Where can I find an iPhone 3G for $200?
 

A friend in China has asked me to find her an iPhone 3G here, claiming they're $200 and far cheaper here than in China. I can't find one for under $600. And besides, wouldn't a low sales price require a two year contract? And are they all GSM phones? I know nothing about this stuff, as I have no interest in an iPhone. But I don't want to tell my friend no dice without making some effort first.

iphones are all gsm and like all other apple products there the same price at all stores.

Does that mean I can find one for $200 and without a contract?

Doubtful. It might take a lot of searching, but I highly doubt you can find a 3G one for that price.

You are correct in thinking that the $200 price tag is supplemented by AT&T.

I had a guest from Asia who wanted to buy an I-Phone here. We went to Best Buy. AT&T has an exclusive contract with Apple. The salesperson to us the phone will retail for around $1,400. HOWEVER, they will not sell the phone without a contract anywhere in the U.S. The salesperson also informed us that he heard the only place where one can buy an I-Phone without a contract is in France (where there is some kind of a legal consumer loophole allowing one to do so).

P/S. You should be able to get it on Ebay.

Might check these out:

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/bar/909805943.html

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/ele/903900288.html

Time to revive this one. My wife really wants an iPhone, but we have Verizon and don't want to switch to AT&T or wait until Verizon picks up the iPhone. So, how about getting a jailbroken iPhone? Will all the apps still work? Can I just get a Verizon data plan then?

No - Verizon will not work on an unlocked iphone. Jailbreaking has nothing to do with using another carriers network. T-Mobile is your only other option and I have heard they are no better than AT&T.

With Verizon - Droid is the way to go.

GSM is the way to go IMO (T-mobile/AT&T). Your sim chip is plug n' play with virtually any GSM phone (makes replacing/switching hardware easier). Plus, it opens the doors to more (or easier) International use. If you still need/want to stay with the blackberry platform, the GSM Bold 9700 is pretty slick. I've had AT&T for years with no probs at all. Plus they have affiliate business discounts for a lot of companies. Enter your work email here to see if you qualify: AT&T Business Center Portal

Verizon does not use GSM, ie: no sim card, iPhone will need a carriers sim card to function.

My Verizon phone DOES have a slot for a SIM card, but there is no SIM card in it. I could swear I've seen ads on CL for iPhones that have been jailbroken and work on Verizon.

Here is one: Apple 3G Phone, some small scratches and stuff
I can handle the transaction, if needed.

It's probably a multi-platform capable phone, or a slot for a Verizon "World SIM" card (not US GSM compatible). Verizon uses CDMA networks, and does not support/use GSM AFAIK. So, nothing (including "jail-breaking") will make an iphone work on Verizon's network. Any ads you see offering such are scams. You'll have to wait for the Verizon version, or join the dark-side.

World Phone.

When travelling in Europe you can get a Verizon supplied SIM or a local SIM that will work on the foreign partners GSM network.

It will not work on Verizon in the US.

iPhone on domestic Verizon not gonna happen.

Any ads that you are seeing are either BS or foreign network Verizon phones.

Ok, I'm looking into eating the early termination fees from Verizon to switch over to AT&T and just getting her a new iPhone and myself a refurb. Blackberry.

There should be some for sale around here. 100 were stolen from a local AT&T store...

Go with the BB Bold if you like the BB. I have one and love it. 3x faster than the Curve and so on.

ATT is selling refurb 3GS for $49 (16gb) and $149 (32gb)

the map adds that verizon uses are true
i never have issues with my palm centro on the verizon network

my sister is always getting disconected on he iphone in denver

over the holidays in capitol city NM my BIL gave up trying to make calls by walking up to a 1/2 mile from my parents house just to get one bar....we finally went to starbucks in town and they were able to get all they needed done in an hour.

cool iphone apps/att and no service
ok palm apps/verizon and conection in even remote parts of western USA
i'll take a reliable service every time

My wife has a habit of wanting/buying/getting stuff she rarely uses just because she has to have it. I doubt she'll use an iPhone to anything close to its capacity. How much shttttuff can you cram on a 16GB and have it work with decent speed?

That would re-enforce my point of going refurb if you can...and as to the speed, I don't know as the only experience I have is occasionally looking up something on youtube on some of my friends' phones. They seem reasonably quick, but I have no idea how much of their capacity they are using

Can you tell any difference at all between a refurb and a new one?

I haven't seen them in person but I have to assume there would negligible differences. The standards all manufactures seem to have for their refurb stuff is pretty high. We bought my sister a refurb Dell laptop because it was at such a discount. If there was not a sticker on the bottom the laptop that said "Refurbished" we would have had absolutely zero idea that it was not brand new. That's my limited personal experience

I think the refurbs are the ones returned in the 30day trial period mostly... Only difference is warranty... Refurb comes with 90days... New comes with a year.... You can load a 16gb up... I have over a thousand songs on mine plus pictures plus vid...

Refurb was all I could get my hands on with my 1st gen.

Dropped that one a dozen times before I finally cracked the screen last year.

Put a screen protector film on it (it's now basically an iTouch) and gave it to the kids, 6 and 9. It spent 3 weeks on the road with them over the summer, just got back from a 7 day cruise and gets used every day.

Still going strong.