This is why i won't get an Iphone for a long time... i could really care less about 3g... I would pay $500 for the Iphone if it was unlocked.
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Do you have to buy a 2 year plan with iPhone?
- Thread starter sam10685
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We'll just have to wait and see. iPhone isn't even out in the US for 5-6 months, so maybe it will have better features by the time it is released (even a price drop?!)
The thing I'm worried about in the UK though is that Apple will not have researched the market well enough, and just assume it is "just like the US". Thus, if we're not careful, they'll just force through the American model to their detriment and cost.
Hopefully though, here's hoping for an O2 18 month contract with 3G capabilities and no/little upfront fee. Then I'll wake up.
The thing I'm worried about in the UK though is that Apple will not have researched the market well enough, and just assume it is "just like the US". Thus, if we're not careful, they'll just force through the American model to their detriment and cost.
Hopefully though, here's hoping for an O2 18 month contract with 3G capabilities and no/little upfront fee. Then I'll wake up.
Most of you are pretty much misinformed...
I work for Cingular...and as of Feb. 7th, this is the report from the Apple reps:
The IPhone will NOT be sold through Cingular, but through the Apple store and it's subsidiaries (i.e. walmart, costco, pretty much anywhere you can buy an ipod)...the price as of now will actually be around $499 for an UNactivated 4gig, and $599 and upwards of $799 for an 8 gig. It canNOT be unlocked for all you t-mobile freaks who heard it could be...the phone can and will only be unlockable by Apple, who under contractual agreement with Cingular will not do so and for that idiot who said it's illegal, no it is not...
Benefits:
State of the art touchscreen
It's an ipod that can be used as a phone
Cons:
if you don't already you WILL have to service the iphone through cingular, and no one else will take it...and Apple chose to go with Cingular because both nationally, cingular has more customers.
if you ask anyone in asia who already has it, they'll tell you it's much too over-rated
the Cingular 8525, treo 750, and the blackjack all out-perform the iphone
iphone will ONLY have EDGE technology meaning the internet speed will be limited to at MAXIMUM 3x dial-up
you will not receive a discount for signing a two-year agreement, that's a misconception...and for that idiot who has a treo 650 and uses the media max unlimited for $19.99...you're a dumbass...the $39.99 data service is for BUSINESS people who require push e-mail and unlimited internet...basically you should not buy any smartphone, much less an i-phone unless you run a business, your work requires you to consistently be on an e-mail server (i.e. outlook), you travel a lot, etc.
DO NOT get the phone because it looks cool or because everybody is asking about it...that's just pathetic...there are so many phones out there that are much better, not only through cingular, but through all carriers (except sprint, because they suck)
I work for Cingular...and as of Feb. 7th, this is the report from the Apple reps:
The IPhone will NOT be sold through Cingular, but through the Apple store and it's subsidiaries (i.e. walmart, costco, pretty much anywhere you can buy an ipod)...the price as of now will actually be around $499 for an UNactivated 4gig, and $599 and upwards of $799 for an 8 gig. It canNOT be unlocked for all you t-mobile freaks who heard it could be...the phone can and will only be unlockable by Apple, who under contractual agreement with Cingular will not do so and for that idiot who said it's illegal, no it is not...
Benefits:
State of the art touchscreen
It's an ipod that can be used as a phone
Cons:
if you don't already you WILL have to service the iphone through cingular, and no one else will take it...and Apple chose to go with Cingular because both nationally, cingular has more customers.
if you ask anyone in asia who already has it, they'll tell you it's much too over-rated
the Cingular 8525, treo 750, and the blackjack all out-perform the iphone
iphone will ONLY have EDGE technology meaning the internet speed will be limited to at MAXIMUM 3x dial-up
you will not receive a discount for signing a two-year agreement, that's a misconception...and for that idiot who has a treo 650 and uses the media max unlimited for $19.99...you're a dumbass...the $39.99 data service is for BUSINESS people who require push e-mail and unlimited internet...basically you should not buy any smartphone, much less an i-phone unless you run a business, your work requires you to consistently be on an e-mail server (i.e. outlook), you travel a lot, etc.
