You cannot get a prepaid iPhone plan from AT&T unless you are a deadbeat!

Typical stance from the faceless mega-corporations of the world. This is usually where I get all Anarchist, but rather I'll just point out that the main failing of companies this size is that they've been dehumanized and turned illogical. They didn't design their policies to scale.

Wow, that is really bad. Where are the consumer rights people who know how to start a discrimination or unfair practices lawsuit about this?

First off. The whole idea of being locked into a cell phone contract blows my mind. It's always been my biggest frustration with cell phone carriers. Though I have to say some are better than others in letting you out early.

The sad truth is the combination of only being able to use my iPhone with At&t, and the fact that it cost me $650.00 makes it a little easier to be locked in for two years.

I've heard of a workaround to this problem -- simply enter 000-00-0000 as your social security number when prompted in the activation process. I don't know if this is illegal (I'm guessing not), but that could be a way to do it.

Thats the thing Ted,

I can understand being locked into a contract when they are giving you something: the subsidized cost on the phone. That isn't the case with the iPhone, I paid for the whole thing.

Greed, pure and simple drives them.

I've been a Pacbell Wireless/Cingular/AT&T customer for years and remember at one point just wanting to move my plan to one with more minutes. They wouldn't do so without re-upping me for another two years. No new phone, no other give, just wanted to change my contract to one that generated more revenue for them. I was out of my contract anyway so beginning the process of canceling my account resulted in a quick cave, but it simply shows how important the recurring portion of the revenue stream is to them.

But bullying tactics only work to a point. Here's hoping that Google is able to win that 700 megahertz auction.

hi nicole

tried that too. doesn't work anymore. they are cracking down. they want real ss#s or they won't activate.

I know it sucks but hey you can either choose to unlock it or you can just use the 999 approch for activation, that gives u prepaid.

I agree that the situation is unfortunate. more so because of the the overly heavy-handed terms Apple has inflicted upon at&t. I recently joined the usability team at at&t mobility and while I tend to share your view of at&t (and all cell carriers in general) I have had a very up close and personal experience with the apple mandate within at&t. In short, at&t was so desperate to carry the iphone they sold their, and our, control over the plan structure for an iSong.

My suggestion is to hold off on any iphoneuntil after the 2nd version and after it's unlockable without having to jailbreak it. Hopefully a competitor with an opensource mentality will come along and cater to the user community more effectively.

On a side note, I joined the at&t mobility team to work on the microsoft surface table experience. Apple made it very lear early on that they will never, ever permit an iPhone to interact with the Surface interface. They are very nearly violent about the issue. Sometimes I feel like an ant caught in a thanksgiving parade route when these overweight mega-ego companies get going at eachother.

I bought the nokia n95 8g. not a touch interface but a seriously cool phone just the same.

cheers

France is famous for protesting this kind of behavior and companies can't get away with it. It's illegal for them to discriminate in this way.
(In other, similar news...) they can't lock your phone to a single provider, so iPhones sold over there work on any GSM network (including ours).

Are you seriously complaining that you can't have the prepaid option? The pre-paid option is horrible, and would cost you a fortune if you actually used your iPhone!

This goes to show that people will complain about any situation they're in. You have good credit, and are complaining that AT&T is giving you the better of the two options, reserved for those people with good credit. The two year contract is very standard almost anywhere you go. Stop Bitc#ing and enjoy your iPhone.

Rather than deciding for me what the "better" option is, I'd prefer that you speak for yourself. Sometimes cost isn't nearly as important to people as control. You might do better to consider that other people can have different priorities than price when making purchasing decisions.

Choice is never a bad thing. ever.

Better, is better. That's not my opinion, it's fact. I never said choice is a bad thing. I'm just saying, if you qualify for the proper phone and data plan, why would you want the choice of an inferior plan?

They don't serve ramon noodles at a Steakhouse, but you're pissed out of your mind that it's not on the menu. Get out of the "me, me, me!, more, more, more!" attitude. I hope it's not too far of a fall for you when you come back down to earth.

Actually, I think it's the monopolies (and those that behave like them) that are going to have the hardest fall of all. But seriously, you haven't offered much of an argument for why it isn't rational for us to desire choices for our cell phone plan. I can give you several good arguments for why the choice is sensible. For instance, if I'm a developer and need a phone to test for a few months. Or perhaps I'm going to be leaving the country to join the Peace Corps or Marines in nine months but want to use the iPhone until then.

Perhaps calling other people idiots isn't such a smart policy.

Better, is better. That's not my opinion, it's fact.

Once again, you assume a value judgment that is based upon maximizing dollar/minute ratio, as Thor mentioned above, that is not always the case.

They don't serve ramon noodles at a Steakhouse.

And I also don't sign a two year contract with a steakhouse. In fact, your analogy is an epic fail: The fact that there is no *best* food is a perfect match with what we are trying to explain. If I crave ramen, that steak isn't going to satisfy me.

Oh good lord. Why do I return to this little room of nonsense?

Scott:
My analogy, though easy to twist and turn, most likely will never work in your brain, so I wont try to dumb it down any. It's already extremely basic and simple to understand.

-Thor
The more you speak, the more tangled your argument becomes.

If you're a developer, the development software emulates an actual iPhone, eliminating the need for the actual hardware. Also, if you're developing for an iPhone, you're most likely going to own one too.

And if you're leaving the country, the iPhone fits nicely in your pocket. Neither the Peace Corp or Marines have any anti-iPhone regulations. I do see what you're saying though. If you only want to use it for a short period of time. If that's the case, with most any phone, you're going to be S.O.L.

I'll stop bugging you all with my common sense and let you get back to climbing slippery hills wearing slippery shoes! (Or whatever it is you do for fun).

It's already extremely flawed, basic and simple to understand .

There, fixed that for you. You left out the most important part of the sentence :p

If you're a developer, the development software emulates an actual iPhone, eliminating the need for the actual hardware.

I am a developer. I have used the iphone emulator. Tell me, how do you test your code that takes advantage of multi-touch? Or how about leverages the GPS functionality? The answer, of course, is that you install the software on your iphone.

Also, if you're developing for an iPhone, you're most likely going to own one too.

And we all know how stable the iPhone is when running non-apple software. Rock solid. It doesn't crash every other day or drain the battery faster.
And of course, no development effort would have more than one developer. And they all would of course iPhones.
And no developer would ever want to make some money off of an iPhone while still choosing to have his crackberry.

You assume way too much. You know the old saying. I'm sure it gets you in to trouble in other places in life, also.

If you only want to use it for a short period of time. If that's the case, with most any phone, you're going to be S.O.L.

Except in the cases where, you know, you purchase a pre paid cell phone plan. AT&T calls it GoPhone.
Here's a list of some other prepaid plans: http://www.consumersearch.com/www/ele....
Prepaid phones are common.

I'll stop bugging you all with my common sense and let you get back to climbing slippery hills wearing slippery shoes! (Or whatever it is you do for fun).

Your common sense isn't bugging us... in fact, I haven't even seen any around. How can it bug us in absence? But don't scared off! I'd love to hear you come up with a rational argument about why having choice is bad. Granted, as you said above "I never said choice is a bad thing.", but what you *are* saying is that choice is a bad thing in this instance. I wholeheartedly disagree with the notion that choice is *ever* a bad thing. I am of sound mind, some skill, and severe opinion. I make my choices well and easily.