Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone
Trading up to a new iPhone
The 3G iPhone is (apparently) on its way. 1st gen iPhones are being remaindered and are otherwise thin on the ground. TUAW reader Jol Huxtable writes to ask "what will we do with the old iPhone?" Well, Joel, we're glad you asked. Here are a few thoughts about what you can do with that old phone.
eBay it. The iPhone may soon be previous gen but it still has pretty good market value -- especially if you're willing to take the risk of auctioning it off to overseas clients. I expect to see some enterprising people realize this soon and start a buyback service specifically intended to put blocks of unlocked previous-generation iPhones together for sale overseas in countries without official iPhone support.
iPod it. Once you've pwned your iPhone, it becomes not only a perfectly good iPod touch but one with built-in speakers and a microphone. You don't need an active AT&T account to keep using that iPhone as one of the best iPods ever built.
Kid it. I don't know about your kids but mine are constantly after me to use the iPhone. It offers a perfectly portable sub-laptop solution for hooking into the Internet at Wi-Fi hotspots. It takes a lot of the burden off our main computer and allows my kids to watch endless Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus clips.
I'm sure there are plenty of other uses as well in addition to selling, re-purposing or sharing the iPhone. You can probably set it up as a SETI host or cryptography number cruncher. Got more ideas? Let us know about them in the comments.
Update: I am not now and have never been on an iPhone contract. I use prepaid (AT&T GoPhone). The rates are pretty stinky but with good WiFi and now VOIP, I'm not hurting for minutes. When I bought my new refurb 8GB, I swapped out the SIMs and then activated with iLiberty+. It's working fine--sends and receives calls and SMS. I did not activate through iTunes.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
King Fysel said 10:39AM on 4-18-2008
That "pwned" link ain't working.
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Angel said 10:45AM on 4-18-2008
There are gonna be tons of iPhones on eBay once the 3g version comes out.
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Chris Coleman said 10:47AM on 4-18-2008
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't 3G pretty much the standard everywhere but in the U.S.? From what I understand, the lack of 3G networking on the iPhone has led to it being less successful in places like Germany. With the introduction of a 3G iPhone, I can't imagine that the rest of the world would really care that much for used 2.5G models.
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c01dphu510n said 10:49AM on 4-18-2008
When I get 3G iPhone, I plan to do the following with my 8GB:
1. Test out all new hacks, programs, etc. before h4x0ring my *good* iPhone.
2. Unlock it finally and use it when I travel overseas.
OR
1. Give it to my significant other for use on AT&T in the US.
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N. Ziarek said 10:50AM on 4-18-2008
World's sweetest web server with a realtime display of active sessions and bandwidth.
Or give it to my wife -- unless the new one has video chat, in which case I'd have to get two to make it useful. Right? Right!?
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Austin said 10:56AM on 4-18-2008
I plan to eBay mine once the 3G phone comes out. To get the best resale value, I am holding off on sending in my phone into Apple for some under warranty, minor repair. Then when I get a fresh iPhone back, I will get the best resale value and hopefully only be out a few dollars. And honestly, if you sell your phone right when the 3G phone is announced, the market value isn't affected instantly. Most people are stupid and won't get wind of the news for a few weeks.
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Josh said 10:58AM on 4-18-2008
Or, use it as your house phone. VoIP client is basically inevitable.
I'll probably "wife" mine, though.
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h8rain said 11:18AM on 4-18-2008
All of my gadgets get "wifed" when I am done with or replaced with new ones (phone, camera, ipod, etc).
alpineflip said 11:05AM on 4-18-2008
Will the 2g iPhones not work as a phone once 3G is released especially unlocked for different carriers or will they still support both networks? The way I read it seems like 2g will be incompatible after 3g which I understand is better but there is a lot of locked and unlocked phones currently out!
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Michael Rose said 12:23PM on 4-18-2008
The 2.5G/EDGE iPhone will not be obsoleted for either phone or data when the 3G model comes out. It will still work just fine on every network that currently supports it.
NNTPgrip said 11:08AM on 4-18-2008
Unless it's got something else besides a 3G radio, i'll wait until HSDPA is a little more prevalent. It will most likely be the end of '09 before Norfolk/Virginia Beach gets it, so by that time my 1st gen iPhone will be worth nothing.
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NNTPgrip said 11:14AM on 4-18-2008
Actually, I might be up for it right away since I checked and we do have 3G coverage. Damn, when did get recognized as a real semi-metropolis? Did someone kill Pat Robertson?
h8rain said 11:21AM on 4-18-2008
I just looked, and my house/work is like 1.5 miles ...... OUTSIDE of the 3g area. Of course that could get coverage by the time a new iPhone comes out.
Steve Jenkins said 11:12AM on 4-18-2008
craigslist is calling my name. Or I may teenager it. 16 year old wants one bad.
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Dalton said 11:25AM on 4-18-2008
Mine is definitely going to the wife. She'll be moving to AT&T. Will she be getting locked into a contract? And what about me? Do I get the usual price plus a new 2 year contract, or do I have to pay extra?
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Dan said 12:53PM on 4-18-2008
Two words: family plan
Matt said 11:30AM on 4-18-2008
... or sell it to me!
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Rafael said 11:31AM on 4-18-2008
Im gonna "mom" mine. I've been trying to convince my mom to go mac since I switched just over a year ago, so hopefully the iPhone will be enough of a push for her to make the full transition.
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Ryan Smallegan said 11:37AM on 4-18-2008
This may be the one time it is ok to gift a used device. I don't think anyone is going to turn down a used iPhone.
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nscheffey said 11:41AM on 4-18-2008
No offense, but "iPod it" doesn't really make sense as a solution. Why would I want an iPhone and an iPod?
Kid it/significant other it seems like a good idea. Has anyone transferred ownership of an iPhone before? Is it difficult?
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