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iPhone 3G Finally Available In US Contract-Free
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:47 AM
from the long-time-coming dept.
from the long-time-coming dept.
Engadget is reporting that the iPhone 3G is finally available contract-free if you are willing to pay a much higher premium. Without a contract consumers are looking at $599 for an 8GB model and $699 for the 16GB. AT&T has the added restriction that you must be an existing AT&T customer, but Apple (retail stores only, sorry) will sell one to anyone willing to pay the premium. This change brings the model much closer to the prevailing European model where phones are sold as hardware and the plans are handled completely separately.
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European Model... (Score:4, Informative)
The way that it really works in Europe is that you pay for your phone over the course of your contract. For example, if you want a phone that is $600 and you are on a 3 year agreement, you pay $16.67 as a line item on your monthly bill to pay for the cost of the phone. That's much better than the hidden subsidy cost that most (if not all) North American carriers provide.
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Re:European Model... (Score:5, Insightful)
The UK must not be in Europe then.
In the UK the phone is "free" (or not) and then you get contracts that provide you with minutes/texts that do cover the cost of the phone, but it's still hidden.
Most phones are available without a contract if you want to pay that much, and you can get contracts without phones that are considerably cheaper. But it's not necessarily the most economical way of doing it.
No, the UK way is to have the phone covered by the contract but the contract only lasts a single year, after which the companies are obliged to SIM Unlock the phone for a nominal fee.
Or of course just to use pay as you go, if that's your thing.
Parent
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No, the UK way is to have the phone covered by the contract but the contract only lasts a single year, after which the companies are obliged to SIM Unlock the phone for a nominal fee.
Or of course just to use pay as you go, if that's your thing.
It ain't necessarily so. Last time I upgraded I had to take an 18-month contract to get the phone I wanted. And being obliged to unlock "for a nominal fee" is news to me -- I have been quoted unlocking fees that were higher than the contract-free price of the handset.
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Ask any British person, and they'll tell you it isn't.
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No, it does not work like that, at least not everywhere. There is one provider in Italy that does this, I know of no one in any other country.
You can either:
1. Buy a phone, then use the card you want; or
2. You get a subsidised, locked phone with your contract - the preferred way in Germany, where people end up paying much more for the iPhone than the americans, even.
In italy route 1 means that the iPhone is factory-unlocked, in Germany it will cost you more than in Italy and still netlocked to T-Mobile. I
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I love how marketers in North America continue to push the idea of "European". We've all seen the infomercials where they state "This is a best selling product in Europe..." or "In Europe this retails for $60 but..."
The way that it really works in Europe is that you pay for your phone over the course of your contract. For example, if you want a phone that is $600 and you are on a 3 year agreement, you pay $16.67 as a line item on your monthly bill to pay for the cost of the phone. That's much better than the hidden subsidy cost that most (if not all) North American carriers provide.
So the same as everywhere else then.
Not exactly the same as everywhere else (Score:3, Informative)
if you want a phone that is $600 and you are on a 3 year agreement, you pay $16.67 as a line item on your monthly bill to pay for the cost of the phone.
So the same as everywhere else then.
The difference is that the networks in mainland Europe are more likely to itemize this charge, and they don't bill it to people who bring their own phone.
Re:European Model... (Score:5, Funny)
Well you know that Sham-Wow is made in Germany and Germans always make great stuff!
Parent
So it's true (Score:5, Funny)
The contracts WERE in order to subsidize the cost of the phone... and the whole time I thought it was so they could lock me in and deliver shitty service. But seeing that the phone is $400 more without a contract pretty much proves what the cell phone companies have been saying all along.
Re:So it's true (Score:5, Insightful)
I wonder how much that will be.
Or, are they maybe trying to sell the current phones they have on stock out now, and this is a ploy to sell them faster?
Parent
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The next 'update' to the iPhone will be software and not hardware.
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Well, this new iPhone hardware is rumored to have much greater processing power, larger memory (32G?), and I think about double the network speed of the current 3G phone.
And upgrading hardware on about any tech gadget these days, is common....annual upgrades are pretty much the norm, lest you get stale and lose customers to the next..
Re:So it's true (Score:5, Informative)
Or I could spend $599 for one without a contract, and still give AT&T a boatload of money.
How exactly is this a good deal?
Parent
Re:So it's true (Score:5, Insightful)
--Kimball
http://www.incredicode.com/velocity.html [incredicode.com]
Parent
can I just pop the card out of my KRZR into this? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:can I just pop the card out of my KRZR into thi (Score:4, Insightful)
Unfortunately, you pay "full" price, but the phone is still locked to AT&T. Dumb move in my mind, but maybe that is what we will end up seeing in another month.
