Just in time for the holidays AT&T is now offering up refurbished iPhone 3GS devices online for a discounted price with free overnight shipping and no activation fee. Both 16GB and 32GB flavors are offered as well as both black and white models.

The 16GB model is on sale for $49 while the 32GB is going for a cool $149.00. Of course the regular two-year contract is mandatory along with new activation if you want these low prices.

If any of you are in the market for a iPhone 3GS on the cheap, this is the deal you may have been looking for. Any takers?

Now don’t get too excited, the iPhone 3GS is not being discounted by AT&T. But if you are in the market for a excellent smart phone at a great entry level price, AT&T has the deal for you.

It looks like AT&T is trying to push the iPhone 3G’s out the door as they have just lowered the price of 8 GB and 16 GB phones to $79.99 and $129.99 respectively, with a two-year contract. Both white and black models are currently available while the discount lasts. Before you jump on this deal, keep in mind of the following:

Refurbished Phones and Devices Refurbished phones are previously owned devices that have been unused or lightly used and returned during the 30-day trial period. Each refurbished phone is independently quality tested and loaded with the latest software to meet current factory standards. Some refurbished iPhone 3G devices will have minor scratches. Refurbished iPhone 3G devices carry a warranty of 90 days or more. For details about the warranty on your refurbished iPhone 3G go to www.apple.com/support/oss/.

So if you are okay with the above and you want an iPhone at a great low price, jump all over this one – there is no telling how long it will last!

[Thank to everyone who sent this in!]

I will be honest here and say I’ve never been a fan of any refurbished products and AT&T is not making refurbished iPhone 3G’s any more enticing. It seems that AT&T has once again gotten some stock of refurbished 16GB iPhone 3G’s and are dumping them for the price of $149.99.

So you’re saving 150 bucks from the price of a new iPhone 3G, but is getting locked into a two year contract worth it at this point as all signs point to a new iPhone coming in the next few months? How about a measly 90 day or more warranty depending on the life of that particular phone? And finally, how about the chance your refurbished phone comes with a few dings and scratches?

Refurbished Phones and Devices Refurbished phones are previously owned devices that have been unused or lightly used and returned during the 30-day trial period. Each refurbished phone is independently quality tested and loaded with the latest software to meet current factory standards. Some refurbished iPhone 3G devices will have minor scratches. Refurbished iPhone 3G devices carry a warranty of 90 days or more. For details about the warranty on your refurbished iPhone 3G go to www.apple.com/support/oss/.

We say pass on this deal and either go in for a new device or hold out until this summer for the rumored new iPhone. If you simply do not care about the above concerns, this deal is for you.

*If you do make this purchase and want to check the status of the warranty go to Apple’s site and input your serial number here.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Before the holidays we reported AT&T started to sell refurbished iPhone 3G’s on their website for $50 less than what you could buy a new device for. Well now it seems Best Buy is taking a page out of AT&T’s book. According to ars technica:

Best Buy will sell a 8GB refurb for $149 and 16GB refurb for $249. These units normally retail for $199 and $299 respectively, and normally ship with a full one-year warranty. The refurbished units will sell with at least a 90-day warranty, and possibly more. You can check the amount of time remaining on your warranty by entering the serial number at Apple’s Online Service Assistant page.

So just like the AT&T refurb deal you now have a choice to make. Save $50 on a used device with a 30 day warranty… Or spend that extra $50 and get a brand new device and a full years warranty.

One more thing to keep in mind, these refurbished devices still require a full 2 year contract commitment. Decisions decisions…

[Via ars technica]

Now they don’t celebrate Boxing Day in the US (think Black Friday the day after Xmas), but it seems no one told AT&T! Why else would the carrier race Walmart to the bottom and offer $99 iPhone’s: 8GB refurbs (and $199 16GB refurbs as well!) according to Engadget.

Since those rumors of Walmart selling them that cheap didn’t pan out (according to BGR, they’ll be putting them on sale — new — for a couple bucks below retail on Sunday), and you still haven’t gotten an iPhone (or several) of your very own, will this finally get you to take the plunge?

