[Irish2dabone]

Buzzywood1, Just saw your acknowledgement that I wasn't refering to other bloggers as "Nuckleheads".. thanks for the correction. Again, I totally agree, the 3G is a great tool and very few will regret the purchase... but my point is simple... AT&T should make all things equal and BlackBerry user's should not receive the benefit of a month-to-month contract for Data Plans...when iPhone user's do not... much less make them run it past the 2-yr contract. Simple distinction... that's all. have a good one!

[johnnylawson]

More great news... so I switched to at&t back in may and was told I could get the iPhone for the 199 price in June. July 1st roles around and at&t customer service changes their story and says dead no.

I call the number that [~90605] posted and vented out my frustration about how I was told one thing and now another and felt like I was misguided by a company that should know the answers to my questions before advertising the iPhone 3g.

In anycase, I asked to speak with a supervisor about it and she went the extra steps and looked through all my call logs and she didn't exactly find that call about the 199 - she understood my frustration (finally - someone did). I said I have no reason to stay with at&t if they can't give me a straight answer about a question. They key is that I called June 17th and that's the day i was told it would be 199 no matter WHAT my situation was.

After some persistance and just repeating how I felt like I was being punished for listening to them in the first pace and advised to switch BEFORE the iPhone 3g came out - I finnaly got somewhere. She said she credited my account 200 dollars. Put me on hold, then she said "I went ahead and payed this months bill for you as well". How cool is that. She went the extra mile. Grant it - I shouldn't of had to go through al lthis frustration and all - but she seriosuly understood and wanted to make things right.

Hope that encourages some of you that were in the same boat as me. I'm out of that boat now :-) Selling my samsung blackjack - going for about 150-199 on ebay - and I'll end up with a free iPhone :-)

[Irish2dabone]

Thanks Wase... glad some "get it"... but with that being said, "our" frustration is based on the 3G being a great phone with a missing feature or so (voice call's, etc.) and a phone we would truly like to possess if truth be known. Unfortunately, Steve made a deal with the one of many "devils" out there and inadvertently sold us out in the process... Still can't imagine why he wasn't more straight forward at his WWDC address in pointing out the reasons why the phone was "more affordable" putting a spin on why it was, at the same time as plugging AT&T as helping us out with the costs. I realize he can't control what AT&T charges us in recouping their cost of subsidizing... but it is what it is with AT&T in making us pay a premium for using the iPhone. If AT&T were smart (I know, a reach..) they would have made BlackBerry user's maintain a mandatory data plan month to month, but as you and I realize, their world would have crumbled around them in making that Data Plan change...besides that, there are so many BlackBerry user's today, they are still making a nice profit without gauging them on a rigid data plan of mandatory $30 charges each month for internet and email access.
As for me, I am still undecided on going to AT&T regardless how bad I want the 3G... with me it's about principle; therefore, I may have to sacrifice owning the iPhone due to the inflexibility of AT&T's Data Plan just not meeting my personal needs... Guess that's why I never accepted the ton of "refinancing" offers from Country Wide, or great deals on renovating my home by extending my credit... and why i am not expecting the government to bail me out from making "bad financial choices" because I wanted something as "a nice to have", versus something I needed to have. Tough call, but it appears I don't chose to be discriminated against for wanting to use the 3G versus a BlackBerry. To each their own

[Irish2dabone]

mdmoore,
as I just replied to "wase", it essentially comes down to how each user chooses to use the 3G and where and how they spend their $$ in meeting their daily wireless needs. As yourself, I too have been waiting a long time for the 3G... and while i would have preferred having access to it on Verizon with talk of it being "unlocked", that's not going to happen... which means I had to deal with all the other considerations of rolling-over my Verizon family plan to another carrier once all the varying contract timelines ended (sound familiar family plan users??)... but yet, I was willing to drop off of Verizon now, initiating an "individual" plan for now, bringing over my family in '09.

Besides being in IT sales, I like new technology and that of the 3G iPhone is impressive to say the least... and feel it is still far ahead of the competition in their attempt to catch-up with the TILT, Voyager, VU, GLYDE, ENV2, PRADA and spin-off from PRADA, the DARE. But there is a practical side of me that likes being an educated buyer, who doesn't care to be taken advantage of by any Service Provider... in this case AT&T when it comes to "taking advantage" of their customers by making additional profits off of us when we purchase the 3G... So while i am semi ok with their seemingly increasing the iPhone Data Plan by $10 per month (now $30) and wanting to recoup their subsidizing the 3G over a two year mandatory data plan contract by increasing the rate per month at $10... I still have a real problem with their making ALL iPHONE USER's maintain the mandatory DATA PLAN each month past the two-year contract, when BLACKBERRY user's are not subject to that "out of the gate" much less past any contracts. There is just something fundamentally very wrong about their discriminating against, and taking advantage of iPhone user's like that.