Parent
Re:can I just pop the card out of my KRZR into thi (Score:4, Informative)
T-Mobile and ATT use different frequencies for 3G. T-Mobile uses 1700/2100, ATT uses 850 and 1900. You can connectivity with EDGE but you won't be able to do 3G.
Anyway, just because it's contract free doesn't mean the phone is unlocked. It probably still has the ATT SIM card restriction in place.
Parent
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Okay... (Score:3, Interesting)
But why *must* I have an iPhone? (Score:5, Funny)
To me, this [cellphones.ca] product from Samsung is better in every way compared to the latest iphone.
Re:But why *must* I have an iPhone? (Score:5, Insightful)
Much lower screen rez, 240x440 versus 320x480. Also, the screen isn't multitouch and I've seen many phones with a Flash UI, and they're all uniformly miserable. No app store...
Honestly, it looks more like they were trying to rip off the Storm than the iPhone.
Parent
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Re:But why *must* I have an iPhone? (Score:5, Insightful)
O-kay... Now WHY is parent modded as funny? Fanboy mods probably think that any comment suggesting that some product is better than iPhone must be tongue-in-cheek (with the possible exception of Android).
Just like iPod never was the perfect MP3 player, iPhone is not and never will be the perfect phone. Sure, for many users, including a couple of my friends, the iPhone is great and nothing comes close, but "many" isn't the same as "all".
I played a bit with the iPhone. It's fun. It's well designed. It's not for me. I definitely wouldn't exchange my Nokia E61i for it, and that's an old phone now, better ones are available. If I had a choice - get iPhone for free or buy E61, E71, or something like that - I'd reach for my wallet. For me it's far more functional.
For example - I don't really like touchscreen interfaces, especially with small (<10") screens, multitouch doesn't change this. Typing an SMS or working with SSH is so much faster on a full qwerty keyboard, after you get used to it you can actually touch-type with your thumbs.
Still, I read articles in newspapers and feel that I'm expected to want an iPhone. Even here on /. it's the same thing - it seems that I should want one. So many interesting designs on the market, but only iPhone and Android seem to get any attention.
So, the parent was right in both the title and the comment. The iPhone is not for everyone and it is a bit irritating to see it mentioned everywhere and get weird looks from iPhone owners when they show it to you and you say "It's nice, but I prefer something else".
Unless of course I missed the joke?
Parent
Re:But why *must* I have an iPhone? (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Jail-breaking (Score:2)
If (and this is a big if), on the other hand, it was a fully-unlocked iPhone, that could operate on any GSM carrier straight out of the box, then it might be worth the money. After all, what warranty obligations does Apple have for a hacked iPhone from the current lots? My guess would be none.
Re:Jail-breaking (Score:5, Informative)
Lets define our terms:
This story would appear to be an instance of the second thing.
Parent
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Pointless... (Score:5, Insightful)
Its cheaper to buy the phone and break the contract if you want a "no contract" iPhone, as its only $400 or so that way.
only $599 (Score:2)
In any case, I hope this will make all the people shut up about having to buy a contract. The iPhone is not the second coming, and if one does not want
There's no excuse for locked phones (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, the cost is subsidized over the length of the contract but that's an excuse for a locked phone, not a reason.
If you sign a contract to pay $40 per month for 2 years and walk away with a free phone, it don't matter if you use it or not, or switch provider or not.....you STILL have to pay the $40 per month you agreed to, with all the usual debt collection / court hassles for defaulting.
If you switch carriers and set up a separate contract with a separate sim card you need to pay for that in ADDITION to the contract you signed. Not only that, but your $40 per month contract would include free minutes / SMS as part of the deal which you wouldn't use. The propaganda they use would have you believe that if you switched the sim card and started using another carrier the contract you signed would be void and they wouldn't get paid. This is bullshit, and they need to be called on it.
The only reasons I can think that you'd want to pay for both at the same time is if you either object morally to the contract company (in this case AT&T, or Apple's iPhone partner in the UK O2) or if you don't get a strong enough reception from them. You may have a long term deal through your employer, or even a number you've been using for a long time that all your contacts know....why should you be forced to change? Yes you can often bring your old number to the new phone but it's not the point.
Locking you in is inexcusable. An unlocked phone would mean they have to actually compete to keep you. The point here is that a locked phone to enforce at least the cost of the phone on a contract is a red herring. It's even more of an insult to have a pre-pay phone locked to a carrier.
Personally I live in an area where O2 is the only constant strong reception, so my carrier is dictated by signal strength. I refuse to buy any locked phone, even if it is locked to O2.
Mobile phones should ALL be unlocked, sold as phones on their own at full price, or with a contract with the provider of your choice, with a selection of deals / prices / free stuff on offer, with an optional cheaper rate per month by buying the phone at the start or a subsidy at a higher rate per month. This is not rocket science.
