Relief of not buying iPhone 3GS?

[SephirothXR]

I'm sure Apple had plans of putting an improved camera into the 3G, but realized that it would be better to put this feature into the 3GS to make it more appealing. A lot of us would have still payed $199 or $299 for the phone even though we had some gut feeling that it was a rip off and it would be more economical to wait until next year, until we found out that it'll actually cost $599 and $699 because AT&T wants to charge us for upgrading.

Now we're forced to go with a more economical decision: to wait till next year for an even better upgrade with REAL upgrades. In all honesty, the 3G is already a great phone that is hindered by its network, the 3GS is a moderate upgrade. Just think of the possibilities: by being pressured into not upgrading now, we may get the opportunity to buy an even better phone next year AS WELL AS cancel the AT&T contract if Apple comes to its senses and pairs with any carrier so we can use a good network. I know a lot of people here will buy the 3GS nonetheless, but I think this mistake by AT&T to charge a lot gives us the perfect excuse to go with the more economical decision instead of extending the contract with a disappointing phone. What do you guys think?

 

[beamer8912]

I agree with everything the OP said.

Apple's failure to deliver a significant upgrade is really great news for me. I can now sit back and relax for a year, and wait until Apple releases a better upgrade next year. Either that, or like the OP said, Apple will ditch AT&T and make a CDMA phone for Verizon.

Then I won't need to cancel any contracts from AT&T and I'll finally ditch the horrible service.

 

[JustinP81]

I agree.

AT&T is shooting itself in the foot by not allowing a cheaper upgrade price for existing 3G owners.

All that will happen is that when this time comes around next year, us 3G users who didn't give in and get a 3GS (which is going to be a hard thing for me to do!) will ABSOLUTELY jump ship from AT&T and get the 4th gen iPhone and use it on a new network, maybe of our own choosing.

They would be smart to take 3G users, allow them to upgrade, and lock them in for another year or two.

 

[MBHockey]

Totally agreed.

I think it's a solid upgrade for 1st gen owners, but there's too many similarities between my current 3G and the 3GS. If you could ONLY get 3.0 on the 3GS, well then it'd be a much tougher decision for me to make.

I still want to play with one in the store to see how fast the app launching is, but I never really thought "Damn, my iPhone 3G launches apps slowly"

I think this only leaves the door open for next summer to have a much more significant upgrade, and even though I'll be upgrade eligible in December, I will probably hold out till next summer. At that point I'll have completed my two year agreement with AT&T also. They won't have me by the balls if there's more competitive prices for iPhones on other carriers.

 

[bigchief]

I'm sure every one of you have Apple and AT&T shaking in their boots.

 

[Untaken]

I agree with pretty much everything said in this thread so far. Not much else for me to add, though I will once again express my disappointment in Apple for not changing the external design AT ALL (resulting in the same @#$%ing defects as the 3G). I would have bought one in a second had they changed the external design but now there's not a chance in hell of me buying one. Bring on 2010! Can't wait to see what happens with the NEXT iPhone and other potential carriers (Verizon plz kthx).

 

[bjquach]

You never know. AT&T may realize some 3G owners aren't upgrading and may change the upgrade requirements for us in a month or two.

 

[TheMBC]

iPhone 3G S isn't really targeted to the customers who have the 3G already (although it's no doubt that they left some features they could have put in the 3G out to entice us more) but it's really aimed at the iPhone 2.5G owners and those that don't have an iPhone just yet. Just a minor upgrade, and really, many phone companies have done this in the past. Sidekick comes to mind, each upgrade is just something VERY minor... in fact the newest Sidekick only added 3G, which could be incentive enough. Just like video recording could be good enough for some 3G owners.

Besides: the ONLY reason AT&T is charging to upgrade early is because the iPhone 3G was subsidized, the original iPhone was NOT. It's the same for any other phone! Are we over this already?

 

[lasuther]

AT&T is doing us a favor. Now we can wait until next year to upgrade for an iphone with minor upgrades that should be firmware updates, but we have to buy a new iphone to get them.

 

[SephirothXR]

Without the iPhone, AT&T is almost nothing, they instantly lose millions of customers, I can't wait to see them tumble because the cell phone market is immensely tough: something like 90%+ of Americans already have a cell phone, so you have to convince others to come to your network, and to make your network really unreliable doesn't help.

 

[Lenxal]

I agree.

AT&T is shooting itself in the foot by not allowing a cheaper upgrade price for existing 3G owners.

All that will happen is that when this time comes around next year, us 3G users who didn't give in and get a 3GS (which is going to be a hard thing for me to do!) will ABSOLUTELY jump ship from AT&T and get the 4th gen iPhone and use it on a new network, maybe of our own choosing.

They would be smart to take 3G users, allow them to upgrade, and lock them in for another year or two.

