Virgin will soon carry iPhones for $30/month. $600 for phone. Compared to $90 per month for other carriers, you'll save $1000+ a year.

You don't need an iPhone to do what you are looking for. Any smart phone would work and you can probably get one for free - android or windows based- when you sign a 2 year contract.

Anonymous wrote:i think best buy is selling refubished ones for $35

I just googled this - they are not $35. The 3G models are $50 off. OP, I would just get the cheapest 4S for $199. Don't go for 3GS - it's not worth the small savings for an outdated model.

I wouldn't recommend getting an iPhone 3GS at this point. It is a three-year old model already, and it will soon also be three generations behind the current iPhone. That's why you can get it for so cheap.

We just got two free 3Gs with a two-year AT&T contract.

Buy a stolen one!

If you don't want a contract, the cheapest way is to buy a used iphone from a reputable site, or off ebay/craiglist, buy a Straight Talk plan from Walmart for $45/month (includes everything), have someone cut the simcard for you and voila ... Iphone w/no contracts, and it works great. Or you can email me at annieruok @ comcast.net and I can set you up with someone who can do it all for you.

I got the iPhone4 for about a 100 bucks when the 4S was released. They may charge you more as a deposit if your credit is poor.

I just bought a new iPhone 4S last week - LOVE IT. I ended up getting a contract through AT&T - paid $300 for the phone and will end up paying $90 a month. That bites, but it'll be worth it (hopefully!) RadioShack can also give you the same deal (contract through AT&T, same monthly rate), but will only charge you $200 for the same phone, so that's worth looking into. Also, something I didn't think about - they try to sell you insurance in case your phone breaks (if it does, and you want a similar one [iPhone 4S], it'll cost you upwards of $700). The insurance packages they're selling are close to $200. I didn't buy one, but I still have 3 weeks to consider.

If you aren't in any hurry, I would hold off a bit, until they release the next version sometime later this year. Around that time, you can generally expect a significant price drop on the earlier models. Also, if price is a primary concern, have you looked into the various Android phones as well? For most uses, they are functionally equivalent, but often can be found significantly cheaper.

I don't know if this is still true, but if you don't care about having the newest iphone, you may still be able to get the 3Gs from AT&T for $50 with a 2 year plan. That's what I did about 6-8 months ago when my iphone 3g died. You can record video, but the picture quality is not as good as the latest iphones. I don't really care much about that though and just wanted the email and web access, texting, basic phone/video, apps, etc.

The price will vary depending on how much space you want and whether you want the latest/greatest version.

If you don't need to put music on it, then an iphone 4 with 8 gb should be fine-- $99 I think. Not sure if there are cheaper offers.

i think best buy is selling refubished ones for $35

Anonymous wrote:I would like to get an iphone. I have been using an old LG flip phone for years. But my kids are older and my worklife is busier. I want to be able to text/email/search online/use apps. Any advice for a newbie like me, who wants to do this as cheaply as possible?

Get a contract with a carrier and they'll let you have one for a couple of hunert buckaroos.

I would like to get an iphone. I have been using an old LG flip phone for years. But my kids are older and my worklife is busier. I want to be able to text/email/search online/use apps. Any advice for a newbie like me, who wants to do this as cheaply as possible?