If you don't want to sign a contract, you can buy a no-commitment phone, but they start at $599 for an iPhone 3G S. See, AT&T gets its money one way or the other. Nobody's "subsidizing" anything.

The Macalope hates this crap for the same reason he hates car shopping. Why can't he just buy the damned thing instead of having to engage in some Mamet-esque battle of wits to figure out who's smarter or simply relentless enough to come out on top?

Should people take responsibility for understanding the things they're signing? Absolutely. But let's not pretend that this deal is being conducted without any psychological incentives that don't necessarily have the customer's best interests at heart.

"Alas, poor PowerPC. I knew him, Horatio. A processor of infinite delays." - William Shakespeare