iphone

You’re an owner of the iPhone 3G handset and now you’re all excited about the new iPhone 3G S and you’re ready to plop down $199 or $299 starting on June 19th.. but wait.. chances are you won’t be able to pay that price on that day. You see.. if you upgraded to the iPhone 3G last June (or later) when it first came out, you won’t be eligible for the iPhone 3G S upgrade pricing. Plus depending upon how long you’ve had the iPhone 3G, you MIGHT be eligible for the “early iPhone upgrade” fee which is still a premium over the current upgrade pricing – though just slightly cheaper than the full price.

Update:

AT&T actually has a three tiered pricing system.

  • If you’re a new or existing AT&T customer eligible for the upgrade – you can get the new iPhone 3G S at the $199/$299 price points.
  • If you’re not eligible for the upgrade price BUT you’ve purchased the iPhone 3G for at least one year, then you’re eligible for the “early iPhone upgrade” price which is basically $200 dollars more – $399/$499 respectively.
  • The third tier is – pay the phones outright at their non-subsidized cost of $599/$699

Here’s how my situation unfolded over the last two years. I got the original 4GB iPhone back in 2007 at the original sale price for the phone (which was originally outrageous). Then the iPhone 3G was announced and to my surprise, I was eligible for the upgrade price of $199 (for the 8GB model) on June 18th 2008. (thx to Rob for noting that i was eligible for the upgrade price back then simply because I paid the full price for the 1st gen iPhone).

This unfortunately gave me the false hope that I would eligible for the upgrade price for the new iPhone 3G S, I went to the Apple website to see if I could pre-order the new iPhone 3G S. After checking with my account, Apple came back to me and showed me this page.

iphone upgrade pricing

Yes.. that does indeed say $599/$699 on my account.  (UPDATE: I was apparently dinged by AT&T for being late this month with my mobile phone payment. Because I was LATE, I was not eligible for the early iPhone upgrade pricing. Once I paid up, I became eligible – read more at the end of the article). No. I AM NOT PAYING $599 for the 16GB iPhone 3G S (or $699 for the 32GB model). According to AT&T, I would not be eligible for the iPhone 3G S until December 13th.. 

Here’s the new updated page once I paid my bill:

iphone upgrade pricing 2

 

So this got me thinking. If I’m not eligible for the iPhone 3G S upgrade price on opening day (June 19th), then who is?

The iPhone 3G didn’t launch until June 18th, 2008 and I bought the handset the day after.. so based on this information, it’s safe to assume that anyone who upgraded to the iPhone 3G is NOT eligible for the iPhone 3G S upgrade pricing. (please correct me if I’m wrong here). Does this apply to regular mobile phone upgrades made in the last year too? Not sure. What is clear is that first movers like me are being penalized by AT&T. We faithfully bought the 1st gen iPhone and then the 2nd gen iPhone 3G and now.. well now we’re going to have to wait (let the whining start).

OK.. so instead of paying $599/$699, I would have to pay $399/$499. That’s still a nice premium over the upgrade price!

Ah but wait.. if you’re still using the 1st gen iPhone then you’re probably OK. Also.. if you haven’t upgraded your AT&T account in more than a year.. then chances are you’re OK there too. Thus here’s what we’re gathering:

  • AT&T is sick of eating the subsidized bill for customers who keep moving to the latest version of the iPhone (tho they’re willing to eat SOME of the costs if you’ve been around for at least a year).
  • AT&T is using the new pricing to attract customers who haven’t upgraded in some time as well as new customers to the company.

I do have to give AT&T some props here. They’ve made my decision making process regarding the iPhone 3G S that much easier. I was originally on the fence about the new hardware and with this upgrade pricing (or lame upgrade pricing for me) in place, I absolutely won’t be upgrading anytime soon.

So there you have it folks. Early adopters like myself are going to have to pay a premium for the iPhone 3G S. This will of course continue next year when the fourth generation iPhone comes out and we’re forced to pay another “early iPhone upgrade” fee. OR, we can completely forgo the iPhone 3G S and simply wait till next June/July and then be eligible for the upgrade price (woo).

But wait.. if I were to get the iPhone 3G S in December or even early next year would this effectively nix me from their 4th generation iPhone (which probably will come out next year at this time?) Hmm.,. if so.. then FORGET the iPhone 3G S altogether!

AT&T.. you’re sucking in my books..

UPDATE (4:22pm):

Just wanted to remind all of you again that because of a late bill payment on my part, AT&T dinged me for the upgrade price of the iPhone 3G S. Once I paid my balance, I became eligible for their early iPhone upgrade fee of $399/$499. That’s still $200 dollars too much in my opinion.. but something to remember in case you too are not eligible for some reason. Check to make sure you paid your bills!

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