Can I buy the iPhone 3G without a contract?

Can I buy the iPhone 3G without a contract?

Unlock the iPhoneLearn more about purchasing the iPhone 4 without a contract here.

iPhone 4 will be available for pre-order June 15. Learn more about iPhone 4 pre-order and delivery here.

Those looking for information on pre-ordering the new iPhone 3GS will be pleasantly surprised to hear that you CAN pre-order the new iPhone 3GS. Delivery on June 19th. Learn how to pre-order the iPhone 3GS here.

For the advertised prices of $199 and $299, evidently not. A day after announcing the new 3G version of the iPhone with its new low prices, Apple clarified that the bargain prices advertised were those customers would receive when purchasing subsidized phones which require the signing of a contract with a cellular service provider (AT&T in the US, O2 in the UK, etc).

Whether the iPhone 3G here in the US will be sold at any price to customers that do not wish to sign a contract with AT&T is still unknown. There are rumors that some overseas service providers plan to sell the new iPhone for prices roughly equivalent to $800 US for those unwilling to sign a service agreement, but these rumors are as of yet unconfirmed. Certainly in countries such as France, where it is illegal to require a contract purchase accompanying electronic devices, the iPhone 3G will be sold sans contract -- but at what price we do not yet know.

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For now, the iPhone 3G will also not be available for online purchase. Whether you are purchasing through Apple or AT&T in the US, or via Apple or another service provider overseas, you'll need to head into a retail location to purchase the phone. With no iTunes activation of iPhones this time around, the activation process will all take place in the store where you purchase your shiny new iPhone.

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Comments

Anonymous replied on

So they'll be doing AT&T activations at the Apple stores?

Dimitrios Bekos replied on

Here in Greece, Vodafone announced that will sell the iPhone 3G with a contract or with a "pay as you go" sim and also without a contract, in all occasions the phone will be unlocked (simfree). They also already announced the prices for the iPhone 3G without a contract (iPhone 3G 8GB 499 euros & iPhone 3G 16GB 569 euros) despite the fact that yet they haven't announced the prices for those who want to sign a contract, neither the contract specifics.

claudia replied on

in Italy it is exactly the same!! iPhone 3G 8GB 499 euros & iPhone 3G 16GB 569 euros with TIM and Vodafone without a contract, we don't know yet the rates with a contract!!!

Anonymous replied on

So apparently it will be available for $599/$699 from AT&T stores, but the phones will still be locked to AT&T network?

Anonymous replied on

No, it is available at the advertised price for anyone. It says that the iPhone is available for 'eligible customers'. This means customers signing up for a new AT&T plan, and those with an AT&T plan already. If you already have an AT&T plan, you will be getting the iPhone as a hardware upgrade, and the upgrade cost for the 8GB iPhone is $199 and whatever the price offered for the 16GB iPhone. The only way you would pay the $499 for the iPhone 3G is if your account is not in good standing with AT&T. I've been calling AT&T like mad since I heard this, and I've gotten this answer every time.

Anonymous replied on

Yes, but without signing up for anything. It says "Coming soon, AT&T will offer a no-commitment option of $599 for 8GB and $699 for 16GB." in AT&T website.

Anonymous replied on

source: http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=25883
"In the future, AT&T will offer a no-contract-required option for $599 (8GB) or $699 (16GB)."
not bad for european ppl like me, its sth about 380-440 €.
i just hate the imprecise "in the future" part....

Anonymous replied on

your information is not correct. The iphone costs $399 for 8gb or $499 for 16gb if your already an ATT customer. Even if your account is in horrible standing, it'll cost you 3-499 and even if your accoun is in excellent standing and your already an ATT customer, it'll still cost you 3-499. The low iphone prices are for those who will sign a "new" contract, people who are totally new to att

Anonymous replied on

damn ur a dumb bitch...how r u gna tell sum1 that they're info is wrong && u dnt even kno wat ur talkin about!?!?!? Lets not confuse ppl with wat u THINK is right...the truth is that if you are an existing At&t customer and are eligible for an upgrade it WILL only cost you $199, but u must renew ur contract for another 2 yrs...Otherwise, u will have to pay $399 for the iphone without renewing your contract. SIMPLE AS THAT.

P.S.~ At&t r sum sum money grubbin leaches i tell u! lls

Trey replied on

actually. You will still need to agree to a new 2 year contract EVEN if you pay the 3-499 price

Anonymous replied on

I guess its just too difficult for some ppl to read and understand fairly simple things.

This topic, as the header says, concerns the possibility of buying only the phone, without ANY CONTRACT. No one within this topic gives a s**t about how much an existing AT&T customer has to pay if he/she wants to take an iPhone to this existing contract.

How does a "no-commitment option" (directly from AT&T site) translate into a "2 years contract" huh?!

Anonymous replied on

I live in Italy because of my work and over here if you want to buy the iphone 3g you will pay 299 euros for the 8gig and 569 for the 16 gig. if you convert this to USD it's around $500 USD for the 8 gig and around $800 USD for the 16 gig... this is stupid..

