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iPhone 3G Finally Available In US Contract-Free
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.
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.
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.
I'm not sure, but there is almost always someone in the US who will sell you something where you make monthly payments. Of course, there usually is an unreasonable interest rate.
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.
Does it work with other carriers? They may sell it but they never said it will work with other carriers.
To me, this product from Samsung is better in every way compared to the latest iphone.
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.
well, that is not true AT ALL. I've been living in 4 different countries so far, with mobile phones bought in the 4 of them (spain, france, england and germany so far). Pretty much each country does different: in some of them the higher the forfait you agree to pay monthly, the cheaper the phone is, in others there is not such an agreement (well, allways a 5 euros or so), but I've NEVER seen paying money just for the line (and with that I mean money that does not come, or can not be spent in calls) The parent is shimply lying.
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.
Test your net with Netalyzr
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.
"People that quote themselves in their signatures bother me" - athakur999
Lets define our terms:
This story would appear to be an instance of the second thing.
Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
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 bought my iPhone in Italy and have used that several times in Italy, UK, north america and even Chile. With prepaid cards - sometimes even international sims (and will end up spending much less). In Germany and Italy I even have pay-as-you-go data plans that allow me to purchase 500Mb (italy) or 1Gb (germany) for about 10 euros.
Roberto
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.
Come on apple we all know it's just a freaking HCSD card in there and they do not cost that much.
In the not too distant future, next Sunday A.D.
Is the Wall Street Journal authoritative enough?
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB122143317323034023-lMyQjAxMDI4MjExNTQxMzUzWj.html
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 think it means.
Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
Low iphone sales in Japan is FUD to which the blogosphere and the WSJ caught on. In fact, Japan ranks second in iphone sales. Of course the U.S. is where the majority of sales are, but the idea that iphones aren't selling in Japan is the result of somebody trying to manipulate Apple's stock price. It's all exposed here.
Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, this is the war room!
You're right. It is definitely possible that they have been able to move a lot of iPhone inventory since they started giving the phone away for free.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10172786-37.html
Well you know that Sham-Wow is made in Germany and Germans always make great stuff!
Don't kid yourself. It's the size of the regexp AND how you use it that counts.
I know Belgium isn't a very big country, but do you really think that the people in your office constitute a statistical sample?
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 other extras, but I can text, send, and receive calls, so it's plenty good enough for my phone usage.
Screw plans if you don't use your phone a great amount.
Planet Zebeth - Metroid with a twist
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.
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.
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A line-item for the phone would be a great feature for us in the U.S. Currently, your phone is "subsidized" by the lock-in to the contract. Theoretically, this means that after the initial 2-year lock-in, your monthly price should go down as they aren't subsidizing the phone anymore. In reality, of course, the price stays the same and they keep the difference as added profit. Or, you can take your existing phone into another contract and have your already paid-for phone subsidized again.
A refreshing blend of nerd and cool.
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.
It doesn't hurt to be nice.
Thanks for that. It just seemed odd that I can walk down a street here and see people whipping them out from time to time (more than I did living in the states), yet be told that "nobody's buying them". Something just wasn't lining up.
Ask any British person, and they'll tell you it isn't.
Silver Clipboard: Time Management Tips
In this case it's option three: Still locked, but simply not bound to a contract. You still can only use it on AT&T, but are not locked in to a specific monthly plan.
I second that. Coming from Continental Europe, visiting Britain - it is more akin to visiting US or Australia than Spain or Poland. Things are done differently, and engineering practices are compatible with continental Europe only when they absolutely have to be. Personal experience about engineering practices - In continental Europe - workmanship/quality comes first - cost/time to manufacture comes second. It is usually the opposite in Britain.
In fact, the iPhone is the only handset I know where you can hot-swap the SIM cards - I never switch it off, I just pop one off and put the new one in. VERY handy. No resyncing. Just works. Very smooth - and Apple implemented it in an amazing way. That's why simlocked or netlocked iPhones are a technological crime!!!
Roberto
In Belgium, I just go out to the store, by myself a cellphone of my own choice, pop in a sim card of whatever operator and buy prepaid cards. Want to switch providers? No problem, you can keep your number and everything.
As far as I know (seem to remember reading something about this in the paper around the time the iphone first came out), it's even forbidden here to couple contracts to cellphones.