So at the end of the day, I have a tough decision to make about joining AT&T and may inevitably decide that while I am willing to bend a little to use the iPhone for 2-yr's, I am not willing to grab my ankles in the process. From a functional standpoint, there are only 5-6 months of the yr I would require sporadic 24/7 access to remote internet and email connectivity while on business travel... and with soaring gas prices, I like to think of myself being fiscally responsible to my employer that pays my expenses in good faith for the use of my wireless phone. They by the way do not purchase our phones, only the expense of using them for personal and or business use, which is nice in itself. SO, for those of you reading this who have the extra $$ to spend every month for 24/7 data access (need it or not), kudo's to you... Guess I am a dinosaur in that regard and will continue to access my emails and internet via my laptop when i can connect on the road and if someone wants to connect with me, they can do so the old fashion way and call me on my cell, notifying me when I need to connect to retrieve data. Great "Job" in providing APPLE users (excuse the pun) a great wireless tool in the 3G... maybe next yr it will be legitimately "affordable" and with AT&T's assistance, more functionally viable for those of us without 24/7 access requirements on a monthly access.
By the way MDMOORE... your very welcome!

[wase]

/irish to da bone, I love the reference to "grabbing your ankles" to ATT!!!

Yeah, its a royal screwing, so, I guess people have to decide if they want this thing so bad, that they will take it "in the shorts" for the airtime/data screwing...
I think most folks would have been glad to pay 299 insted of 199, and not have these ridiculous rate tarrifs imposed on them...

I've been using cell phones since 1983, and I learned A LONG TIME AGO, that it NEVER MATTERS what the cost of the hardware is, its the SERVICE CHARGES THAT YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO!!

[kevincamera]

So let get this straight. You get a Free BlackJack in May, your account is less than 60 days old and you thought ATT Owed you a $199 3G iPhone. WOW! Hope you don't think you're getting a $199 iPhone on Friday. I don't want to behind you when you have to pay the $399. The 200.00 credit is for the extra they will charge on the 11th. You do get an almost free BlackJack. If you like most ebayers and don't have a high feedback or a history of selling 100+ high value items you wont get the high end of the range. Good Luck!

[johnnylawson]

Kevin - At first glance I can see how you saw my situation the way you did - I didn't go really into much detail. Here's some mroe details:

I know I have to pay 399... duh. the 200 dollar credit was because I was told BEFORE i switched to At&T that if i signed on before they released the iphone 3g - I would be entitled to the PROMO price still (grant it at that time they didn't know what it would be and they kept telling me IF there is an iphone 3g). They said I could upgrade at ANYtime (never mentioned the 2 year cycle). Me being new to at&t i was unaware of their upgrade policies which they should of been more clear on. So the iphone 3g came out and steve jobs said it was 199 (yes I saw new contracts or eligble upgrades). So I was concerned from the previous talk I had that convinced me to switch to at&t already. I called up CSR on June 17th and the lady there clearly told me that even though I was a new customer - I would still get the 199 price - EVEN since I signed up in May. I asked like 5 times - Are you sure???? because that was going against what was said here on the forums and websites (this prompted me to call them in the first place to try to get the facts straight). She told me "Sire - the iphone is the exception to the upgrade rule and the 199 price is for anybody and everybody as long as you resign a 2 year contract". This is direct words from a CSR at at&T.
Yes, I got a blackjack II in may - but the lady back then who convinced me to come over to at&t told me to rest assured that this wouldn't effect my elgibility to get an iPhone 3g IF it came out. So going on that and my June 17th call... then what came out on July 1st with the official, official announcement from at&t how this was all going to shake down - I was frustrated. The bottom line here is if you tell a customer something over and over and then change your stance... that is wrong. At&T should of told me they did not have the information at that time and I would of been fine with that. But since I was given False information (the supervisor has records of some of the calls and the notes and she even admitted they told me wrong information over the phone AND in one of the emails they sent me) I pursued this.


Yeah so I hope you understand my whole frustration with this a little more. I'm not crazy for being frustrated for being lied to. I understand i got a deal on the blackjack - and honestly I couldnt understand at the time how they could promise me the promo / 199 pricing still but they did. A promise is a promise and all I did was hold them to it.



Also - the supervisor told me at&t backtracked a little after all this outcry and anyone who signed up in the last 30 days is entitled to the 199 pricing. You just have to get to a supervisor to get that. I was outside 30 days so she gave me 200 credit - same thing.

About Ebay - I'm no amatuer to that site. I've sold over 197 items (last count since I started an account there). My blackjack had a scroll wheel issue recently so they replaced it with an practically a brand new one and I have all the original packaging - I think my odds are good.
Message was edited by: johnnylawson

[Irish2dabone]

Fox News Reports this morning that those having purchased iPhone last year, still being on 2-yr contract... can upgrade to 3G for only $18... this was reported from Manhattan Apple Store with AT&T spokesperson confirming. So... looks like some great news for those of you already owning the old iPhone. Nice! I still have my issues with iPhone user's taken advantage of with the disparity of how BlackBerry users are contracted when it comes to their Data Plan... but glad to hear AT&T are leaning positive with this upgrade for current owners who want 3G