We’ve updated our iPhone 3G buying-without-contract-for-$199 guide.
Now, you can get the iPhone 3G for less than $199, thanks to a coupon on the refurbished AT&T Tilt. You don’t need to do anything extra, we’ve simply updated our link codes to take advantage of a special (and additional) $50 discount on PDA phones.
Some have complained about us using special links to take you right to the refurbished Tilt (at the bottom of the linked page). So, we worked to get a link that would actually save you money.
You can get the updated details on the deal back on the original iPhone 3G without contract for $199 article.
No that’s not what SOME have complained about. I happen to agree with people who see how chris p is/was getting paid from that link. I really lost respect for phonenew.com because of it and today you try to sugar coat it. WOW. I love the loop hole but just come out say you will be making a little something for your “research”.
Phonenews is NOT non profit. get a clue and stop crying. NO WEBSITE IS. I dont see people complain when they go to MSN or ESPN and get spammed by advertisments or anything else. The website needs to make money just like EVERYONE else. Dont be a B**** and shut the hell up.
yea what he said… i seriously doubt his great uncle passed away and gave him a cool mill to run a free tech website for the people… and i have no problem with people making money off me when they just honestly saved me some.. and yes in the corporate world this iphone trick is as nice as it gets… so calm down u guys complain so much stop coming here… and if u are going to stay than that link is taking money from a corporate giant that doesnt care about us and putting it to a website we use
Seriously- who cares if it’s a referral link? Does it change anything? Give me a break- these guys are trying to run a business here. This business brings us this website with all this valuable information- paying a staff of reporters. And none of it costs us a dime. So what if he posts a referral link? It’s not hurting us, or costing us anymore money if we use his link. heck, his link actually saves us $50…
On that note- I’m not seeing the $50 savings. It’s just showing up as $150. Is anyone seeing the extra $50 savings from that link?
It shows as $150 until you go to Checkout. When you reach Checkout, the total due comes to $99.
If phonenews would have made this clear from the beginning it wouldnt have been a misunderstanding. I have no problem with chris or phonenews making money. So seriously read what I said before you comment or dont comment at all.
Noone needs to run anything by you before they do it. Your not in charge of anything so you get no say.
If we make money from advocating for the consumer, we don’t need to put that in a big black box before you click the purchase button. Nobody else does that, and we don’t see it to be helpful to the consumer… it would simply be distracting and confusing.
Again, our editorial policy is clear: We don’t care if we make money or not when reporting on an individual article. If we do, great. If we don’t, great.
As I said in the original article, we will be deleting further discussion that is not directly related to the iPhone 3G deal. If you have comments or feedback about PhoneNews.com itself, use the feedback form at the bottom of the page (or, you can post in the forums).
Is there a limit to that $50 coupon? If I buy 4 of them and put them on a family plan, will I get them all for $100 each? Or will I only get 1 at $100 and the other 3 at $150?
If you order it all on one order, you will only get the $50 discount on the first phone.
However, you can order four separate phones, and then consolidate them onto a FamilyTalk plan.
It’s a bit of a pain to do it that way, but considering the refurb Tilt isn’t available anywhere else, it may be the best option.
Also note that depending on who you reach in customer care, they may charge an $18 fee per line to consolidate (as a transfer of service). I would ask that the fee be waived at that point, since it was the only way to have the coupon work properly.
What if I’m not an existing AT&T customer, and I’m signing a new 2 year contract per phone. Will they still consolidate them all on a family plan?
They should, you can almost always consolidate onto a family plan… it doesn’t affect the length of the contract. It’s not common that you would need to do this, but it’s not against policy.
Is it too late to order now? it’s almost July 11.
Since you will have to order the phone online and then activate the used iphone.
Do you have to wait until you get the Tilt through mail before upgrading to the iphone?
Thanks,
At this point, it probably is too late. The order would have to ship by today for you to get it Friday… and I doubt any more orders will ship today.
You can still do this deal by buying a phone in an AT&T store (one without any rebates). However, the numbers would be off and you’d have to whip out a calculator and do the math yourself..
From what I heard, AT&T is requiring the iPhone be returned if you want to cancel your account after the 30 days. They realized months ago that people would try this and have already taken the steps to train their reps. Just give AT&T a call and ask them yourself.
Ryan O, AT&T only requires that you return the iPhone 3G if purchased within the first 30 days, not after the first 30 days.