iPhone Owners Upset About AT&T’s iPhone 3G S Upgrade Pricing, Join Twitter Petition
by Jody Mitoma on June 14, 2009 at 4:10 am 
Over twelve thousand four hundred (‘12,400′) iPhone owners signed under an AT&T contract have joined an instant Twitter petition to get their word out about being upset with AT&T’s decision to charge current iPhone owners whom wish to upgrade to an iPhone 3G S, an additional $200 surcharge.
I’d be quite upset about the whole ordeal too, if I had been undergoing such a routine. It just doesn’t make sense to charge a current contract signer an additional $200 to upgrade their phone to a newer model of said phone. In my opinion, the fact that the contract signer in question can simply sign a new 2-year contract with the company (‘AT&T’), before purchasing the iPhone 3G S, should be good enough reason for them to be able to purchase it at the same cost as a new AT&T customer would.
Apple’s and AT&T’s subsidized prices for the iPhone 3G S, which wil be released on Friday, June 19th, are $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB device. Those prices, however, apply only to new customers to AT&T, or to existing customers who are judged eligible for the lower-priced upgrade.
Meanwhile, people who already own an iPhone or have an existing AT&T contract, and are judged by AT&T as ineligible for another subsidized phone must fork over $399 for the 16GB, $599 for the 32GB.
The way I look at it, being with the company for so-and-so many months (or years), and if you have been paying your bills on time, etc., this should be one reason to provide you with a cheaper purchase on your next cellphone, despite not completely fullfilling the full 2-year contract in question. If all has gone well over the months you were with the company, does this not make you a more loyal customer?
The twitition has 12,441+ signatures (as of this posting), which is over 1/3rd of all signatures on twitition; 28,271, despite there being 424 twititions as of now. That’s got to tell you something.
The twitition reads, “AT&T should give existing customers the same rate for the new iPhone 3Gs that they do for new customers. New customers or not, another 2-year contract is being made.”
Feel free to share your thoughts on the whole issue within the comments, and feel more than welcome to sign the twitition if you feel it’ll make any difference what-so-ever.
via Computer World
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Posted in Important, Miscellaneous, Recognition, iPhone 3G S, iPhone Related
June 17th, 2009 at 12:07 am
i don’t feel sorry for the people who bought there iphone 3g and can’t opt out to get the new 3g s. that’s the problem with this country people are never satisfied but more ungrateful. the 3g and 3gs are pretty much the samething besides a few features they may not even notice. i was an original iphone consumer. i bought the phone the first day it came out. i spent over $600 dollars and then apple dropped the phone price. i was upset but understand i was paying more for the samething these same whiners wanted and couldn’t have. they are the same people that are crying today upset and angry because the company decides to make a new series of the iphone. hey i still have my first generation why because i was content. i will now upgrade to the new phone because my first iphone is practically dead. however, i was patient enough to enjoy this phone until i can no longer use it. i was due for upgrade months ago and still decided to wait because i had this hunch apple was going to present something new. if i were at&t i would charge them full price and not change anything. besides if they bought the phone they have 30 or 60 days to return. consumers need to stop complaining about every little thing and start appreciate and being thankful they have money to purchase these items. after all it’s a luxury not necessity which may be contrary to popular opinion.
June 25th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
I don’t understand where this response is coming from. The problem lies with the way i “as a valued customer” am being treated by at&t. I have been an iphone owner since the very beginning, i stood in line for hours in anticipation for the beloved iphone and i was not dissapointed. I gladly cancelled my T-Mobile contract early and signed a 2-year contract with at&t. Then when the 3g was released I gladly signed a new 2-year contract in order to have the best iphone available. Now that i have been with at&t for three years, how is my loyalty repaid, by charging an additional $200 to upgrade!!! that is ludicrous. it cost approximately $179 for apple to make the phone, period. so the problem lies with at&t, not apple. I have paid three years worth of monthly fees and they still want me to pay an additional $200 for the same phone available to new customers. It is not that i am ungrateful and i do understand that this phone is a luxury. But this is a matter of principle, and i will not waste my hard earned money on filling the greedy pockets of AT&T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!