AT&T Will Start Selling Contract-Free iPhone 3G this Week

AT&T will soon begin offering Apple's iPhone 3G without requiring customers to sign up for a new two-year contract.

The devices sold this way will still be locked to AT&T's network, so they can't be used on another carrier, such as T-Mobile. However, it's possible to circumvent this.

What can't be circumvented in the price. AT&T heavily subsidizes iPhone 3G units bought with a contract. No contract means no subsidy, so units bought this way will be considerably more expensive.

The iPhone 3G with 8 GB of Storage will cost $600 without a contract, and the 16 GB version will cost $700. With a contract, these devices sell for $200 and $300, respectively.

AT&T plans to put these contract-free models on the market on Thursday.

More about the iPhone 3G
The iPhone 3G is Apple's second-generation smartphone, and the "3G" in its name refers to its support for 3G cellular-wireless networking.

This model has an HVGA touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

It has the ability to run native third-party applications that have been approved by Apple. In addition, it is able to connect to Microsoft Exchange for corporate email service.

Source; AT&T via Yahoo