upgrade 3g to 3gs

If she has the phone she replaced return the iPhone, keep the SIM and put it in the old phone. 2 weeks won't kill her.

my 3g is 3 months old.
this is my case:
i'm in family plan and was eligible for upgrade this month june. in march, i used my dad's eligibility to get iphone 3g and put it on my number. the thing is i got it as a birthday gift from my brother, so i didn't pay a penny.
right now, i'm satisfied with 3g. i don't need to rush to upgrade to 3gs. i learn from experience now, there's a big chance that 2yrs from now when my contract is up, guaranteed there will be a new iphone.
now even if they let me upgrade to 3gs with the same $199, i would still think twice.
why would i pay $199 for basically the 'same' phone i have now which i got for free?
so, i'm saving money to get a mbp, because my poor mbwhite really needs to retire.
for all 3g owners, if you really wanted the 3gs, just pay the freakin $400 and shut up already.

I'm amazed at the discussion here. Let's make this very simple for everyone.

FACT - Retail price is $599 (aka, price without a contract).
FACT - Price with two-year contract is $199.

(Above is using the iPhone 3G 8GB model. Add $100 for the iPhone 3G 16GB model.)

So, AT&T is giving you a $400 subsidy on the phone, in exchange for a two-year contract. The purpose of the contract is to tie you down to AT&T so that they can recuperate their $400 from you. This is not done instantly, but over a period of time, of which only AT&T knows the formula. The point at which you have paid off this subsidy is the point at which you become eligible for an "upgrade", and AT&T will once again pay you a subsidy, in exchange for a new two-year contract.

Now, you had an option, though it is not exactly well advertised. You could have paid the full price for the phone, $599, and would not have had to sign a contract. Your account would instantly be in the "upgradable" status. You would have been free to do whatever you like, including telling AT&T to go shove it. (Of course, since it's the iPhone, you wouldn't actually have been able to tell them that. Normally you could take your GSM phone to T-Mobile instead.)

So, in conclusion, get over your collective delusional sense of self-entitlement and live with the consequences of your decisions. That's what happens when you enter into a legally binding contract. If you want the shiny new phone now, pay for its cost. Otherwise, wait until you've paid back your subsidy, and AT&T will be happy to give you another (in exchange for another two years).

I just bought the iPhone 3g on 05/13/09 at best buy, when I went there on today, and tried to return the phone, I was told that AT&T was extending the return period for those who purchased their phone after 05/09, they told me all I need to do is go to the store on the release day and swap my 3g for a 3gs, but since I'm reading all these posts I realized that some of you have pre ordered the new phone, which best buy didn't ask me to, they just took my name and number to notify as soon as they receive the new iPhone.

I am not eligible for an upgrade until sometime in 2010 so I asked if I am not eligible for an upgrade how much do I need to pay for the 32GB AT&T said $699...this really seems high for a phone that can't even multitask. I said no problem, i early terminated my contract which cost me $130 went to Sprint to try out the PRE...GREAT phone by the way and if I want the iPhone I will go back to at&t as a ported number...Long story short they want $400 over asking price and it only cost me $130.

I won't be rushing to get the new iPhone, and I have the ability to upgrade! It's too early to tell, but from the information/specs available now, I don't think it is worth being locked in another contract when there will probably be a much better model iPhone next year. This is a good option for first time iPhone buyers or first generation iPhone owners. So the phone is a little faster, records video, has voice command, and a compass; is it really worth it? I can live without the new features of the iPhone 3GS. The new 3.0 OS is good enough for me. If you really wanted to do video recording you would have already had the feature by now, since there are ways to do it with the previous model iPhones. I haven't seen any "jaw dropping" features on the new model.

There is a 30 day return/ exchange period on the phones for those of you that were wondering.

I upgraded from the first release iPhone to the iPhone 3Gs. I gained processing speed, network speed and hard drive capacity over the first iPhone. The bells and whistles I didn't care about. Being locked into any contract is irrelevant. No matter where you go, there's going to be a contract. My rule of thumb with technology is upgrade every other release and take the subsidy when you can. Getting a new phone every year in this economy is costly. zoz

Thanks for the tip, although I am really surprised that apple let that cat out of the bag. Considering they and att were so covertly secretive about the 3g s. If they hadn't been so CIA about the whole thing, I too would have waited the 2 months to the the new 3g s which is twice the phone but at the same price I paid. $299.00 for the 16gb. 😟

I'm thinking hard of buying the Iphone 3Gs, I really want this one bad. But, do I really want AT&T or should I just wait one more year and see if Apple dumps them and go with another carries? Apple will eventually go with another carries probably Verizon! Then the Apple will really make their money. For the most part, people are happy with Verizon's cell phone service. So, if they had the Iphone it would be the best of both worlds.

