iPhone 3G rollout potential disaster

[TXCraig]

I'm more curious about the fact that when I bought the original iPhone, I was not eligible for upgrade, having just bought a Curve about a month and a half prior. They seem to be saying that original iPhone owners are exempt from this upgrade period, but I'm wondering how specific that is. I'll pay whatever I pay, as I expected to pay way more than 200 bucks for the new one, but I'm unclear on this.

Think of it this way. AT&T will give you a subed phone every two years. The 1st G iPhone was NOT a subed phone so it does not count. You will get your next subed phone 2 years from the day you purchased your Curve.

Does that makes since to you? Its really very simple.

 

[aristobrat]

If you logon to your AT&T account and click on "Phone/Device", doesn't it tell you if you're eligible or not?

Here's what mine says. When I bought my iPhone on launch day last year, I also signed up for AT&T for the first time. Haven't received any other phone from them, so technically I'm 11 months into my 24 month contract.

 

[Kremner]

Why Wait?

Thanks for the interesting discussion. I think I will wait until after the launch and give things a chance to settle down before I buy.

Again, thanks from Jonathan Kremner (current Treo user) for the good discussion on this thread.

 

[DreamPod]

Silly semantics. The things is, Apple sure referred to the iPhone as a smartphone- calling it as such and gathering data on its market share of the smartphone market.

It's not semantics. The new plan has NOTHING to do with 3G whatsoever. Because Apple called it a smartphone, didn't make it a smartphone. It wasn't one at all. A smartphone is expandable through third-party Apps - that's what makes it "smart". The iPhone wasn't a true smart phone until OS 2.0. Now that it is a smart phone, and now that AT&T is fully subsidizing it, they are making new iPhone customers use their smart phone plan. A smart phone usually has higher data rates than a normal phone, so it's more costly.

They aren't changing the price for people who are already paying the old price, because that would piss people off, and give them a chance to get out of their contracts without paying the ETF; a bad combination.

 

[Mike2128]

Think of it this way. AT&T will give you a subed phone every two years. The 1st G iPhone was NOT a subed phone so it does not count. You will get your next subed phone 2 years from the day you purchased your Curve.

Does that makes since to you? Its really very simple.

I'm sensing a bit of an attitude here.

Anyway, here's my point...

In reading all of these "everything you need to know..." questionnaires with anonymous at&t spokesperson on each of the gadget blogs, they always seem to list three types of customers eligible for iPhone subsidizing (new customers, upgrade eligible customers, and current iPhone customers). Now, none of these blogs or spokespeople have defined current iPhone users or even limited that to current iPhone users who also happen to be eligible, it's just current iPhone users.

I'm a current iPhone user and have been since it came out, so provided there aren't any other caveats to this, I'm wondering if that is enough to get me in there. Like I said, I don't mind paying what I have to pay, but they've been so vague about .

The only place I've ever seen the explanation that it's because of lack of subsidy on the original phone is on these (or other) boards. No at&t rep has said it's because the original was full price. I'm curious as to whether or not this is a move on Apple and at&t's part to reward loyalty to the iPhone line by continuing to allow iPhone customers to upgrade regardless.

It's just a thought.

 

[aristobrat]

I'm a current iPhone user and have been since it came out, so provided there aren't any other caveats to this, I'm wondering if that is enough to get me in there.

When you logon to AT&T and check your account, what does it say when you click "Phones/Devices"? That should take some of the wondering out, no?

 

[aridon]

I'll be waiting a few days before I buy and watching the epic bitching here. I could care less if I buy almost the exact same phone I have now a few days later and actually go into it informed.

 

[richard4339]

I am actually surprised AT&T didn't just raise the rates of the 2G iPhones at the same time. Of course that would have been a material change to our contracts, but it would have kept this comparison from taking place.

In order to not break the current contracts, the $20 plan will probably go away once the existing customer's two year contracts are up. So, if you bought an iPhone last year, next year, you probably will go to the new $30 rate regardless.