DO NOT get the phone because it looks cool or because everybody is asking about it...that's just pathetic...there are so many phones out there that are much better, not only through cingular, but through all carriers (except sprint, because they suck)
Wait, so you're telling me that a Cingular customer who wants the iPhone will have to wait upwards of two years (lets say you got a new contract on 1/2/07) in order to get the iPhone? Won't this cause a lot of missed sales on Apples part. I mean there are all these Cingular customers out there who have to wait upwards of two years just to buy the iPhone. I don't think this will happen. I think you will just have to sign another 2 year contract specifically for an iPhone plan IMO at least.
Huh?
The iPhone isn't being subsidized like most phones, $499-$599 is the actual price, but it isn't being sold without the contract at all, so you can't get one for $800.
iPhone ($599 + tax) + Cingular cancellation fee ($175) = ~$815.
Of course, the utility of this option is tied directly to what kind of SIM lock (if any) Apple ultimately includes and how quickly any such lock is defeated by third-party programmers.
No, you can just renew your contract when you get the iPhone. If you renewed on 2 Jan 2007, your current contract expires 2 Jan 2009--if you bought an iPhone, say, 4 June, then your contract term would restart and the new termination date would be 4 June 2009.
Edit: I believe the comment you quoted is meant to state that current Cingular customers can't just upgrade their phone in the middle of their term without renewing their contract; this renewal requirement is standard practice for American cellular companies.
Okay, just wanted to make sure. Thanks for the clarification...I was hoping that was the case, if not, I might have been very very sad come June.
Wow, I was totally looking forward to switching to Cingular, but with your attitude, I'm dreading it immensely. Are all Cingular reps jackasses?
So, does that mean that one can buy an iPhone and not activate it?
Will it be usable without the phone features? Just the iPod and PDA stuff, WiFi, etc?
I have a paid-off contract with T-Mobile, switching to Cingular would cost me a lot of money, but I'd love to have a PDA like the iPhone that I could use in hotspots, least until my contract with T-Mobile expires.
Grain of salt. Literally one grain. Since this is your only post ever and you joined just to do so. So excuse me if I don't care for your attitude. While some of what you say may be true, I doubt all of it is, and right now I wouldn't call you an authority on anything.
U.S. Cell phone market...
Here is a primer for those outside the U.S. on how the cell phone market works in the U.S.:
The cell phone providers have the market all locked up. There is essentially no moving of a PHONE between providers. (It is possible, see below, but it is difficult.)
Two of the major players (Verizon and Sprint/Nextel,) use CDMA. In these networks, the phone itself is attached to a phone number. No SIM. The phones are 100% locked to a given provider. You buy a VERIZON Motorola RAZR or you buy a SPRINT Motorola RAZR. You cannot switch between the two companies. If you want to switch from Verizon to Sprint, you have to buy a new phone. Period.
The other two major players (Cingular/AT&T and T-Mobile,) use GSM, just like most of Europe. They also use SIM cards, just like most of Europe. However, the SIM cards come with the phone, and the phones are locked to a carrier. Yes, if you have an unlocked phone (like one from Europe,) you can put your SIM card in the new phone, or if you upgrade to a new phone with your carrier, you can use your old SIM card in. But if you buy a RAZR from T-Mobile, it will not work on Cingular, and vice versa.
It has been declared legal to unlock a phone, but the carrier and the manufacturer are under no obligation to HELP you unlock a phone. Most existing GSM phones are available from Europe unlocked, so enterprising hackers have figured out how to unlock the U.S. versions of the phones. But in the case of the
iPhone, there is unlikely to be any way to unlock it for quite some time. (This is my guess, based solely on Apple's closed-ness of the phone.) Cingular doesn't have to do the unlocking for you, for any price. And Apple doesn't have to release anything that would help someone unlock it. If someone figures out how to unlock it, Apple and Cingular can't do anything to STOP it, but they don't have to help. If you managed to unlock the phone, you could then use it on T-Mobile, or any other GSM provider.
