I guess I just view the iPhone as largely useless without the data plan. I'd just buy an iTouch and a cheap flip phone for a phone then, and then while I'd have to carry a phone and an iTouch, I wouldn't have spent $600 for the convenience of having it in one device.
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AT&T To Offer No-Contract iPhones to Existing Customers Starting March 26th?
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I guess I just view the iPhone as largely useless without the data plan. I'd just buy an iTouch and a cheap flip phone for a phone then, and then while I'd have to carry a phone and an iTouch, I wouldn't have spent $600 for the convenience of having it in one device.
I live in the UK - the home of extortionate pricing. It's even more expensive in the UK for a PAYG phone than the $700 AT&T are asking (or at least it was before the £ died a death). None of this contradicts my original assertion that the pricing is absolutely ridiculous for what is essentially a telephone.
I find it quite amazing that an 8GB iPhone is more than double the price of an 8GB iPod Touch.
It is expensive, but this is far more than just a telephone..
And Macs are expensive - Apple doesn't do cheap.
Now that the iphone is getting turn-by-turn gps I may not have to buy that standalone unit I was going to get for a road trip in August.
Since I'll be looking for both a new phone and a gps unit later this year, this could be the ticket. I'm spending the dough anyway and prefer the all-in-one convenience.
Also, it's not useless without a data plan. I'm at coffee shops and libraries every day that provide free wireless. It's entirely worth it to be connected during those times, free of charge, on a device I'd be carrying anyway. I would rarely tote around an ipod touch in addition to my phone. What's not worth it for me is spending $700 over a couple of years for those very rare occasions I need a data plan.
I live in the UK. I prefer the iPhone with a data plan. Without is just to much hassle. I wouldnt want to pay £10 a month manually to get 3G after the first year. Well thats how it works in britain, not sure about this one though. Paying monthly is just a lot easier IMO but i can see the other point of view.
No, you are wrong. This will not be the case.
You were qualified from the first day that the 3G came out to upgrade to it.
This is why:
The 1st gen iPhone was not subsidized- when you bought it, you paid full price for it. You could have upgraded at any point in your contract.
The 3G is a subsidized unit, and (I believe) you need to be at least 18 months (or is it 21 months?) into the 24 month subsidized contract in order to be eligible to upgrade at upgrade pricing. Otherwise, you have to pay the early upgrade pricing which is $399/499.
EDIT: Oh wait. If you're talking about upgrading from the 1st gen to the new 3G.X, then, my apologies, you are right. 1st gen owners will have no issue upgrading at upgrade prices.
I thought you were talking about upgrading from the 3G to the 3G.X. That's what I was referring to above the EDIT.
It's all a matter of opinion. I feel it's useless without it. And spending $600 on an iPhone or $299 on an iTouch plus a free flip phone makes much more sense to me. But again, that's my opinion.
I think $600 to have an iPhone without a data plan is useless and expensive.
How does a $599/$699 phone clear out soon-to-be "old" inventory? I hardly think people are going to be lining up to grab one.
Besides Apple said last June that ATT would eventually sell no-contract phones. I see this as ATT being a little late.
same here in Sweden, except you can get unlimited data transfer for 8SEK (about 90 US cents per day). and still have the pay as you go for talking and messaging, which is quite nice if you ask me.
Um..did you not just see the new 3.0 release? Apple would certainly not add the video camera. Phone cameras are quite bad, iphone does pretty good but to make an apple worthy video recording they will need one hell of a camera for a video app
I'm lost help me out here.
1. So this is temporary? Because I hope it changes by June for the new iPhone.
2. If the first question is no, then if I want a new iPhone, I can't just buy a new one and sign a new contract, because when the new one comes out, I was planning on singing a new contract since my 2 years will be up in october with my original iPhone.
Someone pleas help.
1. So this is temporary? Because I hope it changes by June for the new iPhone.
2. If the first question is no, then if I want a new iPhone, I can't just buy a new one and sign a new contract, because when the new one comes out, I was planning on singing a new contract since my 2 years will be up in october with my original iPhone.
Someone pleas help.
Well I think it's crazy that most people end up paying $100 or more for the iPhone service in the U.S. I pay about $30 (what you guys pay for the mandatory data plan) for voice, SMS and data. If I don't want data I pay only about 15$.
I don't see how the 3.0 BETA is related to the things previously discussed, it's only a beta that can easily have features added to it in the future, remember Apple is secretive, and right now the 3.0 beta doesn't show anything that would differentiate the iPhone 3G from the next generation.
I'm lost help me out here.
1. So this is temporary? Because I hope it changes by June for the new iPhone.
2. If the first question is no, then if I want a new iPhone, I can't just buy a new one and sign a new contract, because when the new one comes out, I was planning on singing a new contract since my 2 years will be up in october with my original iPhone.
Someone pleas help.
I think you're confused, they're still selling subsidized iPhones with 2 year contracts, they're just also selling non subsidized iPhones without a contract.
In the end we both have our needs met. I just get to spend less money over a period of a couple of years, probably because my current requirements are different.
I know apple is secretive, but do you really think that apple would hide something as big as a video camera from developers. With that hundereds of new API stuff maybe some developer could make an app that took advantage of a video recorder. Just a thought though.
How are you spending less money? Do you mean iPhone w/ voice+data plan vs iPhone w/ just voice plan, or iPhone w/ just voice plan vs iPod Touch w/ normal phone w/ just voice plan?
Yes, I really do, I mean they (kind of) hid the fact that the iPod Touch 2nd Gen had a full BT stack for how long?
True, I had that totally forgot about the BT. That's a valid argument. Bottom line though this information from AT&T almost sets in stone that a new iPhone is imminent after WWDC 2009.
Angelchild
you are wrong... Prices in Italy are 20% lesss than what you say. You're including taxes (20% in Italy); AT&T prices exclude taxes. This mean that Italian (and pretty much all european) iPhones have an extra price (VAT), imposed by the government, of around 90/100 euros; if you are a business customer you won't have to pay this extra charge.
Beside that, the italian iPhone has a distinctive advantage: it's fully unlocked. Buy it here and use it anywhere in the word, with any carrier and any SIM that you like with fully Apple support. This means: no fuss with upgrades...
American "no commitment" iPhones seems not so affordable to me and, yes, even I'm Italian and I'm used to pay full price for smartphones, I'm pretty shocked by the price as announced by BGR...
Assuming the ETF for an iPhone is the same as for some generic Sony Ericcson phone (a big if), why not just buy an 8GB for $199 and then pay the $149 ETF?
Even if you do the pay as you go deal, don't you still have to pay for data? Won't that pretty much kill any savings you would supposedly get?
Even if you do the pay as you go deal, don't you still have to pay for data? Won't that pretty much kill any savings you would supposedly get?