This isn't about the $200; it's a matter of principle. Apple has shown that it has no principles when it comes to doing businesss, other than they are in it to make money hand over fist. I guarantee that if someone reached in your wallet and stole $200 out of it everybody would get angry about it. Even Steve Jobs himself.
They probably made this decision out of spite because those kids have figured out how to unlock the iPhone and he wants to exact a little payback and get while the gettin's good.
And it's not just $200. It's two THOUSAND dollars, because had I have waited I could have gotten an unlocked iPhone for $200 cheaper and kept my old cellular service (no new contract).
The short of it is now, every time I see the Apple logo, I am going to see seven demons overshadowing it. I will never buy another Apple product, I will not buy any iPods or iPhones or Macbooks, I will not allow my kids to buy from iTunes, I will tell everyone I know how unethical and crooked I believe Apple to be, and it will cost Apple far more than the $200 they stole from me. And I'm short-selling Apple stock every chance I get.
May Steve Jobs rot in hell with the Enron and Worldcom cronies.