The cell phone market is a dizzying magic show of misdirection. The cheap prices you see for phones are usually for new customers only, with two-year contracts and mail-in rebates. And guess what? The Apple iPhone 3G is just another cell phone.
Because of "activation fees," "upgrade fees" and just plain fees, it turns out the "$199" iPhone never costs $199.
The cheapest price is actually $217. The 8GB iPhone will cost $199 plus an $18 "upgrade fee" or $217 if any of these things are true:
* You have an original iPhone, or
* You are out of contract, or
* You have an AT&T plan of $99/month or more and you havent gotten a new phone in 12 months, or
* You have an AT&T plan of $69/month or more and you havent gotten a new phone in 21 months.
The next tier up comes for new AT&T customers SWITCHING FROM ANOTHER WIRELESS CARRIER. They pay $199 plus a $36 activation fee, or $235.
If youre an AT&T customer who isnt eligible for the $199 upgrade (i.e. youre deep within your contract), the iPhone 3G will cost $399.
If you want your iPhone on July 11, AT&T says youll have to sign up for a two-year contract. But "in the future," a prepaid option will be available for $599.
The 16GB iPhone costs $100 more than the 8GB model in all cases so, $317, or $335, or $499, or $699.
Got it? The service plans are also a pain, but theyre just the usual, standard, run of the mill AT&T smart phone service plans. The iPhone isnt special in AT&Ts systems any more; its just an ordinary smart phone.
Typically, those service plans cost whatever a voice plan costs ($39.99-99.99/month), plus $30/MONTH FOR DATA. But theres one extra catch: those plans dont include text messages. So youll need to add $5/month for 200 messages, $15/month for 1500 messages or $20/month for unlimited messages. If youre buying the phone on a business account you have to tack on an extra $15/month, just because.
All of this is normal. Confusing, but normal. These price differences happen with every cell phone. Its just the way our market works.
Because of "activation fees," "upgrade fees" and just plain fees, it turns out the "$199" iPhone never costs $199.
The cheapest price is actually $217. The 8GB iPhone will cost $199 plus an $18 "upgrade fee" or $217 if any of these things are true:
* You have an original iPhone, or
* You are out of contract, or
* You have an AT&T plan of $99/month or more and you havent gotten a new phone in 12 months, or
* You have an AT&T plan of $69/month or more and you havent gotten a new phone in 21 months.
The next tier up comes for new AT&T customers SWITCHING FROM ANOTHER WIRELESS CARRIER. They pay $199 plus a $36 activation fee, or $235.
If youre an AT&T customer who isnt eligible for the $199 upgrade (i.e. youre deep within your contract), the iPhone 3G will cost $399.
If you want your iPhone on July 11, AT&T says youll have to sign up for a two-year contract. But "in the future," a prepaid option will be available for $599.
The 16GB iPhone costs $100 more than the 8GB model in all cases so, $317, or $335, or $499, or $699.
Got it? The service plans are also a pain, but theyre just the usual, standard, run of the mill AT&T smart phone service plans. The iPhone isnt special in AT&Ts systems any more; its just an ordinary smart phone.
Typically, those service plans cost whatever a voice plan costs ($39.99-99.99/month), plus $30/MONTH FOR DATA. But theres one extra catch: those plans dont include text messages. So youll need to add $5/month for 200 messages, $15/month for 1500 messages or $20/month for unlimited messages. If youre buying the phone on a business account you have to tack on an extra $15/month, just because.
All of this is normal. Confusing, but normal. These price differences happen with every cell phone. Its just the way our market works.
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