AT&T Doesn’t Care About Customer Loyalty

I am one of the millions of iPhone users here in the United States.  I jumped on the 3G bandwagon this past winter even though new hardware from Apple was a likely bet this summer.  Now Apple has unveiled their iPhone 3Gs with a new 3.0 OS to go with the hot hardware.  The new iPhone hits consumers fingers June 19th, at least for those who can afford it!  AT&T is not subsidizing the new handset for their current customers.  The only way to see a deal is to be off contract or near the end of it.  This leaves millions of users who upgraded to the 3G out to dry.

Sure I can get a iPhone 3GS, but with no upgrade discount or contract commitment it will cost me $599 for the 16GB model or $699 for the 32GB model.  Is AT&T out of their damn minds?

All the customers AT&T lured in with the iPhone from day 1 are now being told to “F*** off” as AT&T drops prices for new customers who don’t mind the old 3G 8GB hardware as low as $80 refurbished, or a brand new 16gb iPhone 3GS for $200 with two-year contract.

I won’t even get into the debacle about AT&T not being able to deliver on MMS messaging or tethering for at least a couple months.  MMS?  Really AT&T?  Something that even the cheapest candybars can do? All carriers in other countries will be offering MMS and tethering which the new iPhone is more than capable of doing, except AT&T.

AT&T must really feel confident they can hold onto their exclusive contract with Apple.  However, Apple ripping on AT&T at WWDC with boos coming from the crowd doesn’t inspire much confidence in that notion.

I hate you AT&T, you and your poor business practices.