nah, this probably wasn't their plan from a marketing point all along...

/rolls eyes

Could they not wait til they were eligible and upgrade, or would there be an issue then (other than not getting the tech super early)

I'm going to see how things go. Im not able to upgrade till Jan. anyways. The "new" iPhone just isn't that big a deal for me.

Their wording is unclear to me. If you were an early adopter, you bought your iPhone 3G in what, June??, last year? This means a 1.5 year upgrade cycle puts your upgrade eligibility in December, or something like that.

So how does this help?

I'm hoping what they mean to say is that if you've only been in your contract for a year as of September you will be able to upgrade now instead of waiting the full 18 months.

@Jason Rose: Possibly. Maybe there were looking at the initial pre-order numbers and decided they had too much supply. They extend their offer and make sure they don't have a huge stock sitting on shelves.

@Brothernod -- Exactly. If you truly were an early adopter and purchased your iPhone 3G in June, you aren't eligible until December. So really what they're doing is a whole lot of nothing and just trying to sound like they're helping us out. Pricks.

@coren: It is a big deal for apple etc. They need people who will be the first to buy a product, so doing this keeps that group happy.

@John Streeter: Try reading the article, there's no need to be so hostile. If your contract is up in July, August, or September then you qualify. Whatever the case that's up to 3 months which is kind of nice for people who have don't have an iphone but want the new one.

And apparently the time thing isn't a set 1.5 years. It varies based on your plan, your credit score, and a bunch of other things. A friend of mine bought his 3G iphone in September and he's due for a new one in January. So if he had bought it when it was released he would have qualified.

@Blb3303: Yeah, this is going to be my first iphone and it isn't that big of a leap from the 3G.

@coren: Nope, that's all there is.

@Brothernod: If you spend mucho bucks per month, some companies let you upgrade sooner.

@Blb3303: Agreed. I bought (and am still using with no problems) the first-generation iPhone on the day it came out (early EARLY adopter) and used an "upgrade" for a backup phone in May of last year. Usually, they'll let you use your upgrade earlier than normal so I'm gonna wait a couple months (when I can afford it) and see if I can get the subsidized price later.

@John Streeter:

there seem to be a number of ways you can become "eligible" before the normal 18 month cycle is over:
such as this from the actual Press Release:
" In general, the more a customer spends with us, the quicker they become eligible for a price break on a new device. For example, iPhone customers who spend more than $99 a month per line with us generally are eligible for an upgrade between 12 and 18 months into their contract."

still sound like a "whole lot of nothing"?

I know people who spend more than $150 a month on their lines.

@Jason Rose:

Yeah, intentionally pissing people off is good marketing.

No, they treated the iPhone like they would any other phone. If you upgrade early, you pay more.

It's pretty cool that they extended the subsidy window. And this from a person that's not especially friendly towards AT&T.

I'm willing to bet that this is merely an effort to gain new iPhone customers from within AT&T, not to entice upgrades from existing iPhone users. If that was the case, we'd see what we saw last year and that was upgrades from the original to the 3G with no penalties.

@Brothernod: I dont think they are really understanding what customer are asking for. I Just upgraded 8 weeks ago and my phone has been replaced since then. I'm tired of their excuses of dropped calls and they still can fix the problem. In order for me to keep me as a customer they have to provide what I want since they already breach the contract of service. Now what happen to those customer that just upgraded couple of weeks ago? aren't they elegible to upgrade?.

I bought the iPhone 3G on launch day. I have good credit. I am no eligible to upgrade at the reduced price until March. Not that I even want to update but this doesn't help us iPhone 3G owners a bit. Unless there is some conspiracy and my eligibility is somehow longer than others.

I would upgrade right away, but am not going to pay the additional $200 plus agree to another year on my AT&T contract. I could live with just the additioanal year, but now I am going to skip the 3GS altogether. I believe that next June Apple will come out with another upgrade and another carrier choice (Varizon) and I can tell AT&T to go pound salt.

I'll look into getting the iPhone 3G S as soon as Apple brings Wifi back to my iPod touch. I updated to 3.0 and it just won;t work anymore

So the iphone whiners got their way. If i had bought a Blackberry with subsidized pricing and then 11 months later they came out with with a new one would they give me the same price as newbies? Of course not.

meh. I still can't have one till December. By December I'll be on another network with an Android phone.

@BridgetPentheus:
sure sounds like it sucks to be a Blackberry owner....

@coren: I don't get it either. And the same bunch that are rushing to get the new 3G S now will be back to complain about the new model next summer.

To each his/her own, I guess.

@aja175: AT&T should be coming out with an Android device, the HTC Lancaster, by August.

[www.engadgetmobile.com]

@Cant_stop_the_rock:

Who's pissed off? They conveniently 'changed' their minds a week prior to roll-out? I doubt the consumer who wanted to purchase the new version, yet was spurned by Apple's initial requirements has written off the 3GS.

