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Contract and Subsidy Issues for iPhone Users Looking to Upgrade to iPhone 3G S
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Yes, you definitely need to talk to someone. If you had the original "2G" iPhone, then you never took advantage of the subsidy and should be eligible immediately for subsidized pricing on either the iPhone 3G or iPhone 3G S.
Just a note to add: I bought the original iPhone, then upgraded to the iPhone 3G last July when my local AT&T store finally fulfilled my preorder (remember those AT&T store que tracking sites???). Anyway, I checked my eligibility for the iPhone 3G S, and it says that I am eligible for the full discount on 7/30/09. That's exactly 12 months after I purchased the subsidized iPhone 3G, so that matches up with what the macrumors article at the beginning of this thread said.
Another note: I bought my wife both an original iPhone and an iPhone 3G at the same times that I bought mine, but her iPhone 3G got water damaged and I replaced it back in May (through SquareTrade coverage). I paid $499 for the 16GB model, and they gave me a $200 discount because I was already an iPhone 3G owner (otherwise, they said it was going to be $699). I don't know what discount they used, but my wife's account says that she is not eligible for the full iPhone 3G S subsidy until May 2011.
Then it's not really a 3 year contract is it?
Anyone who really hates AT&T is free to pay $700 for an unlocked iPhone on eBay and then sign with whatever carrier you wish.
You should upgrade with no problems....did you go to a store or talk to ATT on the phone ?
Verizon would be worse. Higher costs, no upgrade until 2 mo. the before the end of your contract, and they would figure out some way to charge you for the Apps store.
Can you imagine Verizon letting users get free games while they are pushing BREW versions of the same stuff for $5 - 10 each?
Haven't interacted with a live person yet. It's all been online. I definitely need to talk to someone.
Also: Just curious if anyone knows if AT&T ever started allowing corporate discounts on iPhone plans. I'm entitled to a very generous 24% discount through my employer, but it didn't apply on my original iPhone. I suspect the answer is no, but hey, you never know!
you should definitely go to an ATT store. the live chat section on att is useless !! even on the phone, you have to cross your fingers to get someone smart enough to understand your issue.
I get 21% off my bill and for some reason the data plan for the iphone went down to $24 when I upgraded my wifes phone a couple of days ago ..I guess that that is 21% off
Discouraged
I guess I can understand the whole subsidized/unsubsidized issues, but what angers me is that we as iPhone users still pay SO MUCH MONEY every month for a service that we cannot fully use! I live in upstate New York and 3G service in my area is only available in the big cities. Granted, i live in an area that has 3G service, but as soon as I get out of that area, its GONE! Why do we pay sooo much per month for a service we cannot have full access to such as Sprint or Verizon?? I don't know, just seems crazy, but, we all want iPhones and we are subject to AT&T's shoddy service. We use Sprint for our mobile broadband service for our toughbooks because it's just a faster service. Oh well. Yeah, the new 3G S sounds pretty cool, but i won't be upgrading until my service contract allows me. You would think that with all the upgrading that current iPhone users would be doing, and signing ANOTHER 2 year contract, that AT&T would be able to recoup that extra $200 from use. Not like they don't charge us enough anyways for a network with a total lack of 3G coverage.
I guess I can understand the whole subsidized/unsubsidized issues, but what angers me is that we as iPhone users still pay SO MUCH MONEY every month for a service that we cannot fully use! I live in upstate New York and 3G service in my area is only available in the big cities. Granted, i live in an area that has 3G service, but as soon as I get out of that area, its GONE! Why do we pay sooo much per month for a service we cannot have full access to such as Sprint or Verizon?? I don't know, just seems crazy, but, we all want iPhones and we are subject to AT&T's shoddy service. We use Sprint for our mobile broadband service for our toughbooks because it's just a faster service. Oh well. Yeah, the new 3G S sounds pretty cool, but i won't be upgrading until my service contract allows me. You would think that with all the upgrading that current iPhone users would be doing, and signing ANOTHER 2 year contract, that AT&T would be able to recoup that extra $200 from use. Not like they don't charge us enough anyways for a network with a total lack of 3G coverage.
Bit The Bullet & Reserved My 3G S For $499 Next Friday Morn After 11 Months With A 3G
Well I am at an age where I might be dead by the time my $299 upgrade becomes available in December. Moreover, I plan to buy the new iPhone every year - I don't believe any iPhone model will remain for sale longer than 1 year each. So might as well get used to the idea we have to help AT&T pay for the hardware each year after our first year of subsidy. I was upset at first. But now I understand the reason we have to pay more after only 11 months on the subsidized contract. No more complaints from me. Bring on the new hardware and cost be damned!
As far as I'm concerned the iPhone is a Pocket Mac/Still Camera/Video Camera/Swiss Army Knife of Communications Devices that incidentally happens to also be a phone - a phone I rarely use - so its value far exceeds even the $499 early get in price to me - particularly with 32GB of RAM.
Well I am at an age where I might be dead by the time my $299 upgrade becomes available in December. Moreover, I plan to buy the new iPhone every year - I don't believe any iPhone model will remain for sale longer than 1 year each. So might as well get used to the idea we have to help AT&T pay for the hardware each year after our first year of subsidy. I was upset at first. But now I understand the reason we have to pay more after only 11 months on the subsidized contract. No more complaints from me. Bring on the new hardware and cost be damned!