So, aside from this hardware locking, there is the contract aspect. U.S. carriers tend to offer huge hardware-purchase discounts by having you agree to a 2-year contract. (Sometimes upward of $300 discount.) But, if you cancel the contract early, you pay an early termination fee. (Which, in Cingular's case, is $175.) Most providers will wave this early termination fee (Cingular included,) if you cancel within 30 days of activation AND return the phone. So you can't just buy the phone, cancel within 30 days, and keep the phone.
In the U.S. there are a few companies (notably Nokia) that sell certain phones direct and unlocked for use on any GSM network. They are rare, and expensive. (For example, Cingular's highest-end smartphone costs $400 after 2-year-lock-in-discount, whereas an unlocked Nokia N95 is $800 or higher.)
Here is a primer for those outside the U.S. on how the cell phone market works in the U.S.:
The cell phone providers have the market all locked up. There is essentially no moving of a PHONE between providers. (It is possible, see below, but it is difficult.)
Two of the major players (Verizon and Sprint/Nextel,) use CDMA. In these networks, the phone itself is attached to a phone number. No SIM. The phones are 100% locked to a given provider. You buy a VERIZON Motorola RAZR or you buy a SPRINT Motorola RAZR. You cannot switch between the two companies. If you want to switch from Verizon to Sprint, you have to buy a new phone. Period.
The other two major players (Cingular/AT&T and T-Mobile,) use GSM, just like most of Europe. They also use SIM cards, just like most of Europe. However, the SIM cards come with the phone, and the phones are locked to a carrier. Yes, if you have an unlocked phone (like one from Europe,) you can put your SIM card in the new phone, or if you upgrade to a new phone with your carrier, you can use your old SIM card in. But if you buy a RAZR from T-Mobile, it will not work on Cingular, and vice versa.
It has been declared legal to unlock a phone, but the carrier and the manufacturer are under no obligation to HELP you unlock a phone. Most existing GSM phones are available from Europe unlocked, so enterprising hackers have figured out how to unlock the U.S. versions of the phones. But in the case of the
iPhone, there is unlikely to be any way to unlock it for quite some time. (This is my guess, based solely on Apple's closed-ness of the phone.) Cingular doesn't have to do the unlocking for you, for any price. And Apple doesn't have to release anything that would help someone unlock it. If someone figures out how to unlock it, Apple and Cingular can't do anything to STOP it, but they don't have to help. If you managed to unlock the phone, you could then use it on T-Mobile, or any other GSM provider.So, aside from this hardware locking, there is the contract aspect. U.S. carriers tend to offer huge hardware-purchase discounts by having you agree to a 2-year contract. (Sometimes upward of $300 discount.) But, if you cancel the contract early, you pay an early termination fee. (Which, in Cingular's case, is $175.) Most providers will wave this early termination fee (Cingular included,) if you cancel within 30 days of activation AND return the phone. So you can't just buy the phone, cancel within 30 days, and keep the phone.
In the U.S. there are a few companies (notably Nokia) that sell certain phones direct and unlocked for use on any GSM network. They are rare, and expensive. (For example, Cingular's highest-end smartphone costs $400 after 2-year-lock-in-discount, whereas an unlocked Nokia N95 is $800 or higher.)
All true except that T-Mobile will unlock any of their phones upon a customer request. There's a "90 days good standing" rule of thumb, but it's free and they absolutely will do it (unless you're one of those customers from hell and you piss off the service rep).
There are also dozens of phones with unlocking utilities available if you know where to look. Then there are the pay services, which for around $30 will send you your phone's unlock code.