Apple Now Selling Contract-Free iPhone in Retail Stores?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/03/26/apple-now-selling-contract-free-iphone-in-retail-stores/)

AppleInsider is reporting (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/03/26/apple_stores_now_selling_iphone_3g_without_a_contract.html) that Apple retail stores are now offering the iPhone 3G with no contract commitment required. The 8 GB model is priced at $599 and the 16 GB model is priced at $699. The move comes just as AT&T deploys a similar offer, which was leaked last week (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/03/18/atandt-to-offer-no-contract-iphones-to-existing-customers-starting-march-26th/) and quickly confirmed by AT&T (http://www.macrumors.com/iphone/2009/03/19/atandt-confirms-no-contract-iphone-3g-sales/).

Apple's offer comes with fewer restrictions than AT&T's, as Apple retail stores are apparently not limiting sales to one per customer and are not requiring that purchasers be current AT&T customers.While the phones are still technically locked to AT&T service, it is possible (but not supported) to unlock the phones for use with other mobile service providers. In the US, that is largely limited to T-Moble and Metro PCS, although both GSM providers do not support the 3G network the iPhone 3G needs to connect at faster than EDGE speeds.

Article Link: Apple Now Selling Contract-Free iPhone in Retail Stores? (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/03/26/apple-now-selling-contract-free-iphone-in-retail-stores/)

[iCantwait]

old news to us unlocked aussies

[bedifferent]

Does this allude to possible CMDA/TDMA versions being offered on other non-GSM networks? I recall some rumors about unknown Apple products referenced in the iPhone 3.0 beta firmware (iProd was believed to mean iProduct, a generic term for an as of yet unannounced product). As I do not know the specifics of Apple and AT&T's contractual agreement regarding carrier rights, it does seem odd that Apple is selling a non-contractual iPhone (as such, would any SIMM card work or would there still be an unlocking procedure such as yellowsnow required for non-AT&T usage?).

[roski11]

Yikes, 6 bills for a iphone. I'll pass

[SFStateStudent]

Gawd, am I glad my contract has only 16 months remaining, and my (5) iPhones are already paid for.....:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p

[notjustjay]

Interesting, though I'm not sure what the point would be. The iPhone is not particularly special without the 3G data plan, and if I'm going to sign up for that, I might as well also take the contract and subsidized $199 price.

[albarran9]

I'm an att employe, and thats not what we got as news. you can only get it if you are an existing att costumer to replace an existing iPhone that is broken and or lost. It cannot be used to start a new service with att thus you must purchase the 3G at the $199 price. the no contract phone can also be purchased to use as an add a line for a family talk. if they just sold iPhones to any one who wasn't an att costumer then the phone would be unlocked or shipped to other countries for a profit which is illegal. and since it is an att exclusive phone they have more reason to do so.

[alexbates]

Good thing that Apple has decided to do that, but not a good price for me. If I was buying an iPhone, I would get the $199 subsidized price.

[jibern]

Wow... for my phone to be replaced it'd cost me $700...

I think i'd just upgrade my macbook.

[Drumjim85]

Clearing out stock (slowly) ??

[Roy Hobbs]

Does this allude to possible CMDA/TDMA versions being offered on other non-GSM networks? I recall some rumors about unknown Apple products referenced in the iPhone 3.0 beta firmware (iProd was believed to mean iProduct, a generic term for an as of yet unannounced product). As I do not know the specifics of Apple and AT&T's contractual agreement regarding carrier rights, it does seem odd that Apple is selling a non-contractual iPhone (as such, would any SIMM card work or would there still be an unlocking procedure such as yellowsnow required for non-AT&T usage?).

There won't be a non GSM iPhone and the non-contract phones are still locked

[Beric]

Clearing out stock (slowly) ??

SLOWLY, all right. :p

[i3iz]

The 8 GB model is priced at $599 and the $16 GB model is priced at $699.

http://www.grabup.com/uploads/4d87b0ae3154402270e6c6b057a252ca.png?direct


No one else see this?

[HarleyMan]

I know its late, and I'm tired ......let me see if I have this straight....I can get an Iphone that doesn't have a contract with AT&T :). It can be broken to use other providers. :) But the 2 main ones other than AT&T don't have the G3 speed needed to run the thing.:( Oh and its around $500-$600 :( My Question....What is the up side of this?:eek:

[MacCurry]

Great news if true for those of us with T-Mobile.

We can use T-Zones for non-3G internet at $5.99/month. It saves us about $19/month. If you keep your iPhone for about 3 years, then you recover the cost. Or for those of us who want an iPod Touch with simply a phone without a wireless data plan, you still come out ahead.

[ghettochris]

is there any chance to buy them at this cost and profit? who else in their right mind would buy a 3g with a new model most likely announced in just 1,764 hours?

[Breckenridge]

That is nice, I wonder if I qualify to upgrade my first generation iPhone to a 3G without a contract. I bought my iPhone $699 over two years ago.

[twobluebullets]

If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure that metro PCS is CDMA... As in NOT GSM... ;)

[Mr. Giver '94]

Probably trying to reduce their stock. (of product, not AAPL)

[bedifferent]

There won't be a non GSM iPhone and the non-contract phones are still locked

Right now that is the case, but based on a lot of speculation (rumor mill of course), if Apple is selling a non-contract based iPhone then what is stopping Apple from producing a CMDA/TDMA version for sale on other carriers? If the door to a non-contractually bound iPhone is opened before June, perhaps Apple is testing the waters for new iPhones that may be sold through non-GSM carriers.

[Beric]

Probably trying to reduce their stock. (of product, not AAPL)

Yup. They're trying real hard to get rid of stock, at $600+apiece. :rolleyes:

[Jschultz]

Wirelessly posted (PANTECH-C810/M044.33 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.11) UP.Link/6.3.1.20.0)

and i thought the early upgrade fee of 399 was ridiculous! i thought i would wait to see how todays news would shake out, but im still buying a 199 refurbished.

[ravenvii]

Guess they're trying to get the most $$$ out of the current iPhones before the next ones come out.

Unless they plan to keep the contract-less iPhones the next round, then that'd be kind of neat, even though I'd stick with AT&T anyway, so I'd get the subsidized one.

[Beric]

And what's amazing is that the iPhone 3G 8GB only costs $173 to make (http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/147530/new_3g_iphone_costs_173_to_make_isuppli.html).

[macswitcha2]

Interesting, though I'm not sure what the point would be. The iPhone is not particularly special without the 3G data plan, and if I'm going to sign up for that, I might as well also take the contract and subsidized $199 price.

Yeah, but do the math, how much are you really spending with the contract? Somewhere in the thousands right?

[IJ Reilly]

Yeah, but do the math, how much are you really spending with the contract? Somewhere in the thousands right?

