Almost everything you wanted to know about the 3G Iphone

[norcalmike]

I'm going to go with uninformed here. They'll probably just extend your current contract for 2 years. With all of the current contracts out there and people who will be "upgrading" to the 3G, it would make no sense for them to limit who can spend an additional $200-$300 for the new phone. They'd lose out.

I work for regular at&t not mobility. But on our intranet it said 1st gen iPhone users can upgrade to the 3g even though the 2 years is not up but they will restart the 2 year cmt at the time of the upgrade.

[jot9011]

From cnet...

".....certain AT&T customers who might not be eligible for the upgrade price of $199 or $299 will likely have to pay the unsubsidized price--or something close to it-- for the iPhone 3G. Current iPhone owners are eligible for the $199 price, as are new AT&T customers, but some AT&T customers who use another smartphone and have been with the carrier for a short time might have to pay the higher price."

[laz305]

I love technology, followed it from the early Apple II days, and new technology is always nice but like everything else, it's relative to what you need it for.

The iPhone 3g has a few new things that might appeal to some but mostly useless by the majority, here's what I think about the 3 most noticeable upgrades:

1. GPS - Basically a good thing to have but not so practical on a phone in my opinion, I prefer a dedicated unit from Garmin or Magellan, etc. I like the iPhone for it main uses such as a cell phone and iPod.

2. 3G - not really worth $30/month to me, specially when you're limited to a small screen for browsing such as the iPhone's. I hardly ever see a need for faster speed when doing a quick browse over edge.

3. Lower Price- Really....... you guys really think is good to pay less and be tied to a 2 year contract, no way! I rather pay the extra $200 and do what I please with the phone (unlocked).

To much hype for Apple products, yes, the 3g iPhone is nice but not much nicer than the original. In my opinion the original iPhone was a much better deal. Love it or hate it, this is just my opinion.

agreed and let's not forget still can't record video and no stereo bluetooth. So still not an up to date cell phone so not worth it. my 3yr old Sony Ericsson w850i can do more than the iPhone.

[zacbro]

Okay Apple seems to have finally got the unlocking process chances to be way down with this new iPhone, but there is one flaw:
Let's say I bought the iPhone 3G and signed up with AT&T (which I plan on doing on July 11).
Okay now, let's say someone creates an unlock for the iPhone 3G (which will likely happen within 24 hours of July 11th by DevTeam or some other genius).
Now that I found an unlock for it, I will want to keep mine and sell another one(I can only imagine how much an unlocked 3G iPhone can go for on eBay).
I can ask AT&T if I can buy a new iPhone 3G with my current Iphone 3G contract because my first iPhone 3G got (lost, stolen, broke, you can make up something good).
How can they refuse if you are willing to pay for a new one?
There is no way they are going to be like "Nope, even though you bought an iPhone 3G with the iPhone 3G contract and someone has stolen it from you, we cannot replace it with an iPhone even if you pay for it."

[PhoneLine]

Okay Apple seems to have finally got the unlocking process chances to be way down with this new iPhone, but there is one flaw:
Let's say I bought the iPhone 3G and signed up with AT&T (which I plan on doing on July 11).
Okay now, let's say someone creates an unlock for the iPhone 3G (which will likely happen within 24 hours of July 11th by DevTeam or some other genius).
Now that I found an unlock for it, I will want to keep mine and sell another one(I can only imagine how much an unlocked 3G iPhone can go for on eBay).
I can ask AT&T if I can buy a new iPhone 3G with my current Iphone 3G contract because my first iPhone 3G got (lost, stolen, broke, you can make up something good).
How can they refuse if you are willing to pay for a new one?
There is no way they are going to be like "Nope, even though you bought an iPhone 3G with the iPhone 3G contract and someone has stolen it from you, we cannot replace it with an iPhone even if you pay for it."

