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iPhone Users Angry Over AT&T Upgrade Policy
All is not sweetness and light in the wake of the Apple WWDC kickoff announcements, especially concerning the evolution of the iPhone. Reader Hugh Pickens writes: "AT&T will offer the new iPhone 3G S when it debuts later this month at a cost of $199 and $299 for the 16GB and 32GB models, but only to new customers and those who qualify for the discounted price. AT&T subscribers with an iPhone 3G who are not eligible for an upgrade — those not near the end of their two-year contracts — will have to pay $200 more — $399 for the 16GB model and $499 for the 32GB model. 'This is ridiculous and slap in the face to long-time loyal iPhone customers like me who switched from T-Mobile and the only reason was the iPhone,' writes one unhappy iPhone customer. 'We have to mount a vigorous campaign to change this policy. Call your local AT&T and ask for the manager and complain. Send e-mails and post in forums everywhere.' The issue is spurring heavy debate on support discussion forums, with some customers supporting AT&T. 'The option you have is to honor the contract you freely committed yourself to,' says one forum member. 'If you want to upgrade early then you will have to pay full price with no subsidy discount. You can't blame anyone but yourself for your predicament.'"
You know Apple releases a new phone every year, and you know AT&T makes you sign a 2-year contract. Either pay the higher price for the upgrade or live through the horror of not having the latest shiny product until your contract runs out.
So the issue is that a new model has been released and only people who are eligible for a new phone can get it at a discount? Apple never should have caved on the iphone price change retroactivity, now they can't improve anything without the existing users demanding free upgrades for life.
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How every other carrier and every other phone works. Just because they were generous when the 3G came out, does not obligate them to do so again.
Looks like only one user was upset in that forum. The rest all saw the logic and understood what a subsidy is used for.
'We have to mount a vigorous campaign to change this policy.'
A vigorous campaign? Really? I'm sorry, but in this context, the author simply sounds pathetic.
It's standard cell carrier policy, only give discounts when your contract is either expired, or close to expired, in order to bait you into extending it.
They make up for the *loss* (note, there is NO loss, it's just a reduced markup / profit on the phone) in their overpriced charging model, for minutes used, data transmitted, text-messages sent/received, etc.. drekcetera...
The end of the posting says it pretty well...
AT&T and Apple are trying to get new customers by lowering the initial cost and subsidizing the remainder on a 2 yr plan. If you already have an iPhone, you don't qualify, plain and simple. Why is this a slap in the face? When did we as a society get our collective sense of entitlement?
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
They also have a policy that allows you to upgrade your phone at a discounted price after a certain amount of time.
If I'm not mistaken, they've done this for a while, now... and so does Verizon. How does the iPhone have anything to do over this? Sounds to me like someone is just mad that they'll have to wait for their upgrade.
Not saying that longtime customers shouldn't get a discount or anything... just that this shouldn't surprise anyone.
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You sign a contract for 24 months to receive a reduced price on your handset. You're not eligible for a discount until a good portion of that commitment has passed (usually 18 months). Owners of the first Gen iPhone got a discount because they bought their phone at full price. 2nd gen iPhone owners who paid full non-contract price are eligible for a discount. People who got a handset (ANY handset) at a discount and are within their contract time won't see one until their time expires. I just bought a new Macbook Pro 11 months ago; should I go to the Apple store and whine because they've improved the design, and I can't buy one for half price?
The general consensus here on Slashdot so far:
1)"tsfroggy"(RTA) agreed to his/her terms in a contract and has to deal with the pricing like everyone else.
2)A past discount is not an obligation for a future discount.
3)"tsfroggy" is a whiner.
4)AT&T is clearly in the right on this, even if the pricing is too high.
I must say, Congrats gentlemen. I'll be interested in seeing how long this lasts in this particular thread.
Stop the presses, customers are being price-gouged by AT&T and Apple! Oh, the horror!
Who is going to expect sympathy over the fact that they have to pay $200 more to upgrade their iPhone?
Why is this even on the front page? Does Slashdot really worship the iPhone this much?
One of these days, I'm going to cut you into little pieces.
This is totally out of left field. It's a good thing the US is chock-a-block with better wireless carriers and the iPhone is portable between them.
Very funny, and for some reason it makes me want to throw up.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Honestly, given the current state of our economy, I'm surprised more people aren't ashamed to post such nonsense.... Even though we don't yet know exactly what will be in the latest revision of the iPhone, all indications point to a few relatively minor tweaks, like a built in compass and ability to use the faster tier of 3G cellular data network. Oh, and likely a faster graphics processor, which is nice -- but did anyone honestly have issues with it updating too slowly before? This will only matter for some games that want to push the envelope a little further with how much you can do on a phone. FAR from a necessity, especially for those of us who'd rather play "real" games on a home computer or console system anyway!
Heck, I bought one of the very early 1st. gen. iPhones, and I didn't WANT to go to the 3G model. The version using the slower EDGE network was about $10 cheaper per month to keep a contract on, and I thought it had a more "solid" feel to it than the plastic-backed, sloped wedge shape of the current model. But finally, when mine started acting up, outside the warranty period, it just made more sense to buy a new phone.
If you can get past the pointless "keeping up with the Jones'" attitude for a minute, I fail to see why a 3G iPhone owner would be that compelled to rush out and upgrade at all? Those that have that irrational need to "show off" by having one first? Well, let them pay full retail price!
2G cost $599 at launch because it did not require a contract.
3G cost $199 at launch because it required a contract.
3GS will cost $199 at launch because it requires a contract.
Existing iPhone 3G owners can't upgrade for free because they're still paying off their subsidized phone.