Looking into the future, I really feel sorry for AT&T because they have the best product on the market but their greed and terrible business practices are going to be their downfall. Once the Iphone goes to the open market, people will leave AT&T in droves. They really are smart to make the money now because they know one day the gravy train will end and so will their huge cash flow/cow. LOL. If only they were smarter and made better deals with their customers and treated them with more respect! But, in their defense they are doing the only thing they can and try and make back some of their investment in going with Apple, upgrading their network and taking a chance when no one else would on the Iphone.

So, I will buy the Iphone after all and just go with the flow until times get better!

Pretty soon, it will be something else that is new in the phone technology then we will all be racing to get that too. It just never ends.

But, it really doesn't matter which company it is, they all had better learn about customer service and retention if they really want to make money and keep their customers! The attitude of "we are doing you a favor" and "if you don't like it too bad" is just not the right way to go.

SG

They do not want $400 over the asking price! The phone COSTS $699; that is its asking price. AT&T is willing to knock $400 off the price (give you a $400 subsidy), but only if you are not already paying off another subsidy with contract time.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9599836#9599836

So, something like 10% of customers that happen to not be under a contract can get the advertised price. Apple should be more up front about the pricing. Don't advertise it at $99 with a tiny disclaimer at the bottom. Advertise it at the actual cost, then mention that some customers can get it cheaper.)

Here's the skinny:

Didn't pay attention and bought the 3G on Sunday (day before 3GS was announced).

Read thru tons of blogs and waded thru lots of mis-information. Was even mis-informed at AT&T store by sales person over the phone.

Finally, walked into AT&T store, returned my iPhone 3G (8 gig) for full refund, less $20 restocking fee.

Preordered iPhone 3GS (16 gig) for $199 plus 2 yr contract. I am eligible for an upgrade.

When I got back to my desk, I had an email waiting for me telling me that my new iPhone had been ordered and was provided a link to follow-up status.

My AT&T store will be open from 7am-10am on June 19 for PREORDERS ONLY. At 10am when normal business hours begin, the Preorder line and Walk-in lines will merge with preorders going to the front of the line.

As of this morning at 10:30am, I was only the 14th customer (total) to preorder at my local store since they began taking preorders. In speaking with the manager, he said when the 3G was released, they received enough phones for all preorders plus 60 walk-ins on launch day.

One side-note; there are lots of discussions about the price of the phone (is it $199 or $599?) Walk around your AT&T store - you will see every phone has a price on it, and if you look at the fine print, you will see a much higher price. The higher price is for an out of contract upgrade or direct purchase. For example, my son just bought an LG VU for $119 (full price), less $50 rebate for 2 year contract renewal ($69). AT&T, nor any other provider advertises the full retail price - always the discounted price. For the iPhones, that would be $99, $199, and $299 for the 3G, 3GS (16), and 3GS (32), respectively.

I will probably pop into my AT&T store at around 8am on June 19th to pick up my phone. Provided it has shipped, as with anything, the AT&T store will not guarantee the product to be there, but the manager did reassure me all orders were met on the 3G release (in the same breath).

Good luck to all!

don't forget the G3 phone is $700 AT&T gave you the 16GB for $300 for 2year contract.
now AT&T give the G3's 299 a new phone what happen to the $400 first subsidized price that left, is $400 dollars. think about it AT&T will be loosing $400 dollars they will not do it.

Message was edited by: Playitcool

Message was edited by: Playitcool

As a loyal AT&T customer and Apple Advocate; who should I be angry with? Why are current customers punished for being AT&T's best customers and new customers (who AT&T doesn't know if they will be paying their bills on time or not) get the new iPhone for $299 and those who one year ago upgraded have to pay $499 or wait until December to buy the iphone the $299 price?
Why is AT&T letting those that have a Family Plan upgrade early without this penalty? That's right there is "wiggle room" for AT&T customers that have a Family Plan.

How about read the hundreds of explantations about what a subsidy is instead of making yet another whine post on things you do not understand?