Same thing for me, but I'm patient and I know I'll soon enough have my applications.

@Viper007Bond : I was one od those who didn't want to buy the january update, but finaly bought it after the keynote in february. I don't really mind now having payed 20$ more, because I really used the notes, mail, google maps, and weather temperature since I have them. They were so usefull that it was worth it for me. I'm glad you waited tough, since it cost you less.

@XIV: Yeah, I know. My iPod is jailbroken, so I got them via alternate methods. Mail rocks. :P

Did you have the January Software Update? Maybe we are getting 2.0 from free. If not, luck you!

Did you have the January Software Update? Maybe we are getting 2.0 from free. If not, luck you!

Nevermind, I did get the notification that the update was available for sale but when I clicked more info iTunes couldn't complete the request.

Soo close...

Nope - free here too. But all the apps I've tried quit out on launch, including MonkeyBall.

@ Darren, that doesn't happen here... that kinda sucks. Try "restoring" it

it's not the monthly subscription that you pay that makes it subscription based accounting. It has to do with how apple realizes the earnings in their report. I believe it is similar to depreciation being calculated over time. It doesn't have to do with the fact that it is included in your monthly fee. It is more like instead of apple saying we make $300 today. They say we made $x per month for the next 2 years.

All it proves is that Apple isn't basing their iPhone accounting on the phone contract. We already know that Apple is no longer getting a portion of the contract revenue. Apple is accounting for iPhone revenue on a subscription basis over the course of a year or two. In this manner they can provide new features without charging. They aren't accounting for iPod revenue on a subscription basis and under the Sarbanes-Oxley act they aren't allowed to provide new features that weren't advertised for the original product without charging.
This has nothing at all to do with the phone contract and only has to do with how sales are accounted.

It'd be nice if everything were accounted for on a subscription basis, but for whatever reason Apple has chosen to only do so for iPhones.

ps. Who is forcing you to upgrade? If you don't like the product or terms, don't accept them. Me? I got my iPod less than a month ago and I can't wait to upgrade.

To expand on what James C (above) mentioned, the Apple TV is also on the same accounting model as the iPhone... the monthly subscription of AT&T's service is irrelevant. A lot of people get AT&T's revenue sharing mixed up with Apple's own internal accounting model as well.