July 5, 2012
My kingdom for cheap a iPhone
Is there a cheap way to own and use an iPhone? I’m beginning to wonder.
Going the conventional route, the best you can hope for is to get a subsidized iPhone 3GS for $0. But you still have to pay at least $50 to $70 a month for a data plan. That adds up to $600 to $840 a year. Ouch! How do so many people justify it?
But how about this? Buy an unlocked 3GS for $375. Sign up for a flexible iPad data plan at $5 a month and use the SIM card in the iPhone. I wouldn’t have voice, but I could sign for Skype at $60 a year and have access to landlines and cellphones through VOIP.
I’ve been told this is technically possible, but I have a nagging suspicion that the phone company would not look favourably on this little end-run and find a way to penalize me. So even if I go ahead with this little experiment and it works, I’ll likely keep quiet about it.