HELP iphone 3g 32gig purchase

[frankieG]

so i went to the at&t store, picked out a black 3gs iphone, 32gig.  the top of the line you can not get any better. i also got a case and  blue tooth head set.  so 299 for the phone, 50 for the head set and 20 for the case.  grand total with tax....$398.52.  i gave them my credit card, drivers license and ssn.  they came back that att wanted 500 deposit to hold for a year.  i was pissed, i said "thats foolishness"and walked out.   after calling att and talking to others att would not drop the deposit. others told me that they had been told to make 500-1000 deposits too.  so i have my 8g second gen touch which is ok and i like it.  but my reasoning for getting the iphone was to be able to get the internet everywhere, watch movies everywhere, send and receive e-mails and of course have a phone and camera all in one.   so what do you guys think?  should i put the 500 down and get the phone? should i tell them to get bent and just make due with my 2nd gen 8g i touch with wifi but no phone, no camera, no internet or phone.  well internet with wifi in the area.  also a phone and data plan would cost 70 a month which really is not that much considering all the use one would get. so please let me know what you guys think.
tx as always

frankie

[bettingpython]

First off was it just on the iPhone plan or was it on all phones and plans? It sounds like you have bad credit and thats pretty standard nowdays. If it was iPhone specific you can look to many other platforms for mobile internet access, I have a Moto q 9h, I don't like touch screen phones as cool as my HTC 8525 and the new tilts are I learned that touch screens aren't for me.

[frankieG]

i have good credit otherwise i guess i would have to pay 1k.   as for other phones, nothing compares to the iphone at all.  apple has so many apps and is soo ahead of everyone else it just is not funny.

[scottpA_GS]

I have 2 friends w/ them and myself.. No deposit was required 

Did you try Walmart? They have iPhones

[ohgood]

+1 frankie, tell em to get bent !

first off, no phone company, cable company, or other can have my social sec #. that's private, and there is absolutely no reason for them to have it. credit check schmedit check. they are simply providing a service, not selling you a house. eff em !

tell them you will provide a $100 deposit, or buy a phone from craigslist / ebay and just use it on another carrier if they don't like YOUR CONTRACT.

500 or one thou is a rediculouse amount for something as stupid as phone service. don't forget, you -can- get a pre-paid phone card (sim) and just use the WIFI portion of the iphone for internet.

.......
check with tmobile too. the mytouch and g1 are awesome phones. mp3/video/youtube/apps/email/3g/wifi/bluetooth/gps/capacative touch screens/full querty/lots more that is cool.

eff the phone campany... they can't even get mms right !@

[yamahonkawazuki]

Indeed frank. my credit. due to illness is SHOT to hell anbd back. and tmobile required NO deposit. get oen of theirs. , THEN find a jailbroken iphoner, and drop teh sim card from the tmobile unit into hte god phone ( jsut one of many solutions,  ) but 500 seems QUITE excessive. ESPECIALLY wiht good credit. 

[spc]

It's pretty much SOP for them these days.  ATT got burned pretty bad by people walking from the contracts on the 3G iPhone after getting the heavily discounted price.  A stripper I know that had no credit at all had to pay a $1000 deposit when she got her 3GS.
I would suggest finding a Craigslist 3G for a reasonable price and just opening an ATT account with no strings.  The difference in the 3G and 3GS is really pretty petty..........whoop de fuch o doo, it's got a friggin compass .

[yamahonkawazuki]

It's pretty much SOP for them these days.  ATT got burned pretty bad by people walking from the contracts on the 3G iPhone after getting the heavily discounted price.  A stripper I know that had no credit at all had to pay a $1000 deposit when she got her 3GS.
I would suggest finding a Craigslist 3G for a reasonable price and just opening an ATT account with no strings.  The difference in the 3G and 3GS is really pretty petty..........whoop de fuch o doo, it's got a friggin compass .

a taad faster. but its negligible. my behold is a 3gs as well. dont need at&t can get the CL one. and go anywhere that uses a sim card. IIRC its anyone except verizon, or sprint

[frankieG]

i was told that only att&t had the iphone 3gs service agreement.  am i wrong?  the 3gs has a faster processor,  navigator and camera...i guess there are more diff but i can't remember it.   the nav is 5 buck a month so i will keep my navu 105w which works fine for me.   i guess i will probably get one since i do wet the 500 back but now i am wondering if i need  16 or 32 gig. for me it is movies.  i would like to keep 3 or 4 to watch if i am stuck somewhere.   i don't download music since i prefer bloomberg radio or american public radio.   i would just keep my ipod touch but i don't have the internet everywhere and it will save me carrying 2 devices it and a phone.  but i am still open minded.  i still have 1200 coming to me from the VA for meds so it is not like i am going to be broke.  i get  3500 or so a month from my pensions.    i owe no money on the house but have 500 a month for the lot, security, gardening, water blaa blaa blaaa it is a great exclusive place.   my truck payments are only 250 a month and i am 3 months ahead right now.  so i am ok.   if i had a mortgage,  credit card dept,  other loans and a job that is iffy i would be worried.  but it is impossible for me to loose my pension unless the feds cancell them for all of us.  if that happened boy would the domestic terrorism rise.  thousands of  pissed off army, navy, marine etc vets...look out lol

[yamahonkawazuki]

indeed, they tried that i beliebe after ww1?, and thousands camped on dc?, they wont be so foolish again. if they did theyd do it on a more gradual scale

[ohgood]

Frankie, service is service is service.

If you have a sim, any gsm phone weill work on any gsm carrier. Sure, some phones are locked, but you can get unlock codes for around $20 online. Its actually cheaper to use branded phones on NON proper carriers... go figure.

[94suzuki500]

I work for att and the 500 dollar deposit is usually from not enough credit.   I would put it down if you have the money and youll get it back in a year if you pay on time each month.  iphone is the best, haha its not overrated at all, just rated very high! i love it, i have one and going to any phone, you do just that, move to a phone from a mini computer that makes calls.  they are the best!

[Toogoofy317]

Frankie,

I have TERRIBLE credit (thanks hosptial) and got At&T with a $200 deposit. Get the cheap free phone with that plan then buy an iphone off of Craig's list and then upgrade to the IPhone service. I'm pretty sure that would work! They might reset the service agreement when updating the plan but if you do it quickly it won't really matter.

Mary

[frankieG]

i got the 32g iphone 3gs  i put down the deposit. so in a year i get it back. if i bought the phone i would not get it back.  so patience is a virtue i guess

[yamahonkawazuki]

but you wouldnt jave to pay deposit either USUALLY

[Toogoofy317]

Oh, forgot to tell you at least with mine. I didn't actually get the money back in a lump sum the put it toward my bill so four months of free service I guess!
Might wanna check the fine print!

Mary

[jserio]

the fine print in ANY contract can kick you in the nuts if you don't read it.