[hl0m4n]

im in korea right now and i just found about this new iphone 3g. it really is half the price and twice as fast eh? but anyhow here is my main question. i am still using verizon razr (never had problem but short battery life) and based on this thread (http://e90post.com/forums/showthread...ighlight=apple) the 8gb is $200 and 16 only $300.

for those of you who know cell phones, when i go to at&t and sign a new contract, do i just pay for the iphone or do i pay that and sum other charges? my contract ends soon with verizon and i might switch it up.

based on apple's site on the 3g, it says i can make phone call anywhere on the planet. so even if i bring this phone to korea or thailand i can still make phone calls anywhere and just pay at&t phone rates or do i still need to buy those calling cards for credit?

is at&t expensive rates? is the internet surfing free (i believe it's based on local wifi)? sorry i don't have time to do my own research here and i know there are some really experienced cell phone guys here. thanks.

looking at the at&t site, they have an international plan for $5.99 month and a $3.99 month but for some reason the rates are cheaper on the $3.99 month plan (world connect). i only need two countries which are south korea (.09 land/.15 mobil) and thailand (.24 land/.27 mobil).

so if i am in thailand lets say and i call to NY, do i pay the thai int. rate or i still pay the US rate? if i am in thai and call a number in thai do i than pay the thai rate?

i know there have been many horror stories with at&t though, so let me just ask this too. if i bring the phone and don't make any calls, etc to like thailand for a month, will i be comming home to a very expensive bill?

for some reason i believe using the int. phone cards in thailand/korea are much cheaper. if i register it into the phone will it work, cause i think that is much cheaper than these rates. i know that for 2k baht ($66 us) you can make a 2 hour phone call to korea which is alot more expensive than calling america.

[hl0m4n]

can someone just answer me one question? how much would it cost me to cancel the subscription plan like the day after with at&t after i get the 3g? that seems right now the cheapest solution as the unlocked phones or even the brand new sealed ones are going for like $900+ right now on ebay.

i can however get a old iphone slightly used 8gb unlocked and some not locked but unlockable for $350.

the new 8gb costs $200 + activation, etc but if the cost of cancelling is still no more than $400-450 max, that is the route i will take and than unlock the phone switch my carrier from verizon to t-mobil and have the phone work in south korea and thai as well when i go there.

[quagmire]

1) It is cheaper upfront. $199/$299 vs $399 of the old one( that is due to a subsidy). But, it is $399/$499 if you don't qualify for the pricing and $599/$699 for no contract( this option is not available yet), but it is still locked to AT&T. But, with the rate plans you'll pay more over the 2 year contract then with the old iPhone. That is due to AT&T raising the rates to their normal smartphone rates.

2) The phone itself is not twice as fast. It gained 3G technology. The old iPhone was EDGE only.

3) Yes, you can use it anywhere in the world as the iPhone is GSM and GSM is the world standard. So as long as the country you go to is GSM, you can use it there. The rates will be higher due to you are overseas. Make sure you don't do too much data when you are overseas. The cost might pile up on you.

4) I am not sure outside of 30 days, but if you cancel within the first 30 days of ownership, AT&T will make you return the iPhone. They don't want you to turnaround and unlock it. If you do unlock it, you won't be able to use 3G. So if the only thing you're going to do is to unlock it, best bet is to buy the old iPhone off of eBay or wait until Apple has the old iPhone available as refurbish units.

Overall though, I am happy with my 3G iPhone.

[hl0m4n]

i do plan on unlocking it. why would i lose the 3g? isn't 3g a phone frequency like 1800/1900, etc? so if i am in a country where the frequency is 3g, the phone would run on the 3g network no?

[G-Mach1]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

i do plan on unlocking it. why would i lose the 3g? isn't 3g a phone frequency like 1800/1900, etc? so if i am in a country where the frequency is 3g, the phone would run on the 3g network no?

Yes. If the country has a 3G network and if they let you hook your phone to the 3G network then yes you will have all the features of the 3G. GSM 1800/1900 is just the frequency. Not all the 1800/1900 frequency network is running on 3G.

[Lewis@MWDesign]

To be exact, 3G runs on the HSDPA 850/1900/2100 frequencies. Its still a form of GSM but its not the same GSM frequencies we are commonly using on non 3G phones.

Reason why Apple claims that you can use it anywhere in the world is because Japan and Korea only had 3G GSM networks so a lot of the US phones are useless there.

The phone automatically switches to 3G frequencies when it detects 3G.

[hl0m4n]

can anyone quickly answer what the difference is between iphone jailbreak and unlock? the jailbreak is out for the 3g but the dev team is still working on the unlock...??

[isabayo]

Jailbreaking the phone allows you to install third party applications that have not been registered through Apple's itunes store. This was the way original iphone users got applications on their phones pre 2.0 firmware. However, due to apple's strict regulations on 3rd party software there are still plenty of reasons to jailbreak your phone with 2.0 firmware.