Yes, but contract or no, how else are you going to use the phone but on AT&T's network at AT&T's service plan prices? Where is the savings in paying a big up-front price for the phone, if they aren't going to discount the monthly service charges by at least that much?

[Lanbrown]

If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure that metro PCS is CDMA... As in NOT GSM... ;)

They have both technologies.

Right now that is the case, but based on a lot of speculation (rumor mill of course), if Apple is selling a non-contract based iPhone then what is stopping Apple from producing a CMDA/TDMA version for sale on other carriers? If the door to a non-contractually bound iPhone is opened before June, perhaps Apple is testing the waters for new iPhones that may be sold through non-GSM carriers.

AT&T had a TDMA network and that has been turned off. The companies that provided roaming most likely have also turned their network off. So why would they make a TDMA version?

As for CDMA, why invest in a technology that is headed to the grave. W-CDMA is that nail in the coffin. Sprint is headed to WiMax and Verizon is headed to LTE; which is an evolution of W-CDMA.

[pika2000]

The question is, are these provider-locked or not? If they're still provider-locked, then it's extremely stupid to pay full price for a provider-locked phone. If they're unlocked, then it's fair (unlocked Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is $800). Anybody wants to confirm? AT&T have been selling no-contract phones for a long time, but they're still provider locked.

[skellener]

Originally Posted by MacRumors
The 8 GB model is priced at $599 and the $16 GB model is priced at $699.http://www.grabup.com/uploads/4d87b0ae3154402270e6c6b057a252ca.png?direct


No one else see this?

So? Big deal - the original iPhone was $599 with a two year contract and a ton of people bought it with no app store and no 3G.

[norm l.]

A removable sim card would be better news :cool:
I'd love to top up an iPhone at Aldi.

[deckwalker]

This makes a lot of sense for me. I live outside of the US in a non-iPhone country. I have an unlocked/jailbroken first gen and have been wanting to upgrade (though I'll probably wait until June/July and see what comes out). The big thing stopping me upgrading so far is having to sign a contract with AT&T that I'll never use!

This way I can buy a phone, take it back overseas and unlock and use as I like.

[Jimmy James]

And what's amazing is that the iPhone 3G 8GB only costs $173 to make (http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/147530/new_3g_iphone_costs_173_to_make_isuppli.html).

Does this represent the cost of materials only? Or also Apple's development, staffing, marketing, legal, building lease costs, etc?

I know. How about you become my personal chef. You buy all the groceries you require and make me nice meals. I'll pay you for the groceries.

[Beric]

Does this represent the cost of materials only? Or also Apple's development, staffing, marketing, legal, building lease costs, etc?

I know. How about you become my personal chef. You buy all the groceries you require and make me nice meals. I'll pay you for the groceries.

No, the estimate is of the parts only. Regardless, even if additional costs added up to an astronomical extra $200 (WAY generous), that's still a huge 33% Apple profit.

[Ivan P]

old news to us unlocked aussies

Incorrect. It depends on when you got one, I've been contacting many different Telstra, Vodafone and Optus dealers around Australia (yes, ones not even in my state), in regards to obtaining a legally unlocked iPhone that I pay the outright cost for, and the answer has pretty much been the same every time; that they used to offer one that could be unlocked, but stopped doing so in the months after it's launch. At the moment it's only available on a 24 month plan.

[Ivan P]

So? Big deal - the original iPhone was $599 with a two year contract and a ton of people bought it with no app store and no 3G.

I think i3iz was referring to the fact that the article says a $16 GB iPhone instead of 16 GB (ie: additional $ sign).

[balahir]

http://www.grabup.com/uploads/4d87b0ae3154402270e6c6b057a252ca.png?direct


No one else see this?

I do. Hehe....

Regarding the new iPhone coming in June I hope that it will have $32 GB...

[illegalprelude]

can anybody confirm this? I called and asked 2 apple stores in LA and they thought I was nuts...

[Michael CM1]

Does this represent the cost of materials only? Or also Apple's development, staffing, marketing, legal, building lease costs, etc?

I know. How about you become my personal chef. You buy all the groceries you require and make me nice meals. I'll pay you for the groceries.

Seriously! What kind of moron thinks that all of the charges are parts-related? There are thousands of Apple employees in various positions, and they obviously do work that gets them a paycheck.

Kinda reminds me of an anecdote. A guy has a big, expensive machine that breaks down. He calls a repairman in. The repairman finds that the problem is a $1 handle. "That'll be $500," he tells the owner. "But that part only costs $1." "I know. It's $1 for the part and $499 for knowing where to put it."

[ThomasJL]

Look, there is no point in buying this phone since it's locked to AT&T. If you unlock it, it'll void your warranty as well as AppleCare (if you chose to purchase it).

For the same amount of money, you can buy an officially unlocked (i.e. factory unlocked by Apple) iPhone from Hong Kong or a few other countries.

[xDYLANx]

I could drop six hundy on an iPhone and go to T-Mobile where they have horrible service (customer and coverage) or I could just stay at AT&T and pay the subsidized price and get 3G which T-Mobile doesn't have in my area.

Personally, I'd love to have the iPhone on Sprint's network with a cheaper plan. $90/month for 450 minutes and data and sms is completely unreasonable

[Marx55]

No unlocked iPhone, no puchase. That simple. Besides being contract-free, of course.

[butterfly0fdoom]

what is stopping Apple from producing a CMDA/TDMA version for sale on other carriers? If the door to a non-contractually bound iPhone is opened before June, perhaps Apple is testing the waters for new iPhones that may be sold through non-GSM carriers.

The fact that CDMA phones need to be encoded for the network that they're going to be used on? The fact that GSM replaced TDMA? Apple's not going to go non-GSM. WCDMA replaced GSM while EV-DO replaced CDMA. LTE, for the most part since Sprint likes to be non-conformist, is replacing EV-DO and WCDMA. Why go backwards?

[ITGuy]

Actually, I went into Optus in Sydney several times in the last two months to buy and recharge a prepaid Optus SIM for my unlocked iPhone 2G whilst I was on vacation in Australia. I spoke with the Optus staff a fair bit about the iPhone 3G as recently as two weeks ago. You CAN purchase a prepaid contract-free iPhone 3G with prepaid SIM and the unlock for an extra charge. I decided not to pull the trigger and buy one, and instead wait to see if a new hardware model was available in June/July. You have to specifically ask for a prepaid iPhone 3G. They treat the prepaid iPhones as different stock than the postpaid contract iPhones, and will not sell you one from their postpaid iPhone 3G inventory if they don't have stock of the prepaid iPhone 3G. Optus will email the iPhone's IMEI etc. to Apple, and within 10 days you will receive a SMS message confirming the iPhone has been registered for perpetual unlocking in the iTunes activation servers. You then perform a restore in iTunes and then your prepaid Optus iPhone 3G is unlocked. Optus has a steady business selling the prepaid contract-free unlocked iPhone 3Gs.

