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AT&T Tells Us How Much We're Going To Spend On The 3G iPhone

Today AT&T finally provided specific details on who will be eligible for the 3G iPhone, and how much they're going to have to pony up to pay for it and its associated services. The bad news is, existing iPhone users are going to see their prices go up. But AT&T will offer contract-free iPhones at some point for $600 and $700, respectively, for the 8-GB and 16-GB models.

Yup, you read that correctly, $600 or $700 is the full retail price of the iPhone. AT&T said it will offer a contract-free version of the iPhone at some point in the future, but didn't specify when.

Until then, current iPhone customers who purchased before July 11; customers activating a new line with AT&T; or current AT&T customers who are eligible, at the time of purchase, for an upgrade discount will be able to buy the 8-GB model for $199 and the 16-GB version for $299. If you're not eligible for an upgrade at all, AT&T will allow you to buy the iPhone at the semi-subsidized price of $399 for 8-GB or $499 for 16-GB. No matter which route you take, you'll be locked into a new two-year agreement with AT&T for one meeeeeellion dollars. Ok, just kidding, the plans don't cost that much ...

Current customers will have to pay an $18 upgrade fee, while new customers will have to pay a standard $36 activation fee. Nice of AT&T to give current customers a bit of a break on that front.

Now, about those plans. AT&T will offer completely unlimited voice and data for the whopping sum of $130 per month. If you only need 1,350 minutes, you'll be shelling out $110 a month, if you only need 900 minutes, you'll fork over $90, and if you only need 450 minutes, expect to be hit for $70 per month.

These plans do not include messaging bundles at all. If you want just 200 messages -- which current iPhone plans include for free -- you'll need to pay an extra $5 per month. If you pay an extra $15, you'll get 1,500 messages, and if you pay an extra $20, you'll get unlimited messages. The maximum you'll spend for unlimited voice, data, and messaging is $150 (before taxes and fees). The minimum is $75 if you go for the option with 450-minutes and 200 messages.

If you're a business user and you want access to your corporate Exchange server, prepare to pay a separate $45 monthly fee, which is to be tethered to the voice plan of your choice.

All current iPhone owners will be able to upgrade to the 2.0 firmware for free, and all 3G iPhones will include the 2.0 firmware out of the box. The iPhone will go on sale at 8 a.m., on July 11, at AT&T retail stores.

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