Why can't I buy the new Iphone?

Question

Is anyone as ****** off as me that I cannot buy the new Iphone without paying $499? I purchased the first phone for $700, the second phone for $500 all on the day they came out. Now Apple will let anyone who didn't buy it before get it for $299 but I gotta pay $200 extra or wait till December. Way to **** off your core group. I plan on buying a new phone every year but if I have to wait till December I might as well wait till next June and get a phone that has 64Gigs of memory. Effectively this policy stinks and I'll spend less on apple products as a result. If anyone knows how to get a message through to the idiots who came out with this brilliant marketing strategy let me know.

Answer 1

The first generation iPhone was not subsidized by AT&T in the traditional way. The 8GB first generation iPhone retailed for $599 when first released, not $699, and Apple provided everyone who paid that price a $100 credit.
The iPhone 3G was/is subsidized by AT&T. Since the first generation iPhone was not subsidized by AT&T in the traditional way, all subscribers who purchased and activated a first generation iPhone qualified for AT&T's upgrade or fully subsidized price for the iPhone 3G when first released, or anytime thereafter. There may have been an exception such as someone purchasing another phone at AT&T's subsidized price within a month before the first generation iPhone was released and keeping the phone.
This same applies to every carrier in regards to subsidized phones. You must fulfill your contract requirement for an existing subsidized phone before you qualify for upgrade or fully subsidized pricing with a new phone. Was the first generation iPhone your first cell phone and cellular service? If not, this should no be anything new.
I was a Verizon subscriber for over 6 years before switching to AT&T before the iPhone was available. The entire time I was a Verizon subscriber, I didn't qualify for Verizon's upgrade or fully subsidized price with a new phone until the last 3 months of my 2 year contract for an existing subsidized phone. I got a new phone every 2 years basically, which is common. If I wanted a new phone every 12 months, I would have been required to pay the full retail sales price for the phone I wanted, or at a higher price that was not fully subsidized by Verizon.