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AT&T has 48 hours to answer iPhone pricing complaints

Wouldn't the solution be for AT&T to just EXTEND anyone's contract by two years if they wanted to buy the 3GS and their contract wasn't up yet?

That way, they'd get the full two years from the current contract, plus two more years from the new contract. AT&T wouldn't loose any money and customers would be happy.
 
jjk454ss said:
Think anything will come of this? I'm thinking no, but can't hurt to try.
http://www.computerworld.com/action...leBasic&articleId=9134267&intsrc=news_ts_head
There are Twitter and Facebook groups to join if you think it might work.
Click to expand...

This won't happen. People think AT&T is charity for their cause. Those people should really read well what they sign on when they purchase a subsidized phone. It is clearly stated in that contract, all you have to do is read. However, people tend to omit that in their "excitement". Then, because of this these same people come and bitch and moan when they single-handily agreed to the state they are now in.

No matter how many people sign, AT&T won't do a thing but point out the contract rules people signed. Hence, those people will have nothing to do but wait.
 
@sdphotog

NO that's not a solution at ALL. . .

Stop thinking as a consumer and start thinking as an CEO. . . They give you a break last year. YOU signed a two year agreement! WHAT made you think it would happen again? :rolleyes:

Stop nagging about something you can't change, buy the phone or move on.

Can't wait to get mine (I actually skipped the wack 3G "upgrade") :cool:
 
sdphotog said:
Wouldn't the solution be for AT&T to just EXTEND anyone's contract by two years if they wanted to buy the 3GS and their contract wasn't up yet?

That way, they'd get the full two years from the current contract, plus two more years from the new contract. AT&T wouldn't loose any money and customers would be happy.
Click to expand...

If you think people are complaining now, with only 1 year left on their contract, think of the amount of complaining there would be if people had 3 or 4 years left on their contract. The amount of goodwill that AT&T would lose would be enormous.
 
I'm not complaining, just offering an idea.

I bought both the 1Gen and 2Gen phones on launch day, and somehow, I'm eligible to buy the new phone at the $199/$299 prices.
 
sdphotog said:
Wouldn't the solution be for AT&T to just EXTEND anyone's contract by two years if they wanted to buy the 3GS and their contract wasn't up yet?

That way, they'd get the full two years from the current contract, plus two more years from the new contract. AT&T wouldn't loose any money and customers would be happy.
Click to expand...

No b/c they would have to take out more and more subsidy loans
 
And peoples contracts would get up to like 10 yrs and then only have to pay 175 to then terminate that line that they saved $1,000 dollars on
 
EPIC FAIL!

Read your contract, try to run your own business and see how it works when you just make everything super cheap to please your customers. The fact is people will buy the iPhone 3GS whatever the cost no matter how many complain.
 
Perhaps I'm a unique case, but I have no problem paying $399 for the new iPhone if I choose to buy one. I already got the 3G for $200, I don't expect another discount so soon. In fact, I'm fairly happy that I'll be eligible for an early upgrade in December of this year, so I can get the next iPhone when it comes out in June/July 2010.
 
sdphotog said:
Wouldn't the solution be for AT&T to just EXTEND anyone's contract by two years if they wanted to buy the 3GS and their contract wasn't up yet?

That way, they'd get the full two years from the current contract, plus two more years from the new contract. AT&T wouldn't loose any money and customers would be happy.
Click to expand...

No. The solution would be for Apple or AT&T to sell anyone a 3GS phone for 599/699 and not extend a contract.

Why the hell would I pay FULL RETAIL on a phone, obviously accepting NO SUBSIDY and yet have to EXTEND MY CONTRACT with the carrier? They want to have their cake and eat it too.

I'll gladly drop the $700, but I'm not renewing my contract.

Yes other carriers renew contracts upon receipt of a subsidy but the iPhone is the only device they'll sell you at full retail with contract renewal requirements.

That is lame.
 
sdphotog said:
Wouldn't the solution be for AT&T to just EXTEND anyone's contract by two years if they wanted to buy the 3GS and their contract wasn't up yet?