Cheers,

ITGuy

Incorrect. It depends on when you got one, I've been contacting many different Telstra, Vodafone and Optus dealers around Australia (yes, ones not even in my state), in regards to obtaining a legally unlocked iPhone that I pay the outright cost for, and the answer has pretty much been the same every time; that they used to offer one that could be unlocked, but stopped doing so in the months after it's launch. At the moment it's only available on a 24 month plan.

[knightlie]

I know its late, and I'm tired ......let me see if I have this straight....I can get an Iphone that doesn't have a contract with AT&T :). It can be broken to use other providers. :) But the 2 main ones other than AT&T don't have the G3 speed needed to run the thing.:( Oh and its around $500-$600 :( My Question....What is the up side of this?:eek:

It's cheaper than spending a Bazillion pounds/dollars on a two-year contract.

[aleck]

Clearing out stock (slowly) ??

Absolutely.
Last year they stopped making 2G version and ran out in May, so I guess this how they have made quite a bit more than previous year and are clearing them out for the new version.

[sixtus42]

A removable sim card would be better news :cool:
I'd love to top up an iPhone at Aldi.

Are you sure you have ever seen an iPhone? The sim is removable ever since, you are asking for a feature every iPhone ever built already has.

What you probably mean is an sim-unlocked version. That you can buy in the Czech Republic, Italy, Belgium, and Hong Kong. And for the lazy ones in Germany, you can just buy a legal EU-Import at http://www.retailkeyshop.com/ for about 100 euro for the importer. And yes, the iPhone works very well with eplus (which is Aldi's network).

[acidfast7]

is this the point where all of the Americans complain that it's too expensive and that you need the expensive plan (to subsidize the cost and to get the full usage out of the phone) and all non-Americans state that it's about time that the Americans have this option?

;)

[acidfast7]

Are you sure you have ever seen an iPhone? The sim is removable ever since, you are asking for a feature every iPhone ever built already has.

What you probably mean is an sim-unlocked version. That you can buy in the Czech Republic, Italy, Belgium, and Hong Kong. And for the lazy ones in Germany, you can just buy a legal EU-Import at http://www.retailkeyshop.com/ for about 100 euro for the importer. And yes, the iPhone works very well with eplus (which is Aldi's network).

Aldi, as in the cheap German supermarket chain?

We have Lidl, but no Aldi, and my German gf complains that an Aldi would be nice for the inexpensive lower-quality food.

[sixtus42]

Aldi, as in the cheap German supermarket chain?

We have Lidl, but no Aldi, and my German gf complains that an Aldi would be nice for the inexpensive lower-quality food.

While this is completely off-topic:
The german supermarket chains are so competitive that even walmart had to pull out. So yes, Aldi is inexpensive, but I would not call them lower-quality. No-thrills is a much better term. There are plenty of competitors in the market, such as Lidl, and yes, all of them do sell prepaid gsm cards with very reasonable prices.

[koobcamuk]

A removable sim card would be better news :cool:
I'd love to top up an iPhone at Aldi.

What? You can remove the SIM.

[sixtus42]

What? You can remove the SIM.

The iPhone 3G even ships with the tool necessary. Very stylish, but a paper clip does the same trick.

If you image-google for "iphone sim" you will find plenty of pictures like this:
http://origin.arstechnica.com/journals/apple.media/iphone_sim1.jpg

And the kicker: You can replace the SIM while the iPhone is running. No need to shut it down :D

[acidfast7]

While this is completely off-topic:
The german supermarket chains are so competitive that even walmart had to pull out. So yes, Aldi is inexpensive, but I would not call them lower-quality. No-thrills is a much better term. There are plenty of competitors in the market, such as Lidl, and yes, all of them do sell prepaid gsm cards with very reasonable prices.

she has an Aldi cookbook as well, which from what I gather, was quite trendy at one point.

[hockeyhammer]

I live in Canada, so would thay have them at a retail store near me?

[diamond.g]

Considering the original iPhone 8GB was $599, this isn't too surprising. I guess it just further solidifies the subsidy that some thought didn't exist. I do wonder if Apple plans on dropping the price in two months like they did, or if they figure people would just sign up with AT&T for the cheaper price.

[pmjoe]

Nice of Apple to do something they should be required by law to do in the first place (which should apply to other phones too). AT&T should also be required to provide in writing the cost of the device in with the cost of the services when signing a contract.

[koobcamuk]

The iPhone 3G even ships with the tool necessary. Very stylish, but a paper clip does the same trick.

If you image-google for "iphone sim" you will find plenty of pictures like this:
http://origin.arstechnica.com/journals/apple.media/iphone_sim1.jpg

And the kicker: You can replace the SIM while the iPhone is running. No need to shut it down :D

Yeh, it's great. I know, I own the iPhone. I said "what? you can remove the SIM" in reference to someone implying that it cant be done.

[diamond.g]

Nice of Apple to do something they should be required by law to do in the first place (which should apply to other phones too). AT&T should also be required to provide in writing the cost of the device in with the cost of the services when signing a contract.

Ironically most Americans don't like to see numbers like that. That is why the whole monthly payment thing is so popular (you know on the infomercials how they say 5 easy payments of $14.95). I wish places that charge you monthly would show you your total yearly outlay. It would make subsidies probably not seem so great.

[sjo]

Considering the original iPhone 8GB was $599, this isn't too surprising. I guess it just further solidifies the subsidy that some thought didn't exist. I do wonder if Apple plans on dropping the price in two months like they did, or if they figure people would just sign up with AT&T for the cheaper price.

there does not exist any subsidies. there exists a contract that bundles a cell phone + cell phone service in exchange for monthly payments. ie, the monthly payments cover cell phone payment installments and the service.

subsidy is something you get without agreeing to pay it back later, e.g., if you're a farmer. if you get some money (or something worth money) and agree to pay it back later, it's a loan, not a subsidy.

[cswiger1]

iPhoneRumors.com?

[diamond.g]

there does not exist any subsidies. there exists a contract that bundles a cell phone + cell phone service in exchange for monthly payments. ie, the monthly payments cover cell phone payment installments and the service.

subsidy is something you get without agreeing to pay it back later, e.g., if you're a farmer. if you get some money (or something worth money) and agree to pay it back later, it's a loan, not a subsidy.
I think that would be true if people were agreeing to pay back the cost of the phone. Most do not realize that is included in the price. Plus you have to take into consideration that when your two year contract is up your bill doesn't lower by the amount used to pay back your phone. So to me that would be a subsidy...

