IPhone 4 as iPod Touch?

[XciteMe]

Why would I want, or have to settle for A lesser video camera, when I can have 720, a 5 mp with flash and a front facing camera with face time not to mention gps, and all the other features the iPod Touch won't have, when i'm willing to PAY for them. I just don't want to have to pay for a service I don't want or need

Apple is a hardware company. Why won't hey just sell me their hardware?

....

You're against paying for a service you won't need, but you don't mind ONE BIT paying $700 up the *** for a device that's meant as a SMART PHONE, when you can wait for the new iPod Touch that will probably have comparable features, for half the price???

 

[Djlild7hina]

just buy one on ebay... pretty sure that's the only way you can get it without signing with at&t

 

[Jaro65]

I bought my unlocked iPhone 3G in Europe from T-mobile. I will be getting an iPhone 4, but I will again look for an unlocked version. These are available in some countries and come with full Apple warranty. Since I tend to travel quite a bit, this option allows me to switch carriers and services as desired. You pay more for the phone, but the flexibility for some of us is very much worth it.

 

[JohnSFO]

....

You're against paying for a service you won't need, but you don't mind ONE BIT paying $700 up the *** for a device that's meant as a SMART PHONE, when you can wait for the new iPod Touch that will probably have comparable features, for half the price???

That's a big probably! There's no reason to believe that Apple will give the next Touch similar features as the iPhone. Why didn't they give the current Touch a camera? Or 3G capability? As the OP pointed out, why should we settle for less in the next Touch when we're willing to pay a little more for the best that's out there?

How about this option: AT&T offers another subsidized price, say $299 and $399 for people who just want a data plan contract. I'd even sign up for 2 years at $30 a month for that. Don't force me to pay for a voice plan I don't want.

 

[JohnSFO]

I bought my unlocked iPhone 3G in Europe from T-mobile. I will be getting an iPhone 4, but I will again look for an unlocked version. These are available in some countries and come with full Apple warranty. Since I tend to travel quite a bit, this option allows me to switch carriers and services as desired. You pay more for the phone, but the flexibility for some of us is very much worth it.

Buying unlocked isn't really a solution either since I don't wish to use another phone carrier. I don't mind paying AT&T for data, just not for voice too.

 

[einmusiker]

if the price isnt an option than go for it!

 

[FlashHead]

This is where my lack of knowledge comes into play. Even within this thread there seems to be some differing opinions. I would march myself down to the Apple store and try to sort it out, but as I mentioned in the original post, i'm in Seoul right now, will be back in the States only briefly before I head back over here for another couple of months.

It appears that I won't be able to get a data only plan for the iPhone. Therefore...

Can I buy the the 32gb model for $699 use it as a wifi only iPod Touch and never deal with AT&T?

If not, if I bought it under contract and did the initial set up, would I be able to immediately cancel the contract, pay the early termination fee and then be able to use it as a wifi only iPod Touch?

To clarify, I am definitely in the market to upgrade my first gen iPod Touch so I can take advantage of ios 4 and multitasking, so I am already planning on spending 3-400 dollars on a new device. As a director/choreographer the ability to have a 720 video camera in a device I always carry in my pocket so I can record my work to show snippets to potential employers, and for my own archival purposes is worth the additional $300 alone to me. Add in gps, a 5mp camera, and face time which I could use to both keep in touch with family members and remotely see costume options and heck, even auditions, and we're talking about device I don't mind paying a premium for. I'm not trying to rip off AT&T, I just want to be able to use this device without paying for a service I don't want or need.

I appreciate your help.

 

[Hellishness]

That's a big probably! There's no reason to believe that Apple will give the next Touch similar features as the iPhone. Why didn't they give the current Touch a camera? Or 3G capability? As the OP pointed out, why should we settle for less in the next Touch when we're willing to pay a little more for the best that's out there?

How about this option: AT&T offers another subsidized price, say $299 and $399 for people who just want a data plan contract. I'd even sign up for 2 years at $30 a month for that. Don't force me to pay for a voice plan I don't want.

I agree. Charge me $0.50 a minute for all I care. All I want is 1500 (maybe unlimited) texting, and data....But I WILL use my 450 minutes (or at least try lol) since I have to pay for them

 

[Hellishness]

This is where my lack of knowledge comes into play. Even within this thread there seems to be some differing opinions. I would march myself down to the Apple store and try to sort it out, but as I mentioned in the original post, i'm in Seoul right now, will be back in the States only briefly before I head back over here for another couple of months.

It appears that I won't be able to get a data only plan for the iPhone. Therefore...

Can I buy the the 32gb model for $699 use it as a wifi only iPod Touch and never deal with AT&T?

If not, if I bought it under contract and did the initial set up, would I be able to immediately cancel the contract, pay the early termination fee and then be able to use it as a wifi only iPod Touch?