Anonymous replied on

Well dudes in Austria its like this: With t mobile u pay 99 for the 8gig phone but u have to pay about 35 euros per month if u already a part of t-mobile or 45 per month if ur new to it. the phone without a contract is 1500 EUROS not dollars, so in Austria they really rip u off. Im trying to get a friend to buy it for me in the US , thats y i came across this page, i wanna know how much it will cost without any contracts since i plan to use it here in Europe!

ScArZ replied on

hmm...
The old iphone was sold seperately without a contract i think. My cousin bought it and unlocked it. The 3G now is sold 199$ with a 2 year contract??

BOC replied on

In France, Orange sells the iPhone 3G at 708 euros.

Anonymous replied on

The iphone will be the death of ATT. The iphone 1st gen was cool, the iphone 3g was cooler and the iphone 3gs is just plain dumb. Att's and Apples rules for purchasing the iphone is only adding to fuel for iphones to be sold on the black market. Apple should just sell the phone outright for $400-$500 and let people choose what plan they want, otherwise there will be people like me who buy the iphone new in box from ebay and then use it on the tmobile network with a plan or as pre-paid.

Anonymous replied on

Hi,

I just want to ask you, if it is posibble to buy an iPhone WITHOUT the 2-year contract ? Because I´m from Europe and I will be in America on vacation, so I can´t pay every month.. If yes, then what prices they are selling it for ? 2G,3G ?? (3GS no)

Thank you for your response, I can´t find it anywhere.

kenzie break replied on

i have a qestion if you can buy an iohone without the contract i wonder]

Anonymous replied on

Hello! I am not Italy citizen, but I am planing buy iPhone 3GS in Italy in Vodafone Store without connection, for 619€. I have read that I get SIM Card with 5€, is it means that I need additional procedure of unlocking my new iPhone 3GS for use my (not Vodafone) SIM? Or I may start use my iPhone 3GS with my (not Vodafone) SIM after short registration procedure in iTunes?

Thank you,

DigChrono replied on

So can I just walk into an Apple Store/AT&T Store (I have both in the same shopping center just down the road) and ask for an iPhone 3GS (and whatever amount of memory) and just have to pay like $600-$700?

Anonymous replied on

hey i m in qatar ,
here vodafone is the official seller of i phone .it costs 3000 QR for 16 gb 3GS and 3500 QR for 32 gb 3GS i phone.
so just tell me how much does it cost in u s ,if i want to buy without contract.

Anonymous replied on

hi,

I am in India and a friend of mine who works with me has promised to get me an i-phone 3gs 16gb for $199. This is what he has told me - He has a cosin in US who has applied for the 3gs 16 gb with at&t. (Now apparently he says that for applying with at&t, you have to make the payments first so i have aleardy paid him $199). Further, he has yet not clarified if his cosin would be applying for a upgrade or a new i-phone but he has told be that at&t first confirms your eligibility to either buy a new i-phone or upgrade with an existing plan (which he says take about 7 to 10 working days) and if found eligible then his cosin will get the new i-phone 3gs 16gb after waiting for a while as there ia a queue in US to get the i-phone (he still has not specified me the number of days his cosin will have to wait to get the handset in his posession). Further when i asked his what his cosin plans to do with the at&t connection, he says that his cosin is more interested in using it with a black-berry. Further he has also taken a shipping charge of $5 to get the i-phone shipped to his cosin's residence (which i have also paid). Further he had told me that his cosin had placed a request on the night of 3rd March 2010 (India Std Time) and hence i made all the payments ($199 + $5) to him on the morning of 4th March 2010. Today is 12th March 2010 and 8 days have gone by but there has been no revert from him.

I request all of you to help me find out if the facts given by my friend are correct or in-correct. And if correct, will i be able to get the i-phone going by this means.

Also, in future if every thing turns out fine and i get the i-phone, i plan to get the i-phone jailbroken and use it with my local service provider in India.

Regards
A

mohsin replied on

i want to sale my apple 3g i phone.

mohsin
delhi

Anonymous replied on

price...????

Anonymous replied on

if you already have a contract with another phone but you wanna buy an iphone and keep that contract, how much would the iphone cost?

Anonymous replied on

Hey

I have a question
im from germany and tmobile sells the new Iphone 4 for over 1 Thousand Euros
So...my question is..

Is it possible to buy the Iphone 4 In the US for 700$ and use it in Germany with a german SIM Card ?
Thx for ur responds

Anonymous replied on

Hey

I have a question
im from germany and tmobile sells the new Iphone 4 for over 1 Thousand Euros
So...my question is..

Is it possible to buy the Iphone 4 In the US for 700$ and use it in Germany with a german SIM Card ?
Thx for ur responds

Anonymous replied on

Where i can find used vodafon sim?
http://www.ipadsitaly.com/ipad-travel-apps-italy-are-the-best-choice-for-vacation/