Comments on: $199 iPhone? Sure, with a 2-year contract

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:11:19 +0000

This ended up being 400 dollars more without the contract.

By: austin

austin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:06:02 +0000

this is awesome device!

You can use it to search http://www.utwestcampus.com

By: BBoverIPHONEanyday

BBoverIPHONEanyday — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 20:24:03 +0000

you’re wrong. It doesn;t work like that. You may not have ben aware of when you’re eligible for upgrade. If they made an exception for you then you may have been with the company for a while with good payment history. If it was a private dealer, then they work by their own rules, but they wont stay in business long giving the discounts on accounts that are not eligible for it.

By: BBoverIPHONEanyday

BBoverIPHONEanyday — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 20:18:04 +0000

You are incorrect. You can only renew your 2 year agreement after a specified amount of time has been fulfilled on your existing agreement. The amount of time is determined by how long your account has been active (initial service start up, not most current contract) and your payment history. It can be anywhere between 12 to 18 months into the contract before you’re eligible to upgrade. Sometimes exceptions are made but they’re rarely ever worth the hopps any company will make you jump through to get them.

By: BBoverIPHONEanyday

BBoverIPHONEanyday — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 20:12:04 +0000

There are companies in place that specifically handle online purchases of items with 2 year contracts. Their computer programs are linked to the cariers sysetms, like a 3rd party retailer (Wireless toys or wireless giant) would, and usually have use an electronic signature (Ex: “Type your initials here to sign electronically”). Apple stores have the same thing, they use a similar computer system to what an AT&T retailer would. And yes, you would have to sign the 2 year contract to get the discounted pricing. The non-contract price is usually $2-300 more than the contracted price.

By: David Tampa

David Tampa — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:12:15 +0000

Maybe I’ll wait 5 years for that LG Viewty

By: Par

Par — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 01:02:46 +0000

if you bought the iphone from futureshop what is the contract because i phone the girl said you have to sign a cntract what is the contract about

By: pintu

pintu — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:07:50 +0000

#199 iphone can unlock ?
for normail gsm sim card ?
if possible plz help me…………..

thank you

By: pintu

pintu — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:00:25 +0000

whitch model $199 ?
what is the future in this model ?
it i bye from out side work in india ?
if any body help me………..pintu

By: Erik Speckman

Erik Speckman — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:31:09 +0000

This sucks and falls short of my expectations. But, so does everything.

By: cj

cj — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:59:39 +0000

um well lyk im getin it so yahh it goin to be lyk awesome bad part not vid and no text in with the data well w/e

By: Timblewee

Timblewee — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 06:58:37 +0000

I think us in the UK are getting a better deal with O2.

8GB model £99 16GB model £159 on £30 or £35 per month tariff
8GB nodel free 16GB model £59 on £45 per month tariff
both models free on £75 per month tariff

existing iPhone customers get chance to upgrade early at these prices as long as they agree to renew their contract (18 months).

We still get unlimited data via 02 Edge and 3G and unlimited use of Wi-Fi Hotspots via the Cloud network at no extra charge.

As for the new Phone I can’t help feeling a little disappointed that some features have still not been addressed, whether this is in the iphone 3g or the 2.0 software update. I am aware that perhaps these issues may be addressed by 3rd party apps, but features such as copy and paste need to be integrated directly into the OS to work seamlessly IMHO.

Don’t get me wrong I am in love with my phone and the fact that I am still happy with it after 6 months of ownership is testament to how fabulous a device it really is. I can honestly say that if there wasn’t a new version of THIS phone coming out I would have no intention of trading it in. As far as my personal usage of the phone goes there simply isn’t another phone that can hold a candle to it.

I am sure that there are owners of other phones, e.g. Nokia N95 or LG Viewty who would say the same about their devices. But for me the iphone blows them away. I have used both the other devices and the shear quakity of the Iphone outshines them. The N95 has a destinct cheapness to the feel of it, it feels light and plasticky (but that’s prob cos it is) and the LG viewty makes a half decent attempt at a touch screen interface but I for one couldn’t live with the delay in pressing the screen and the phone actually doing something. Yes the Iphone may lack in some small areas but my god it’s a quality device. After nearly 8 months of ownership and all the abuse that these deivces put up with there is not a single scratch on the screen. I wish the same could have been said for my sony ericsson Z5, T39, P800, P900, P990i, S700i, my Samsung D500, D600, P300, my MDA Vario II or Nokia 5120, 3310, 3330, 8210, 8310, 7610, 7650, or N73 to name but a few.

As I said these are my personal feelings regarding the iphone, everybody has a different opinion and needs from a phone. I only use my phone for personal use and have no opinion on corporate use.

