Apple products are never on sale, ever, anywhere, thanks to stores refusing to do what they usually do and say "price too low to display". They can make enough money on them without sales.

Would one be able to use a corporate discount when signing up? My company has a deal with AT&T and as an employee I could save a good amount on service every month...

Damn. Wish I was out of contract at this point. The $600 HTC Tilt (8925) is on sale for $174.99 with rebate down to free! Today would be a good day to switch carriers.

@Phishy: You can buy one on ebay and unlock it. That said, I had a horrible experience with that phone, down to and including long waits for the keypad to be brought up at times. I use an iphone now.

@Phishy: If you can afford it, use that rebate to pay the ETF at your current digital phone switching concern.

I think the nokia phone on there is a better deal. -$124.99 sounds pretty good to me!

Most phones are usually just 1 cent on amazon anyways.

Any thoughts on my dilemma......
I plan on switching in june when my verizon contract runs out......but our phones are both on their last legs now and barely functioning (involves crazy glue). If I switched today, pay the etf and got two of these phones, and then bought iPhones when v 2.0 comes out and switched my plan then, would I have pay the 250 fee?

If you sign a contract with AT&T, you are an idiot, penny phone or not. That is all.

Thanks,@Steaming Pile.

Never had a problem with AT&T, (née Cingular, née AT&T Wireless) going on... 10 years. Always had reception when my friends and family didn't. Customer service offered discounts. I don't usually care for monopolies, former or not, but this one worked for me; YMMV, yadda yadda.

This is not a bad deal. I am out of contract and on family plan (never had a problem with att but never saw the reason to pay 10 dollars more per month for same service.....but I can't figure out how to take advantage of this using a family plan. Maybe you can't or maybe my stupidity and onlineness naivete is progressing into deeper recesses of my brain.

Ahh well, I should always search out the fine print eh? (see # 5):

To qualify for a phone upgrade and contract extension:

1. You must be month-to-month in your existing contract with this carrier, or you must be at least 10 months into your 12-month contract or 22 months into your 24-month contract.
2. Your account must be in good financial standing and without late fees.
3. You agree to extend your contract 24 months from the end of your existing contract.
4. You are not a former AT&T TDMA subscriber now on Cingular's network.
5. You are not attempting to upgrade an entire, or any portion of a, Cingular FamilyTalk plan

@gemio: Why pay an ETF with your Verizon account? Wouldn't it be cheaper to simply keep the Verizon account and the new ATT account, and cancel the Verizon account in June when your contract is up (only 5 weeks away).

I am a long time ATT Customer (+10 years), and I think that after 6 months with these phones you could switch over to another phone (including the iPhone)without an ETF. The clock on your 2 year contract however would start over again.

Blargh. I just merged my account with the significant other to a family plan(save about $120/year). My phone is up for an upgrade but they can't do it.

ATT/Cingular has had it's ups and downs. They are bungling a 3G upgrade in my area so me and a few friends have to pull our batteries when it won't due to data right.

@brilliantmoron: Blargh. The significant other and I just merged our phones into a family plan too.

@Rachacha:

want to keep my digits!!

Ugh, who cares? AT&T is awful!

I called amazon - no matter what, you have to keep your phone as you get it - plan and all - for 6 months in order to keep the discount. argh.

@gemio: Wait six months, otherwise you will have to pay the $250.

You can get AT&T to unlock the phones while they are still on your account, and that will give you a big boost in eBay resale value for when you get the iPhone.

Blackberry Pearl...some high-end Nokia phones...all .01 and money back after rebates.

Need an expert here:

a) so it's not worth it if you have a family plan already? Won't work?

b) you can unlock the curve, yes, if you are a long-standing customer?

blargh.

Best answer for all existing users:

Go to att.com and check out the options there.

Much easier.

OK, definitely not as cheap as $.01, though, but not as complicated as going through Amazon (calling and reactivating on your new phone, not available on Family Talk plans, etc.)

With AT&T, this is definitely not worth it. You will pay for this as long as you have your service with AT&T.

Just wanted to let you know that almost EVERYONE is available for a discount through AT&T. I work for a authorized retailer and most people don't know that they can get it.

Just go to an authorized retailer, (Don't bother with the AT&T stores) and ask if you can get a "FAN" discount number added to your account. For Example, if you work for a US Post office, you get a 25% discount off your bill. Now, this is just off the primary line, not your features and additional lines. So if your primary line is $80, you can save $20.

Try it and good luck!