Yep, that'll probably work fine, but you'll be paying full retail for the new phone which will be at least what the first gen cost when it was first released, if not even more. that, plus the initial 200 or 300 dollars for the one that your unlocking and 'losing' might not be worth it.

Much will depend on if the phone, when unlocked will work on other 3g networks such as tmobile. If it won't, I don't think the efforts to unlock it will be all that worth it. Jailbreak yes, but the unlock we have to wait and see.

[iPhoneMadness]

Subsidized price?

LINK

[kingofthechi]

will the apps take up memory? from the phone

[bretthartt]

will the apps take up memory? from the phone

I'm pretty sure that it will. Notice in the 2G iphones you really didnt have all 4,8,or 16gb and that was due to the software that was on the system. Also if you have jailbroke your old iphone you'll also notice the amont of available space decreasing in size with each new/additional application that you download and use.

[NetMage]

I don't understand why some people think the 3G is much more expensive.

Old iPhone 16GB: $500 + $20/month * 24 months = $980 for unlimited EDGE data, 200 text messages/month

New iPhone 3G 16GB: $300 + ($30/month + $5/month) * 24 months = $160 for unlimited 3G and EDGE data, 200 text messages/month

Since I paid $600 for my 8GB iPhone, it seems like the iPhone 3G is being introduced at a slightly lower price than the original 8GB iPhone. Of course, with a much less chance of a discount going forward though.

Unless I can run a 3G iPhone on a $20/month plan, I will wait for a 32GB to upgrade (no 3G for 40 miles from where I live (which has a population of about 45,000 with another 60,000 surrounding)).

[stunna2095]

i already got my big plan to get the iphone 3g.....i have tmobile but my best friend and his wife have at&t. they are getting the 3g for themselves and he is opening up a line for his mom on a family plan and giver her his old phone. im gonna give him the money and hes gonna purchase it under her line. therefor i have a new iphone 3g. if its true that they will be connecting them in store. we will taake out the at&t sim and say it got stolen. everyone wins. now i just pray it gets unlocked soon!!!

[elnekis]

great thread. Clearly puts a lot of doubts to an end.

[seanobx]

No, if anything, 3G is a replacement for EDGE. Wifi will more than likely stay the same as it is now.

Jailbreaking/unlocking has nothing to do with the phone, it's all about the firmware. The new firmware will probably be jailbroken, but then you get into the new system Apple has in place.

Seems like they will have their eye on everything that's going on with the phone. So who knows if they'll be able to detect jailbroken phones, preventing people from... who knows.

I'm sticking with the first gen. Just not worth it.

Yeah but mad, if you like myself and the thousands of others that had to DFU a phone because of some glitch or another along our travels from 1.02 to now we had to reactivate via iTunes. Will this now be impossible if we need to activate only through AT&T directly? or once the phone be activated will that carry over to iTunes and be able to re-activate? That I thikn is what was meant. If not flog me now

[Poseidon79]

I believe even when they do "in store" activation it will be done via iTunes just like it's done now.

[Happy Noodle Boy]

I believe even when they do "in store" activation it will be done via iTunes just like it's done now.

Yup, and if what the rumors I've been reading are right, they don't even need to physically remove the iPhone. They'll have a scanner that can read the back of the box (where your serial/IMEI and other information is), get your account information and you're done. You plug in to iTunes and it'll connect to AT&T or Apple or wherever it is it connects now for verification and you're done.

I really don't think the in-store activation will take as long as some thing. Especially on contract extensions since they already have your information.

[alexloo]

i'm surprised that apple will not sell the phones individually like they did before. Despite that there will be enough people getting the 3g iphone, i feel apple will lose money by not selling it individually, which might change regardless if they have a partnership with at&t. i myself am indecisive whether or not to renew my contract with at&t. i think i "try" to be patience for a month to see how things progress

[kyikeda]

Wait Does This Mean That The Itunes Store Will Work Over 3g? Well Since It Has Nearly The Same Speeds?

[dualcorex]

this is a nice guide. very useful.