Comments on: $79 iPhone 3G! AT&T Discounting Refurbs (Again)

By: cody

cody — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:25:30 +0000

should i dye a refurbished Iphone?

By: Kande

Kande — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:46:25 +0000

There's nothing better about a 3gS than an unlocked 3g.

By: Tony

Tony — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 03:39:54 +0000

I bought a refurbished 8GB 3g for $99 (discounted from $199) back in March before the 3gs came out. It was like new, pristine, w/o a scratch on, it and works great. It became my wife's when she got me the 3gs for father's day. She loves it.

By: Tramain

Tramain — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:02:11 +0000

@Kelly no you can't do that.

By: Truth

Truth — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:05:53 +0000

@ Bill

Read what I said again. I said a 3g jailbroken is better than a 3gs. I said nothing about a jailbroken 3gs.

And by Power User what do you mean by that? Switching from Camera to SMS and Email faster?

By: Kelly

Kelly — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:02:48 +0000

I wonder if you can buy a refurbished phone as a replacement for a broken iphone not under warranty? If you already have an apple/iphone contract and your glass cracks/chips a replacement screen costs $199. Why not just buy a refurb phone for $79, unless it's not possible...

By: Matt Weimer

Matt Weimer — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:02:28 +0000

Bill speaks the truth.

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:33:40 +0000

@ Truth

How is it better than the 3GS when jailbroken? A jailbreak is available for the 3GS now. By the way I just upgraded from the 3G to the 3GS, and I don't regret it one bit. The speed increase is substantial. Maybe for a light user of the iPhone it wouldn't make much of a difference, but for power users it's WELL worth the extra money.

By: Al

Al — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:28:34 +0000

Even at $80 you will be doing yourself a favor to get the 3GS. Who is going to be willing to spend $2600 (two years of iphone plus $100 per month in service) but not $2530 (refurb 16gb 3G plus $100 per month in service)? That just seems silly to me when the 3GS is going to offer you huge hardware upgrades plus new camera and compass functionality. You'd be doing yourself a disservice to buy a 3G at this point, especially if it were a referb.

By: Truth

Truth — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 21:19:49 +0000

@ Bill

The 3g is perfectly fine and even better than the 3gs when jailbroken. It is also cheaper and considering there will be a new Iphone next summer I would say that getting a 3gs is pretty much a waste especially for current 3g owners.

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:50:29 +0000

People, do yourselves a favor. If you are going to enter a 2-year commitment for a $70+ per month data+voice plan, pony up a little extra cash up front and get the good hardware. Get a 3GS. Don't waste your time with a 3G, new or used. The 3G may be good, but the 3GS is SO much faster, and the extra features don't hurt either.

By: icebike

icebike — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:19:45 +0000

If you go pick up your Refurb in person, the counter person MAY let you look at it and ask nicely if a different one is available if you find a scratch.

Of course if you are a jerk about it all bets are off.

By: E Pow

E Pow — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:47:59 +0000

I've never bought a refurbished phone. I'm pretty sure that 80% are in brand new condition because the day I got my 3g S I seen 10 differnt people that just signed up with AT&T exchanging their 3g that they owned for just a couple of days that were still brand new.

By: Jeremy Sikora

Jeremy Sikora — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:21:45 +0000

Just so everyone is aware, the quoted text in the post is direct from AT&T's site. While most of the refurbs should be clear of scratches and other marks, don't be surprised if you do get one with marks. I've personally never purchased a refurbished device but I have heard from people who have had good luck and bad luck while doing so.

By: Truth

Truth — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:15:00 +0000

@BrianA

I can tell you from first hand experience I've never had a scratch on any of my AT&T refurb phones.

By: BrianA

BrianA — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:08:38 +0000

$20 off is not worth getting a used iPhone with the potential for "minor scratches". I would rather put my own scratches on it for $20 more. At least that way I would know how the scratches were made. Maybe they should offer longer warranty on these.

By: e1miran

e1miran — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:01:56 +0000

I got a 16gb 3G refurb at the beginning of May. The thing was flawless and I saved lots of money. Then I sold it less than 2 mos. later with almost a yr. left on the warranty for $375 and bought the 3GS. AT&T refurbs are generally in like new state.

By: Truth

Truth — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:58:31 +0000

Nobody should be afraid of AT&T refurbished phones. They are almost always like brand new.

By: d.allen

d.allen — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:42:06 +0000

Shouldn't you just pony up the extra 20 bucks and get it new?..

By: earless puppy

earless puppy — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:28:13 +0000

Yes alex

By: alex g

alex g — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:16:58 +0000

Does a two-year contract apply?