Unlocking your phone allows it to be used on any GSM network.

3G isn't the name of the technology, it just refers to 3rd generation cellular technology. There are different 3G technologies. Verizon's 3G network uses UMTS and more specifically ev-do while ATT uses CMDA2000 and more specifically HSDPA/UMTS. Just because a network is "3G" does not mean the iphone will work on it. It has to be HSDPA/UMTS with 850, 1900, or 2100 MHz frequency.

[.:bHd:.]

Didn't wanna start another thread sorry if I'm jacking yours but.. My mom is eligible for an upgrade, is it possible to get the phone for 199 and put my sim card in it that way i can use it? And transfer the data plan to my line instead of hers

[solefald]

I don't think so, but what you can do, is call AT&T and swap your numbers, telling them your mom does not like it, and you will give her your phone instead.

[.:bHd:.]

Originally Posted by solefald

I don't think so, but what you can do, is call AT&T and swap your numbers, telling them your mom does not like it, and you will give her your phone instead.

Isn't that pretty much the same thing?

[hl0m4n]

Originally Posted by day1yun

Jailbreaking the phone allows you to install third party applications that have not been registered through Apple's itunes store. This was the way original iphone users got applications on their phones pre 2.0 firmware. However, due to apple's strict regulations on 3rd party software there are still plenty of reasons to jailbreak your phone with 2.0 firmware.

Unlocking your phone allows it to be used on any GSM network.

3G isn't the name of the technology, it just refers to 3rd generation cellular technology. There are different 3G technologies. Verizon's 3G network uses UMTS and more specifically ev-do while ATT uses CMDA2000 and more specifically HSDPA/UMTS. Just because a network is "3G" does not mean the iphone will work on it. It has to be HSDPA/UMTS with 850, 1900, or 2100 MHz frequency.

thanks for the info. is hsdpa/umts the voice (calling part of the phone) and the GSM/EDGE is for data?

based on the global GSM site (http://www.gsmworld.com) besides USA, the only other two countries i need are thailand and south korea. looking at thailand all the networks are gsm either 1800,1900, and 2100 along with a 900. for south korea there are only two which are both 3g 2100 and doesn't say anything about gsm just 3g 2100.

based on the iphone website the iphone 3g supports:
UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

so based on the gsm site and iphone specs, it should work in both thailand and south korea right?

[hl0m4n]

small iphone 3g review: http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=14175

i must say the white does look sexy....

also for battery saving tips: http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html

[solefald]

Originally Posted by .:bHd:.

Isn't that pretty much the same thing?

your sim card may not be 3G compatible. AT&T started rolling out new kind of sim cards last year.

[.:bHd:.]

Originally Posted by solefald

your sim card may not be 3G compatible. AT&T started rolling out new kind of sim cards last year.

Cant you get a 3g sim card and put your number on it and switch it then? lol

[mpimping]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

im in korea right now and i just found about this new iphone 3g. it really is half the price and twice as fast eh? but anyhow here is my main question. i am still using verizon razr (never had problem but short battery life) and based on this thread (http://e90post.com/forums/showthread...ighlight=apple) the 8gb is $200 and 16 only $300.

for those of you who know cell phones, when i go to at&t and sign a new contract, do i just pay for the iphone or do i pay that and sum other charges? my contract ends soon with verizon and i might switch it up.

based on apple's site on the 3g, it says i can make phone call anywhere on the planet. so even if i bring this phone to korea or thailand i can still make phone calls anywhere and just pay at&t phone rates or do i still need to buy those calling cards for credit?

is at&t expensive rates? is the internet surfing free (i believe it's based on local wifi)? sorry i don't have time to do my own research here and i know there are some really experienced cell phone guys here. thanks.

looking at the at&t site, they have an international plan for $5.99 month and a $3.99 month but for some reason the rates are cheaper on the $3.99 month plan (world connect). i only need two countries which are south korea (.09 land/.15 mobil) and thailand (.24 land/.27 mobil).

so if i am in thailand lets say and i call to NY, do i pay the thai int. rate or i still pay the US rate? if i am in thai and call a number in thai do i than pay the thai rate?

i know there have been many horror stories with at&t though, so let me just ask this too. if i bring the phone and don't make any calls, etc to like thailand for a month, will i be comming home to a very expensive bill?

for some reason i believe using the int. phone cards in thailand/korea are much cheaper. if i register it into the phone will it work, cause i think that is much cheaper than these rates. i know that for 2k baht ($66 us) you can make a 2 hour phone call to korea which is alot more expensive than calling america.

lmao and he's teaching english in korea. haha. I had at&t a long time ago and can you say 2 $1,000 phone bills? There is software that u can download(or might be already installed) on the new iphone which makes calls 25 cents per minute if u need to use it oversees or make int calls.