News
Apple begins sales of no-contract iPhone 3G
Apple has begun to offer the iPhone 3G without a contract in its own retail stores, according to a new report. The move comes just one week after AT&T confirmed that it would offer the handset without a contract. Apple Insider reports that the two companies differ on the terms of sale, with AT&T restricting units to one per customer, who must have an existing AT&T contract, while Apple is not requiring either pre-requisite. The no-contract iPhone 3Gs are priced at $599 for the 8GB model and $699 for 16GB units.
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1
Is it finally over? Are those of us on different providers other than AT&T;finally able to proudly walk in a store, purchase a product of our choosing and use it as we see fit? Tell me I am dreaming.
Posted by Gerald on March 27, 2009 at 7:33 AM (PDT)
2
@Gerald: You’re dreaming; they’re still carrier-locked AFAICT.
Posted by ckd on March 27, 2009 at 7:48 AM (PDT)
3
I hope this leads to being able to have an iPhone without the AT&T;data plan.
Posted by Randy on March 27, 2009 at 9:03 AM (PDT)
4
Does this mean that in 16 months, when the two-year contract on my iPhone 3G is up, I can take that badboy to the local Verizon store and get real cell phone service again?
Posted by Nancy B. on March 27, 2009 at 10:33 AM (PDT)
5
@Nancy B.: Nope; Verizon uses a different transmission system (CDMA instead of GSM), so the iPhone won’t work even if it’s unlocked.
Posted by ckd on March 27, 2009 at 1:48 PM (PDT)
6
And you can’t really use it on T-Mobile because their 3G data uses different frequencies.
You can use it as a phone only but why pay $600-700 to use it only as a phone?
You’d have to save that much over a 2-year period on T-Mobile to justify this.
Posted by wco81 on March 27, 2009 at 9:06 PM (PDT)
7
Awesome - people ##### and moan about 99¢ songs, but will buy an iPhone for $700?
The world has indeed gone to the dogs…
Posted by slb on March 28, 2009 at 2:53 PM (PDT)
8
Great news !!
Posted by Weber Ress on June 17, 2009 at 10:10 AM (PDT)