That way, they'd get the full two years from the current contract, plus two more years from the new contract. AT&T wouldn't loose any money and customers would be happy.
Click to expand...

Nope, they'd still loose money (in theory anyway). Allow me to explain:

AT&T buy the iPhone at a wholesale price and sell it on to a bunch of whiny cu..stomers at a subsidised price. Let's say that subsidy is $240 (yeah, I'm making the maths easy, sue me). This subsidy is then built into the cost of the monthly subscription so over a two year contract $10 of each monthly payment goes to AT&T to recoup that loan. It's a little more complicated than that but it's good enough for this example.

Let's suppose they do the same thing with this years model, so a $240 subsidy that's repayed at $10 a month. Now, an iPhone 3G owner who bought their phone on the first day of availability is offered a two year contract extension on the 3G S which kicks in a year after the first purchase for a total of three years. AT&T have now given that customer 2 iPhones so 2 x $240 for a total subsidy of $480. However that customer is only on a three year contract in total so they repay just $360.

Actually, it'd get worse because the bitching, moaning, whining and general complaining kicks in all over again next year and the cycle begins all over again but with precedent of AT&T giving their customers $120 for free every year.

So no, if you've signed up to a contract you're going to have to see that contract out. AT&T are 100% correct here and those complaining need to learn some personal responsibility.
 
The spoiled Apple junkies have the same attitude that they are entitled to the latest and greatest even though they can't afford it. They want someone else to finance it for them, and when they realize they can't read a contract and end up with something they don't want they cry about it hoping someone bails them out.

The same type of people think interest only home loans are a good deal... spoiled and too stupid to realize why every wireless carrier has to have people sign contracts.

They will be the same people next year complaining they just paid the higher price, signed yet another contract and still don't get it. Apple will release another upgraded iPhone and you will still be financing the last one.

Pay the FULL price and you won't have to worry about it, oh wait.. you can't afford it and just expect someone else to take care of your bad decision.

Gotta love spoiled Americans.
 
I'm happy that all I have to pay is the $499 price and not $699. I have only had my current 3G contract since Christmas so I was thinking I was gonna have to pay full price. I fully inderstand what a contract is and not wasting my time signing some stupid internet petition that won't do a thing.

I'm ready for my 3G S in one week!
 
I say change the rate plan for Data and Text messages. That is where we are getting robbed. It will cost me an additional $10 a month for text messages when I upgrade from my an iPhone 2G to an iPhone 3GS. $50 a month for data and text? That is almost as much as I pay for the calling plan. We should be signing a petition about the plans and not the price of the phone. I bought my 2G iPhone when it was $400...

Come on AT&T... gives us a break on data and texting...!
 
kdarling said:
It's bad enough that ATT has what? Almost a half billion dollars tied up in iPhone 3G subsidy loans? Earnings diluted badly for a year and a half. Having to spend billions updating their network to accommodate the iPhone users.

And now a bunch of them want more loans for nothing?

With customers like that, Verizon must be happy they turned Apple down!
Click to expand...

In my personal experience, iPhone owners in "real life" aren't like the ones in this forum. Not saying either is better, but the ones I know understand the subsidy and don't really care to upgrade early and, even if they could most are happy with what they have and wouldn't want to pay the extra $299 a year later for an upgrade, they just as soon wait another year. I'm just saying, not that they are better people, just different priorities.
 
wouldn't it still be cheaper to pay the ETF which would be down to $105 after the pro-rated from a year ago and then sign a new contact? that is what I have always said I would do and they just go ahead and give me it at the pricing to avoid the hassle of doing all that.
 
sdsvtdriver said:
No. The solution would be for Apple or AT&T to sell anyone a 3GS phone for 599/699 and not extend a contract.
Click to expand...

There was some ambiguity on that point in the first day or so after the iPhone 3G S announcement, because Apple's website seemed to conflict with AT&T's in regards to the terms of the $599/$699 pricing.

