How Much to "break" the contract ?

[10-Dee-Q]

Hi, i'm from overseas and i really want to buy iPhone , now that it can be unlocked
anyway i have few questions to ask,

i'll ask my friend who stays in states to buy me the iphone, from what i see on apple homepage, it cost $399 for the 8GB model
but with 2 year contract

my question is :
-is that possible to buy only the iphone without the contract ? and how much?
-if it's not possible, then how much the penalty charges for breaking the contract ?

i really want to know how much i should pay to get iphone wihout any contract
and is there any "hidden" cost ?

thx.

 

[ivi7]

my question is :
-is that possible to buy only the iphone without the contract ? and how much?
-if it's not possible, then how much the penalty charges for breaking the contract ?

thx.

You dont need to be in a contract to buy the phone. But in order to activate it (make it work) you need to sign a 2 yr contract with at&t. The ETF( early termination fee) for cancelling the contract henceforth is $200 if I am not mistaken.
You could just buy the phone from apple for $399 and then unlock it yourself by the various methods out in the open now.

 

[gceo]

There is no contract requirement on the iPhone itself.

For service with AT&T you need to sign a 2 year agreement.

If you are buying the phone to unlock it, you can simply buy the phone over the counter without signing any contract at all.

If your current carrier is GSM, then you don't need to renew a contract to use the iPhone on their system.

There is no price incentive/rebate for signing a contract with the iPhone. Probably the biggest difference from ALL other phones. I can't think of another phone/carrier that doesn't give a rebate for signing a contract.