June 15, 2010
No, I don’t think I’ll be upgrading to an iPhone 4 just yet. Seriously, AT&T, what the hell? Here’s what the (obviously wrong) impression I had gotten: The $199 price point is for new customers, or people who’ve been customers for 18 months or with high monthly bills who’ve paid off their subsidy already. The $499 price point is for existing customers who don’t qualify for the sweet, cheap pricing. Period. The $599 price point is for people who do not want a subsidy, or a contract, at all. My 3GS was purchased in October (about 13 months into my contract), after I dropped my 3G onto a stone floor, broke its screen and was told by a Genius that I was out of warranty and the repair would cost as much as a new phone. Are they trying to tell me I’m upgrading too quickly, that it’s a bad thing I’ve bought four new iPhone handsets in four years? Clearly they are. The Apple Store site told me my upgrade eligibility date is March 6, 2011 (~17 months into my current contract). To be clear: their website didn’t say I’ll qualify for the good ($200) pricing on that date—it said I qualify to pay the “early upgrade” price on that date. That means unless I pay full retail, my next iPhone will be whatever Steve Jobs announces around this time next year. The early adopter voice in me wants to say: fuck it! I paid $600 for my first iPhone, $400 for my current one—clearly I am not price-sensitive. But this time I dunno, maybe I should be sensitive. For all you who’d say “wait for Verizon!”, I say: you’re idiots. So far the Verizon iPhone (like the new Apple TV) is nothing but an unsubstantiated rumor, and there’s reason to believe the mythical Verizon iPhone won’t be the paradise you think it will. For all you who’d say “but $700 is the actual price of the phone”, I say: you’re right. And I have to admit, the subsidy system is what’s allowed Apple to ship the most amazing piece of consumer electronics engineering I’ve ever seen to most customers for just two hundred fucking dollars. If Apple had continued to charge full retail for the iPhone, like they did on that first one, they’d have had to ship a less amazing product if they wanted to cut prices and go for market share. Subsidies have gotten iPhones out to more people and we have a more viable, vibrant platform as a result. What I know is: $700 is my price, I don’t know if it’s worth it, and at some point I just have to say no to the gadget monster inside me. I want the battery life, I want that camera, I want iMovie for iPhone. I was ready to buy again if the price were $500, which already felt like AT&T thought they were doing me a favor. Maybe they would’ve been. Actually, maybe they are. Side note: In addition to screwing me charging me appropriately for an unnecessary, luxury upgrade, Apple & AT&T also announced the white iPhone will not be available on day one. So not only am I bummed to not be part of the iPhone 4 launch festivities, my girlfriend won’t be either. (Nor will her friend who also wanted a white one.) Again, all of this makes reasonable sense and I am not complaining that we are being treated unfairly by this large, profit-making corporation who are simply reacting to the realities of shipping an impossible number of expensive gadgets halfway around the world in a week and a half. I’m just saying: we had expected today to be special, and instead it’s just Tuesday.

No, I don’t think I’ll be upgrading to an iPhone 4 just yet.

Seriously, AT&T, what the hell? Here’s what the (obviously wrong) impression I had gotten:

  • The $199 price point is for new customers, or people who’ve been customers for 18 months or with high monthly bills who’ve paid off their subsidy already.

  • The $499 price point is for existing customers who don’t qualify for the sweet, cheap pricing. Period.

  • The $599 price point is for people who do not want a subsidy, or a contract, at all.

My 3GS was purchased in October (about 13 months into my contract), after I dropped my 3G onto a stone floor, broke its screen and was told by a Genius that I was out of warranty and the repair would cost as much as a new phone. Are they trying to tell me I’m upgrading too quickly, that it’s a bad thing I’ve bought four new iPhone handsets in four years? Clearly they are.

The Apple Store site told me my upgrade eligibility date is March 6, 2011 (~17 months into my current contract). To be clear: their website didn’t say I’ll qualify for the good ($200) pricing on that date—it said I qualify to pay the “early upgrade” price on that date. That means unless I pay full retail, my next iPhone will be whatever Steve Jobs announces around this time next year.

The early adopter voice in me wants to say: fuck it! I paid $600 for my first iPhone, $400 for my current one—clearly I am not price-sensitive. But this time I dunno, maybe I should be sensitive.

For all you who’d say “wait for Verizon!”, I say: you’re idiots. So far the Verizon iPhone (like the new Apple TV) is nothing but an unsubstantiated rumor, and there’s reason to believe the mythical Verizon iPhone won’t be the paradise you think it will.

For all you who’d say “but $700 is the actual price of the phone”, I say: you’re right. And I have to admit, the subsidy system is what’s allowed Apple to ship the most amazing piece of consumer electronics engineering I’ve ever seen to most customers for just two hundred fucking dollars. If Apple had continued to charge full retail for the iPhone, like they did on that first one, they’d have had to ship a less amazing product if they wanted to cut prices and go for market share. Subsidies have gotten iPhones out to more people and we have a more viable, vibrant platform as a result.

What I know is: $700 is my price, I don’t know if it’s worth it, and at some point I just have to say no to the gadget monster inside me. I want the battery life, I want that camera, I want iMovie for iPhone. I was ready to buy again if the price were $500, which already felt like AT&T thought they were doing me a favor. Maybe they would’ve been. Actually, maybe they are.

Side note: In addition to screwing me charging me appropriately for an unnecessary, luxury upgrade, Apple & AT&T also announced the white iPhone will not be available on day one. So not only am I bummed to not be part of the iPhone 4 launch festivities, my girlfriend won’t be either. (Nor will her friend who also wanted a white one.) Again, all of this makes reasonable sense and I am not complaining that we are being treated unfairly by this large, profit-making corporation who are simply reacting to the realities of shipping an impossible number of expensive gadgets halfway around the world in a week and a half.

I’m just saying: we had expected today to be special, and instead it’s just Tuesday.

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