I’ll admit, I have iPhone 4S envy. I wanted one and headed to Verizon to see what I had to do to shift my current iPhone4 that I bought last November over to my partner and buy the new 4S version. Was I surprised! Though I had seen prices in the $199 range, the price for me was $650!
I was informed that I was in the middle of a two-year contract. What?! No new upgrade for another year! Unless I wanted to part with $650.
I thought that the relationship with Apple and the cell phone companies was a different beast. I had been led to believe that I was buying the phone from Apple and that then I paid a monthly fee to the cell phone companies, either Verizon or AT&T for the data package.
Obviously, I missed something in this new paradigm.
I couldn’t believe that Apple would be advertising the new iPhone 4S at $199 prices, only to find out that I couldn’t purchase at that price for another year. Now, what about that iPad I wanted to purchase? If I buy an iPad and later want to upgrade, what price will I pay? The advertised price? Or, Verizon’s inflated, “out-of-contract” price. Now, I’m worried.
I am aware of the rapacious roaming charges billed by Verizon and AT&T. I am aware of the extra expenses of using the phones overseas. (The main reason I want the iPhone 4S is so that I can use my Verizon phone overseas where GSM systems are the rule.) But, mistakenly, I was under the impression that unlike buying a Motorola phone from Verizon, in the case of the iPhone, I was purchasing my phone from Apple.
Right now, I have very little good to say about Verizon, except that I can use the phone in the Metro system in Washington, DC, and that the reception in the DC area is far better than AT&T. (Those are the main reasons I switched from AT&T.)
Incredulously, I checked back with Apple to make sure Verizon was telling the truth. Apple verified Verizon’s story. I asked Apple, “Who was buying all of these millions of upgrades.” Everyone who just purchased the IPhone 4 about a year ago has to cough up $650+ for the new phones.
So, readers, here’s a reality check. If you purchased an iPhone 4 last year when they first came out, you are only in the middle of your contract. Unless you want to part with more than $650 for the upgrade, don’t bother getting excited.
Or, you’ll have to figure out a way around the system by cross-upgrading with a friend and then passing along your old phone to them. There may be solutions, but Verizon (and, I presume, AT&T) aren’t making it easy.
Was anyone else blindsided by this contract situation with the iPhone? Or, was the upgrade path clear to the rest of the world and only confused me?
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
