Why be an early adopter? Apple and At&T have not shown any loyalty whatsoever! First we were told early adopters would not be charged an extra fees… then this!

For all of us iphone 2g users, what are we going to do when our beloved iphones finally die? (inevitably they will) I noticed that all the post says iphone 2g users will be happy to keep their 2g one, but when our 2g iphone does die… will we be forced to buy the 3g and essentially get screwed and pay the additional fees?

I wish Android is out when my iphones (i have 3 under a family plan) finally die so I could make the transition and tell At&T and Apple to shove it!

Once a loyal apple fan…

First, you are comparing two completely different industries which have little to do with each other therefore bad comparison. Second, oil companies make a whole lot less per gallon of gasoline than does the federal government per gallon of gasoline. People should inform themselves as to where each cent goes before blabbering about “windfall” profits. If oil companies are making so much money, just imagine what the government piece of the pie is. Oil companies drill, refine, and deliver fuel to your local gas station; they provide a useful product to you. The government does absolutely nothing. Companies are in business to make money. The government is in business to screw with your money!

And Yes, I absolutely think more people plan to give At&t more money over the life of the contract.

AT&T isn’t raising their prices at all. This is the lowest 3G data price you will get out of AT&T for *any* phone. You are just now using their 3G data plan instead of their 2G data plan. There is no reason AT&T should be giving major discounts to iPhone users. They are treating iPhone users like they treat their other customers. I’d say that’s more than fair.

Nobody said the price of using a 3G phone was as cheap as the price of owning a 2G phone. If you don’t want to pay for 3G service, don’t buy a 3G phone!

I think this is a sob story. I watched the stevenotes. All of them (I know, sad right, but I was bored at work ;-)) Every time except wwdc08 he goes off on how successful the iphone is, and how much market share they captured in such a small time… IMO the latest pricing change has nothing to do with “giving the iphones to less wealthy people” which is what they are insinuating, but it’s pure marketing, chasing that ever elusive cent.

What I really think happened was that huge numbers of people bought the iphone unlocked already (I know I did in the UK), and use it on “rip as you go” in europe and therefore it’s AT&T who lost out, not Apple, hence the increase in fees, though for some reason this doesn’t equate here in the UK, where I’m sure just as many % iphones are in use on other carriers.

Can the iphone G3 be unlocked and used with any provider?

I have an iPod touch and a blackberry. need to keep it separate

Ramón,
The $10 extra didn’t bother me too much I know that everyone sees it differently. What really annoys me is the in-store activation that will be required. I would rather do that at home. I know why they are doing it to cut down on jailbroken phones but I’m betting people will find ways to get around that.

James,
Thanks for the catch.

Shawn,
Yes, it’s actually more if you get text messages. I was going by the bare minimum I should have made that point clearer.

devin,
I’m with you I would rather pay the full price up front. Apple decided to buck the current trend and offer the full price up front but according to stats Americans for the most part did not like that model at all, so in order to make more sales they went the subsidized route, pay less up front, but pay more later.

Scooter,
Up that talk time I like that they also have rollover minutes something I wish Verizon offered.

Sachin Patel,
I’ve heard that a few other countries appear to be getting a better deal on the iPhone 3G. A free iPhone 3G would be nice. I got my current phone (LG) for free. I’m currently hunting around for a replacement.

Honza,
I think Apple changed its tune because people weren’t buying as many iPhones as they had hoped. Subsidized phones are common in the USA so a much higher priced phone made many I imagine not want to purchase it no matter how much they wanted it.

Peter cultard,
I’m sure they will be unlocked. Their are a few more obstacles that people that want to unlock them have to get through but I’m betting it will happen.

强仔,
It definitely is a smart move by Apple & AT&T to go this route, not that I like it. I would definitely prefer to pay up front, but a subsidized iPhone would not stop me from buying one if it were available to Verizon customers. My first phone was free, but my next one I’ll have to pay for since it is under two years.

As for the iPhone, I’ve already pre-ordered it. Guess that’s the effect of taking so long to get here.

http://blog.ukphoneshop.com/mobile-phone-unlocking/so-you-think-youre-going-to-unlock-the-new-iphone-3g-think-again/957/

Anyway, I’m extremely happy with my unlocked, activated, jailbroken 1.1.4 8gb iphone. The only thing I would consider upgrading for is the GPS, but if Apple actually enabled the proper bluetooth profiles that the phone already has in it’s software, then a $30 bluetooth keyfob GPS would be useful. I gotta keep my 5 year old PDA around just because of this.

Based on what I see at the ATT site, it’s a wash for me. They upped the cost for the data plan to 30 (for every phone, not just the iPhone) but, they lowered the talk time costs. It looks like my family plan cost will remain the same for me. One other note… I didn’t see any mention about texting options?

also what bothers me deeply is that because of this new subsidized scheme, they are getting rid of one of the really impressive parts of buying the phone- home activation through itunes. sure, it’s something you only experience once in the phone’s lifetime but it’s one of those first impressions that lasts.

no, i will not be purchasing the new 3G phone and yes it is because of the higher monthly service cost. i would rather pay the extra $200 up front than pay ANOTHER $10/mo for the entire lifetime of the product.

(@ Shawn- where did you read no text messages are included in that price? i find that extremely hard to believe.)

I’m happy with my 8GB iPhone, but I can’t keep throwing money at AT&T simply because they think that they have me by the short ones. $10 spread out among the hundreds of thousands of consumers is not unlike the windfall that the oil companies are enjoying - not out of this pocket.

3G is nice, but for the increased monthly costs, there just aren’t enough new features to justify it for me.

Personally, I think the new v2 software will be the big splash, and you certainly don’t need the new phone for that.

Also, I anticipate ANOTHER new iPhone NEXT June, probably with more of the features we all KEEP complaining about and wanting, yet not getting.

I’ll wait until then.