Apple didn't realize the bease they were creating when they asked AT&T to try a non-subsidized model for the initial launch. Now everyone remembers the "free" upgrade to the 3G, but somehow forgets paying $599 for a 2G on launch day.
Because you're essentially running up "debt" that way, that the phone company is going to take longer and longer to recoup. When they give you a discount on that phone, they're essentially loaning the money for a set time. Asking for a year's extension on that time costs them. Imagine if a customer did that every year as the new models came out. They extend their contract to 3 years now. Next year they're up to 4 if they switch out. Pretty soon they're racking up owed contract years that they'll either newer get to, or they're going to have to eventually wait out for an extremely long amount of time before they can get a new phone.
I mean honestly, if this guy is whining now about this model - do you honestly think he's going to get this one and then wait THREE years (an eternity on the cell phone market) before picking up the newest model? No, he's going to want the latest and greatest every time. If he wants that then fine, but he needs to cowboy up and pay the full price.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
Bunch of crybabies.
No, its a bunch of rabid apple fanboys who want to piss away more money to apple, but can't stand the idea of paying AT&T a little extra cash for the contract they willingly accepted.
I'd be upset too, if I didn't know that apple released new products yearly with their masterplan of planned obsolescence.
Actually, the terms were *always* onerous and unfair. It's just that there was never a phone available that really made people say "i want that" often enough to notice that they were getting shafted.
Now the iPhone is out and it's become the banner to rally behind.
Frankly, I think it's too much for the phone companies to be allowed to sell the phones. They've shown they can't play fair when they have that ball. Twice. Once with the regular phone market, and now with the cellular phone market.
They probably ought to be forbidden at this point from selling the phones at all. If people want to finance their phones that should be their own business.
'This is ridiculous and slap in the face to long-time loyal iPhone customers like me who switched from T-Mobile and the only reason was the iPhone,' writes one unhappy iPhone customer.
Long-time? Even if you bought an iPhone the day it was released (June 29, 2007), you are not yet at the end of your initial 2-year contract. How "long-time loyal" can you be?
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I refuse to pay the idiot premium on high fashion items, and that is exactly what Apple's products are.
Someone that the actual value of the 32GB is $699 so you're still getting a deal. I bought my Thinkpad Z61e that I'm posting this comment with for $650. I don't think there is a phone on the planet worth $700. To even make that excuse is lame.
I'll stick with whatever device does what I want it too without spending laptop money on it.
Of course, it would be lovely if we could dispense with the entire status quo wherein mobile carriers subsidize the cost of phones to lock people in to long-term contracts. I'd gladly pay more for unlocked smartphones if it meant I could pay less for service (you'd better believe the cost of all those handsets is built into your bill) and switch at-will.
Now, it's true that you can buy some unlocked phones today, but it's far from the ideal situation for several reasons:
1. The price of unlocked phones is substantially above the wholesale price which phones are sold to the carriers for (I don't expect a volume discount like they get, but a few hundred dollars markup is a bit steep).
2. Some phones simply aren't available unlocked without going to the grey market, including the iPhone. That's because a lot of the most appealing phones (I'm debating an iPhone 3GS or an HTC Magic for my next) are offered as "exclusives" for a single carrier. That means that, in my region, if I want a particular phone, I'm stuck with AT&T or T-Mobile, respectively, for service.
3. No price break on service. If you bring your own phone to play, you're still paying the extra that would cover the cost of a carrier-provided phone, which in this case is pure extra profit for the carrier.
Now, just imagine if a similar situation existed with TVs: you only get a cool new TV when you sign up for an extended cable or satellite contract, and you're then locked into using that TV with that provider. You'd also have to consider the tradeoff between the features you want in a TV and the coverage and quality of service you get. In other words, it would be an intolerable, fragmented mess.
But the service providers love vendor lock-in, and the phone manufacturers are only to happy to collude with them. It would probably take regulatory action to cut this particular knot. It's not impossible (remember when the FCC finally forced the mobile carriers to implement cell number portability, then they all advertised it as a great new feature), but I certainly wouldn't hold my breath for it.
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Bad question -- Prius purchasers are almost implicitly looking to save on and minimize gas usage.
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This is perfectly normal, they give a $200 discount so people sign a 2 year agreement. A few give reduced discounts before the contract is up but a majority only give discount prices when your out of contract. Anyone who doesn't understand this and feels its a 'slap in the face' should grow up, it's not like they hide this fact at signup.
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What the hell, I've got Karma to burn...
Apple/AT&T release a new phone and only new customers and customers with contracts about to end get it for upgrade pricing. Others are crying.
Guess what, cry babies...that's just like every other carrier in the US does. Its the industry standard here. Why did you expect different from AT&T and His Holiness Lord Steve? Contrary to what you think, you are not better than everyone else. Welcome to the real world.
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
I was thinking the same sort of thing.
I stopped using contract cellular for various reasons, but I understood when I bought my first cellular (a contract phone) that I was paying for the phone by locking into the contract for so many months. How is AT&T supposed to make money giving away subsidized phones before they pay back the ones they've already subsidized?
It's been a long time.
How is AT&T supposed to make money giving away subsidized phones before they pay back the ones they've already subsidized?
The overpriced data plan that they force you to sign up for?
The general consensus is that people are being crybabies over the fact that they're being held to the contracts they signed, presumably of their own free will. No argument here. What baffles me is why people are even up in arms about upgrading - the differences between the iPhone 3G and 3GS are not really earth shattering - you can get a bigger capacity (up to 32 GB), autofocus camera, and the magnetometer... and that's about it. After all the hype over the new phone, I was pretty underwhelmed. Disclosure: I'm an iPhone 3g owner, and I'll be waiting until the next version to upgrade.