07-08-2008, 12:33 AM

Hello people of the Mac Forum. I am in a little bit of a dilemma. I have been waiting quite a while for the new iPhone to come out. However, I am with T-Mobile, and you can't leave the store without activating it. I am not about to run all around the internet to buy an unlocked 3G iPhone. Which of the two options would you go for:

1) Buy the iPhone 3G, activate it for At&t, and KEEP the service with 3G, thus canceling my service with T-Mobile. I would end up paying more in the long run with this option.

or

2) Buy the iPhone 3G, cancel with At&t right away, and just unlock it for T-Mobile, and only get the EDGE data plan (there's in no 3G for T-Mobile, except New York). I would end up paying about 25 dollars less a month with this option.


FYI: I live in ABQ where there is plenty of 3G coverage with At&t. Also, money really isn't much of an issue, it's more about me being willing to shell out the extra amount.


Thanks,
Gerald

07-08-2008, 12:52 AM

I would choose option 1, but try it out for a week or two to see how you like it. I think you have 2 weeks to try it out and still get a full refund on the phone and plan. At that point, it might be an easier decision on whether to pay the extra for 3G, return it outright, or cancel at&t and unlock.

07-08-2008, 10:00 AM

What are you being charged with T-Mosuck. WTF is ABQ (Albequerkey?). Either man up and pay the $150 cancellation fee (that's pennies really), Change your t-mobile plan to the cheapest one you can as long as you don't have to renew your contract, or find me some coffe.

07-08-2008, 12:27 PM

You cannot cancel your AT&T iPhone account before 30 days. After 30 days you can cancel but have to pay the Early Termination Fee of $175. 3G is nice. I hated EDGE with my V1 iPhone which is why I sold it. I say option 1. There arent really that many more benefits for the iPhone 3G vs. 1st gen iPhone if you are just going to unlock it for slow T-Mo service.

07-08-2008, 07:56 PM

I would rather have slow Tmobile than overpriced At&t,Really how much surfing are you going to be doing anyway? I use mine to check my email and maybe look up a website or two a day.People act like Edge is so slow... The battery is going to die quick with 3G.... If At&t wasn't so expensive it would be different for me.

07-08-2008, 08:37 PM

You can buy the phone outright for $599 then do whatever you want with it. You don't have to activate it, but it'll cost you up front.

Personally, I'd go with option 1.

07-08-2008, 08:48 PM

You didn't really explain what you would predominantly use the phone for. Since you said it doesn't matter about money, and the 3G coverage is great in ABQ, then if you are going to use the phone for Internet, Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather, Youtube, etc... then the 3G will be great for you.

If you don't really care about all that, or only some of those, and don't mind waiting a few seconds longer for your website to load, or a few mins longer to get your email and it seems like a hassle to switch from T-Mobile to ATT then I would just buy the phone at the outright price and unlock it for T-Mo.

One thing to mention. You say you will be spending more in the long run for AT&T. But you can't be sure you won't want to switch to AT&T during the time you have the iPhone, and then the high price (599) for the outright buy might be a sunk cost.

I say you just switch to AT&T and get the cheaper price on the iPhone and enjoy your 3G speeds.

07-08-2008, 09:49 PM

Wait, when you buy the iPhone 3G you HAVE to activate it right there and right away? I plan on getting the phone and then going later to AT&T to set up a family plan w/ my fiance, do I need to setup the plan BEFORE getting the iPhone?

07-08-2008, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by JCC37

Wait, when you buy the iPhone 3G you HAVE to activate it right there and right away? I plan on getting the phone and then going later to AT&T to set up a family plan w/ my fiance, do I need to setup the plan BEFORE getting the iPhone?

There are different options AT&T are planning. Check out my iPhone 3G F.A.Q.
Do a search or look on the iPhone hardware page. It will have some info and links to check out.

07-09-2008, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by bargsbeer

I would rather have slow Tmobile than overpriced At&t,Really how much surfing are you going to be doing anyway? I use mine to check my email and maybe look up a website or two a day.People act like Edge is so slow... The battery is going to die quick with 3G.... If At&t wasn't so expensive it would be different for me.

I'm paying $10 a month more for my iPhone plan than I was for a Razr I had with t-mobile.

07-09-2008, 12:44 PM

Thanks, for the feed back. To help clarify the situation a bit, I do plan on taking full advantage of 3g. I plan to use the internet a lot.