According to the fine print on Apple's iPhone page, "for non-qualified customers, including existing AT&T customers who want to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G, the price with a new two-year agreement is $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB)." Though the terms and conditions are vague, that single line of fine print has been enough to ignite a firestorm of outrage across social media channels.
On Twitter, angry iPhone owners have started spreading a pair of petitions that implore AT&T and O2 (the iPhone's carrier in the UK, which apparently has similar upgrade terms) to provide a cheaper upgrade path for existing iPhone users. The "twititions," have been spreading quickly today, attracting over 3,000 signatures so far.
The O2 twitition, which was created first, has more than twice the number of signatures as the AT&T twitition, but both are gaining speed as they spread virally through retweets on Twitter. Of course, there is a long way to go before either petition gains anywhere near the critical mass necessary to force AT&T's hand.