AT&T offers new iPhone without contract - Tmobile User Community

706VZWUser · #1 07-01-2008, 11:56 AM

But skipping the two-year plan will raise price of iPhone 3G by $400

By Peter Svensson

updated 14 minutes ago

NEW YORK - AT&T Inc. will sell the new version of the iPhone without a service contract for $400 more than the price with a two-year plan, a break from the rules set when Apple Inc.'s popular touch-screen gadget debuted last year.
Two new models of iPhones go on sale July 11 for $199 and $299, depending on the amount of memory, with two-year AT&T contracts. The contract-free versions will cost $599 and $699 and will be sold sometime "in the future," AT&T said.
The phones sold under contract are subsidized by AT&T, which expects to make the money back through monthly service fees over the life of the contract.
Without a contract, users can cancel service without incurring an early termination fee. But both contract and contract-free phones will be "locked" to work only on AT&T's network, and the monthly service plans available will be the same, said AT&T spokesman Michael Coe. The plans add a $30 monthly charge for data like e-mail and Web surfing on top of a calling plan.
As previously announced, the cheapest monthly calling plan for the iPhone will cost $70 per month, before taxes and fees that can add $10 per month. That plan includes 450 minutes of calls and unlimited e-mail and Web browsing.
AT&T is working on providing a prepaid plan, Coe said. A prepaid option was available to buyers of the first iPhone who failed a credit check.
The new iPhones will have faster data access and more accurate navigation capabilities. The cheaper model will have 8 gigabytes for internal memory, half that of the more expensive model.
The first version of the iPhone was sold in the U.S. without a contract, but AT&T would activate it only with a two-year contract. Many phones ended up being "unlocked" from AT&T's network and shipped overseas.
Also Tuesday, AT&T revealed that the iPhones will go on sale at 8 a.m. local time on July 11. Last year's iPhone launch, which happened in the evening, had Apple devotees camping outside stores in anticipation.

Janice · #2 07-01-2008, 04:57 PM

Dang man, those contracts are just so expensive! I would consider getting one, but the monthly cost is just too much $$$$!

kdAlise · #3 07-02-2008, 09:34 AM

What's the point of getting a contract-free phone if you still have to stay with the same company anyway?

Janice · #4 07-02-2008, 04:15 PM

^I have no idea

706VZWUser · #5 07-03-2008, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kdAlise

What's the point of getting a contract-free phone if you still have to stay with the same company anyway?

This pricing plan is aimed DIRECTLY at the people who want to purchase it just to unlock and use it with another carrier, lol.

Janice · #6 07-03-2008, 09:13 AM

I *might* want one, but I have no use for an additional phone line JUST to have the phone.

706VZWUser · #7 07-05-2008, 10:21 AM

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8330/4.3.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janice

I *might* want one, but I have no use for an additional phone line JUST to have the phone.

That's the EXACT same way I feel about it, but it's just something about this phone that is giving me the urge to buy it and unlock it lol.