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The iPhone 3G S cryfest has begun! Get over it.

By Joshua Schnell Tue, Jun 9, 2009 @ 10:16 AM

I’m not sure what people expected when they signed a two or three year contract with a telco for a brand new iPhone. Did you expect them to bend over every time a new device drops so that you can get the latest and greatest in technology? I sure as hell didn’t. I signed a three-year contract for my iPhone 3G knowing full well that I’ll be stuck with it for three years. I accepted their terms and conditions and I bought it, in full, without any reservations. Who needs a new phone every year anyway?

I don’t get the freakfest that’s going on right now around the internet. You SIGNED A CONTRACT. I’m not in favor of having to sign a contract for a cellphone, but I knew what I was getting into, and I knew full well that there will be a new iPhone every single year. If you couldn’t deduce that trend based on iPod release schedules, I feel sorry for you.

I don’t get the entitlement people feel with technology. Why should you have the right to get a new device, when you signed a contract for a previous generation item? No company in the world will let you get away with that, no matter what industry they’re in. Why should cellphone companies be any different? This is also the primary reason I’m against leasing anything, or better yet, signing a contract for a computer.

Flip the contract concept on its head for a second, please!

It would be a whole different story if you were the one having a contract altered wouldn’t it? I mean, how would you feel if the contract you’ve signed with your employer gets axed because there’s a newer, better you, sitting in the recruitment office? Something tells me you wouldn’t stand for that would you.

Quid Pro Quo. You can’t have it both ways. Either a contract is binding, or it isn’t. I’ll prefer them to remain binding.

Next time you have to sign a contract take a minute and think about the implications. Stop being blinded by the shiny object being waved in your face, and decide if you really want to be tied into a particular model of a phone for three years. If not, take your ball and go home. It’s called purchase power, and until everyone realizes that the best way to get things changed is to stop giving into companies ludicrous policies and avoid them all together… nothing is going to change.

  • Arnold Jamtart

    Let's talk about what this is really about: the issue isn't whether binding contracts are bad (some are, lots aren't) or whether people should abide by the agreements they enter into (generally, they should), or whether people understood the terms of the contract they signed when they acquired their iPhone (I'd wager that most did), it's that you don't want to listen to people whine. I empathize, but you're but one voice… err… complaining into the maelstrom of millions of years of social evolution. If you don't want to hear other people complain, you should find yourself a log cabin somewhere in the wilderness. At a minimum, you should certainly stay off of echo chambers like Twitter. I guarantee you those kids won't stay off your virtual lawn.

    To the issue:
    Presumably, when people signed a three-year contract, they knew what they were in for (I certainly did), weren't all that happy about it, but decided to lump it because the options were a) get a high-end mobile with an unfavourable contract or b) not get a high-end mobile at all (as you rightly pointed out). Neither option is ideal, but I decided I'd rather have the phone on their terms than not at all. Having signed that contract (actually, mine was verbal, but having *effectively* signed it), I've never entertained the idea of not abiding by the terms. Truth be told, I'm not even sure how I would go about breaking the terms of that contract — I honestly haven't given it any thought. I've signed it; I'll live with it. But there's nothing to say that people can't voice objections to this (or any other) agreement while continuing to abide by it. That's their right as consumers. The current system is clearly unpopular, but as it's the only game in town, people will continue to sign contracts they don't particularly like while complaining loudly. While all the whining is admittedly grating, there's a clearly a high demand for a different way of doing business, and sooner or later, some enterprising companies are going to try to take advantage of that demand. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, etc.

    Me, I'll stick with my 3G. Not because I can't get a new phone until March 2011, but because the 3GS doesn't offer enough for me to justify buying a new phone. Besides, by the time my contract is up, mobile phones will be integrated into our personal jetpacks anyway…

    • http://www.macgasm.net Joshua Schnell

      That’s profoundly untrue. I have no problem with people complaining-hell I do it myself A LOT. My beef is 100% with people who have a sense of entitlement. No one has the right to a new product.