As far as I'm concerned the iPhone is a Pocket Mac/Still Camera/Video Camera/Swiss Army Knife of Communications Devices that incidentally happens to also be a phone - a phone I rarely use - so its value far exceeds even the $499 early get in price to me - particularly with 32GB of RAM.
Well I am at an age where I might be dead by the time my $299 upgrade becomes available in December. Moreover, I plan to buy the new iPhone every year - I don't believe any iPhone model will remain for sale longer than 1 year each. So might as well get used to the idea we have to help AT&T pay for the hardware each year after our first year of subsidy. I was upset at first. But now I understand the reason we have to pay more after only 11 months on the subsidized contract. No more complaints from me. Bring on the new hardware and cost be damned!
As far as I'm concerned the iPhone is a Pocket Mac/Still Camera/Video Camera/Swiss Army Knife of Communications Devices that incidentally happens to also be a phone - a phone I rarely use - so its value far exceeds even the $499 early get in price to me - particularly with 32GB of RAM.
Cheers!
Well I am at an age where I might be dead by the time my $299 upgrade becomes available in December. Moreover, I plan to buy the new iPhone every year - I don't believe any iPhone model will remain for sale longer than 1 year each. So might as well get used to the idea we have to help AT&T pay for the hardware each year after our first year of subsidy. I was upset at first. But now I understand the reason we have to pay more after only 11 months on the subsidized contract. No more complaints from me. Bring on the new hardware and cost be damned!
As far as I'm concerned the iPhone is a Pocket Mac/Still Camera/Video Camera/Swiss Army Knife of Communications Devices that incidentally happens to also be a phone - a phone I rarely use - so its value far exceeds even the $499 early get in price to me - particularly with 32GB of RAM.
If it was a fully upgraded different Iphone (design and hardware) ..$499 will be okay but for the 3GS I think ATT and apple are exaggerating a bit by asking current 3G users to pay that much !!
Verizon has 70 million wireless customers. Give or take a few million. I think even if it's not a WORLD phone. It's worthwhile for Apple to make a CDMA iPhone to reel in a few MILLION Verizon customers. Apple also get to keep those unhappy ATT customers happy because they will buy a NEW iPhone from Verizon.
Win for Verizon, Apple and consumers....not so good for At&t
come on now. Apple didn't ask you to pay that much. You WANT the phone. They are quoting a price.
well guess that is okay ..since ATT has the exclusivity they can do whatever they want
Well I am at an age where I might be dead by the time my $299 upgrade becomes available in December. Moreover, I plan to buy the new iPhone every year - I don't believe any iPhone model will remain for sale longer than 1 year each. So might as well get used to the idea we have to help AT&T pay for the hardware each year after our first year of subsidy. I was upset at first. But now I understand the reason we have to pay more after only 11 months on the subsidized contract. No more complaints from me. Bring on the new hardware and cost be damned!
As far as I'm concerned the iPhone is a Pocket Mac/Still Camera/Video Camera/Swiss Army Knife of Communications Devices that incidentally happens to also be a phone - a phone I rarely use - so its value far exceeds even the $499 early get in price to me - particularly with 32GB of RAM.
I feel a little different than you on this, as I refuse to be held hostage to overpaying. I was really excited about the new IPhone, but I'm not eligible until December for a subsidy. I've decided to skip this generation of IPhone...as painful as that is for me. I think many people will do the same thing.
I'd do the same thing. If you have to wait until December anyway, you only have about six months to wait until the fourth generation phone is released. IMO you either upgrade immediately or within a few months of a new iPhone release, or you might as well hold for the next one.
On an unrelated note, anybody know if it's possible to transfer a first gen iPhone to someone else and maintain the less expensive data plan? I'd like to go on a family plan with my fiancee and give her my first gen iphone, but if AT&T requires it to be on the newer data plan with 3G pricing, I'll just get her a 3GS instead.
So your saying the coverage is not very good for 3g right? Would you like AT&T to upgrade that? Would you like LTE to come out?? How do you think they do that? They use revenue to pay for that upgrades? If they loose the $200 yes they will recoup the money and not loose but this is not all about phone costs they have other costs....
Lets say even though this is a way way way low number that their are 10 Million 3G iPhones on AT&T.
10 Million x $200= 2,000,000,000
That is 2 Billion Dollars Now lets say that only 20% of those are upgrades that do not qualify.. This is again a way way way low number... But to avoid people saying I inflated numbers I am deflating them way below the real numbers.
Total Amount AT&T is Loosing: $500,000,000
500 Million Dollars... Do you know what they means to network expansion.....
Think about it... SO you would rather pay less and not get new coverage..
Sure, it happens all the time. Anyone with a Verizon (or Sprint or ATT) smartphone can download any applications they want, free or not, from anywhere.
Hint: You're talking about dumbphones. We're all talking about smartphones. The rules are way different.
In this case, it's Apple that has the restrictions on what apps we can download.
Exact same situation here, bought my in Nov/Dec 2007 and now had to pay $399 to get the 3GS (never bought a 3G model). I spoke to AT&T and Apple for hours, different supervisors and no luck.
1. Do you REALLY get 35% back from Bing?? I'll believe it when I see it. There maybe "qualifying issues such as NEW customers to AT&T wireless or such".
2. it works if you don't mind changing cell numbers yearly.