$100 for an extra 8GB? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:$100 for an extra 8GB? (Score:4, Funny)
Do you have any idea how much elves and pixie dust cost these days? It's not like you can just pick them off trees, you know.
Parent
Here in Canada (Score:2)
Your only choice is to be with Rogers (nevermind Fido, they got bought by Rogers). Whatever new iPhone comes out and even if it were free, the monthly bill from Rogers is too expensive and too limited.
I bet the iPod touch outsells the iPhone by a bigger margin than in the USA because of this.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Pay as you go, my friend... pay as you go.
I as well have a cellphone (albeit not an iphone... I hate them, personally) and am on the Rogers network. However, I just bought my phone outright from Wireless Wave (I'm sure anywhere that sells cellphones, you can get it non-contract), popped in my SIM card from my old POS nonworking phone, and off I went. I don't use it much, so I'm putting $15 a month on it tops. Helluva lot cheaper than any plan. Downside is I don't have voicemail and maybe some of the oth
Wow. Are we still this rich? (Score:2)
It's a phone. I understand the iPhone is a cool toy. I've used one a lot that a friend has. Games are cool, video player is cool. But he's paying over $2000 for the phone and two years of service.
Wow.
My phone is from Net 10. I paid $60. It's decent, does what a phone should and has IM/SMS and can send/recv photos.
I pay $15/MO. That is $360, after taxes, for 2 years of service and 150 minutes a month. 10c a minute for more minutes, 5c for messages.
As much as I like gadgets, I just can't imagine p
Re:Wow. Are we still this rich? (Score:4, Interesting)
It's all relative. My phone was $6.50 refurbished from Virgin. I pay $90 pre-paid each November for a year of service. That's $186.50 for 2 years of service at about 75 minutes a month.
As much as as I like gadgets, I just can't imagine paying $15/MO for a phone. I'd much rather put that money towards blackjack and hookers. In fact, forget the blackjack. Ah, screw the whole thing.
Parent
Sounds good (Score:2)
I'm still predicting and hoping that the iPhone will become more open as time goes on. I doubt they really wanted to be tied to a single carrier in the first place, but they had to make some deal with someone to get their foot in the door of a pretty closed-off industry. I suspect that some of the closed-off nature of the iPhone's development is a combination of deals that they have with AT&T and a tendency toward wanting to control a new product until it's more clear where things are going.
Personall
Rogers Canada Worse Than AT&T (Score:3, Informative)
For all those Americans who think that AT&T offers a lousy deal, look to the Great White North:
Mandatory 3 year contract. There's no option for an unlocked phone or a shorter contract.
$60 + sales tax for 500 Mb
$75 + sales tax for 1 Gb
Pretty lousy, eh? There's not even an option for an unlimited plan. Rogers had a temporary 6 Gb plan for early adopters that's no longer available.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Give it a little time. SaskTel, Telus, MTS, Bell, Shaw, Yak, and I think a few others are all building GSM networks. Rogers didn't get offered iPhone exclusivity in Canada, so soon there will be several carriers with iPhone plans.
Yay competition.
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Well, yes, they *can* give them away in Japan. The problem is that giving them away is the only way to reduce inventory.
Got a source or a link for the low sales numbers? My impression is that it's selling rather well in Japan.
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Is the Wall Street Journal authoritative enough?
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB122143317323034023-lMyQjAxMDI4MjExNTQxMzUzWj.html [wsj.com]
Re:It's funny. In Japan, they can't give them away (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
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No way.
It just makes sense to combine a music player and a phone into one product. A phone already has most of the hardware required, you just have to add a headphone jack and a bit more memory (which is getting cheaper and cheaper).
The iPod Touch is just the starter drug leading to an iPhone. You'll miss the mobile Internet pretty soon.
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I think you're buying into too much news hype about how much of a failure it is. Most of the articles out there are just trying to generate ad revenue by being controversial. Finally, I can assure you that the iPhone is very very successful here in Belgium â" a quick look around my office shows that in a techy crowd it has about an 80% market share. In a non techy crowd I couldn't give any kind of numbers, but it's still fairly prominent.
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o.O You've heard about the G1 somewhere other than slashdot? Wow.
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Since you did win it in a contest, you know that you could abandon it now at no cost to you and just use what you'd prefer, a Nokia, Blackberry, whatever. But it would appear that you get enough use out of this "hamstrung, nerfed piece of junk," (and Apple's been providing pretty decent support to you on it) that you haven't gotten rid of it.
No snark, but how bad could the thing possibly be if you haven't replaced it? I have known some pieces of junk in my time... I do not think this term means what you