Tuesday, July 1, 2008

The Price May or May Not Be Right

The price is out there for the upcoming 3G iPhone. $199 for an 8GB version is a nice price but it ratchets up from there pretty quickly.

AT&T today announced its pricing structure for the next iteration of Apple's iPhone -- which you can plunk down money for come 8 am, July 11th. There's not much that's surprising here -- new customers and those eligible for an upgrade will be able to nab the phone for $199 (8GB) or $299 (16GB), while "early upgraders" will have to fork over $399 or $499, all with a two year contract and $18 upgrade fee, of course. The telco says a no-commitment version of the phone will be available for $599 and $699, though it looks like that will come after the initial launch. AT&T appears to be leaning pretty heavily towards the all-in unlimited plans, but there are options if you don't want to go that route.

I'm still undecided on whether I want one or not. Well, that's not entirely true: I want one but I'm not sure I want to pay for the phone and for the updated service package. As an existing iPhone user, am I eligible for the upgrade price or am I considered an "early upgrader"? These are things I need to know. Somebody tell me.