Thanks for asking the easy question first. If you're not currently paying an AT&T cell bill, or you want to set up a new account -- say you and your spouse or partner have a multi-line account and you want another line, this one under your own name -- you pay the fully-subsidized price: $199 for the 16-gig iPhone 3GS, $299 for the 32-gig and just $99 for last year's 8-gig iPhone 3G.

Caution: The answers get iffier from here on out.

Confusion begins. To find out if you're eligible for what AT&T calls "upgrade" prices -- the $199/$299 for the iPhone 3G S, $99 for the iPhone 3G -- you need to go to AT&T's site and run the qualification widget by entering your phone number and password to your online account. If you haven't created an online account with AT&T, you'll have to do that first; it takes about 5 minutes.

An even easier way is to call *NEW# -- that's 'star symbol,' 639, 'pound' sign -- from your iPhone. You'll receive a text message from AT&T in the next few minutes telling your whether you're eligible, and if you're not, when you will be.

Depends.