[cswiger1]

there does not exist any subsidies. there exists a contract that bundles a cell phone + cell phone service in exchange for monthly payments. ie, the monthly payments cover cell phone payment installments and the service.

subsidy is something you get without agreeing to pay it back later, e.g., if you're a farmer. if you get some money (or something worth money) and agree to pay it back later, it's a loan, not a subsidy.

it is subsidized. If I went in to at&t right now with an iPhone, they would not give me a cheaper contract because they are not “loaning” me money to buy a phone. They subsidize the cost of the iphone for customers who sign a contract because there is financial incentive to do so. It is not a loan. Its an investment.


...sry, I don't even own an iPhone. I just couldn't let something like that go

[haravikk]

it is subsidized. If I went in to at&t right now with an iPhone, they would not give me a cheaper contract because they are not “loaning” me money to buy a phone. They subsidize the cost of the iphone for customers who sign a contract because there is financial incentive to do so. It is not a loan. Its an investment.


...sry, I don't even own an iPhone. I just couldn't let something like that go
I think it still isn't a subsidy; the cost of the contract includes the cost of an iPhone, if you already have one then score one for AT&T, they've just suckered you into paying a premium for something you won't get.

[RichardI]

Wow! I can't believe they charge those prices for an iPhone. It's even harder to believe someone, anyone, would buy at that price. I sure as hell would never pay that kind of money for a mobile 'phone - not even a really, really fancy one. Good luck Apple or AT&T or whoever.

Rich :cool:

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11 Safari/525.20)

I guess that this will make some people happy.

[diamond.g]

I think it still isn't a subsidy; the cost of the contract includes the cost of an iPhonea smartphone, if you already have one then score one for AT&T, they've just suckered you into paying a premium for something you won't get.

Cause the price you pay is for a smartphone, not just an iPhone. But the rest of the statement is correct.

[emesquita]

this is even better for people living outside of the US :cool: now they can buy the phone in dollars (and save a load of money if your country uses Euros) and not have to jailbreak it in order to get to use it.

[jonny]

"it is possible (but not supported) to unlock the phones for use with other mobile service providers"

yes, but only if these phones come with the old baseband which yellowSn0w works with...

[mattspeed3]

For Canadians, it can make sense - we're required to have 3 year contracts with minimum plans of something like $60 per month plus taxes/access fees/activation. Say (VERY conservatively) $70/month x 36 = $2520 + 8GB phone for $199 = over $2700. If you're a minimal phone user, don't mind finding wifi spots for your internet use, and want the all-in-one convenience of the iphone, you could save some serious coin over three years.

Now consider a user who doesn't intend to stay in the country for all 36 months and the outright purchase option just gets sweeter.

[sjo]

it is subsidized. If I went in to at&t right now with an iPhone, they would not give me a cheaper contract because they are not “loaning” me money to buy a phone. They subsidize the cost of the iphone for customers who sign a contract because there is financial incentive to do so. It is not a loan. Its an investment.


...sry, I don't even own an iPhone. I just couldn't let something like that go

it doesn't really make that much sense to compare to offerings att may of may not offer you... but if you really think that you don't pay the whole price of your whichever phone you might have during the contract period and the company offering you the contract isn't squeezing the "subsidy" out of your wallet, you're quite welcome to keep your faith.

no wonder the us economy is in the state it is... people don't recognize loans even if they are slapped with one.

[Olivier L.]

While this is completely off-topic:
The german supermarket chains are so competitive that even walmart had to pull out. So yes, Aldi is inexpensive, but I would not call them lower-quality. No-thrills is a much better term. There are plenty of competitors in the market, such as Lidl, and yes, all of them do sell prepaid gsm cards with very reasonable prices.

Still off-topic, but I thought I would put my 2 cents:

The reasons for Walmart to pull out of Germany were much more complex than simple price difference with other "low-cost supermarkets".

The problems came for example from an offer quite unadapted to German markets, but also there were a lot of problems with employees, as Walmart tried to apply the same management style and rules to their structure in Germany. This even led to problem with justice, if I remember well.

[iNtrigued]

NOW.... I really believe that the NEW iPHONE will be launched at WWDC in JUNE!

Do I hear a YEEEEEAAAA!!!!!!!???:D

[Prometheus2000]

Still off-topic, but I thought I would put my 2 cents:

The reasons for Walmart to pull out of Germany were much more complex than simple price difference with other "low-cost supermarkets".

The problems came for example from an offer quite unadapted to German markets, but also there were a lot of problems with employees, as Walmart tried to apply the same management style and rules to their structure in Germany. This even led to problem with justice, if I remember well.

And we Germans could not put up with all the forced happiness Walmart made their employees show as well as the fact that getting your groceries packed in at the cashier is almost unknown in other German supermarkets.

Fake happyness and helpfullness just irritates people over here :)

[rickag]

I guess, for those consumers that want or need the data plan, this is a good thing.

For me, no big deal. I don't want nor do I need the benefits of a data plan.

I would gladly pay these prices and go with AT&T if the data plan was not required. Oh well, I'm happy for Apple's success and any consumers this may benefit.

[Lucky736]

BTW..... if you live outside of the US, in a country that does not have iPhone 3G's the price of one of these phones is 2k-3k US. Someone somewhere is going to buy them all up and make a ton of $$$. Saw it with the first ones too.

[rhpenguin]

man,at that price, im glad i gotmy htc touch. great phone.

[iMacoo7]

I had a friend call me yesterday stating that he had purchased 10 iPhones from an Apple retail store in Jacksonville, Florida( He does not have ATT but has a jail-broken 3G iphone). I did not believe him at first until he sent me pictures of the iPhones and the receipt (He power sells on ebay).That being said. Apple/ATT have found a "new way" to liquidate supply.
1. ATT is holding the iphones still hostage to only current plan holders (In order to get them w/ w/o contract) and not opening the flood gate.
2. Apple is letting this be a free for all,because they know if they open the flood gates this way, then the stock and overhead stock will diminish before or by the time WWDC emerges.
Point?
If they are getting new customers to sign up right before a new iPhone comes out then it will be all hell and pandemonium , just like the clash that happened for the 1st Gen iPhone

" both GSM providers do not support the 3G network the iPhone 3G needs to connect at faster than EDGE speeds."
Im in a totally edge city where there isn't a 3G network for ATT. Edge works rather quickly, although I would love the benefits of being able to use the 3G iPhone network.........

[Sm0kejaguar]

what a mysterious place a german supermarket must be, especially a low-cost one.

[lftrghtparadigm]

I think thats entirely reasonable. This is only to start dumping 3G inventory anyway. ;)

A normal activation costs a user $200 the first day and at the bare minimum, $1800 over the next 2 years. So an 8 gig iPhone costs $2000 in the US under a contract.

It now costs $600, all at once, with no contract. You have no contractual obligation to pay more than that. You can keep it for 6 months then activate, or Pay as you Go, which has some good plan options, but all in all, you're paying more for no contract is you use the thing.

