Now that official pricing is here, we should be disappointed in AT&T and Apple. The iPhone 3G is going to be a heck of a lot more expensive to own.

In fact, the whole iPhone 3G pricing scheme smacks of corporate America — a product hits it big, so the next time out let’s milk it for every penny possible.

That’s what it feels like.

Here’s a quick review of what it will cost to own a brand-spanking new, faster, sexier iPhone 3G.

Purchase price

We already know this but it bears repeating. AT&T and Apple are subsiding the iPhone 3G, making it cheaper for consumers to buy up-front. The new 8GB model will cost $199, the 16GB model will cost $299. That’s a heck of a lot cheaper than the $600 early adopters paid for the original iPhone, which was later reduced by $200, then it settled in at $299 and $399 for the two phones.

While it looks as though consumers are saving $200, many folks have run the math [Macworld] and are finding that’s not the case. See next item.

Monthly subscription cost

The monthly subscription will cost you an additional $10, meaning that over the course of a two-year contract, or 24 months, consumers will pay an additional $240 for an iPhone 3G. You’ll be $40 in the hole.

This extra cost, supposedly, is because iPhone users tend to surf the Web and check email more than any other cell phone user. They’re using the network more. Well, duh. This feels like when you get something for free — or low cost — and then you’re told you have to pay more for it. Suddenly the bargain doesn’t seem so much like a bargain anymore.

That extra cost adds up because you are required to purchase a two-year contract. However, AT&T also said today consumers can buy the iPhone 3G without committing to the two-year service agreement — for an additional $400 [via Financial Times]. Ouch.

What’s disappointing about the $400 no-contract premium is that you’re still locked in to AT&T. You cannot use the iPhone 3G on another compatible network unless you jailbreak it. (See The Unofficial Apple Weblog’s post on AT&T’s “wacky” math.)

To be fair, AT&T produced an excellent FAQ for all that you need to know about iPhone 3G. This includes common questions, if you’re new to AT&T, and if you’re a current AT&T customer. It’s a must-read before you head to an Apple or AT&T store to put down your credit card. (See also the AT&T video channel on YouTube.)

If you’re curious about the iPhone 3G, Apple posted a guided tour video today which pretty much tells us what we already know about the new hardware and software upgrade.

Texting isn’t included

Under the original iPhone contract, 200 text messages were included in the $20 data plan. Not a lot, but enough to get started. If you wanted more, you paid extra — just like it is for all texting plans from the wireless carriers.

But with iPhone 3G, texting isn’t included. Consumers will now have to pay $5 a month for 200 messages, $15 for 1,500, and $20 for unlimited. That’s an extra $120 a year for the minimum of 4,800 text messages, which my kid can knock out in a couple of months easy.

Suddenly the cheapest plan, which includes 400 minutes of prime talk time, isn’t $69 anymore but $84 or $89 a month with texting — and that doesn’t include local fees and taxes added on to your phone bill.

Suddenly, that $200 savings is at least a $160 loss when you add in the more expensive subscription plan and texting.

Exactly how much does AT&T make off text messaging? CrunchGear worked up the numbers and found that AT&T’s text messaging will cost the consumer $1,310 per megabyte if there’s no texting plan. Consumers can buy a la carte SMS messages for 20 cents each (up from 5 cents, then 15 cents).

Nicholas Deleon’s bottom line for CrunchGear: “AT&T is absolutely screwing each and every one of you with these text messages prices. I don’t want to say they should be free, but there’s no way they should cost what AT&T charges.”

The “oh yeah” costs

There is a one-time $36 activation fee. If you paid this when you bought your iPhone, that fee will be $18.

If you want access to Microsoft Exchange features, including push email, you’ll need to buy the Enterprise data plan — starting at an additional $15 a month. If you don’t need Exchange but would like push email “for the rest of us”, a year’s subscription to MobileMe (Apple’s revamped .Mac service) will cost $99 after a free three-month trial.

Finally, for current AT&T subscribers, are you eligible for a phone upgrade? This shouldn’t affect current iPhone owners because they bought their phones before July 11. But for those under contract using different AT&T phones, you’ll have to pay more for the iPhone 3G.

And don’t forget, if you are switching from another carrier, and you’re still under contract, you’ll be subject to an early termination fee.

Will the added cost be worth it?

For those who do not own an iPhone and have been waiting patiently to get one, they won’t know the difference. Owning an iPhone will expensive, just like it is for other smartphones on the market like BlackBerry and Nokia.

For those who have owned an iPhone from the start, the move to 3G will smart because we never knew how good we had it. The iPhone 3G may be twice as fast, but it’s not half the cost.

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Bull.

AT&T says all it needs to do is add six more markets by the end of June and deployment of High Speed Uplink Packet Access technology — faster access to data networks for mobile phones, for those who could care less about tech speak — will reach more than 280 markets.

So? Will you get 3G speeds where you live or work?

A few miles away from me, in Southlake, Texas, there’s an Apple Store where bunches of people will wait in line, probably in near 100 degree heat, to secure the highly anticipated iPhone 2.0. If they live in the affluent Dallas and Fort Worth suburbs of Southlake or Colleyville or the more modest ‘burbs of Grapevine, Keller, the Mid Cities, Justin, Lewisville — the list goes on — the new iPhone may not receive 3G coverage.

And this is according to AT&T’s own coverage viewer list, which you can review here.

Click on a neighboring city and drill down by zip code, and AT&T’s coverage viewer shows 3G is in every nook and cranny whether a specific city or suburb is listed or not.

Which is it?

It’s clear that AT&T’s 3G-is-nearing-completion announcement is hype leading up to the release of iPhone 2.0, which is expected to be available in early to mid June.

What’s more, the 3G network will be new and AT&T’s numbers are likely based on controlled tests, so your mileage may vary, depending on where you are. The carrier promises uplink speeds of between 500Kbps and 800Kbps, which is certainly a nice bump — again depending on where you are.

What’s more accurate to say is that AT&T’s buildout of its 3G network is proceeding along nicely and a majority of major metropolitan and mid-sized cities are expected to be covered by the time the iPhone 2.0 is released. In the meantime, all 3G devices are compatible with the current EDGE network.

But it’s clear that AT&T still has a lot of work remaining if 3G is to blanket large, medium, and small markets like the EDGE network, which is available in 13,000 cities and along 40,000 miles of highway.

Our advice: Unless you absolutely, positively must wait in line for iPhone 2.0 as a badge of coolness and hipness, hang loose for a few days. Make sure you get 3G speeds where you live, work, or travel.

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