Nor did they actually announce that, that would even be the price.

Ummm, yes they did.

Officially? Because as my center has flyers up sure those might be the pricing but not official until announced by AT&T.

it was on our website. when they announced it when they announced the early upgrade price. but it does state it's not available yet.

I did not see on the website about it. But I do know the price and that it is not availible yet (so much for internal info.) However, nothing said in stone until they announce it as availible. That was all I was saying.

OK even if the prepaid customer did buy the iphone. Now...they still would not be able to activate it cause they need the iphone data package which is only available on post paid accounts right? Correct me if I am wrong. We dont get the Iphone here, which means we get no literature on the device. 😎

To my understanding you can not even use the iPhone on a prepaid plan.

They were indeed announced. They specifically said they would be available at a date in the future without contract.

Please, oh legal mind of phonescoop, please challenge this and let us know how it goes.

and you would have an argument if the iphone was the only phone on the only service of ATT... so the beauty is (as much as i don't think the iphone) that we have choice, so if we don't want to pay for the iphone plan we don't have to buy the iphone.

Plooky doesn't believe in personal choice. If he doesn't like something it should be legislated out of existence.

Your responses are always quite comical on many levels, though more often than not, they leave me feeling a fair amount of pity for you.

You do realize that it is in fact at&t limiting the choice here and using processes that run contrary to what you have claimed before.

So please explain to me why if someone wishes to pay the full price for the phone - they are still forced into a 2 year commitment with an ETF hanging over their head. Also, please address why people are forced into a data plan even if they decide not to use the laughable 3g network at&t has.

Because AT&T can make any decision it wants to. If they do not want to make it available right off the bat for the no commitment pricing it is THEIR decision. We do not know what the process will be for the no commitment pricing yet.

Oh, here's a thought! Maybe AT&T isn't in the "selling phone" business, like say Best Buy or Radio Shack. Maybe it is in the "selling minutes" business and wants people to hang around for a while. Let's call the discount by their real name, OK? These are "bribes" and "kickbacks" to get people to stay with us. Why would a company lose money on a phone when you can walk away the very next day?

Well with that theory sell the phone at price and then see what kind of customer base any cell provider has. 🙂

first off, the $399/499 pricing is not the no commitment pricing, it is the early upgrade pricing. it's discounted off the original price of the phone which is $599/699. second the reason the phone has to have the data package is because the device is designed to keep you up to date on weather, directions, news and email. if you dont have the data package, you would end up with a $10,000 phone bill from the pay per use charges. so unless you want to pay a $10,000 phone bill, we give you a $30.00 data package.

Choice. More of the fact that AT&T/Apple chooses to not offer the handset for no commitment at this time and said customer CHOOSES to purchase under those terms or chooses to not purchase the handset.

Foreign concept to you I know.

Not sure how I would sleep at night if you didn't worry and pity me.

I disagree.

Why when paying the full price for the phone (something you often champion) are you still forced into a contract and data plan.

The reps here claim the ETF is to recoup possible losses on a subsidized phone, yet that clearly is not the case here as the phone would not be subsidized.

Imho, apple and at&t have been engaged in collusion and price fixing - this is but one example.

Prepaid price plans are not compatible with the 3G Iphone. That is the end of the story right now.

You keep stating "when paying full price for the iPhone", but here's the big issue - YOU'RE NOT PAYING FULL PRICE. The 399/499 price is the EXCEPTION UPGRADE pricing, which means it is still at a discount. ATT has not released how much the phone will be when priced at full retail pricing, original information showed to be around the 599/699 pricing, but that was just original speculation.

If you want to argue that it's illegal to sell a phone and not offer a "full retail option" (which was argued succesfully in Europe) then feel free - but your current arguments have no merits as your facts are not straight.

So sh*t or get off the pot. Challenge it.

God knows I hate the iPhone situation because as an owner of dealer stores I am not allowed to sell the handset. Better yet sell your worthless arguments to Apple, considering they have been the ones to limit how the phone may be distributed. Considering you have ZERO idea how much Apple charges AT&T for each handset you do not know if the $399/$499 price point is below their cost (maybe they agreed to pay a higher cost per handset to include rate plan royalties). Better yet again why don't you take up this argument with the WSJ and numerous other news agencies that have said AT&T will not make any money at the $199/$299 price point unless the customer stays past 2 years. Logic would then dic...
(continues)

So now the non-subsidized price is actually the subsidized price but they are keeping that a secret? 🤣

Like I said, comical.

I guess that is your version of speechless. You aren't that stupid.

I find your lack of the ability to comprehend such a simple fact comical. The 399/499 price point is still a subsidized discount. AT&T doesn't sell the phone for the "full retail" option. That simple fact undermines your whole argument in this thread, yet you can't seem to wrap your one track mind around something as simple as that. That's what is comical.

He's right..full retail will be 599/699. 199 is like $400 off... Even with $30 extra per month...after 2 years of the required data feature, it still comes out to only $320 profit over a course of 2 years...

I was agreeing with someone saying that phone service is just that a service...

I pay full retail now by buying phones online for good price and just putting in my ATT sim.

Buinesses are in the business of making money.

Of course your thoughts on what ATT and Apple are an opinion you are entitled to.

Personally I think ATT has really lacked in their line up of phones thanks in part of carrying the iPhone and iPhone 3G, but I can go somewhere else, so I choose to pay my phone bill and buy phones online.

but you are barking up the wrong tree, i think subsidized phones in general suck.

Yeah.... it's not like the non 3g iphone was subsidized .....oh wait...it wasn't.

Fail. Miserably.

VZWKYO said:
What kind of an idiot you have to be to even think that will ever be possible?

🤣

Apparently VZWKYO was right - even at full price at&t will try treat you as though you have a subsidized product.

Your one track mind and inability to comprehend even the most basic of facts is simply mind boggling! What do you not understand about the fact that there is not a full price option to purchase the iPhone? Is it really that difficult?