We are spoiled..
3g Users are allowed to upgrade for a cheaper price
its the early upgrade starting at $399
Customers are even lucky to even get to do an early upgrade because you guys AGREED to sign up for a 2 YEAR CONTRACT

 

[bjquach]

Look on the bright side. Next year, the 3Gs people can't upgrade at the discounted rate, but we can!

 

[Goona]

I think y'all are jealous of the 3GS.

 

[0098386]

I for one will be getting one, it's missing 2 features that I would have liked (front facing camera and FM radio), but ho hum. Faster internet, faster running speed, better battery, better camera, 32gb. What a machine!

Tethering wont be for me though. Not until there's a price drop with o2 (or bundle it free with some fair use policy).

 

[Skydiver32]

I can't wait to dump AT&T. I would really like to go back to Verizon for their network, however, how much freedom are we going to have with Verizon. Their m.o. is crippled every phone and charge more for those crippled services.

 

[Knoxville3G]

I definitely will be waiting til next summer for the 4th gen iPhone. THAT's when I bet we see a major cosmetic revision with even better/faster hardware. Hey, maybe by then AT&T will have MMS up and running

I'm definitely in agreement that AT&T will likely see how many 3G customers are not upgrading and will lower the upgrade charge (or possibly eliminate it.....but I'm doubting that.)

If for some reason Apple is able to break away from AT&T and move to another carrier, I'm SO on board. Verizon coverage in my state is awesome and the iPhone was the only reason I left Verizon.

All in all, a good WWDC. Very impressed with the price cuts on Macs and the CHEAP Snow Leopard upgrade cost. New iPhone for me?......not now, maybe I'll upgrade at my specified time in December.

 

[JustinP81]

We are spoiled..
3g Users are allowed to upgrade for a cheaper price
its the early upgrade starting at $399
Customers are even lucky to even get to do an early upgrade because you guys AGREED to sign up for a 2 YEAR CONTRACT

I agree, we are spoiled.

I honestly, HONESTLY, don't think that a phone that will be upgraded once a year by Apple should be more than $400 dollars though. However, when you break it down, it's about 37 dollars a month, which is equal to a gym membership. So what's important to me? The gym and health, or a new phone?

That said, yes, I signed and agreed to the contract I signed. So I have to sleep in my bed since I made it.

Doesn't mean that I have to A: agree with it or B: like it.

I stand by my stance that both companies should look out for those of us who have owned two iPhones already, though. I'm not asking for a handout, but some CONSIDERATION would be nice.

 

[dukebound85]

after owning a 3g i will from now on go to a CHEAPER network wth the pre or whatnot and just get the ipod touch

not a fan of paying near 100 a month for 450 min and an unlimited text plan

 

[Mac6272]

Chill

I was freaking out at first too but i just realized on the apple site that im eligible for the normal upgrade on 7.12.2009 thats the day i bought my 3g so basically if you bought a 3G on the release date you don't have to wait more than a month to get the normal price, so stop freaking out i think you can wait a couple more weeks.

 

[maflynn]

This upgrade appears to be inline with apple's philosophy. They just keep refining and improving the product without trying to add everything in at once.

While the update appears to be minor, I think its significant in providing 2x speeds (network dependent), a better camera with auto-focus and voice commands. I question the utility of the compass - just seems more jee-whiz to me.

Anyways, I'm intrequed by the 2x speed and the better camera. I'm not sure (being a 3g owner) its worth the increased upgrade cost, heck if ATT offered the full rebated price, I'm not sure if this is worth it.

Overall its a solid update, but new owners will benefit it the most and those who have $$ to throw around and upgrade to the latest-greatest.

 

[dccorona]

I agree with everything the OP said.

Apple's failure to deliver a significant upgrade is really great news for me. I can now sit back and relax for a year, and wait until Apple releases a better upgrade next year. Either that, or like the OP said, Apple will ditch AT&T and make a CDMA phone for Verizon.

Then I won't need to cancel any contracts from AT&T and I'll finally ditch the horrible service.

what didnt apple bring hardware wise?
they bumped the processor, memory, camera, added a compass, upped the 3G radio, added Nike+, and the voice commands

what they didn't add:
glowing apple
front facing camera
OLED screen
which is all fairy tale stuff

the only thing i could see you argue that they could have brought is a "gesture area". But is that really needed? theres no new gestures to add. Doing so would rip off palms IP. And i know, they took apples (debatably), but that doesnt make it right

and they didnt give it a new external appearance
I think that was the big mistake. Not giving it a new appearance
many people will confuse it with what they already have.
and of course, the pricing is a big issue.

 

[Mac6272]

Im ready for a OS refresh im so intrigued by the Palm Pre just for the fact i want to see something new and refreshing Ive purchase both iphone's on both release dates and I'm just sick of looking at the same home screen everyday i think the pre looks really sharp and I'm begin to be tempted.