Yes, last year 09 and also July 08, if you qualifed for an early upgrade, you just paid $200 more the the lowest subsized price. Last year, you could even pre-order on announce day and have it delivered to your home on launch day rather then stand in line.
Random comment: There was a great UPS tracking tread that kept many of us up late tracking our flights from China.
Dave
I thought in July 08 when the 3G came out everyone was allowed to purchase it at the subsized price? I could be wrong but I remember my friend saying that last year when the 3GS came out.