To clarify, I am definitely in the market to upgrade my first gen iPod Touch so I can take advantage of ios 4 and multitasking, so I am already planning on spending 3-400 dollars on a new device. As a director/choreographer the ability to have a 720 video camera in a device I always carry in my pocket so I can record my work to show snippets to potential employers, and for my own archival purposes is worth the additional $300 alone to me. Add in gps, a 5mp camera, and face time which I could use to both keep in touch with family members and remotely see costume options and heck, even auditions, and we're talking about device I don't mind paying a premium for. I'm not trying to rip off AT&T, I just want to be able to use this device without paying for a service I don't want or need.

I appreciate your help.

Yes, but in both cases, you would have to jailbreak it to get past the lockscreen (it says something about inserting a valid sim...)

 

[Bloake]

The cheapest route is piggybacking on someone's family plan for $10 plus either $15 or $25 capped data plan.

Total of $25-$35 per month. Not bad if you're primarily using data.

 

[jbg232]

Just wait for the next Touch in September. I'm positive it will have a camera like it's litter brother nano.

I agree with this, wait for the ipod touch that comes out in September (it has done so predictably for the last few years and no reason for that to change now). THEN, at least once you see what the ipod touch offers you can make a more educated opinion.

It really does seem a little irrational to not wait 5 weeks to see if you can save possibly $400-$500 depending on the model, especially since what you have works. Who knows, maybe the ipod touch will even have some mp3-like feature that the iphone doesn't have, it has happened before (when nike+ipod support came out).

Just my opinion of course, you're free to do what you want with your money, but then again, you asked for an opinion on a forum...

 

[FlashHead]

I agree with this, wait for the ipod touch that comes out in September (it has done so predictably for the last few years and no reason for that to change now). THEN, at least once you see what the ipod touch offers you can make a more educated opinion.

It really does seem a little irrational to not wait 5 weeks to see if you can save possibly $400-$500 depending on the model, especially since what you have works. Who knows, maybe the ipod touch will even have some mp3-like feature that the iphone doesn't have, it has happened before (when nike+ipod support came out).

Just my opinion of course, you're free to do what you want with your money, but then again, you asked for an opinion on a forum...

Of course that is an option that I'm still weighing. But certainly the new iPod Touch will not measure in a variety of ways. That is the history. I want the best I can get right now, and that will certainly not change in September. I also have a two month business trip to Korea starting in July. Having the device for that trip would be worth part of the extra price by itself.

 

[Hellishness]

I agree with this, wait for the ipod touch that comes out in September (it has done so predictably for the last few years and no reason for that to change now). THEN, at least once you see what the ipod touch offers you can make a more educated opinion.

It really does seem a little irrational to not wait 5 weeks to see if you can save possibly $400-$500 depending on the model, especially since what you have works. Who knows, maybe the ipod touch will even have some mp3-like feature that the iphone doesn't have, it has happened before (when nike+ipod support came out).

Just my opinion of course, you're free to do what you want with your money, but then again, you asked for an opinion on a forum...

I'll bet my iPhone 4 that the iPod touch 4 won't be better than the iPhone. I really hoped for something comparable for the iPt 3, but after that, I just accepted that Apple will never make the touch better than the iPhone.

 

[jbg232]

Of course that is an option that I'm still weighing. But certainly the new iPod Touch will not measure in a variety of ways. That is the history. I want the best I can get right now, and that will certainly not change in September. I also have a two month business trip to Korea starting in July. Having the device for that trip would be worth part of the extra price by itself.

Sure, the iphone will likely be better... and more expensive... The iphone is a PHONE first, and an mp3 player second, you will be paying a premium for features you're not using. You seem like you really want an iphone 4 so if you have the money, there's nothing to stop you. All I'm saying is that if I were you and wanted to use the iphone as an ipod with data I would wait 5 weeks to see if the new ipod will serve my purposes and then make my decision. Now, if you have some business trip that requires the features of the new iphone then go ahead and do what you need to do and get the darned thing, but considering it just was announced a few days ago I doubt that you would NEED these new features as you were doing just fine until you learned what the new iphone did.

I'll bet my iPhone 4 that the iPod touch 4 won't be better than the iPhone. I really hoped for something comparable for the iPt 3, but after that, I just accepted that Apple will never make the touch better than the iPhone.

I think it will have more features, yes, but its a device that costs twice as much, and is a PHONE primarily which is not what the OP wants to use it for.

 

[Hellishness]

<snip>



I think it will have more features, yes, but its a device that costs twice as much, and is a PHONE primarily which is not what the OP wants to use it for.

It will have more features, sure, but look at the iPod touch 3. It had extremely strong rumors of having a camera (and I was one of the people really hoping for one). The rumors were even confirmed to be true (sorry no link, just my memory), but Apple pulled out the camera at the last minute and pushed it as a gaming device. It was really not much of an upgrade over the 2g iPod touch (and to prove that, my friend mention yesterday how happy he was that he got a second generation iPod touch, not even realizing that there have been 3 iterations).

Well, too keep a long story short, the iPod touch will never be an iPhone without the phone.

