Most people that have an iPhone would agree that it’s an amazing and revolutionary smart phone even though some “key features” such as tethering and A2DP Bluetooth are absent. I ran into a couple at the AT&T store that were giving up their BlackBerries for something else. They seemed interested in the iPhone, but were disappointed that it could not be tethered. For the iPhone’s price, some people think it’s outrageous to even think of buying the iPhone with its “lack of features” and think that the price should definitely be lowered. How often do you pay over $199 for a phone with a contract? $199 is a bit steep for many people, yet the iPhone is the smart phone I see most frequently in people’s hands.
AT&T, probably due to the economical situation, has lowered the price of refurbished iPhones by $100! The refurbished 8GB’s are now only $99, while the 16GB’s, both black and white, are $199. If you remember the rumored $99 Wal-Mart iPhone, it was confirmed as false, but may have had a slight truth to it. Wal-Mart sure isn’t selling a $99 4GB iPhone, but AT&T is selling a refurbished $99 8GB iPhone! It’s over at AT&T’s online store, listed as a new item in the refurbished cell phones section. You still need a 2 year contract with AT&T and the exclusive price lasts only until New Year’s Eve (12/31/08) which is this Wednesday. So if you didn’t get to give that special someone a gift, why not choose an iPhone 3G? Hurry there’s not much time for this amazing deal!
The only real thing the iphone is missing is A2DP. The tether, mms, video record, etc. can be fixed by 3rd parties apps. Though jailbreaking is required, but pretty easy.
One thing I wanted to mention is the refurb deals are available to existing customers too. Having upgraded a few months ago to a BJ2, I saw that even without a upgrade discount, I could get the iPhone 8gig (refurb) for $199 . Great price for those not eligible for a upgrade discount.
One thing that is still a question for me is the warranty on the refurbished phone. The packaging that came with mine said that Apple has a 1-year warranty on their refurbished phones, but AT&T is stating that the warranty on the refurbished phones is only 90 days.
Although, the hassle to get MMS, Tethering, and Video recording must all be done through separate apps. It would be so much more convenient if they were “packaged together” by apple like so:
Camera+video
SMS+MMS