To many people's surprise, AT&T has announced that customers will now be able to purchase a contract-free iPhone 3G. This is a huge shock to many people who assumed AT&T and Apple would keep the iPhone locked to AT&T. However, users will no longer have a need to jailbreak their iPhone just to use it on another network. Jailbreaking an iPhone is not easy, and Apple has been able to put updates out that return the iPhone and make it useless until the user can jailbreak it again.
Starting next Thursday, AT&T will be selling contract-free iPhones. Users will be able to visit an AT&T store and purchase an iPhone without a 2 year contract for AT&T. However, the price is much higher than purchasing the phone with a contract. An 8GB iPhone 3G will run $599 and the 16GB version will run $699. AT&T is not making it cheap to escape without a contract through them. If you want a contract-free iPhone, then you will have to pay through the nose for it. It should be noted that the early termination fee for AT&T is $175.
There's a catch to this deal. The phones won't require a contract, but they will still be locked to AT&T's network. You will essentially be buying a iPhone without a contract for the carrier the phone is locked to. Customers will either have to purchase a plan later, or jailbreak it.
Let's see how this contract-free deal works out. Will AT&T and Apple see an influx of customers that were simply waiting for a contract-free iPhone, or is the economy poor enough that people can't afford the exorbitant price?