iphone data plan question

[slightlyhuman]

I'm due for an upgrade. Do I absolutely have to start the $30 iphone data plan to get the iphone at the 2-year agreement price? I'd like to keep using my unlocked g1 and just play with the iphone and use it as an mp3 player and possibly later on using it as my main phone(and of course start the iphone data plan).

Curious if I can just buy the phone by signing on for 2 more years and just keeping it to play with for now(without use of a sim).

 

[TheWart]

I'm due for an upgrade. Do I absolutely have to start the $30 iphone data plan to get the iphone at the 2-year agreement price? I'd like to keep using my unlocked g1 and just play with the iphone and use it as an mp3 player and possibly later on using it as my main phone(and of course start the iphone data plan).

Curious if I can just buy the phone by signing on for 2 more years and just keeping it to play with for now(without use of a sim).

I am pretty sure you are required to get the data plan in order to qualify for the subsidized price.

 

[slightlyhuman]

I am pretty sure you are required to get the data plan in order to qualify for the subsidized price.

I'm curious if I can cancel it after the first month? Say.. I lost the iphone. I'm an android user all the way but I do want a new mp3 player and the itouch looks neat but if I can get an iphone and later on down the road use it as a phone(or give it to the gf) that would be great.

 

[pm]

If you cancel within the first month, they ask for it back. If you cancel after one month you owe that month's worth of service, plus the ETF ($175). When you add up the two months of service, plus the ETF, plus the cost of the phone, plus the activation and new line fee, it comes out to about $550 for the 16GB iPhone 3GS and $450 for the 8GB iPhone 3G. Or somewhere around there. It's probably cheaper and it's definitely easier to just buy one off of Ebay.

Or wait a month or two until the new one is out and then buy one on Ebay when the early adopters upgrade.

 

[slightlyhuman]

If you cancel within the first month, they ask for it back. If you cancel after one month you owe that month's worth of service, plus the ETF ($175). When you add up the two months of service, plus the ETF, plus the cost of the phone, plus the activation and new line fee, it comes out to about $550 for the 16GB iPhone 3GS and $450 for the 8GB iPhone 3G. Or somewhere around there. It's probably cheaper and it's definitely easier to just buy one off of Ebay.

Or wait a month or two until the new one is out and then buy one on Ebay when the early adopters upgrade.

really? 2 years ago when the 2nd gen iphone came out i bought one(it was in july i believe 2008). i had the phone for a week and didn't care for it since i was so used to palm treo type phones. i turned off the data plan and put my sim back in my palm centro with no data plan. ended up selling the iphone to a buddy. didn't go through any of those details you posted. although i don't doubt you. perhaps i got lucky? i was asking this time because i'm an existing member.

 

[pm]

really? 2 years ago when the 2nd gen iphone came out i bought one(it was in july i believe 2008). i had the phone for a week and didn't care for it since i was so used to palm treo type phones. i turned off the data plan and put my sim back in my palm centro with no data plan. ended up selling the iphone to a buddy. didn't go through any of those details you posted. although i don't doubt you. perhaps i got lucky? i was asking this time because i'm an existing member.

Ah. So you'd keep AT&T service afterwards, just drop the iPhone data plan because you lost your iPhone. That would work, I think. What I posted up is what you'd need to do if you completely left AT&T for another network.