For existing AT&T subscribers looking to get a new handset for a few months before they make that inevitable Pre / iPhone 3.0 / Gizmondo decision this summer -- or folks who just despise contracts in general -- it looks like AT&T will be offering unsubsidized iPhone 3Gs at last. According to some training slides obtained by
The Boy Genius, the "no-commit" price will only be available to existing customers, and will run them $599 for the 8GB model and $699 for the 16GB. Sounds like somebody's looking to flush a bit of stock, or perhaps they've finally decided to almost treat the phone like
pretty much every single other device on the market -- wild times we're living in, folks. The no-commit option should be available as of March 26th.
posted Mar 18th 2009 3:17PM
i would just wait until the new iphone came out...
FAIL!
Seriously...you can get it cheaper on fleabay
@_o; where XD!
AHAHAHAH!!!!!!!11
its cheaper to activate the thing for 31 days and then pay the ETF!
Apple is either having a slow sales or they want to get rid of stock before the new iPhone in june...
AT&T is da devil!
wow, i dont get it. People have been saying no contract for years now. They finally get what they been asking for n now they whining.,dee dee dee!!!!!what do u guys want?what good is iphone if no data plan, u cant check email,gps or browse, or use any web based apps,weather google maps. etc.U asked for it u got it$ $700 iphone. i on the other hand paid $99.,thru att.com....this is insane.Its clear they want to clear out inventory.
Tell me this which true full html smartphone gives u free 3g data ?anywhere on the planet. Exactly none.or u could get nokia e71 no contract for $450.,lol!!!!!
IBoone highly ranked!? I'm afraid, I'm very afraid
WTF!!! OMFG!!
You guys know we pay $699 for iphones in Australia outright..... and thats AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS!!
exchange rate = 0.64 (about that)
Iphone cost 250$ to make... do the math, its a major ripoff.
Looks like they are short on cash.
actually it looks like this is a clearance sale to make space for a new product that's replacing it.
Dude, there is nothing "sale" about this, other than the fact that they are simply selling units at an insane price.
$700 for an Iphone, in America? loll..Lets see how long this last..They know majority of iphone owners do not switch, so their is no need for a contract..
I know at one point the iphone in Russia was around $1,000.
If this no commitment version is fully unlocked it might makes sense for some. But if it is still locked, there is no way in this or any other world for me to buy a locked phone for $600.
yeah if it's unlocked it could be worth the money, otherwise you're paying 600 for the phone and then more for your eventual atnt contract which is absolutely pointless.
Who said UNLOCKED?
You just did.
Even if unlocked that price is rich! My buddy who owns a cell phone shop sells brand new unlocked ones for less than $500.
And I seriously doubt these are unlocked.
FAIL at business!
You know, looking at both at&t and Apple's profits over the last year, it's hard to really describe either company as "fail at business"... though of course, that doesn't make their actions good from the perspective of the consumer, which is the perspective that should matter the most.
@epsilon
i just wanted to let you know i think your name's awesome.
from,
me
We have here another decision by att/apple that will only benefit their partnership ,iphone sales. Proof once again revolution occurring as we speak now here in usa. We also need to remember iphone is only recession proof device. 2007, 2008 was one of att/apple strongest years in history. Highest customer satisfaction rate of any smartphone of all times. Iphone handles 68% of mobill internet traffic in usa.,we talking population of 320 million. Thats insane
!this will only cause iphone to pull away from vzw,sprint n tmobil, and driving them closer to bankruptcy. I see some of u also pointed out iphone lack of tehering,video,removable battery. Welcome to the revolution. We all need to remember success is measured by sales here in the usa,ask any ceo. Iphone a true underdog defied all odds n has gained the coveted title by engadgeters of best smartphone of 2008,over some very good competition.Pre will tank hard guaranteed,2 yr contract $350 plus mandatory $99 plan for 2 years..it will turn into another instinct or glide. Being feature rich does not guarantee success,ask every single failed iphonekiller.,I have spoken n silenced all, now bring on the hate mail.,.,.,
Shank, do everyone here a favor and STFU already. You're repeating yourself over and over down the page.
As for "this will only cause iphone to pull away from vzw,sprint n tmobil, and driving them closer to bankruptcy"
I think you'll find the other carriers (with the possible exception of Sprint) are still doing just fine. Not everyone wants an iPhone and even some of those who do, wish it wasn't on AT&T.
If you were attempting sarcasm, you failed pretty badly.
AT&T is feeling the heat of the Pre!
yeah i know. pre has sooo much success. there zero to 1 million record is astonishing.iphone having trouble keeping up with pre sales!!deedeedeee!!!lol.,.,
And it costs $173 to build? Wow, with profit margins like these, the recession must be something to joke about over at apple/at&t.
The easiest way to deal with a recession is to "choose not to participate!"
I chose not to participate and I'm doing wonderful.
I agree kjb434!!
just because our President (or lack there of) says the sky is falling down; that doesn't mean my world is going to shatter. The only way to make this recession worse is to hide in a cave and wait for the flood. You can beat the flood by attacking it with sandbags, dams and preparation.
That $173 is only parts and does not include labor in china (child or otherwise) or all the hard work cupertino put into design, marketing, and cult building.
