G1 hits October 22nd for $179

**ickyfehmleh** · 09-23-2008, 12:37 PM

I can't even bring up the tmo 'Upgrade My Phone' page. I tried calling Tmo shortly after the announcement (~9.30am Arizona time) but the absurdly nice rep said they don't currently have the ability to offer the G1 anywhere but the website right now. He did say that my account is eligible for an upgrade price, however.

Now the site loads but states:

Upgrading to a new phone is fast and easy. We've already calculated the best price** for you on each phone, and standard shipping is FREE!

Sorry, please try again later.
Our systems are currently unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Come on Tmobile, get your act together.

**ggreeenwood33** · 09-23-2008, 12:39 PM

my web page won't even pull up when i click on the upgrade now. most likely because there are 3 billion people on there right now. i'm surprised i even got through to a rep.

**phillramey** · 09-23-2008, 12:51 PM

I can't get the upgrade page to load up either. I did manage to get to it earlier and my price (after $100 savings!) was $299.

**WazzuKirk** · 09-23-2008, 12:53 PM

Yep, my G1 at checkout was $347. ($299 for the phone plus tax/upgrade fee). I am fairly upset at T-Mobile about this. They stated a flat pre-order price of $179. I have been a T-Mobile customer for 6 years now and this is how I'm treated? C'mon, give me a better discount.

**kgman** · 09-23-2008, 01:24 PM

Mine was 299 before taxes as well. I can only assume it was because I upgraded my phone last Christmas for a Tmobile Shadow. I've been a customer for many years, so no real discount for being loyal it seems, thanks TMO!

**raspberriestars** · 09-23-2008, 02:54 PM

I asked customer service online why we weren't able to get the 179 price as loyal customers. here was the answer:

i will need to refer you to www.t-mobileg1.com for specifications, features, FAQs and to purchase the device. The pre-sale offer is only available through the Web and is not available through Customer Service or in Retail stores. i am not able to offer you a different price at this time as it is not available on your upgrade list as yet. the price that you were offered is according to the 9 months of tenure that you have with T-Mobile.

You can also find additional FAQs, features and specifications on the T-Mobile G1 with Google Support Overview in the purchase path on My T-Mobile. You must have a My T-Mobile login to access this information.

When I noted I have been a customer for longer than 9 months, the answer was:

the tenure is measured by the last time that you upgraded your phone.

interesting...eh?

**DesignDawg** · 09-23-2008, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by raspberriestars

interesting...eh?

Not at all. I mean, I don't want to attack you or anything, but why do people always think they should be considered special enough for the rules not to apply? It's a set of rules put in place by TMobile to lose as little money as possible to customer attrition. If they should be all about "loyal customers", who should make the call? CSRs? You'd have every person in every store giving away the farm just to keep customers from yelling at them! If you got a free/discounted phone from TMobile, you were given all the conditions, and you agreed to them. Why should they not apply to you now?

**raspberriestars** · 09-23-2008, 03:03 PM

Well the problem is, I never saw anywhere that the price would be 299 or that it even said "as low as 179" (I'm not saying it doesn't) and the other thing is that if I'm willing to extend my contract for two years *which is why they can offer a discounted price* then how is that different from a new customer?

If I were not extending my contract then I could understand paying the full price. In times past when I have upgraded my phone, I have received the same price as a new customer on an upgrade. Why the change now on this phone?

They KNOW they're going to get their money from me, as they have for 2 years and if they lock me in for another two, history shows I will pay.

**Deacon** · 09-23-2008, 03:08 PM

well my interest in the G1 just left the building. a new 2-year contract isn't enough to extend the $179 price for existing customers? during the press conference no mention of *under certain conditions or *rules apply or even any hints at *as low as were made.

i was excited about this and i saw it as a reason to stay with tmobile (i had been waiting on their iphone answer) but now..what's the point really? especially when i can switch services and get a 2-year contract plus an iphone for $199 at another carrier.

**chriswei** · 09-23-2008, 03:10 PM

I just logged on to check out the pre-order upgrade, and it lists a price of $299 with a 2-year agreement. I've been a T-Mobile customer for several years now, and that's a far cry from the $179 pre-order price mentioned during the live announcement. I've been putting off looking at iPhone until I had a chance to see the T-Mobile Android announcement, but it looks like the costs are going to be comparable. I'm also on a legacy 1-year contract cycle with T-Mobile, which I've been able to stay on during various phone upgrades; it doesn't look like that's an option here, so if it's a required 2-year contract, I guess I can start looking at the iPhone again.