please help out.. im a stupid pc user trying to get iphone

[largewallaby]

Hello and thanks for considering helping me out.. so my wife and i currently have att (each our own phones but neither one an iphone). the att website has an offer for my wife to upgrade her razor to a 3g 16gig iphone for $100. So I have pretty much decided I have to have it. Ive been wanting to update my 8gb 2gen nano for some time now. The thing is that I am not ready to use the phone features on it or am i ready for the data plan charges. I am not trying to rip off att or anything as I will still be using/paying for my old phone and plan. I basically just want a 16gb ipod touch for $100 and then have the option to switch over and use it as a phone later on if I really want to. Does anybody know if this is even possible (i.e. not keeping a sim in the phone/paying data plan)? I know att will force me to activate it via itunes and then the data plan will go on my plan. If i do this for the first month do you think i would be able to call att and tell them i want to go back to using the old phone? like i said i would take the sim out so they would not see me ever using the phone. I would however use the wifi in the house and the ipod functions including apps from itunes. What do you think? Am i just wasting my time or do you think this would work. Thanks so much for your help in advance.

[eye-Fone]

I basically just want a 16gb ipod touch for $100 and then have the option to switch over and use it as a phone later on if I really want to.
The iPod Touch is physically unable to be used as a phone. There are no radio components built in to it.

[acosmichippo]

I think he meant he just wants to use the phone as an iPod touch.

That's possible, but you will have to jailbreak it, which isn't really a big deal.

[BrownGem]

If you accept the upgrade it will come with a 2yr commitment. You call them up within 30 days and say you want to use your old phone instead. You have bought an iPhone at a subsidized price. I am not sure they will let you revert back to your old phone and let you just keep the iPhone. You would probably have to return the phone to discontinue the plan.

[Europa]

If you accept the upgrade it will come with a 2yr commitment. You call them up within 30 days and say you want to use your old phone instead. You have bought an iPhone at a subsidized price. I am not sure they will let you revert back to your old phone and let you just keep the iPhone. You would probably have to return the phone to discontinue the plan.
Exactly. At that point they will either want you to return the phone or pay them more money (probably $300) to make up the difference in the subsidized pricing you received, which you are are no longer eligible for when you cancel the iPhone plan.

Yes, you can jailbreak an iPhone and use it as an iPod Touch, but that doesn't mean you can get a brand new iPhone for $99 and get out of the contract without having to return the phone (or owe them subsidized price difference).

Here's how it works, the phone is only $99 because it comes with a 2 year contract. If you buy it from them without the contract, you have to pay full cost, which I believe is $400 (it's $600/$700 for the 3GS models). They are able to give you the phone at a huge discount because they make up the difference along the way through the monthly service plan you pay.

Honestly, I wish they didn't even do the subsidized pricing. It leads to confusion, people thinking they can scam them, and resent when people are not yet eligible for it, but feel like they deserve it and even twist the facts into a claim that AT&T is ripping them off. If they just charged everyone full price for the phones, they could decrease the monthly charges and get the same amount of money from us in the end, while avoid all the things I listed above. However, that doesn't mean their bottom line would be as high, they would have less people sign up because they couldn't afford the high initial cost of the phone, and that IMO, is why they do subsidized pricing.

[acosmichippo]

The way I understand it, when you sign the two year contract, you are NOT obligated to keep the data plan. You can cancel that at any time. So you buy the iPhone with the contract, cancel the data plan, and continue to use your old phone for the next two years just as you have been. At that point your iPhone would be un-activated, but you can jailbreak it to use as an iPod touch.

[hitrho5]

I think that w/ the contract u gotta keep the LINE but u can switch phones if u want. U will be stuck w/ AT&T for 2 years.

[BrownGem]

Isn't Verizon now forcing customers with smartphones to have a data plan whether they want it or not? I wouldn't count on being able to cancel the data plan even if AT&T says you can. That could be changed anytime they so desire.

[acosmichippo]

I think that w/ the contract u gotta keep the LINE but u can switch phones if u want. U will be stuck w/ AT&T for 2 years.

Exactly. And if you want to use a non-smartphone, then you can cancel the data plan.