According to an email MacRumors received from Verizon, existing customers will get their long awaited chance to pre-order the iPhone 4 on February 3rd at 3am EST. This is a full week before people who are waiting to switch to Verizon will be able to get their hands on an iPhone 4. Verizon also listed some simple steps for current customers to take to ensure they will be able to place their pre-order on time. Make sure you get your orders in as soon as you can because once their stock has depleted you will have to wait until February 10th just like everyone else.

• Make sure you have your My Verizon self-serve account set-up online. Orders can only be placed through your my Verizon account. You can register/setup your account at…myaccount.verizonwireless.com

• On February 3rd at 3am EST, Verizon Wireless will allow our current customers to order upgrades or new lines to their accounts through your My Verizon online account (make sure you have registered before the 3rd).

Verizon is further enticing AT&T customers by offering a trade-in program for current iPhone owners. It is unclear if the trade-in policy will be made available to all customers or only corporate customers but it couldn’t hurt to give your Verizon representative a call to find out. The trade in prices for AT&T iPhones are:

• iPhone 2G – 16GB: $60
• iPhone 3G – 16GB: $105
• iPhone 3Gs 32GB: $160
• iPhone 4- 16GB: $280
• iPhone 4 – 32GB: $360

So pre-existing Verizon customers get ready for what could be a chaotic night as lots of people will almost certainly be sitting by their computers at 3am on February 3rd. AT&T customers who are planning on making the switch, will you be trading in your iPhone or will you sell it on your own for probably more money than Verizon is offering? We want to know what your plans are come February 3rd!

[ MacRumors ]

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]