Here comes iPhone 3.0!!!!!:D

[TheSpaz]

This is stupid! In order to use the phone, you have to sign up for AT&T and sign a 2 year contract. What's the point in buying an iPhone 3G and then not activating it? You can't even currently unlock the latest baseband. Also, it's cheaper to buy the iPhone with a contract and pay the ETF.

[ChrisA]

Yikes, 6 bills for a iphone. I'll pass

You'd pay this if you had a contract. The $600 is just hidden in the monthly payment. Your Visa card can give you a "free" iPhone with for $30 a month.

[Harun]

I know its late, and I'm tired ......let me see if I have this straight....I can get an Iphone that doesn't have a contract with AT&T :). It can be broken to use other providers. :) But the 2 main ones other than AT&T don't have the G3 speed needed to run the thing.:( Oh and its around $500-$600 :( My Question....What is the up side of this?:eek:

The upside is Apple and ATnT can pretend to not have a monopoly on the thing in the court cases brought against them.

[QuantumLo0p]

Ouch. At that price, no thank you.

EULA? What EULA? I did not see a EULA when I, uh, I mean my friend bought his used iPhone and put it on his T-Mobile account.
;)

[cswiger1]

I think it still isn't a subsidy; the cost of the contract includes the cost of an iPhone, if you already have one then score one for AT&T, they've just suckered you into paying a premium for something you won't get.

I agree that AT&T has built the cost of the iphone into their contract pricing. Thats the only reason they do it. and by "it" i mean subsidize a phone. ...i'm just not understanding how you can't call that a subsidy.

it doesn't really make that much sense to compare to offerings att may of may not offer you... but if you really think that you don't pay the whole price of your whichever phone you might have during the contract period and the company offering you the contract isn't squeezing the "subsidy" out of your wallet, you're quite welcome to keep your faith.

no wonder the us economy is in the state it is... people don't recognize loans even if they are slapped with one.

I never said you won’t end up paying full price for the phone in the long run. AT&T prices are the main reason I don’t have an iPhone. I just don't see it as a loan. it would be better if it were a loan because eventually you would stop paying off a loan. If you buy a full priced iPhone, you pay the same price for your AT&T contract as someone with a subsidized one. Going back to your farmer subsidy analogy, it'd be like a farmer paying out of pocket for everything he owns, and then the bank calling him up and saying "hey, pay us some interest on everything you bought because we LOAN money to other farmers when they buy stuff." it makes no sense to call it a loan.

I do agree though that a lot of economic problems here could have been avoided if people understood long term cost, but not everything with a long term cost is a loan, and there are a lot of companies that subsidized the sort term costs in order to get more customers to be lock into the long term.

[SouthPhillyPT]

How can the iPhone work with Metro PCS if the company is using CDMA technology? Does Metro PCS offer sim cards now? I would like some information about this. Thank you.

[iMacoo7]

I think thats entirely reasonable. This is only to start dumping 3G inventory anyway. ;)

A normal activation costs a user $200 the first day and at the bare minimum, $1800 over the next 2 years. So an 8 gig iPhone costs $2000 in the US under a contract.

It now costs $600, all at once, with no contract. You have no contractual obligation to pay more than that. You can keep it for 6 months then activate, or Pay as you Go, which has some good plan options, but all in all, you're paying more for no contract is you use the thing.

Here comes iPhone 3.0!!!!!:D

Pay as you Go does have some reasonable plans.... But, How would one set up a pay as you go with the 3G as I have read countless reports of people receiving kind little notifications that if using the 3G iphone then the appropriate plan needs to be associated with the 3G iphone

[bedifferent]

The fact that CDMA phones need to be encoded for the network that they're going to be used on? The fact that GSM replaced TDMA? Apple's not going to go non-GSM. WCDMA replaced GSM while EV-DO replaced CDMA. LTE, for the most part since Sprint likes to be non-conformist, is replacing EV-DO and WCDMA. Why go backwards?

OK OK, forgive me, what I meant was EV-DO and LTE. I didn't realize those technologies were replaced, I simply meant whatever technology is currently used on Verizon and Sprint networks.

[DELLsFan]

... $90/month for 450 minutes and data and sms is completely unreasonable

QFT ... as I completely agree. I think the AT&T iPhone unlimited data plan should include SMS, but it doesn't and won't because the tech. supporting SMS is being touted by all the carriers and their apologists as cost prohibitive and necessary to offset the investment of their infrastructure, pay employees, and their operating expenses. I believe rather, that the cell companies simply joined hands to fleece whatever more they could get from their consumers desiring SMS.

So, messaging will remain a separate a la carte pricing scheme that is totally out of control, justified by nothing but greed, and needs to change for every carrier. With luck, the carriers will eventually be forced to comply with regulations that bring pricing back down to earth.

[macswitcha2]

Question, I can get an iphone without the internet plan?

[iMacoo7]

How can the iPhone work with Metro PCS if the company is using CDMA technology? Does Metro PCS offer sim cards now? I would like some information about this. Thank you.

Yes they offer sim cards, Well at least in south florida. I used to live in Miami where Metro PCS had some really good plans and the phones sold (Which could be purchased at kiosk, walmart , moms and pop stores) some of everywhere with different models w/ sim cards.
You can find Metro PCS sim cards on ebay as well.

[DELLsFan]

It will interesting to see whether AT&T gets some competition for iPhone service whenever that 5 year contract they have with Apple expires.

I think as more competition fights for the consumers' business, not only will the data and voice pricing plans be adjusted, but the iPhone's premium price might be tested as well (making the unlocked pricing issue relatively moot). That's a good thing - given an uncertain economy.

:apple:

[diamond.g]

Question, I can get an iphone without the internet plan?

Yes, but if you use cellular data you will get charged.

[Ol3s]

I know its late, and I'm tired ......let me see if I have this straight....I can get an Iphone that doesn't have a contract with AT&T :). It can be broken to use other providers. :) But the 2 main ones other than AT&T don't have the G3 speed needed to run the thing.:( Oh and its around $500-$600 :( My Question....What is the up side of this?:eek:
for selling it abroad from usa

[kallisti]

Wow! I can't believe they charge those prices for an iPhone. It's even harder to believe someone, anyone, would buy at that price. I sure as hell would never pay that kind of money for a mobile 'phone - not even a really, really fancy one. Good luck Apple or AT&T or whoever.

Don't think of it as a phone with some extra features. Think of it as an ultra-portable computer/netbook that just happens to be able to make phone calls too. $699 isn't unreasonable at all if you think of it that way.

[John T]

Rumour has it that in April, 02 in the UK will be selling iPhone 3G's FREE with 18 month contract (£35 per month for 600mins and 500 texts per month plus unlimited data, Wi-Fi etc) At the moment the 8GB phone is £96.89 - possibly the "free" offer is to clear stocks in readiness for the new model?