 

[FlashHead]

Sure, the iphone will likely be better... and more expensive... The iphone is a PHONE first, and an mp3 player second, you will be paying a premium for features you're not using. You seem like you really want an iphone 4 so if you have the money, there's nothing to stop you. All I'm saying is that if I were you and wanted to use the iphone as an ipod with data I would wait 5 weeks to see if the new ipod will serve my purposes and then make my decision. Now, if you have some business trip that requires the features of the new iphone then go ahead and do what you need to do and get the darned thing, but considering it just was announced a few days ago I doubt that you would NEED these new features as you were doing just fine until you learned what the new iphone did.



I think it will have more features, yes, but its a device that costs twice as
much, and is a PHONE primarily which is not what the OP wants to use it for.

Who says it's a phone primarily? It has a ton of features and whatever one uses it for the most is what it is primarily used for. If Apple would put all these features into an iPod Touch and let me pay for it, this wouldn't be an issue.

Of course I don't NEED it, I would survive wihtout it, as would anyone. But that doesn't mean that I don't want one for the belief that it would be incredibly useful to me and my make my life easier and give me some advantages I don't currently enjoy. And if I think it may be more useful to me over my two month trip to Korea than in the six months that will follow, surely my "impatience" is understandable.

I'm not looking for judgements about what I should or shouldn't want, just advice on how I can obtain and use this device without paying 500 dollars a year fir a service I don't want, don't need and won't use.

 

[jbg232]

Who says it's a phone primarily? It has a ton of features and whatever one uses it for the most is what it is primarily used for. If Apple would put all these features into an iPod Touch and let me pay for it, this wouldn't be an issue.

Of course I don't NEED it, I would survive wihtout it, as would anyone. But that doesn't mean that I don't want one for the belief that it would be incredibly useful to me and my make my life easier and give me some advantages I don't currently enjoy. And if I think it may be more useful to me over my two month trip to Korea than in the six months that will follow, surely my "impatience" is understandable.

I'm not looking for judgements about what I should or shouldn't want, just advice on how I can obtain and use this device without paying 500 dollars a year fir a service I don't want, don't need and won't use.

Ok... chill out... this is your quote from your first message:

So, I'm considering buying the iPhone without a contract as my new iPod Touch. Does anyone do this? I know the iPod Touch 4 will have some of these features, but I'm afraid it will be missing some of the more key ones.

I dislike wasting money of course, but the 700 dollar price tag for a is not a barrier for a device I will use absolutely every day for easily the next two or three years (I'm not one to upgrade every year for relatively minor improvements).

My question is...is there something I'm missing in my reasoning. Admittedly, I'm no expert and have never owned an iPhone for a variety of reasons. I've always preferred the size and weight of my iPod Touch to that of the iPhones I've handled, but the new iPhone is much closer and the feature list would keep me happy for quite some time I'm sure.

You posted a question on a public forum, my responses were just an attempt at trying to answer your original post, namely, I think it is unwise to not wait 5 weeks to see if the new ipod touch offers a better value for your money. That's my 2 cents which you publicly posted for, you don't need to take it, but you don't need to flame people for trying to answer your own questions.

 

[JohnSFO]

if I bought it under contract and did the initial set up, would I be able to immediately cancel the contract, pay the early termination fee and then be able to use it as a wifi only iPod Touch?

I believe a contract phone requires a minimum 30 day commitment. If you cancel beforehand you must return the phone. Can someone else confirm or correct that?

But the question still remains: what happens to the phone after a contract cancellation (let's say after 30 days); or also in the case of a full price no-commitment phone cancellation? Does the phone become a brick? I'm not particularly interested in jailbreaking anything. Anyone?

 

[JohnSFO]

It really does seem a little irrational to not wait 5 weeks to see if you can save possibly $400-$500

Um, more like 3 months and no way will a tweaked out Touch 4 cost $400-$500 less than an iPhone 4. My Gen2 Touch was $500, which is only $100 less than a new full priced 16GB iPhone 4.

 

[FlashHead]

Ok... chill out... this is your quote from your first message:



You posted a question on a public forum, my responses were just an attempt at trying to answer your original post, namely, I think it is unwise to not wait 5 weeks to see if the new ipod touch offers a better value for your money. That's my 2 cents which you publicly posted for, you don't need to take it, but you don't need to flame people for trying to answer your own questions.

I am very chill. I've also stated in this thread that I have a major I have a major Business trip coming up in July so my time table may not be so easily judged. I will also state again that it is a near certainty it will be missing the 720 video, the front facing camera with face time or the built in mic, all extremely useful to me in my line of work. When I asked if I was missing something in my reasoning, it wasn't about whether I wanted the best device out there, it was whether Apple and At&T would let me buy it without the voice contract that I don't need.

I do appreciate you taking the time to respond, and I certainly wasn't trying come down on you for your response, but waiting THREE MONTHS to see how limited the new iPod Touch will be, so I know how much more I want the more complete package in the iPhone, doesn't seem like a reasonable strategy for me.