O2 and AT&T are catching some heat following the announcement of Apple’s new iPhone 3G S handset on Monday night. Why? Because people who bought an iPhone 3G 12 months ago aren’t eligible for an upgrade when the new model goes on sale later this month.To get one, both operators are saying they’ll have to pay up the rest of their existing contract first – adding $200 /£200 to the price of the 3G S. Spleen is being vented, and online petitions are being signed. On the one hand, the operators aren’t being particularly nasty – you can’t break an 18-month contract just because a sexy new phone turns up. On the other, though, they’ve managed to enrage many of their early iPhone adopters – and the affair shows the mismatch between Apple’s 12-month product cycle and the operators” 18/24-month contracts.
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