[Vandam500]

There is a big mistake in the article, MetroPCS is CDMA, not GSM as it says. Fix Please.

[jholzner]

man,at that price, im glad i gotmy htc touch. great phone.

How much did you pay? I assume it must be without contract and not subsidized since you are comparing prices?

[jholzner]

Don't think of it as a phone with some extra features. Think of it as an ultra-portable computer/netbook that just happens to be able to make phone calls too. $699 isn't unreasonable at all if you think of it that way.

What they need to do is realize that that is the price ATT is already paying Apple for the phone!

[casik]

it's easy to tell that they are just clearing out stock so that when july comes around and the new iPhones come out that there will be room for them. Phones loose subsidy after they are discontinued. The last thing AT&T or other carriers want is all these old iPhones that no one wants to buy since they don't have subsidy on them anymore

[rhpenguin]

How much did you pay? I assume it must be without contract and not subsidized since you are comparing prices?

$150 w/o Contract.

http://www.telusmobility.com/on/pcs/handset_htc_p5310.shtml

[vwDavid]

Depending on your plans a contract-less iphone could save you money. For example in Canada we have to do a 3 year contract. If my total outlay was $30 (all included) a month that is $1080 over 3 years + 299 phone + startup fee $35 = $1415

If my calling is such that on a PAY AS YOU GO PLAN I really only am a light user that uses $10 per month over that same 36 months I pay $360+ $599 phone = $960 = savings of $455

This is perfect for my wife

[TheSpaz]

I wish the iPhone had a lower call plan. Maybe like 100 minute call plan and a 2GB data limit plan. Anything to bring the price down. The cost of owning an iPhone is crazy!

[indigo144]

Does this mean that Apple is experiencing less demand for iPhones than anticipated due to the state of the global economy?

[mikeinternet]

to everyone asking 'what's the point?'

there is none. except to make people feel better signing contracts.

[ready2switch]

Here's a scenario:

I have a 2-year-old phone on a pay-as-you-go plan with AT&T. I want an iPhone solely for the convenience of having 1 device (iPod + phone). I care very little about 3G. I also have money set aside for a luxury item like a $700 iPhone.

Question 1: Since it is an AT&T card, would the SIM card from my PAYG phone work in the non-contract iPhone?

If the answer is yes and I don't care about the 3G functionality of the iPhone, then this is the math:

Estimated cost of a 16GB non-contract iPhone (with local taxes) = $760

Estimated cost of 16GB iPhone on contract (including 1-time setup fee) = $335

Difference = $425

Monthly cost of contract (without taxes and fees) = $70

$70 X 6 months = $420


Okay, I realize the argument that the iPhone wouldn't be "fully functional" in this scenario and that the great 3G network wouldn't be accessible. But if the above is possible, then this is the market that would be able to benefit from this type of offer.

And for those wondering, I spend roughly $100 a year on phone service on the PAYG plan.

[charlituna]

Does this allude to possible CMDA/TDMA versions being offered on other non-GSM networks?


according to the rumors ATT is still the only legit service provider for the phone and they don't do CMDA. so likely not.

also if any of this is true it is interesting that it is not on the Apple website. it still says ATT two year contract, must be 18 years of age and the primary account holder blah blah.

[charlituna]

The upside is Apple and ATnT can pretend to not have a monopoly on the thing in the court cases brought against them.

at this point in time it is totally legal to lock a phone hardware to one service network. which is why the LG Dare is locked, why the sidekick is locked, why the blackberry storm is locked, why the instinct is locked.

until someone comes along and changes the laws about the issue, companies will still be able to get exclusives.

[pmjoe]

Ironically most Americans don't like to see numbers like that. That is why the whole monthly payment thing is so popular (you know on the infomercials how they say 5 easy payments of $14.95). I wish places that charge you monthly would show you your total yearly outlay. It would make subsidies probably not seem so great.
GM should start selling OnStar for $300-500/month, get a free car "with contract".

Of course if they did that, I'd pretty much guarantee they'd be required to specify to consumers the cost of the vehicle vs. cost of OnStar services. How the wireless carriers and phone makers get away with their crap is beyond me.

[bedifferent]

according to the rumors ATT is still the only legit service provider for the phone and they don't do CMDA. so likely not.

also if any of this is true it is interesting that it is not on the Apple website. it still says ATT two year contract, must be 18 years of age and the primary account holder blah blah.

Got it. Thanks :).

...still would be interesting if Apple releases a non-ATT bound iPhone...

[totocalimero]

Why would you buy "without a contract" when it is cheaper to buy "with a contract", break the contract, and pay the early termination fee.

Am I missing something here?

[TheSpaz]

Why would you buy "without a contract" when it is cheaper to buy "with a contract", break the contract, and pay the early termination fee.

Am I missing something here?

Nope... Even if you buy it without a contract, you still have to sign up if you want to actually USE IT. Basically you'd have to pay the $599, then you can have a nice looking piece of metal and plastic with a little "slide for emergency" screen. You can play with the touch screen all day long sliding and typing in random numbers, but you won't be able to use the phone unless you activate it.

[dbike11]

If one were to purchase a 3G iPhone at the apple store, would there be any forcing mechanism to sign up for a plan at ATT (or anywhere else). Couldn't one use it like a touch on Wifi without needing a wireless voice/data plan?

Am looking forward to Skype and using the microphone rather than earbuds.

Is there a problem installing updates to the OS for a phone without a plan?

Can one buy a refurb phone without a plan?

DB

[blinc2008]

I like the iPhone reasonably well, but don't actually use cell phones enough to warrant paying monthly contracts. I currently am quite happy with AT&T's "Go Phone", a pay-as-you-go SIM-card-requiring system where I spend $100-ish per year per phone. Some people complain about unit prices and then happily shell out 50-100$ per month (don't forget the 4-8$ in tax) for their monthly contracts. That's $600-1200 per year for a phone.

Is there any restriction anyone knows of with the new 'sort of unlocked' iPhones that would stop me from being able to use one of my Go Phone SIMs in these phones?

Of course if one uses their cell phone constantly, the Go Phone options are not well priced at all. I only use my cell phone a dozen minutes per week, mostly for SMS and internet, and when traveling. When I'm at my desk, the internet and VOIP are already paid for.

[ready2switch]

Is there any restriction anyone knows of with the new 'sort of unlocked' iPhones that would stop me from being able to use one of my Go Phone SIMs in these phones?


This is my question as well.

[MacFever]

So does this mean if you buy this no contract phone in the Apple store.

Is it unlocked for any carrier internationally?


