The first Android phone was officially announced today at a T-Mobile press conference and is available for preorder by existing T-Mobile customers for shipping on October 22nd, the official public launch date. Announced price is $179 so I quickly signed into T-Mobile to order my G1 that I have desperately been waiting for. Clicking through the upgrade process I am quoted a *discounted* price of…. $299!!!? What?! T-Mobile says this is a special price just for T-Mobile customers. Apparently, T-Mobile only wants new customers. In case you mention that perhaps I haven’t had my contract long enough, I have seen more than a few Twitter posts about customers who are being told they are eligible for an upgrade and still being quoted $299.
I hope this is a mistake because I really would like to get a G1 but I am just not going to pay more for my T-Mobile loyalty. Another thing, if I am paying “full price” with only an online ordering discount, I shouldn’t be locked into a 2 year contract since I am not getting a discount for it. Dirty dealing T-Mobile.
Check out the Engadget blog for transcripts from the live event or visit T-Mobile to see video of the event.
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