Steve Jobs himself described AT&T’s early update pricing for the iPhone 4 as “generous,” and generous it is — suspiciously so. How generous?
Well, if you qualify for an upgrade before December 31st, the 16GB iPhone 4 will cost you just $199 while the 32GB model will cost you $299. Things get a lot steeper if your upgrade is after the start of 2011, though, with prices jumping to $399 and $499, respectively. Don’t want to sign a new contract, but still want an iPhone 4? Prepare to pay $599 to $699.
It’s unclear why AT&T is being so generous… but one thing’s for sure, it’s not out of the munificence of their black, ichorous corporate hearts. There have been reports of a Verizon iPhone 4, but Verizon themselves have said there is no iPhone coming to their network in the “immediate future.” “Immediate,” though, is a weasel word, so who knows?
Then there’s Christmas to think of. AT&T is going to be competing with Android Gingerbread and — more laughably — Windows Phone 7 at the end of the year. AT&T wants to lock their customers in now.