Thanks,

[TylerDurden0]

If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure that metro PCS is CDMA... As in NOT GSM... ;)

You are correct. I got excited when I read that about MetroPCS but when I called to setup a possible service initiation, I was told they are CDMA only - not GSM.

This will not work for the iPhone as they do not use SIM cards.

[iMacoo7]

Don't think of it as a phone with some extra features. Think of it as an ultra-portable computer/netbook that just happens to be able to make phone calls too. $699 isn't unreasonable at all if you think of it that way.

I agree. I owned the Imate JASJAR when it came out roughly 4 1/2 years ago and paid $1,500.00 .
I also owned HTC Advantage X7500 and X7501.
Costing $1,300.00 & $1,200.00 respectively.
Owned the Nokia N93, N93i , N95
Which all are roughly the same price if not a little bit more after tax. So the amount that is paid for the iPhone (16/8 GB) is really not expensive, considering that it comes with the amount of storage that it does (None of the models that I mentioned could tout more than 8GB) and the feature set....
That being said, its more than reasonable for the functionality that is built within the device.

[iMacoo7]

"Staffers at Apple’s flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York City confirm that as of Thursday at 8 a.m., customers are now permitted to buy unlimited quantities of iPhones without an AT&T contract — the very thing the company was working so hard to prevent in late 2007 when the devices were being snapped up in large quantities to be unlocked and re-sold in overseas markets," Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports for Fortune.

AT&T’s policy applies only to existing customers and limits them to one unsubsidized phone. Apple is imposing neither of those restrictions, leading some to speculate that the company has plenty of iPhones in stock and may be trying to clear inventory in advance of new models.

FULL ARTICLE:
http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/03/27/has-apple-begun-clearing-iphone-3g-inventory/

[Marvin1379]

The upside is Apple and ATnT can pretend to not have a monopoly on the thing in the court cases brought against them.

It's not a monopoly. It's business. Competition. Strategy. If apple and AT&T had control of ALL phones and cell service, then that's a monopoly. Don't start to think that there's a monopoly had on the iPhone. They created a business partnership to sell devices and service. It happens everyday in ways that u don't know. Ever wonder why burger king doesn't have Disney kids' meals toys? Bc Disney and mcdonalds have a partnership. They market their brands together. I don't see blackberry running to make a 3G version of the storm to slap on AT&T. IMO, the iPhone is the most popular phone that has had an enormous amount of publicity and controversy. No other phone, if not product in general has ever done this. Cell phone manufacturers and cell providers have exclusive phones all the time. The only reason people are noticing this with the iPhone is that they looooooovvvvee their service provider (verizon, sprint, tmobile) for some reason. And they want an iPhone. Not a bb.

[Terrador]

I can buy a Mac Mini for that price. With a memory upgrade. No way.

[gkarris]

So are these phones activated on AT&T, just pop a SIM card in?

I don't see the point if you get it home, then have to sign up for an expensive AT&T iPhone plan anyways just to activate.

[Blakely028]

So are these actually available in-store now?

Has anyone seen them in a UK store yet, I know O2 does the Pay as you go iPhone but would they bother selling them in their own stores?

[twobluebullets]

They have both technologies.



AT&T had a TDMA network and that has been turned off. The companies that provided roaming most likely have also turned their network off. So why would they make a TDMA version?

As for CDMA, why invest in a technology that is headed to the grave. W-CDMA is that nail in the coffin. Sprint is headed to WiMax and Verizon is headed to LTE; which is an evolution of W-CDMA.

I think not!

http://gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_us.shtml

Search for Metro PCS. Non Existent :)

although there is a, MTPCS. (cellularOne) - I'm pretty sure AT&T just bought them too.

[k1121j]

I remember the first iPhone plan was 15.00 per month Less than the iPhone 3G. Because the phone was full 499.00 Now Att subsidized the phone for 24 months at a plan price of 15.00 per month more ( $15*24 = $360.00 ) I guess im saying if Att is not subsidized the phone and i have to pay full price why isnt the plan 15$ per month cheeper. SO all in all there is no benefit to anyone other than ATT.:confused:

[diamond.g]

I remember the first iPhone plan was 15.00 per month Less than the iPhone 3G. Because the phone was full 499.00 Now Att subsidized the phone for 24 months at a plan price of 15.00 per month more ( $15*24 = $360.00 ) I guess im saying if Att is not subsidized the phone and i have to pay full price why isnt the plan 15$ per month cheeper. SO all in all there is no benefit to anyone other than ATT.:confused:

Not entirely true. At the time the 1st gen iPhone wasn't considered to be a smartphone by AT&T so it used the Media Max plan plus 200 SMS ($20, IIRC). When the 3G came out, AT&T decided to classify it as a smartphone. If you traded the iPhone 3G for a Windows Mobile phone or a Palm phone you'd still pay the same $30 a month.

[Lanbrown]

OK OK, forgive me, what I meant was EV-DO and LTE. I didn't realize those technologies were replaced, I simply meant whatever technology is currently used on Verizon and Sprint networks.

Right now Sprint and Verizon use the same technology. Sprint is rolling out wiNMax, which the iPhone won't support and later this year, Verizon will roll out LTE, which the iPhone currently does not support. Even the next model won't support it. It is a waste to go down the CDMA path.

Even with LTE, you will see phones being locked.

[diamond.g]

Right now Sprint and Verizon use the same technology. Sprint is rolling out wiNMax, which the iPhone won't support and later this year, Verizon will roll out LTE, which the iPhone currently does not support. Even the next model won't support it. It is a waste to go down the CDMA path.

Even with LTE, you will see phones being locked.

Sadly we probably wont see a Verizon iPhone on LTE unless it also supports CDMA. Why? What happens when you happen to wander into a no Verizon LTE area with the Verizon LTE iPhone? You fall back to CDMA, oh wait no you don't you have no cell service at all...

[butterfly0fdoom]

Sadly we probably wont see a Verizon iPhone on LTE unless it also supports CDMA. Why? What happens when you happen to wander into a no Verizon LTE area with the Verizon LTE iPhone? You fall back to CDMA, oh wait no you don't you have no cell service at all...

No, you'll just end up roaming on AT&T or T-Mobile.

[diamond.g]

No, you'll just end up roaming on AT&T or T-Mobile.
That assumes that Verizon will make roaming agreements with them. Plus kdarling seemed to be pretty sure Verizon won't do voice over LTE for a while.

[sam10685]

And what's amazing is that the iPhone 3G 8GB only costs $173 to make (http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/147530/new_3g_iphone_costs_173_to_make_isuppli.html).

It's called profit. Pretty popular business practice. ;)

[sean845]

Does this go for rogers in Canada too?

[MikeTheC]

I hope unlocked, non-contract-bound cell phones in the U.S. become so common that they become commoditized. Of course, one can speculate on whether or not Apple could afford to remain in the market if that happened, but this might represent a sort of tipping of Apple's hand in that regard.

