, everyone knows a cell phone (especially a 3rd generation one based on the same design) doesn't cost $300-$500 to make even with R & D costs!

Makes no sense. Bad pricing strategy. Bad marketing.

Don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone, but I'll wait until pricing becomes sane for previous customers. I suspect, many will cancel their ATT contracts upon expiration, if they find out it's possible to get the current deals by ending their relationship with ATT. I know I'll be looking into this for sure.

I do think Apple & ATT will sell a ton of those $99 iPhones though.
I know several people who've been waiting for that price point, most of whom made fun of me for spending so much money, but secretly were envious of my iPhone!
Now they'll have a better one than me for $400 LESS!

 

[RonD69]

Disappointed with AT&T

I'm one of many who's upset that AT&T won't support tethering. And when I heard that there's a $200 premium for existing AT&T/iPhone users who subsidized their 3G, I went through the roof! I'm going to upgrade the software and wait until Apple realizes that AT&T is part of the problem and not a solutions partner.

I'm hoping and praying that Apple switches or ends the exclusivity agreement with AT&T.

 

[ToM7]

I don't get it..
i can buy the new iphone 3GS without a commitment to AT&T ?!..
just pay the full price?!.. sim free?!..
i hope u know what i mean

somebody?

 

[michelle21]

I'm worried about the impact on the developer network. I think apple should cut a deal for those users who are working to make this product a sucess. That may seem an unfair comment. But we are putting a lot of time and energy into this. And some funds. There are what 5,000 developers in the program, A very smaill number are dedicated iphone software companies, probably a somewhat larger number of corporate developers testing the waters and the vast majority small and independents.

With these upgrade prices only those with the revenue to support it can afford to upgrade thus a large number of developers won't be upgrading or have to make an alternative decision like we did. That gives an unfair advantage to the larger developers over the small ones and can hurt Apple if they are counting on the newest features voice and video to give them an advantage over the pre and other competitors.

Right now the profit margins are very very low. There is no way a small developer can make anykind of sizable profit right now, there are exceptions but at 3 - 5 dollars for an application which seems to be the selling sweet spot its just not going to happen.

Result

Some developers will do what I did, pay the premium or add service.

And even more just arn't going to upgrade yet, meaning only the dedicated iphone companies are going to offer the newest features, be prepared to spend 29 - 39 dollars for those apps not 99 to 3.99.

So Apple, who really is the big loser here.

Notice I say Apple, this really is apple's problem not Att's, however other companies like sprint do cut deals with customers, eg. when the instinct came out. So Att could recant but I doubt it, on the other hand Apple could offer developers a break, maybe by extending current developer fees that are going to be due again very soon. Or something.

 

[iPhoneNYC]

I'll go with the black one. 16 gig is fine with me. to tell the truth, haven't felt hampered by my current 8 gig.

 

[Roller]

What about encryption?

One of the new features I haven't heard discussed much yet is hardware encryption and rapid remote wipe (which, based on the keynote, is faster than what's going to be available with MobileMe.) My company has refused to support the iPhone because it lacked these features. I want to see how they're implemented, but I suspect that they'll open the door to the iPhone at many companies, including mine.

So, although I would have liked a front-facing camera, flash, no-additional-cost tethering from AT&T, and the other stuff people have been talking about, the new iPhone is going to be worth it for me.

 

[michelle21]

One of the new features I haven't heard discussed much yet is hardware encryption and rapid remote wipe (which, based on the keynote, is faster than what's going to be available with MobileMe.) My company has refused to support the iPhone because it lacked these features. I want to see how they're implemented, but I suspect that they'll open the door to the iPhone at many companies, including mine.

So, although I would have liked a front-facing camera, flash, no-additional-cost tethering from AT&T, and the other stuff people have been talking about, the new iPhone is going to be worth it for me.

Front facing camera would mean someone like us could (would) come up with somekind of video conferencing, that could impact future mms plans. And the carriers may of had a say in that.

 

[RonD69]

Agree

They got you to agree to a two-year contract for a phone they knew you'd want to replace in a year. Now you want to get a new phone but you haven't finished paying for the one you have.

And now you're pissed off at them, but you can't do anything about it because they got you under contract for months yet!

Who looks dumb now?

hehe...I do feel really dumb buying the 3G iPhone AND knowing that Apple's iPhone product cycle is about a once a year refresh, but STILL I bought the 3G at subsidized prices. Live and learn I guess. Now I'm going to wait for my contract to end next year and see what new goodies Apple will be offering.