Quite the opposite I'd propose - many more are now considering relinquishing $200 to Apple/AT&T.

Brilliant marketing.

You know what they say on the farm, if all the sheep start staring at you real mean-like, you better let em keep their wool.

Ok they probably don't really say that. But it sure seems appropriate in this case.

I'd suggest anyone that bought their 3G recently contact AT&T to see if there is anything they can do. I bought mine on May 8, one day before the cutoff date, so I called to see if they'd do anything for me. Turns out they never recorded the IMEI of my 3G, and thus their records show I still own the first iPhone. So I was able to upgrade with no hassle, and I'll sell the 3G at the same pawn shop I sold the first one at. (I got the same amount for the 1st gen as I paid for the 3G, so I'm not out any extra money.)

Anyway, it never hurts to call and see what can be done. I would have pushed for an upgrade if they hadn't discovered this mistake.

@Jason Rose:

You clearly don't know anything about marketing. But hey, it's the Internet - we can pretend to be anything we want.

What they did was never told anyone "if you have an iPhone and spend more than $99 a month, you are eligible for an upgrade after 12 months" and then acted like we should have known this all along. Most people spend less than $99 a month for their phone and therefor do not qualify. Then they made a huge announcement and patted themselves on the back.

@sarahfgirl:
Original iPhone was not subsidized, that's why you could upgrade without paying extra.

@microcars:
sounds like it sucks to be an owner of any phone but the iphone, i buy my phones abroad unlocked at full price because their technology is far superior to the horrible phones we are offered in this country, not to mention the fact we pay 4 times what they pay for phone, data and text.

Wow. This is such a vicious cycle. People whine about ATT's poor service, yet they continue to upgrade and extend their contract every time a new iphone comes out.

LOL @ Apple fanatics.

@LatherRinseRepeat: So true. Those people are the biggest whiners there are. They really need to STFU.

Blah blah blah iphone. More bullshit every time I get on this site. Try reporting something of interest; some people are sick and tired of the iphone drama. STFU.

@post_break: I dialed *639# and was informed that I could get the full upgrade on December 12th 2009. I also purchased the 3G on launch day, meaning I'm up at 17 months instead of 18. Woo! Do you have text messaging or anything else added? I conveniently have a bill with the 450 minutes, 1500 text messages and data plan that's just shy of the $99 a month magic number.

@Black-Cat: Take your own advice Black-Cat - whining about whining (repeatedly) ain't pretty.

So they caved. Man I wish they hadn't. I'm sick of people treating this device like its different from any other piece of technology. I have an 09 car, I don't drive up to the dealership and demand a discount on a 2010 model. New phones come out every month, they are all given the same treatment. Deal.

@Sarcasmo48: i agree. I really can't stand these stupid iphone owners crying about the pricing. Don't they know every other phone owner on the planet has the same issue before their contract is up? i know i have that issue with my verizon phone. also, at&t opened this up to people who are up for renewal in the next 2 months...so those people can't wait another 30-60 days to get the new iphone? are they really that bored with their lives that a new iphone completes them? ugh...end rant.

@Sarcasmo48: Completely agreed. If it was any other phone, you wouldn't be seeing this. And can we stop calling iPhone 3G owners early adopters? By the time they got theirs, us iPhone owners had already had ours for up to a year or more, and didn't get any subsidies. As far as I'm concerned, the only people who should complain are those who bought a 3G in the past month or so. Everyone else should just not buy any technology for the rest of their life since it will be a constant string of disappointment.

@Black-Cat: If your tired of it, don't read it.

I read it because my friend is upgrading tomorrow and we're trying to get all the information that is available. No one forces you to read every article.

Still not good enough.

Not having MMS available at 3Gs launch along with this only makes it worse.

EPIC FAIL 3.0

@EndlessMike: Agreed.

I think the problem is that the iPhone is a status symbol. People believe that they are not important without it, thus, they whine and complain about not being able to get the cheaper price.

The idea, is they are more important then everyone else and they are ENTITLED to get the cheaper price even though they never fulfilled the obligations of the first contract they signed.

If they say that's not the case, then apparently they're so important that they should just get cheap phones without paying for them? And they shouldn't be required to be responsible for the contract they knowingly signed and agreed to.

@idip: P.S. I'm a original iPhone owner, paid the full price. My 2 year contract ends in September, at that time I'll be buying the new iPhone 3G S, even though technically I paid FULL PRICE for my phone which makes me eligible to get the new discounted price.

@wallspray:

My wife and I both have launch day 3g phones. Signed up for the family plan and when you split the pool of minutes, text pool and our separate data accounts, we spend together 199/month and should satisfy the premium line. But no, they break the billing up $160 on the primary line and $39 on the secondary line.

So one of us gets a new phone and the other gets to wait until december.

@toddkravos: Apple=epic fail

@idip: No, you are right, they don't. But this site constantly posts shit about that stupid phone. Don't fanboys have their own site?