Exactly. I don't know why Apple haters talk about "fan boys" so much when apparently "fan boys" and "fan girls" often have nothing to talk about, but to complain (it's almost like Steve needs to start handing out golden calfs).
The real issue, in my opinion, is the required 2-year contract. Obligatory contracts *never* benefit the consumer in this market, because:
a) prices generally go down over time...yet you're stuck paying the same price for 24 months
b) your life changes...if you move to a place that doesn't get great reception you either cough up the money or just accept the fact you cant make calls
The only reason I can see to want a contract is if you get a subsidy on the phone. Getting a Motorola Q for $80 is a pretty darn good deal. I'm willing to take on the burden of a contract for that deal.
If the iphone is $600 with or without a plan, then no consumer has any incentive to sign a contract. And yet they *have* to, in order to use this phone. The contract is really a hidden cost that people haven't really talked about yet.
So its not the $175 cancellation fee itself (which as fees go on 2 year contracts *is* pretty standard), but the fact that there's a contract all to be canceled. The consumer is getting nothing in return for signing away their rights for the next two years.
This is what I fundamentally hate about the cell phone industry. When your contract runs out, they will sign you up for a new one whether you ask for it or not, whether you bought a new phone or not. If you buy a phone at market price by going on ebay or to some other 3rd party, they sign you for a contract whether you ask for it or not.
It gets me mad enough that I could curse and rant for a long time about it, but suffice it to say that Sprint got a long letter from the BBB when they pulled that crap on me, paid me $200 to settle the matter, and lost me as a customer immediately afterward. I'm on Verizon now, and I'm afraid they will do the same thing, but I'm going to wait and see.
When the iPhone was first announced, there was a lot of buzz about Apple turning the industry upside down and inside out...but its just hot air. They are doing the same crap the other companies do, the only material difference is that they control the pricing. In the end, the consumers still lose.