Talk about a subsidy...how do I get one?

Cnet news.com writer Tom Krazit reports that AT and T is paying Apple $325 per iPhone 3G! Yair Reiner that claims Apple will wind up getting just as much revenue from the subsidies as it did from the revenue-sharing agreement between Apple and AT and T that was in place before the introduction of the iPhone 3G last week.




The actual price of the iPhone doesn't matter to most people, but certain AT and T customers who might not be eligible for the upgrade price of $199 or $299 will likely have to pay the unsubsidized price--or something close to it-- for the iPhone 3G. Current iPhone owners are eligible for the $199 price, as are new AT and T customers, but some AT and T customers who use another smartphone and have been with the carrier for a short time might have to pay the higher price.
And it matters to AT and T, obviously. The company raised the price of its iPhone data plans by $10 a month to offset the subsidies it's paying to Apple. AT and T is throwing an awful lot of cash at Apple from the start, rather than on an ongoing basis as was the case with the revenue-sharing agreement. Still, the heavy subsidies will be worth it if iPhone 3Gs start flying off the shelves on July 11.