You know what fries my tomatoes? Why can't existing iPhone customers pre-order or just order the iPhone 3G from Apple.com or AT&T's website? I never have and never will unlock my iPhone so if they're doing it to prevent unlocking it's lame to turn a cold shoulder to their existing users who DON'T unlock. I don't want to have to wait in a long line to get mine, and more importantly I will be unavailable for a few days on and after launch. I expect stores to be out of stock by the time I am available, and if I had the option I would just pre-order it now so that it could be sitting at home waiting for me to return. I can buy other phones from AT&T's website, why can't they just transfer my info and sign me up for my new plan the same way?

I'm a self-admitted Apple Fanboy, but regardless of what side of the fence you stand on, you have to tip your cap to a man like Bill Gates. There are a million reasons to thank him for the impact and innovation he's brought to the industry, where even if you didn't like the products Microsoft put out, it inspired others to build something they felt was better. Without Bill, our tech would only be about as advanced as it was in 1997 right now.

Thanks for everything Bill. Best of luck in all your future endeavors!

If this actually happened to you, you'd be screwed and have to pay the unsubsidized price for your replacement. This is the way it works for every other phone. If you get a Blackberry for a $99 subsidized price but you happen to smash it up on the way home, you will have to pay through the nose for your replacement. It's possible AT&T could surprise me and be compassionate of your situation, but I highly doubt they would eat an additional $200 just because you were unlucky and busted the phone.

Unfortunately these other comments are also correct in that AT&T doesn't offer insurance on the iPhone for some reason... maybe there are other 3rd party companies that offer a cell phone insurance plan separate from AT&T you'd like to take a chance on? I wouldn't recommend it though... Insurance companies are almost as shifty as cellphone companies...

No one seems to make the comment that in addition to it being difficult to sell your original iPhone, you are not eligible for the $199 price even if you re-up your contract for another 2 years. Standard AT&T policy states that you cannot get a subsidized price unless you're a brand new customer, or you're in the 23rd month or later of your contract, which none of the original iPhone owners are (unless they got the phone as a gift or giveaway).

Current iPhone owners should expect to pay closer to $399, unless they can successfully trade their current plan (www.trademycellular.com) and phone to someone who's willing to pick up the remainder so that they can "start fresh" and get a brand new plan and phone.

And while that sucks for us original iPhone owners, it's standard practice for ALL cellphones. So don't use it as hating material Apple haters.

hahaha this actually had me going... especially with the leaked shot of a similar box from London on MacRumors.

But man... that was a total slip on the black back/silver back. haha Fail.

I wonder though, if these boxes are actually going out to Apple Stores, does this mean they are display units until some actual stock arrives? Does that mean end of June is more likely for release? I suppose that makes sense to line up with the projected release of the SDK...

What to do with my current generation iPhone..... ;)

Anyone else happen to notice that the hand seems to have the "#1" on it's middle finger? Bitter much? hahaha

I didn't know Apple Trademarked "MobileMe" in early 2006... Psyched to see what kind of awesomeness Apple will churn out. As a loyal Mac user, iPhone owner, AND .Mac user, I'm psyched for what this WWDC has in store for me.

True story about the hardware announcements. Don't get too excited about a tablet or an MID or whatever. This will be all about the new iPhone and the additions to the SDK based on the new hardware, Me.com (aka .Mac) and how it will integrate with Macs and iPhones seamlessly, and OS X 10.6 and how it will build a great structure for more seamless integration between the iPhone and a Tablet and/or MID that will bee announced at Macworld (right around when 10.6 is rumored to go live). You heard it here first.

Actually this is pretty good news for those of us interested in an apple MID. WWDC is a conference for developers, and almost every year they discuss stuff that pertains to developing (OS X, iLife, SDK, other Software, etc.). They usually wait until MacWorld to drop the sweet products (though yes I am aware that they have introduced product refreshes and such at WWDC).

While I think it's pretty obvious they will put out the 3G iPhone here, it would not surprise me if the next OS X gets discussed. They will release 10.6 with hopefully a lot of stability and improvements, and I'm sure there has to be at least a couple new features, but ALSO with tight integration for an OS X Mobile platform, meant for "more mobile devices".

I'm psyched for January and the release of an apple MID.

That's actually a pretty sexy Palm phone... too bad Palm phones still run only Windows Mobile or the antiquated Palm OS. Come out with something that trumps the iPhone and maybe the company will rise from the depths... doubtful though.