I got my first iPhone 4 directly from Apple for free. When I purchased it in store I asked if I could have a blank micro sim card. I was given one, which was scanned into the till with the iPhone. The amount to be debited to my card came up as £499 when I typed in my PIN, and I opted to be emailed the receipt. Normally, this receipt would arrive instantly, but it never did, and the £499 never showed up on my card. It was only a few months down the line when I tried to use another sim card in the phone that I found it was locked to the network I had been on when I first bought it. My theory is that because I was given a micro sim along with the phone, the system somehow thought I was buying an iPhone on contract, so didn't charge me for the cost of the phone. What was missing was the actual contract, so I got it for free.