(Thanks to KurtLyon for the tip!)

I’m sure you may have heard horror stories about refurbished iPhones, specifically those from AT&T. Some of the first batch of refurbished iPhones reportedly came with face grease and scratches, others were already even jailbroken–the issues kept getting more and more outlandish and I began to wonder where the truth lied.

Well after we reported the $249/8gb $349/16gb deal here at TiPb, I just had to see them for myself. I managed to purchase a 8gb version before it sold out that same day and eagerly anticipated its arrival.

Though I already have an 8gb iPhone and before you all tar and feather me for being unaware of the imminent release of the 3G iPhone, I figured that an iPhone, no matter when, where, or how, makes a great gift for a special someone. And in the case that they deny the gift, it’s a good way to make a quick buck by simply unlocking & jailbreaking to those poor, poor souls who live in a country with no current ‘official’ iPhone. And if I received one that was in terrible condition, well I would have struck story gold! So it’s a win-win-win, well unless the 3G iPhone does really come out for a subsidized $199, then I might cry.

Read on for the Rest of the Story & Pictures!

To give you a quick summary of the purchase, I bought the iPhone around 1:00 PM Pacific Time on Wednesday through AT&T’s website and promptly received a confirmation number. Thursday afternoon I received notice that my iPhone was already being shipped by DHL (which, by the way, has a great feature that update the status of your package via SMS or e-mail). After receiving silly updates over the weekend and seeing the package ship from Texas->Ohio->California (not my first route choice), I promptly received the iPhone Monday morning at 9:40 AM.

It arrived in a very unremarkable cardboard box that weighed much less than I originally remember my first iPhone weighing. After removing the contents from the box, I found the weirdest of sights. An Apple Product in a carrier-branded box. Complete with the company’s orange and blue, the box screamed AT&T and you would never imagine that there was an iPhone in there.

The packaging was also very anti-Apple, with the use of Styrofoam and careless placement of accessories. It seemed like the earphones and pamphlet didn’t have a slot in the Styrofoam packaging so it was just placed on top of everything. Whatever I thought, I was already wowed by the original packaging of the iPhone but was hopeful to see if it came in one of those white boxes that other refurbished iPhones have been boxed in.

I carefully examined the iPhone and its accessories and well, it suffices to say, I didn’t get to tell one of those crazy, outlandish stories. The iPhone was in flawless condition and doesn’t even look like it has been used. The screen feels great and the back is unscathed. However, some of the accessories do have some wear on them, the USB cable has a few marks and scratches on it and the other accessories don’t look BRAND NEW, but definitely new enough and most importantly, all are in perfect working condition.

The iPhone functions perfectly too. I quickly jailbreaked it to see if everything was functioning and sync’d it a couple times and well, everything turned out fine. So in all, next time there is a refurbished deal for the iPhone, whether it be through AT&T or Apple, fear not! The iPhone works perfectly, looks flawless, and you’ll have a great toy to play with for the rest of eternity (or until the next one comes out).

AT&T is currently selling refurbished iPhones in their online store! The 8GB version is going for $249 and the 16GB version is priced at $349. With no iPhones currently in the pipeline over at Apple, this is probably the best bet to get an iPhone online. AT&T has sold iPhones at this price a few time before so I wouldn’t look too much into it (read: this is in no way a rumor of Apple & AT&T cleaning out old stock before the imminent release of the 3G iPhone, though by putting this in parenthesis I’m well aware of the possibility).

Either way, $250 for the 8GB is a great deal any way that you spin it. Even if the new iPhone is forthcoming, you might be able to unlock it and pawn it off on the gray market. Or, you can keep (gasp) the soon-to-be old iPhone before everyone realizes AT&T’s 3G network is not all the way there yet and that metal is greater than plastic.

As always, these puppies are available while supplies last. So what are you doing here still? Click the Read Link and buy!

UPDATE: Looks like they disappeared/sold out! Sorry if you missed the boat!

Read