The 3G model works right out of the box with any AT&T SIM, although AT&T encourages you to sign up for an iPhone-specific plan. If you’re only interested in basic phone service without data, you can buy a $10 O2 SIM at Best Buy<\/a> (it’s a re-branded AT&T SIM) good for 3 months of use, at 5 cents a text message and 17 cents per minute of airtime. That’s great for developers who want to add a telephony-ready unit into their testing arsenal without signing up for a full contract, who don’t want to use the phone except for testing and occasional use.<\/p>\n If you want to use data, however, your best economy bet probably lies in jailbreaking and unlocking (with a tool like blackra1n<\/a> or pwnage<\/a>) and using one of T-Mobile’s better-priced data plans. But be aware: because T-Mobile uses a different 3G frequency than AT&T, their data plans can only use EDGE service when accessed on the iPhone 3G. Want to use an existing AT&T data-plan enabled SIM? It should<\/em> work out of the box but AT&T generally disapproves of that approach, and may (ahem) “encourage” you to upgrade to a (contract-enforced) official iPhone plan.<\/p>\n So is the 3G a good iPhone to buy for four-hundred-plus dollars? Recall that the 3G is just a 1st generation system (model 1,2 — i.e. 1st gen, 2nd iteration) with a few extra bells, whistles, and case design beyond the original model. The 3GS (model 2,1) is a far better system in terms of processor power and features, and we’re half a year out from what will likely be the next (model 3,1) iPhone, let alone any (possibly mythical) tablet. I’d call this a “warm deal” at best.<\/p>\n TUAW<\/a>Contract-free refurb 8GB 3G $430 with free shipping<\/a> originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)<\/a> on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read<\/a> | Permalink<\/a> | Email this<\/a> | Comments<\/a> <\/p>\n Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.stoth.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-o-matic\/cache\/53ced_54850896.jpg\")
TUAW reader Conrad N. tipped us off to a nice 3G iPhone deal this morning. Buy.com is offering an 8GB 3G<\/a> for just $430 with free shipping. While I wouldn’t classify this as a red hot deal (a 3GS would have qualified) it’s not bad for anyone who wants to pick up an inexpensive contract-free unit, for generous interpretations of the word “inexpensive”. <\/p>\n<\/h6>\n