A lot of the recession is to do with people, with no money, spending a lot of non-existent money (Overdrafts and Bank loans) and then can't pay it back. These people live outside of their financial income, cause they need to have the latest and greatest things, to pretend to others that they aren't down and out. If you have an iPhone you are seen as doing well and can afford luxuries, even when you can't. You own Apple products to be seen as the "I'm a MAC" guy, Cool. If you don't, you're the "I'm a PC" guy, a dork. Nobody wants to be the dork, so they will put down however much it takes to be "cool" without actually being cool. All things considered, Apple really is helping the recession flourish. (Them and rappers, rapping about how much their pinky ring costs. But that's for a different Blog)
HAHAHAHA!!
The presidents and all those LOSERS are getting a taste of the REAL WORLD...
They had the wool pulled over their eyes by AIG and the big 3...
Government is so use to making laws are raping the law abiding tax paying citizens that they have no skills when is comes to dealing with hard core business competition...
AIG and the big 3 PWND them good... They just have to learn that big business make nice bedfellows but they will stab you in the back!
"If you have an iPhone you are seen as doing well and can afford luxuries, even when you can't. You own Apple products to be seen as the "I'm a MAC" guy, Cool. If you don't, you're the "I'm a PC" guy, a dork."
And then there are those of us who are doing well and actually can afford luxuries. I rarely ever use credit. Or if I do, as when purchasing on-line, it's paid off in less than 30 days. I also don't rush out and buy the next trendy thing, which is probably what you're describing there. I buy the highest quality I can (of whatever) and then *run it into the ground* before I replace it. And, believe it or not, this does not always mean Apple or IBM (when it comes to PCs).
In fact, I'd probably agree with everything you said, if it wasn't a poorly disguised fanboi attack on Apple.
People buying iPhones they might not be able to afford didn't cost the recession. People buying HOUSES they couldn't afford did.
And for those who can afford to buy iPhones, spending the money will only HELP speed economic recovery. Hoarding your money now won't make things better.
"The easiest way to deal with a recession is to "choose not to participate!""
Yes, not putting money into the economy is the smartest thing you can do in a recession! (Of course, with the excess of printed bills in the US and A it might actually be a *fairly* good idea. Seriously, how many versions of each of the dollars do you have?!)
One vote for "looking to flush a bit of stock."
My AT&T contract is up in May, but I'll be checking out the 3G iPhone and the Pre before I make any upgrade decisions.
just wait until Q3 when all those nice htc's and samsungs come out XD
Maybe a Nokia N97 if it ever sees the light of day
wow, i dont get it. People have been saying no contract for years now. They finally get what they been asking for n now they whining.,dee dee dee!!!!!what do u guys want?what good is iphone if no data plan, u cant check email,gps or browse, or use any web based apps,weather google maps. etc.U asked for it u got it$ $700 iphone. i on the other hand paid $99.,thru att.com....this is insane.Its clear they want to clear out inventory.
Tell me this which true full html smartphone gives u free 3g data ?anywhere on the planet. Exactly none.or u could get nokia e71 no contract for $450.,lol!!!!!
In Poland,you can get an UNLOCKED Iphone 16GB,straight from ERA(which is owned by T-Mobile anyway) for 2200zł(~650$) complete,with a guarantee. Signing a new contract is NOT required.
Do you have to get it with a contract if you get it from poland? Id love to get one to use it with T-Moble in the United States. I know a neighbor that is going to poland for a month. I could have them purchase one for me.
No. You can get it WITHOUT a contract. But I recently bought 2 Iphones 16GB on 125zl(30$)/month contract, for 1zl(that's less than a dollar). And the contract is for 12 months only,so It's not bad.
@fincan I don't see a downside for them fully unlocking it, as AT&T may lose a minuscule amount of users who go over to T-Mobile. Most of the fun of the iPhone 3G is the 3G part, and T-Mobile has their wonky bands that won't work with this. Still, knowing AT&T they'll still lock it in.
So you can buy an no commitment (unsubsidized) phone, and pay the fully monthly price for service, with is inflated to cover the subsidized phones? WIN for AT&T
I'm really surprised that there hasn't been any news on a new iPhone yet. I wonder if this will help sales to help with inventory. Likely not, I'm just dreaming. Sticking with my 1st gen.
I have 3 1st gens in the box...
Selling price is now $1,000... EA...
this means one of two things to me. ATT is no longer going have an exlusive real soon or its a guarenteed hardware upgrade coming soon. either way they want to move some quick product.
In the UK, we've had the iPhone 3G available on pay-as-you-go for ages, so they're not necessarily shifting it.
An update in June does seem likely, but when they're pricing it at $599 and $699, you really think they're trying to move stock?
Thats what I'm thinking too.. they're desperately trying to get people devices to keep them on the AT&T network now.
Assuming* you can't use the iPhone with any service other than AT&T, doesn't this sort of defeat the purpose of buying an unsubsidized device?
*big assumption, I know, but does the U.S. have unlocked iPhons?*
I mean, who is going to pay $600-$700 for a phone unless they plan on using it for at least a year?
I was just thinking that myself- whats the point of buying an unsubsidized phone if you have to use AT&T as your sole provider anyway?