Apple's website claims in a footnote that the $599 and $699 prices still requires a new 2-year commitment, but a press release from AT&T says that the $599/$699 price is no-commitment.

link

Since AT&T, not Apple, is the one that's actually responsible for customer's accounts, I'd be inclined to take them at their word - the $599/$699 prices will not require extending an existing contract or entering into a new 2-year contract.

(And by extension, if you opt for the no-commitment price this year, you'll probably be eligible to get next year's model at the fully subsidized price.)
 
AT&T has 24 to 48 hours to answer the rising tide of complaints from iPhone owners who are furious over its pricing policy for the new iPhone 3G S, a crisis communications expect said today
Click to expand...

The only "crisis" AT&T has on its hands is the number of WAAAAAMbulances they're going to have to call out for whiners. That, and I wouldn't be surprised if AT&T is now questioning the wisdom of this exclusivity agreement.

In partnering with Apple, AT&T managed to align itself as a service provider for Apple geeks and faux-Apple geeks - by far the most fickle group of gadget geeks on the planet, with the largest unjustified sense of entitlement ever known. And now AT&T is paying for it on the PR front. Make no mistake: if this had been Verizon, or Sprint, or T-Mobile, the same thing would've happened, and the same complaints (coverage, data pricing, etc) would be just as rampant.

I'm getting the iPhone 3G S. A white one, 32GB. And I'm paying the price Apple and AT&T are quoting, because at the end of the day I don't *need* to upgrade. My existing iPhone would do me just fine for another year, and will run OS 3.0 and enable all of the features I really wanted. A compass, video, voice command and 7.2MBps HSPA wasn't something I needed a year ago, and it isn't an absolute necessity now. And I realize that if I want it and am unwilling to wait for it, then I must pay for it.

Besides, once I get it, I'll eBay my old one and recoup some of the cost. My Black 3G has an Invisible Shield on it, and is spotless, still has 2 years left of a SquareTrade warranty, and I saved the box and accessories, so it should fetch a decent price which will help defray my upgrade cost. It pays to take care of your electronics.
 
My opinion is, these two companies are at fault. One wants to make a product each year, and the customer base wants the new product each year, not many people like to have old equipment when there are features "turned off" in software that they can't use. What does AT&T do to make it worse? They make you sign a 2 year contract, the longest contract should be 1 year. Or Apple should make an iPhone every 2 years, either both of them get in sync or the partnership is doomed to fail. They are butting heads. I agree with the article, AT&T should have one price. If they think they are subsidizing the price too much then they shouldn't have done that. I shelled out $1000 for my first 2 iPhones and then another 400 for my 2 16GB 3Gs. I pay $150 a month for the service. That's $3600 in the last 2 years. AT&T made a butt load off of me the first year with no subsidy. Then made another $1800 this year. They recouped their Subsidy. They need to open this stuff up and show that they are committed to their customers now, because if they don't, next year when a 4G Verizon phone comes to market and my contract IS over, I'll be in that line.
 
goosnarrggh said:
There was some ambiguity on that point in the first day or so after the iPhone 3G S announcement, because Apple's website seemed to conflict with AT&T's in regards to the terms of the $599/$699 pricing.

Apple's website claims in a footnote that the $599 and $699 prices still requires a new 2-year commitment, but a press release from AT&T says that the $599/$699 price is no-commitment.

link

Since AT&T, not Apple, is the one that's actually responsible for customer's accounts, I'd be inclined to take them at their word - the $599/$699 prices will not require extending an existing contract or entering into a new 2-year contract.

(And by extension, if you opt for the no-commitment price this year, you'll probably be eligible to get next year's model at the fully subsidized price.)
Click to expand...

The only way I would trust that is if you can put the SIM from your 3G in the 3GS and have it work without any sort of activation.

The fact that Apple forces activation through iTunes gives AT&T the opportunity to change when your contract ends. Which is why unlocking the phone is such a big deal.
 
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