Got the iPhone 3G? Prepare to shell out extra $$$ for the new iPhone

If you bought the iPhone 3G on AT&T last year and you were expecting to grab the new iPhone 3G S for $199 (for the 16GB model) or $299 (32GB)—that is, the prices announced during Monday's Apple keynote—think again.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog and AppleInsider are reporting that those of us who were eager (dumb?) enough to buy last summer's iPhone 3G will not be eligible for the discounted $199/$299 iPhone 3G S pricing that Apple SVP Phil Schiller announced during Monday's WWDC event in San Francisco.

Instead, prepare to pay $200 extra for an "early" upgrade, which comes out to $399 for the 16GB iPhone 3G S or $499 for the 32GB version. (As for me, I'm not eligible for the "standard" upgrade $199/$299 pricing until late December.)

According to TUAW, some iPhone 3G owners aren't even being offer the "early" upgrade option—in which case, they're stuck with AT&T's "no commitment" pricing of $599 for the 16GB iPhone 3G S or (gulp) $699 for the 32GB model.

But wait—didn't most of us who upgraded from the iPhone to the iPhone 3G last year get the discounted $199/$299 pricing from AT&T, despite the fact that we were barely a year into our two-year contracts?

Well, yes, but according to an AT&T spokesman I've been trading e-mails with, "there was a difference between iPhone and iPhone 3G—you and other 3G owners got an attractively subsidized price." Huh.

So that appears to be the (extremely) disappointing deal for us iPhone 3G owners who'd been looking forward to upgrading to the 3G S—and I have to say, the revelation is giving me serious pause.

OK, any iPhone 3G owners out there who'll hold off on the 3G S until they're eligible for the "standard" AT&T discount? And anyone else feeling burned that this wrinkle wasn't discussed during the Apple keynote today?

Related:
iPhone 3G owners and AT&T upgrade woes [TUAW]
iPhone 3G users to pay $200 premium for early upgrade to iPhone 3G S [AppleInsider]