the.blog

The first day of Apple’s WWDC has been a momentous occasion for many Apple enthusiasts (read: rabid fanboi). There is a newness in the air, the night before is a mixture of anticipation and wonder, will we get any work done between 10am and noon tomorrow? Will there be a new X released? What is the limit on my credit card right now? The question is hopefully yes to all of these questions, and the man in the horn-rimmed glasses and turtle neck will make us believe that it’s going to be great!

Keynote day, never really disappoints us, especially during WWDC, even absent Steve, and definitely for the past few years since the birth of the revolutionary iPhone. Last year definitely didn’t disappoint, new phones, faster network speeds, an app store that has proved to be a shimmering example of Apple “getting it mostly right”. Oh, and subsidized phone prices. This year brings us the third incarnation of the phone, third version of the OS software, and a host of new features:

• Speed: CPU and Network (HSPDA 7.2Mbps support)
• Battery life improved
• Camera 3MP, Autofocus, and video recording (30fps)
• Voice Control
• Compass (integrates with Google Maps)
• Accessories support
• Many more software improvements…

To the haters among us, those who will remind folks that X phone had that feature in 2002, and welcome to the year X … they’ll probably pan this device as well. The number of folks who have gravitated to this phone and the iPod touch are proof enough that there’s something here, 40 million can’t be too wrong. The listed features above, and the many upgrades available in 3.0 are pretty compelling for an upgrade.

So should you buy it? Yes. It looks like a solid phone, and they are taking pre-orders at Apple right now, where you can check your eligibility for the special pricing with AT&T. Wait, wait, you might be saying, I bought my phone only a year ago, and these contracts are … 2 years long … uhm, huh? Isn’t there a fanboi number I can put into a form where you can see, that I’ve been plowing money into a new phone every year now. If you kept your original iPhone and didn’t upgrade, chances are you can be blessed with the subsidized pricing of $199 for the 16GB 3GS, or $299 for the 32GB 3GS. This of course also applies, for you folks who haven’t crossed over to easy street, and donned your persona with the coolest gadget this decade.

So what gives, is AT&T going to screw us out of the precious!? The pricing given for eligible customers during the keynote: $99 for the 8GB 3G, $199 for the 16GB 3GS, and $299 for the 32GB 3GS. Awesome. If you’re eligible

For those of us who bought last year, the answer isn’t so clear, and the pricing is somewhere between a $200 premium to a $400 premium on top of the “eligible customer price”. Yes, $299 8GB 3G, $399 16GB 3GS, and $499 32GB 3GS, if you’re lucky. And if you aren’t, $499 8GB 3G, $599 16GB 3GS, $699 32GB 3GS. AT&T in a statement today said that the subsidized prices would probably be available after 18 months into your 2-year contract. At these prices, unless you’re willing to unlock the phone and try your luck on eBay (phones seem to be going for ~$800), it’s not worth the upgrade right now.

Many have cried out pangs of hatred for AT&T, and while I share in the enthusiasm for the latest and greatest, most of the arguments are of the “but it’s not fair” variety. And the detractors pull together cold data, about the carrier and how phones are subsidized from their true cost and they need to make their money back, and it will all sound like a perfect little formula. While I’m pretty sure we’ll see a lot of news updates from the AT&T and Apple camps over the course of the next couple days, I think the move to only offer the phone at a premium to 3G customers is wrongheaded. AT&T stands to gain a lot of good will by re-offering the subsidized price, and assuring that June 19th will be a windfall of device purchases and new 2-year agreements on the books.

Alas, we don’t really know anything yet, and if the pricing remains the same … at least the lines next Friday will be shorter. For me, it looks like it will be an Apple Christmas.