A special thanks to commenter “tamade” for pointing out the obvious. Since AT&T’s unlocked iPhone 3Gs will cost you $599 (8GB) or $699 (16GB), you are better off signing a contract and cancelling it than buying an unlocked iPhone. In fact, it’s even cheaper to buy a 16GB iPhone using this method than to buy and unlock an 8GB version. But math isn’t our strong suit so go ahead and double-check our calculations. We won’t be offended:
$299 – 16GB iPhone w/contract
$36 – Activation
$175 – Early Termination Fee
$70 – One month of service
Total Price Using The Shady Method: $580
So…
8GB iPhone Canceled: $480
16GB iPhone Canceled: $580
8GB iPhone Unlocked from AT&T: $599
16GB iPhone Unlocked from AT&T: $699
Are we missing something?
Ken
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at 8:43 AMIs there an “unlocking fee”?
PB
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 9:40 AMFirst month bill as you can’t cancel without paying at least one month. And first month is around $150-$200
Ann
Friday, July 25, 2008 at 10:45 AMi bought a 3G today and was told by the sales person at the apple store that i would be charged $200/phone in addition to the $175 cancelation fees. the $200 according to her was for the subsidy of the phone since after 30 days u can keep the phone.
i read the contract carefully and could not find any mention of this $200 additional fee on top of the cancelation fee. Do u guys have any more info on this?