UPDATE: AT&T has a press release up. It's for real.

A toss-away line in Walt Mossberg's iPhone 3G S review (yep, it's up already!) made us do a double take. Then a spit take. Then... (what other kinds of takes are there again?)

AT&T, stung by criticism in recent days, has just decided to offer the lower, new-customer prices at launch to iPhone 3G owners eligible for upgrades at any time up to Sept. 30 of this year, even if they were originally told they’d have to pay the $200 premium.

No, we don't believe it either. But we'd love to believe it. AT&T, some confirmation?

If it's true, it's a catastrophically generous gesture from AT&T to it's beaten (by network issues) and battered (by lack of MMS and tethering) customer base. In essence, it's like handing every iPhone 3G upgrader $200 in cool hard cash. (That's why we're having such a hard time believing it!)

If it's true, however, (and not to look a gift carrier in the mouth) what's going to happen for those who already pre-ordered at the $499/$599 price?

AT&T (via Macrumors) has posted the above video in hopes of clarifying how customers, new and existing, can get a brand new iPhone 3G S come next Friday:

On launch day (June 19th), two lines will form at 7 a.m. local time at the AT&T retail stores. Customers who had pre-ordered from retail stores will be able to pick up their iPhone 3GSs at that time, while customers who wish to purchase that day will have to wait until the store opens at normal business hours.

Pricing is still $199/$299 for 16GB/32GB on new activations with full subsidies. Customers already under contract, having already received subsidies last time around, can expect to pay up to $599/$699 (though some discounts might bring that down a tad).

So, does the video help answer your questions, if not allay your frustrations?

BGR has just reported that AT&T may be working on a handset exchange program to be unveiled this upcoming June. Do you think this may have something to do with a new iPhone being released? Yeah, TiPb thinks so as well.

So, say you bought the iPhone 3G sometime in the last year and a new one comes out this June or July, technically you should not be eligible for the subsidy price. What does AT&T do about this? They introduce their new "Phone Trade-In" program of course. This may be one way AT&T will try to calm the angry hordes of people who feel they are owed the lower price. Keep in mind this is not without strings attached.

• The phone being traded in can’t be more than two years old and must be in fair shape
• The new phone will not have any subsidies applied to it, so basically whatever your trade-in covers will be your “savings”
• Trade-ins will be valued from $50 to $200

This is very nice of AT&T if this does indeed turn out to be true. While I would not go this route, it may be a valuable option for people looking to upgrade to the latest and greatest iPhone this summer.

(Personally, I say unlock your current iPhone and sell it on eBay. You should receive more $$$ than AT&T is willing to give you...)

[Via BGR]