i'm not sure who deserves the fuck you.

but i'm certain someone does.

the iphone is truly a phone like no other. i believe it is precisely because of that status that it's also the biggest fuck-job of a phone to buy. apple set the bar, and perceived value, high when it released it's first iphone about a year and a half ago. it charged a more than one hundred dollar premium for it's offering as compared to other smart phones. after they lowered the stupid high price, they made it right by refunding early adopters the difference, with a gift card. in the process they really lost nothing in the way of revenue (as a hundred bucks doesn't go all that far at an apple store), and they placed their phone in a self created super premium category.



about a year later, apple offers the 2nd revision of said phone with the expected improvements and a new sales push offering the familiar telecom cross-subsidy business model. tied to at&t service since it's introduction, apple and at&t started getting really serious about making sure those phones didn't leave the store without a service contract. after all that is exactly what's in it for at&t. i get it. what i don't get is the double fuck-job that is now what it is to buy an iphone if you already happen to have at&t service.

about six months after that. i get an iphone gift card as a christmas gift. i am thrilled. i've been pretty fucking hyped on this thing since it came out, but have delayed getting one primarily because of the cost. so this is great right? not as great as i thought. here's where i'm at: i have an at&t contract. i am not yet eligible for an upgrade (not til february twelfth). therefore i pay full price for the the hardware and keep my service arrangement (essentially). fine. i was ok with that. but apparently at&t is entirely inflexible on early upgrades pertaining to iphones, and apple is unwilling to sell an iphone with out a shiny new two year agreement. so, as it stands i get the worst of both worlds. i get to start my two year internment all over again, and pay the full suggested retail for the phone. i guess this year christmas will be in february...about four months before apple will almost certainly introduce the third generation iphone which i will no doubt want.

fuck. you. somebody.