 

[jayenh]

Now they'll have a better one than me for $400 LESS!

i'm confused... if you have a 1st gen (edge) iphone then there is no upgrade premium. not like there is for the 3g owners who still have 6-12 months of contract left. you'll be eligible to upgrade and be just like a 1st time customer. subbed new phone, new contract, no +£££/$$$ for the early upgrade.

if you have a 3g... well that's just the way technology is. its no different to buying a TV and choosing to pay it off over 1 year. in 6 months time you still have to pay it off but there is a better TV out and it probably costs less too... the finance company isn't going to say "damn, yeah, there's a new TV and its better. ok, you don't need to finish your payments. keep the TV and go buy yourself a new one ". you keep paying for the older piece of kit until you've finished paying back what you promised, which is exactly the same as a phone contract... you promised to pay them a set amount per month for 18/24 months....

 

[drober30]

Does the new iPhone 3Gs need the 7.2 Mbps in order to be up to twice as fast? According to AT&T, they have not even deployed this speed increase.

There would definitely be no reason to upgrade if the 3Gs is not going to be 2x faster out of the box. Speed of loading web pages is a major selling point for me.

Please read the info below from AT&T web site.

NETWORK
AT&T operates the nation's fastest 3G network, delivering the power and benefits of mobile broadband to consumers and businesses. iPhone 3G S will be compatible with High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 technology, which offers theoretical peak download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, though actual speeds will vary as these capabilities become available. AT&T plans to begin deploying HSPA 7.2 later this year, with completion expected in 2011.

 

[ozzyman500]

Well, when I logged in to the Apple Online Store it said I could get the 32GB for $499.00. Since I just got a 3G last October, I will probably get one around Christmas. If it's still something I really want.

 

[michelle21]

i'm confused... if you have a 1st gen (edge) iphone then there is no upgrade premium. not like there is for the 3g owners who still have 6-12 months of contract left. you'll be eligible to upgrade and be just like a 1st time customer. subbed new phone, new contract, no +£££/$$$ for the early upgrade.

if you have a 3g... well that's just the way technology is. its no different to buying a TV and choosing to pay it off over 1 year. in 6 months time you still have to pay it off but there is a better TV out and it probably costs less too... the finance company isn't going to say "damn, yeah, there's a new TV and its better. ok, you don't need to finish your payments. keep the TV and go buy yourself a new one ". you keep paying for the older piece of kit until you've finished paying back what you promised, which is exactly the same as a phone contract... you promised to pay them a set amount per month for 18/24 months....

And why does Sprint and other carriers do it. .. Could be because you make more off premium services than you subsidized that phone for.

When I contract with a finance company I don't subscribe to a service from them, its a flat contract. With a cell phone carrier I have a finance contract and a variable subscription plan.

I love these apple and oranges justifications. There is definitely a problem with how this is being handled. Maybe someone will do something about it but most likely not.

 

[AlfaLavala]

O2 are seeming half decent now compared to AT&T...!

 

[michelle21]

O2 are seeming half decent now compared to AT&T...!

Again, you can't expect ATT to change its business model.

If someone is going to do something its apple.

They stand the most to lose.

Both from the developer side and the customer side.

 

[.:R2theT]

Right now the profit margins are very very low. There is no way a small developer can make anykind of sizable profit right now, there are exceptions but at 3 - 5 dollars for an application which seems to be the selling sweet spot its just not going to happen.

Most developers seem to be doing alright. In fact, all the stories I read talk about developers quitting their other jobs to just develop for iPhone.

Result

Some developers will do what I did, pay the premium or add service.

And even more just arn't going to upgrade yet, meaning only the dedicated iphone companies are going to offer the newest features, be prepared to spend 29 - 39 dollars for those apps not 99 to 3.99.

So Apple, who really is the big loser here.

Notice I say Apple, this really is apple's problem not Att's, however other companies like sprint do cut deals with customers, eg. when the instinct came out. So Att could recant but I doubt it, on the other hand Apple could offer developers a break, maybe by extending current developer fees that are going to be due again very soon. Or something.

Apple seems to be doing just fine even with the high price of entry for the first 3G or even the original iPhone for that matter. They have way more development for apps. than any other phone.

And BTW, welcome to the world of business. You need the right gear to succeed. And for that gear you have to pay.

Everyone needs to understand that both Apple and AT&T agreed on these prices. No one is in the dark here. Except for maybe delusional consumers who think they deserve something for nothing. Again, welcome to the world of business.