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Possible new iPhone user

P

pdawg

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 9, 2008
193
1
Charlotte, NC
Newbie here. I have 4 lines with AT+T: 2 not under contract and 2 still under contract although one is about to expire. I really don't need all these lines anymore, so I'm canceling 2 of them, preferably this week. I may keep the one line extra to stay on Family Talk (700 min).

What is the best approach to get the best deal on an iPhone 4? Should I purchase it directly from the store and then go to AT+T and try to continue without a contract? Will I get any discounts in terms of hardware/data plan if I go to AT+T directly and tell them I'm going to Verizon instead? I'm not a big fan of playing one against the other so I need some tips :D

I've never had an iPhone before, just an old "phone only" Nokia.
 
pdawg said:
Newbie here. I have 4 lines with AT+T: 2 not under contract and 2 still under contract although one is about to expire. I really don't need all these lines anymore, so I'm canceling 2 of them, preferably this week. I may keep the one line extra to stay on Family Talk (700 min).

What is the best approach to get the best deal on an iPhone 4? Should I purchase it directly from the store and then go to AT+T and try to continue without a contract? Will I get any discounts in terms of hardware/data plan if I go to AT+T directly and tell them I'm going to Verizon instead? I'm not a big fan of playing one against the other so I need some tips :D

I've never had an iPhone before, just an old "phone only" Nokia.
Click to expand...
It doesn't make any difference whether you buy from Apple or AT&T, the price will be the same. If you sign a new contract, you get the upgrade price. If you don't sign a new contract, you have to pay full price.
 
JamesMB said:
It doesn't make any difference whether you buy from Apple or AT&T, the price will be the same. If you sign a new contract, you get the upgrade price. If you don't sign a new contract, you have to pay full price.
Click to expand...

What % off should the upgrade price be? I thought someone at AT+T told me I'd pay full price for the phone regardless. Maybe that was when the iPhone first came out.
 
Yeah, back when the original 2G iPhone came out, it was unsubsidized.

So you'll pay (now) $49/$199/$299 for the 3GS 8GB/4 16GB/4 32GB respectively (I went 4 32GB because I was running my old 3G at near capacity at 16GB :) )

Now days I'd where do you think you'll have the better experience (if you've a choice)?

One thing is try to get them to waive the $18 upgrade fee if they try to charge it to you. I "wasn't able" to get them to do that for me (Ast. Manager at AT&T said they were not allowed anymore :rolleyes:) but then he did go and discount my Otterbox Defender case $18 which pretty much is the best deal I was going ot get on that case anywhere local (and I wasn't going to go through even a day without a case, I know how I can be :D) so I was happy.

Unless you prefer naked, or a bumper or other "not there" case, most consider the Otterbox Defender one of the better cases out there - only issue I've ever heard with them is some people having issues with the proximity sensors on the WHITE cases, which was fixed by ringing the cutout with sharpie.
 
Last edited:
pdawg said:
What % off should the upgrade price be? I thought someone at AT+T told me I'd pay full price for the phone regardless. Maybe that was when the iPhone first came out.
Click to expand...
The price is $200.00 with contract, and $599.00 without, for the 16gb model.
The 32gb model is $100.00 higher.
 
I'm a little fuzzy on what you mean with 4 lines, one expiring and canceling two but saving one to keep the family talk 700 plan. You only need 2 lines to have a family plan. Just so you're aware. As everybody else said you'll get the same deals at either store so do what's convenient or comfortable. I'd go to AT&T because you might be able to negotiate some fees or what not. good luck.
 
eternlgladiator said:
I'm a little fuzzy on what you mean with 4 lines, one expiring and canceling two but saving one to keep the family talk 700 plan. You only need 2 lines to have a family plan. Just so you're aware. As everybody else said you'll get the same deals at either store so do what's convenient or comfortable. I'd go to AT&T because you might be able to negotiate some fees or what not. good luck.
Click to expand...

I went over to the AT+T store at lunch and canceled one of my phone lines. 2 others have about 2 months left before I can cancel them. No special deals offered tho I tried :). I will most likely cancel the remaining 2 lines and just drop the Family plan since I won't need to share minutes again for a few years when the kids need phones. I decided to wait on the iPhone for now and just enjoy the iPad I already have. Maybe revisit it in the summer after the new iPhone comes out.
 
I'd suggest you just wait until the next iPhone comes out. I'd call AT&T and cancel the lines instead of going into a store. Maybe the rep might sweeten your renewal with some bonuses or something to keep you with them instead of jumping ship to Verizon. Never hurts but it might be something to check out.
 
I'd wait until they all expired and move to Verizon. Especially if you have three or four months to spare.
 
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