Update: AT&T has circulated its press release confirming the iPhone 3G price and launch date. There is no mention of discounts and the release says that the phones will go for full retail price with a 2-year contract required for all purchases.

So there it is the 8Gb iPhone will go for $199 and the 16Gb for $299. The only piece of the puzzle left for those of us here in the US is what exactly AT&T will do. At $199 for an outright purchase and Apple now reported to be allowing the phone company to keep more of the monthly charges to allow for subsidies we could see the iPhone for new customers at $50 to $99.

That said knowing how AT&T operates I would not be surprised in the least to see AT&T not offer any discounts on the device at all. If they want folks other than technophiles to buy the iPhone 3G they had better do something.

I still hope that AT&T will do something for current iPhone owners with discounts if they offer them at all. The reality is that if you bought the first gen iPhone in the last year you probably better just plan on coughing up full retail price. At least it’s not $600 like it was this time last year. Another thing that current owners of the old iPhone need to consider—your old iPhone is worth next to nothing today.

If you had planned on selling your first generation iPhone to pay for an iPhone 3G you are pretty much out of luck with the low price of the new phone. I bet we will be hard pressed to get $50 to $100 for the old phones. And if AT&T happens to offer significant discounts to new customers we may have a first generation iPhone paperweight.