Only if it switched to Verizon, basically not AT&T.

mah, im tired of those damn cell phone companies selling their easy to break phones with 30 $ plans witch ends up costing 90 $ because of this and that witch wasn't include in the package you took....

gotta love thoses crooks

Yep. I'd jail break it and use it for T-mobile.

Yes!

no not until its offered on some other service provider. AT&T blows and I would not get locked into a 2 year commitment to bad service and shitty reception, not to mention most dropped calls of any network.

Apple is getting very scared. Android devices just reached sprint. Me and my girl got moments and what ive seen with these android devices, they have a real good reason to be scared. People are starting to get smart and want a phone that ur not chained to a closed platform. Anything apple just needs to go away because their closed business model does not fit in the way people are going.

Irrelevant

What is the relevance if a $299 vs $199 vs $99 iphone then the total cost for the contract is a few thousand bucks. Are consumers really that stupid?

Not interested for the 8gb drive size. Thanks for the offer though.

First, give it a conservative estimate that the phone's retail value is 2x the value to actually make the phone ($200 phone = $100 profit). Second, figure that at least 15% of a phone contract goes to the cell phone makers... which is why you get a $200 for free when you switch carriers (1440*20% = $216)

Suppose a 3GS costs $200 to make. Apple is trimming costs to make a measly $100 on an 8GB iphone instead of a whopping $300 per 32BG phone. Hey... marketing costs a lot of money guys.

It's not irrelevant for people who have AT&T. Sounds like a great deal compared to the $325 I payed for my 3G a month after it came out.

If they had it for $99 I'd buy one for my wife for xmas.

When does Apple do its iPhone refreshes, July? Buy in now and you'll be locked in to a 3Gs when the new hardware rolls around. At this point, 7 mos away, I'd pass and wait to see the new hardware will offer (March? April?) then take the $99 and 2 yr contract offering if the new hardware is not compelling enough to make the jump at $199 plus 2 yr contract.

I don't think it's just the droid Jane. With HTC ready to drop their HD2 "superphone" and some TP2 models already going at $199, Apple is no longer in the position to charge premium price. Competition has them cornered with better handsets, at less expensive prices, running on a better network.

I would only be interested in an iPhone if it came free with a 1 year service contract with a provider of my choice.

They can offer a $69.99 and a $49.00 and $19.99 Iphone and i still won't buy cause ATT STINKS. They way over charge for their phone services. Why should i pay an extra $ 30 to $40 for the same service i can get anywhere else. Charging 30.00 a month for phone internet is like charging 4000.00 for a root Canal. Given the choice, I'd rather have the root Canal than give ATT my hard earned money for mediocore srevice at best.

an iphone would be nice. but the thought of going back to ATT sickens me. craptacular coverage in Orange County,CA.

Why is it that everything TH mentions Apple it has to call it the "Cupertino-based" company? I personally think it's getting annoying...

I'm not a fan of apple, but I'm already locked into AT&T (work cell) and I'd gladly pay $99 to get something more functional than my POS HTC Diamond... Anything for a phone that doesn't battery drain in 6 hours of literally doing nothing, just being in the holster turned off...

I am getting a droid Monday... From what I have seen it looks like it will rival the Iphone...

Even with the kickbacks from AT&T, it just goes to show how expensive it is to make these things once R&D costs have been amortized.

8GB is not enough.
Plus, $99 is not for it off contract, which is the only way I'd get it.

Mehh... I'm getting tired of phones, thinking about going back to my old old old old nokia 3220 jaja with the lights and all xD. When more stuff the phone has less things you use it for it's amazing. But that's just my case of course.

Yeah with ATT's crappy service and Apple Almighty approving malware for use on their precious iPhone the only thing they could do now is cut the price. Time to by a Moto Droid on a "real" network.

liking the droid actually... just wanna wait and see what they will get for games on it. that would be the deciding factor for me. So far the iPhone/iPod are very impressive in that arena. If the droid can do that then I'll be going Moto for sure.

Why does everyone hate AT&T? My girlfriend had T-Mobile (she had a sidekick but thanks to their screw up now has an iphone) and it's the worst customer service of any carrier I've talked to. I called T-mobs for her because she was so frustrated. I spent 10 minutes on hold before getting ahold of someone. I call customer service for my phone and I have someone on the line in less than a minute. Did I mention she works for Verizon?

I've had Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T since it was Cingular. I've been on their "crappy" network since 2006 and I don't experience any of these "dropped calls" and "slow network" problems, or "poor reception" that everyone is constantly citing. It's funny, Verizon's "map for that commerical doesn't even list the entire northwest portion of my state as having 3G, yet we do and have for some time.

Why does everyone hate AT&T? My girlfriend had T-Mobile (she had a sidekick but thanks to their screw up now has an iphone) and it's the worst customer service of any carrier I've talked to. I called T-mobs for her because she was so frustrated. I spent 10 minutes on hold before getting ahold of someone. I call customer service for my phone and I have someone on the line in less than a minute. Did I mention she works for Verizon?

I've had Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T since it was Cingular. I've been on their "crappy" network since 2006 and I don't experience any of these "dropped calls" and "slow network" problems, or "poor reception" that everyone is constantly citing. It's funny, Verizon's "map for that commerical doesn't even list the entire northwest portion of my state as having 3G, yet we do and have for some time.

When i think of phone service ATT comes to mind last. Their service is overpriced and under matched for quality VS. T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon. Too many people were suckered into that Iphone, sure it's a nice phone but you fools gave 32 onces of Blood and half your pay check to have it. Their is a fair price to have something cool and then theirs the take it up the keister price to have cool and Iphone buyers you took it hard and deep. I love the Iphone,but unless i get an unlocked Iphone it will never set foot in my house.

everyone is bitching - and for a good reason - about the cost of the whole iPhone plan. However, one could notice that "unlimited" data plans are in the 30 dollars range regardless of the provider and these plans are required for the smartphones by most providers as well (if not by all - if you know a provider that does not require that especially when you get an "exclusive phone", let me know.
I think we should be bitching more about the price for the so-called unlimited internet, when it is actually capped at about 5 Gb and not really unlimited as it should be.

If AT&T would be a bit more flexible with their plans, I'd buy a $300 iPhone too ... Why should I pay $60-$70 a month if all I really want is a $30/month data plan (even with a 5GB limit) and pay per minute phone usage ... They won't even allow people to subscribe to their data only plan with the iPhone, but other smartphones are OK ... Silly rules.

People that complain about AT&T are clueless. Shop around and you will see that all U.S. phone carriers charge extra for smartphones. AT&T service is fine and it works as well or better than the others. It may differ depending on where you live. That is due to the coverage, that is not something that is easily changed for any carrier.

Meh. I am interested in the Andriod though.