iPhone 3GS
Well kids, it’s that time of the year again. iPhone season. Last week, Apple announced their latest move in the iPhone marketplace – the iPhone 3GS. The new member of the iPhone family is a small upgrade from the existing iPhone 3G that’s been beating the street for the past year.
What’s the new kid bring to the table relative to the existing 3G?
- HSDPA 7.2
- 3 MP auto-focus Camera
- Video Recording w/editing on the device
- Voice Control
- Slightly better battery life
Obviously, anyone would be happy with more battery life – though the additional capacity doesn’t amount to all that much. Video recording is a nice addition as well. Voice control is a neat toy, but isn’t used too much in general. Phones that run S60 have had voice control features for years now. Same goes for many other manufacturers as well. Is the feature a killer app that’s used all the time? Nope.
E71 HSDPA Speed
HSDPA 7.2 is a nice addition, vs. HSDPA 3.6 on the 3G. However, consider that most AT&T HSDPA customers never see 3.6 Mbps download speed, does 7.2 Mbps really matter? Check out the screenshot on the right from my Nokia E71, which also supports HSDPA 3.6. This is fairly representative of the mobile speed tests I’ve done on the device. In the past, I have seen as high as 1 Mbps, but have never come anywhere near close to 3.6 mbps.
Upgrades from the 3G? Certainly, but marginal, at best. All of the other iPhone 3.0 OS features are also present on the iPhone 3G as well.
Has this stopped a torrent of iPhone 3G customers who seemingly cannot go on living without the shiny new iPhone 3GS? Nope. There’s a gaggle of people signing a Twitter petition in what will be a vain attempt to get AT&T to repeat last year’s exception to AT&T’s standard policy regarding pre-term upgrades for existing users under contract. Kids, think about this. Last year, with the move from the iPhone to the iPhone 3G, AT&T changed the game. The original iPhone used a $20/month data plan that also gave 200 texts. Contrast that with the iPhone 3G, which carried a $30/month data plan and included no texts at all. If you wanted to add those 200 texts back, that’s another $5/month. Effectively, the customer had to cough up an extra $180 a year to maintain the same level of service when they moved from iPhone to iPhone 3G. This increased revenue level allowed AT&T to make an exception to the upgrade policy, allowing users that were only half way through their contract to upgrade with no additional cost above what a new customer would pay.
Still don’t get it? When you buy a phone from a carrier, you’re getting it at a lower price because of your commitment to a contract term of 1, 2, or sometimes even 3 years, though 3 year deals aren’t common in the US. The carrier is partially subsidizing the cost of the device because you’re locking yourself in for a period of time. For original iPhone customers, only being a half way through the contract, AT&T had not fully recouped the subsidy provided on the iPhone. However, since allowing those original iPhone customers would result in an additional $360 above and beyond current revenue levels, it was financially feasible to allow the early upgrades. It was even in the best interest of AT&T Wireless. The fact that customers benefitted from the move was secondary – don’t confuse it with good will from AT&T.
So here we are, another year later. The iPhone 3GS comes at an even lower price tag than before, but uses the exact same plans as the current 3G models. This time around, there is no benefit to AT&T in allowing early upgrades at no additional costs, so they’re not. This year, there are 3 levels of iPhone cost:
- Fully Subsidized – $99 for the 8GB 3G, $199 for the 16GB 3GS, $299 for the 32GB 3GS, comes with a 2-year contract.
- Partly Subsidized – Early Upgraders (12-18 months into contract) are eligible to upgrade for a $200 premium above the fully subsidized cost.
- No Subsidy – If you’re less than 12 months into your contract, you can upgrade, but face a $400 premium above the fully subsidized cost.
Herein lay the source of angst for the twittioners. Kids, get this through your heads. Your phone company is not your friend, and you’re their friend either. You’re their customer – who sends them money in return for services. You’ve agreed to be bound by the terms of a contract. You cannot alter the terms of the deal just because you want the new, shiny toy.
