exploremusic

I bought my iPhone 3G last summer on my way to a Coldplay concert. I spent $249 (tax) in for a 8 gig 3G phone.  As part of the deal, I signed up for a three-year plan. 

Although I’m not an Apple fanboy—I’m not a fanboy about anything except certain cars and English bull terriers—I have enjoyed my iPhone.  In fact, it’s become my equivalent of a Star Trek tricorder.

The upgrade to v3.0 of the software, while long in coming, has been worth it.  My phone is faster, has some long-overdue new functions (Cut’n’paste!  Yay!) and it’s easier to find exact spots in audio files.

Still, I live for speed, which is why I was so interested in the new 3GS, which is out today.

There was much angst over whether existing iPhone 3G customers could upgrade to a 3GS.  According to people I’ve talked to, Rogers did a poor job communicating the upgrade policy to a lot of their frontline workers, resulting in a lot of confusion about what customers can and cannot do.

Below is a direct cut’n’paste from the Rogers FAQ page on what existing iPhone customers can do.  If it doesn’t make sense, try again.  I had to read the damn thing about six times before I figured it out.

Meanwhile, if you’re going to shoot for the upgrade, I would LOVE to hear about your experience.  Leave a comment below or send a note to alan@exploremusic.com

FROM THE ROGERS WEBSITE:

If I already have an iPhone 3G from Rogers and wish to upgrade to the new iPhone 3G S are there any special offers.

Yes. For a limited time, if you are an existing iPhone customer who does not yet qualify for an upgrade, you will be able to take advantage of the below two offers for upgrading to a new iPhone 3GS.

Offer 1:

If you are an existing Rogers iPhone 3G customer who has minimum tenure of 6 months since your activation/last upgrade, you can receive $250 off the no-term, device-only price, for a new iPhone 3GS provided that you have a data plan and extend your service agreement by 1 year. This offer does not apply for upgrading to an iPhone 3G.

Offer 2:

If you are an existing iPhone 3G customer who activated or upgraded to your iPhone 3G from July 11-Sep 30 2008 and have consistently spent on average of $100 or more each month on your Rogers wireless services you will get $500 off the no-term price of an iPhone 3GS, provided that you have a data plan and extend your service agreement by 1 year. This offer does not apply for upgrading to an iPhone 3G.

                                  No-term   Offer 1   Offer 2

iPhone 3G S 16 GB $699      $449       $199

iPhone 3G S 32 GB $799      $549      $299

These offers are available wherever Rogers’ smartphones are sold or by calling Rogers’ customer care. These offers are valid until July 31st.