I know you Americans have a raw deal by the sound of things with AT&T as a carrier. I have heard stories of poor quality calls and limited 3g coverage, but over here in the UK (and I can only speak for myself) I have had no problems whatsoever with O2 (and no I do not work for them or Apple and I am not an apple fanboy either (I much prefer Windows to OS X (again a personal preference)).

I for one will upgrade to the Iphone 3g taking advantage of the free upgrade offered by O2, however I do have concerns about this. I am aware that O2 are not doing this out the kindness of their hearts, I paid full price for the privilage of owning a Iphone 1st gen when it was released in the UK. This phone was not subsidised by the carrier, however the new 3g phone will be. As a result next year when we see the release of the next version I don’t think O2 are going to be so generous, allowing users to upgrade early for free (7 months into an 18 month contract).

At the moment the sting of being an early adopter of the Iphone has not affected me cos O2 have given its customers a get of jail free card with their early upgrade offers but I have a feeling this will be a one time only deal.

By: Moe

Moe — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:43:03 +0000

i read these posts quickly so i may have missed something… but if apple is no longer doing the price sharing thing with AT&T why in the hell are they staying exclusive with AT&T? They know it will sell… when AT&T told them that they wanted to change the contract, apple should have said “GREAT… you can buy as many as you want, well supply you and every other company with however many units you want” Anyone know what the deal is gonna be in europe? its being released on the 11th as well, to movistar in spain, as well as atleast 5 other european countries. Can you go prepaid with it and just pay more for the device, or do you need a contract? is it going ot be locked to movistar?
I want one bad, but unfortunatley i travel too much for work so if i cant travel with it (and actually use it on a local network) then im gonna have to stay with windows mobile…. if i can travel with it ill get one on the 11th

By: $1.2 Billion For iPhone Apps in 2009. What is Gene Munster Smoking?

$1.2 Billion For iPhone Apps in 2009. What is Gene Munster Smoking? — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:15:32 +0000

[...] million in 2009, or more than seven times what it sold during its first year. Yes, the price cut (if you can call it that) to $199 will spur more sales. But not 7X more [...]

By: Hai

Hai — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:44:38 +0000

Even with the contract, it’s still cheaper than the previous iPhone. Plus, you get to ditch buying a Garmin GPS device, can get internet and so forth. It’s expensive, but it’s a natural progression for the communication space. I’m happy with my current iPhone, but if my contrac twas close to expiration, I’d likely go for it.

http://www.openxfer.com/wordpr.....-iphone/?4

By: djacobs

djacobs — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:02:40 +0000

@sean

No, you can’t NOT buy a 3G iPhone without first signing up with Voice AND data plan, with a 2-year contract from AT&T.

http://www.iphonebuzz.com/att-.....102678.php

By: Anand

Anand — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:52:03 +0000

@Thom (#71). Great post! In terms of your third point, do all third party native iPhone apps need to be officially sanctioned by Apple? Can someone develop a third party native app that can be downloaded/purchased outside of the Apple Store and without Apple being involved?

Also what are your thoughts on Web apps running off the iPhone versus native apps?

By: Mindgame

Mindgame — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:50:18 +0000

@88

Yeah, why aren’t more people not interested in AT&T talking about unlocking this one?

By: Sam

Sam — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:36:54 +0000

@ 87 Sry, I meant EVDO

By: The 3G(PS) iPhone Arrives (See The Video From the Stevenote) : New Web 2.0 Magazine

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:32:59 +0000

[...] It is much thinner, much faster, and much cheaper than its predecessor. Starting at $199(with a two-year contract), you get an 8 gigabyte device with GPS that works on AT&T’s high-speed 3G network (as [...]

By: Batman

Batman — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:22:22 +0000

Don’t know what the fuss is about with the contract, their will be a way to unlock it for other sim cards so what’s the big deal.

Apple wont try and ultimately block the unlocking process, know one has mentioned how many phones probably sell without the contract being taken up due to unlocking.

By: 3G iPhone Shuns SaaS for Longer-Term Opportunity? « SmoothSpan Blog

3G iPhone Shuns SaaS for Longer-Term Opportunity? « SmoothSpan Blog — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:38:53 +0000

[...] deal is you get the iPhone more cheaply, $199, but you have to sign up for a 2 year contract at $30/month for individuals and $45/month for businesses to use it. Apple gets [...]

By: Phil

Phil — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:21:27 +0000

@Sam (#84): “for sprint for 600 minutes, unlimited data (edge network)…”

ORLY? EDGE on Sprint’s network? Hmm. Sprint’s network is CDMA and EVDO, so even saying something like that is just ignorant. EVDO is 3G, so you are on a great network if you can get coverage.

By: John Biggs

John Biggs — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:47:06 +0000

@everyone
Check here for details.

By: sean

sean — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:29:54 +0000

does anyone know if there is an iphone without the 2 year contract available?