can you just walk into an istore and buy a iphone?

[Tony Earl]

is it possible to get an iphone from the istores in the US without having an at&t plan?
i stay in south africa and want a friend to get me one and bring it, so can he just walk in and buy it and say he will register it in his own time?

 

[Gix1k]

is it possible to get an iphone from the istores in the US without having an at&t plan?
i stay in south africa and want a friend to get me one and bring it, so can he just walk in and buy it and say he will register it in his own time?

Just buy a slightly used one from the marketplace here or Ebay. You'll get a far better deal. To buy an iPhone without a contract will cost you close to $700.

 

[arkitect]

is it possible to get an iphone from the istores in the US without having an at&t plan?
i stay in south africa and want a friend to get me one and bring it, so can he just walk in and buy it and say he will register it in his own time?

iStores? That'd be difficult…
But you could walk into an Apple store and buy one without contract.

But as Gix1k suggests eBay etc offer far better deals.

 

[Surely]

Just buy a slightly used one from the marketplace here or Ebay. You'll get a far better deal. To buy an iPhone without a contract will cost you close to $700.

I don't think he has access to the Marketplace yet.

Yes you can, but as Gix1k said, you would have to pay full retail price.

 

[iShater]

Is the unlocked phone even available at the apple stores?

 

[Applejuiced]

An istore?

 

[Tony Earl]

i mean apple store.
i have no access to the market place, but i got a friend who is willing to go into the store and buy it for me.

what would the full retail price be?

ill unlock it myself,

 

[Surely]

I think:
$599 for the 16GB
$699 for the 32GB

 

[Gix1k]

what would the full retail price be?

I just told you. Probably like 499-699. No exaggeration.

 

[goosnarrggh]

Is the unlocked phone even available at the apple stores?

In the United States, no, Apple Stores do not have an unlocked iPhone.

However, they do have non-contract prices for iPhones. They're still locked to AT&T, so you still cannot use them with another carrier unless you hack them. But they do not require a 2-year commitment.

(Overall, it actually works out to be cheaper to purchase the iPhone at the subsidized price, pay for the first month's service, then pay the ETF to terminate the contract at the end of the first month. After that point, you'd end up with a phone with the exact same status as you would have had with the no-commitment price iPhone, but you'll have spent about $100 less.)

In Canada, on the other hand, there are no-contract prices available for the 8 GB iPhone 3G, and for the iPhone 3GS. But the only option to buy the 16 GB iPhone 3G is to commit to a 3-year contract.

(ETFs in Canada from Rogers and Fido are substantially higher than in the USA from AT&T, so the argument above about the pros and cons of the no-commitment pricing versus subsidized-then-cancelling may not apply.)

 

[iShater]

I think:
$599 for the 16GB
$699 for the 32GB

I think that is only to get it without a contract with ATT. The only place that had it unlocked was buy.com for $999.

AFAIK, it is NOT available as unlocked in the US at this time.

 

[arkitect]

Tony Earl:
Wouldn't it be cheaper/less hassle to buy in SA?

 

[Surely]

I think that is only to get it without a contract with ATT. The only place that had it unlocked was buy.com for $999.

AFAIK, it is NOT available as unlocked in the US at this time.

He said he'll unlock it himself.

 

[Tony Earl]

jeez i thought u go in and say i already have a contract, thanks and good bye

in sa they cost 800$ for the 16gb 3g. thats what i have but i wanted to upgrade.

 

[iShater]

jeez i thought u go in and say i already have a contract, thanks and good bye

in sa they cost 800$ for the 16gb 3g. thats what i have but i wanted to upgrade.

Then they will probably sell it to you for the full cost, the discount is when you sign a new contract on the spot or extend your contract by 2 more years on an eligible plan.

 

[Surely]

jeez i thought u go in and say i already have a contract, thanks and good bye

in sa they cost 800$ for the 16gb 3g. thats what i have but i wanted to upgrade.

You didn't think that they would actually check to see if you were under contract with AT&T? Like, they would just take your word for it?

 

[Tony Earl]

if they cared that much why would they make it so easy to jailbreak?

 

[iShater]

if they cared that much why would they make it so easy to jailbreak?

easy?

 

[Applejuiced]

Apple doesn't make it easy the hackers do that.
Actually with every hardware update apple trys to make it harder to jailbreak but nothing is unhackable.

if they cared that much why would they make it so easy to jailbreak?

 

[j/k/Andy]

I tried to buy an no contract iphone from two apple stores at the end of July, both would not sell one to me. Weird because a week or two before I asked about this and the "genius" said they could, 16bg at $599, but when I went back, both stores denied me.

Double check that Apple Stores will sell no contract phones, they would not for me a few weeks ago.

You all are odd... answer someone who posts the truth

 

[GeekGirl*]

you can get them direct from Apple for 399.00 mine is on its way