[Purple Pie Pete]

I went to the Apple Store on W 14th St in the West Village today, to see about purchasing a contract free iPhone. I told the gal what I wanted and she was all giggly and said ok, they'd only been doing this for two days. I asked her if I needed to buy anything else with the iPhone and she went and asked a guy who she thought knew more about iPhones options than she did. This little Nazi came up to me and started speaking in raised tones and repeated almost verbatim what someone above posted: "You can only get it if you are an existing att costumer to replace an existing iPhone that is broken and or lost. It cannot be used to start a new service with att thus you must purchase the 3G at the $199 price. the no contract phone can also be purchased to use as an add a line for a family talk." He said this with a almost religious fervor that I found appalling, very Axis/Fascist type thing going on. The raised voice had me thinking "Is he making an example out of me? Will he be speaking in tongues next?"
I left iPhone-less and didn't buy any of the other items on my list.

[Dreambiz]

Any speculation on what impact this may have on how things will be done when the new iPhone is released?

That is, how might it be sold? Locked or unlocked? Contract or no?

[poe diddley]

bleh.
so they finally sell it unlocked, but i have to use something as sucko as T-Mobile if i want to make calls? i have plenty of friends that constantly gripe about TMobile and how they wish they would have never went with them.

um. i think i'll pass.

i seriously would buy an unlocked one if that wasn't the downside of it.

let me know when i can buy an Iphone and use Verizon as my provider, and have 3G.

other than the fact that they are selling it unlocked, it's pretty worthless news to me..

[pwnediphoneuser]

sorry to burst your bubble but vodafone new zealand has been offering this since the 3g was released last year... about NZ$980 for 8gb and NZ$1200 for 16gb

[poe diddley]

sorry to burst your bubble but vodafone new zealand has been offering this since the 3g was released last year... about NZ$980 for 8gb and NZ$1200 for 16gb

at that price i promise you that you are bursting NO ONE's bubble....
but yeah, i do realize that Vodafone and Verizon are the same company, and it sux that the US missed out on a Verizon Iphone because at least where i live, AT&T is NOT the best choice if you want a reliable connection, Verizon is.

[Ivan P]

Actually, I went into Optus in Sydney several times in the last two months to buy and recharge a prepaid Optus SIM for my unlocked iPhone 2G whilst I was on vacation in Australia. I spoke with the Optus staff a fair bit about the iPhone 3G as recently as two weeks ago. You CAN purchase a prepaid contract-free iPhone 3G with prepaid SIM and the unlock for an extra charge. I decided not to pull the trigger and buy one, and instead wait to see if a new hardware model was available in June/July. You have to specifically ask for a prepaid iPhone 3G. They treat the prepaid iPhones as different stock than the postpaid contract iPhones, and will not sell you one from their postpaid iPhone 3G inventory if they don't have stock of the prepaid iPhone 3G. Optus will email the iPhone's IMEI etc. to Apple, and within 10 days you will receive a SMS message confirming the iPhone has been registered for perpetual unlocking in the iTunes activation servers. You then perform a restore in iTunes and then your prepaid Optus iPhone 3G is unlocked. Optus has a steady business selling the prepaid contract-free unlocked iPhone 3Gs.

Cheers,

ITGuy

Hmm, that's interesting, as this is an email I got from them at the start of the year:

Dear Ivan

Thank you for your email.

At this present time Optus do not sell the iPhone outright or on a prepay basis.

Optus only offer this handset on a contract plan.

Kind regards

(Name)
Correspondence Team

I did just look on the Optus site, and it appears that they have started selling them prepaid; but it must have only been a very recent development.
My plan to get one would have been to get it unlocked as the only carrier I have here is Telstra.

[goosnarrggh]

bleh.
so they finally sell it unlocked, but i have to use something as sucko as T-Mobile if i want to make calls? i have plenty of friends that constantly gripe about TMobile and how they wish they would have never went with them.

um. i think i'll pass.

i seriously would buy an unlocked one if that wasn't the downside of it.

let me know when i can buy an Iphone and use Verizon as my provider, and have 3G.

other than the fact that they are selling it unlocked, it's pretty worthless news to me..

It's been mentioned already, but these iPhones are not being sold unlocked. They're being sold without the commitment to enter into an additional 2-year contract. The phones themselves will still only work out-of-the-box with AT&T SIM cards.

There's a common misunderstanding that bundled contract commitments and SIM locks are inexorably linked - that you cannot have one without the other. This may be true in some jurisdictions, but it is certainly not the case in the USA. SIM locks are common in many phones that are sold without any contract commitment.

[Airforcekid]

http://www.grabup.com/uploads/4d87b0ae3154402270e6c6b057a252ca.png?direct


No one else see this?
Theres a ten a five and 4 quarters inside the phone weighs less since the 8GB only has a 5 and 12 quarters:apple:

[apatel87]

Does ATT sell the no contract iPhone online? The reason I ask is because then we can take advantage of the 35% cashback and make it much more affordable.

[iphonerain]

The major reason iPhone is amazing is the data plan that enables the users to access the internet freely, right? So.. what is the point of having the $699 iPhone if you can't use the 3G network for safari surfing???

[iphonerain]

I remember dropping my jaw the first time the iPhone was released, but I think I've been thoroughly conditioned by Apple, because it didn't seem too bad getting the refurbbed 16GB for $199 w/a new 2year contract.

[charlituna]

The major reason iPhone is amazing is the data plan that enables the users to access the internet freely, right? So.. what is the point of having the $699 iPhone if you can't use the 3G network for safari surfing???

who says you can't.

the only change in the game is that you basically paid the ETF up front. so you can quit ATT whenever you want.

my guess is that ATT was tired of losing the other $150 to resellers that were buying them on the lowest plan possible, cutting it on day 31 etc. now they get all the money out of them.

but it is still tied to ATT technically.

This little Nazi came up to me and started speaking in raised tones and repeated almost verbatim what someone above posted: "You can only get it if you are an existing att costumer to replace an existing iPhone that is broken and or lost. It cannot be used to start a new service with att thus you must purchase the 3G at the $199 price. the no contract phone can also be purchased to use as an add a line for a family talk."


he is sort of correct. if you are buying it for yourself you have to be on ATT and either replacing a broken/lost iphone or upgrading an eligible line. But you can buy it with no activation if it is as a gift. I asked at my local store.
if you wanted to be cute you could find it in writing, print it out and go try it again. heck ask for a manager and tell him/her about your first attempt. just avoid the words 'little nazi' or they might not take you seriously.

[Aqueus]

must get rid of stock.. cos the likelyhood of apple dropping prices - slim to none.. resellers in OZ take $5AUD off it and call it a bargin! Over here in France resellers still try sell old models for the same price and don't show new products..