With the announcement of the new Apple iPhone 3G S at the WWDC this past Monday Apple announced that you could get the current 3G model for $99 and the two new models at $199/$299 respectively.
Everyone in the world including myself was amazed at the pricing structure it was almost to good to be true AND IT WAS. At least for those who were still in a 2 year contract for purchasing the 1st Generation model or the current 3G’s. These folks have to pay the premium price for a new phone and are being labeled as “upgrades” $399/$499.
What I am having trouble with is all the folks who fall into the category of “upgrades” feel that they should get a handout and the opportunity to a) sign on for another 2 years + the remainder of their current contract. Now seriously that IS NOT GOING TO WORK? If your already crying over this upgrade which is actually not that massive from the current 3G model you have in your pocket how are you going to feel over the next 3 to 4 years of announcements and product refreshes? My bet is that you’ll wine about deserving almost free upgrades at each of those points as well. Or AT&T can try what they did with the 3G release and offer a smaller extension to your contract and a slightly higher price for the phone than what new contracts get. This is the best option in my opinion but, for some reason AT&T is not compelled to do so at this time. I’m sure it’s for a good reason. At the end of the day it is about NEW subscribers. Believe it or not you and I both benefit from this.
To wrap up my rant. If you are a current AT&T iPhone owner focusing your rants on cheaper prices for a new version of a phone you REALLY don’t need. We would all benefit more from directing our complaints to a more open network. What about tethering? A more reliable 3G and Edge network? I’m sure we can come up with a ton more.
Trust me I own a 1st Generation iPhone that has a bad WiFi card (Burned up from the 2.2.1 update) and I would love to upgrade just as much as the next guy & I actually fall into the category where I could get the 3G for $99 or the 3GS prices since i’m out of contract. I can’t get any of the above because I CAN’T afford it. If you would like to donate to my iPhone upgrade fund It will be appreciated.