[Gizzer]

I've never really thought about this until now, but with the advent of the 3G iPhone, what can you actually do with an existing iPhone should you choose to upgrade to the new one?

For example, can you give it to a family member on the same network, let them just pop in their SIM and let them continue on their existing contract? Or, do they have to then sign up for the standard 18 month iPhone contract and tariff? Seems a bit poor if this is the case....

[BuonRotto]

old? OLD?!?

[PB PM]

Sell it on ebay.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by Gizzer I've never really thought about this until now, but with the advent of the 3G iPhone, what can you actually do with an existing iPhone should you choose to upgrade to the new one? For example, can you give it to a family member on the same network, let them just pop in their SIM and let them continue on their existing contract? Or, do they have to then sign up for the standard 18 month iPhone contract and tariff? Seems a bit poor if this is the case....

Um, they should just be able to pop their SIM in and go. Right? iPhone purchases require a contract (presumably because Apple wants to be sure to get their monthly kickback revenue), but merely using a used iPhone shouldn't. They'd just need to add the appropriate iPhone data plan (if they don't want to pay ridiculous per-KB rates).

[Gizzer]

Originally Posted by Roboman Um, they should just be able to pop their SIM in and go. Right? iPhone purchases require a contract (presumably because Apple wants to be sure to get their monthly kickback revenue), but merely using a used iPhone shouldn't. They'd just need to add the appropriate iPhone data plan (if they don't want to pay ridiculous per-KB rates).

That's what I was wondering. I wouldn't want to hand it on to a family member only to inadvertently stitch them up with having to sign up to a new 18 month contract...

[apple007]

Originally Posted by Roboman Um, they should just be able to pop their SIM in and go. Right? iPhone purchases require a contract (presumably because Apple wants to be sure to get their monthly kickback revenue), but merely using a used iPhone shouldn't. They'd just need to add the appropriate iPhone data plan (if they don't want to pay ridiculous per-KB rates).

I thought the iPhone SIM was different and couldn't be replaced with a non-iPhone SIM from another carrier (at least in the U.S.)?

[apple007]

Originally Posted by Gizzer That's what I was wondering. I wouldn't want to hand it on to a family member only to inadvertently stitch them up with having to sign up to a new 18 month contract...

They shouldn't need a new or extended contract but they might need a new SIM card for the iPhone.

BTW, I mentioned this a few days ago and no one seemed to pick up on it, but someone in the jailbreaking community claims personal info. on restored iPhones isn't deleted and can still be easily read. This seems like it could turn into a bigger story if there's a wave of used iPhones hitting eBay and CL, etc., since most non-retail iPhones apparently end up jailbroken.

[ghoti]

I saw that posting, and also some reports around the web. It's not really surprising, it's essentially the same as reformatting a harddisk, which doesn't actually wipe the data either. It would be a good idea for Apple to have a "wipe" function either directly on the iPhone or through iTunes.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by ghoti I saw that posting, and also some reports around the web. It's not really surprising, it's essentially the same as reformatting a harddisk, which doesn't actually wipe the data either. It would be a good idea for Apple to have a "wipe" function either directly on the iPhone or through iTunes.

Doesn't iPhone OS 2.0 add remote wipe as one of the "enterprise" features? I'm not sure if that's tied to Exchange or whatnot, but it shouldn't be hard for Apple to implement it for general consumers.

So, if you're concerned, hopefully you'll be able to just update your iPhone to iPhone OS 2.0, then wipe it, then sell it.

Considering iPhone OS 2.0 arrives in June, and *ahem* many people will probably want to sell their (current) iPhones in June, I'm sure Apple's thought about it.

[apple007]

Originally Posted by Roboman Doesn't iPhone OS 2.0 add remote wipe as one of the "enterprise" features? I'm not sure if that's tied to Exchange or whatnot, but it shouldn't be hard for Apple to implement it for general consumers. So, if you're concerned, hopefully you'll be able to just update your iPhone to iPhone OS 2.0, then wipe it, then sell it. Considering iPhone OS 2.0 arrives in June, and *ahem* many people will probably want to sell their (current) iPhones in June, I'm sure Apple's thought about it.

But there's no guarantee if or when 2.0 can be jailbroken, which could severely limit one's resale options, at least in the short term.

[kieran]

Originally Posted by apple007 But there's no guarantee if or when 2.0 can be jailbroken, which could severely limit one's resale options, at least in the short term.

Already happened....

[ghoti]

Originally Posted by Roboman Doesn't iPhone OS 2.0 add remote wipe as one of the "enterprise" features?

I haven't heard about that, but it makes a lot of sense. A wipe feature is very easy to implement, the bigger question is where to put it in the GUI and how to make sure some joker won't wipe your phone while you're not looking. I'm guessing that that feature won't be available on the device itself, but only via iTunes.

Originally Posted by kieran23kk Already happened....

Yeah, but there will be a few more revisions before 2.0 actually comes out. I'm sure they'll figure out a way to make jailbreaking harder, considering that corporate buyers are going to want to make sure that their expensive phones won't be stolen (possibly by their own employees), stripped of all their protections, and sold.

[apple007]

That's interesting, but it seems like Apple would take further efforts before 2.0 is released. I guess we'll find out next month.

(EDIT: Oops ... 'ghoti' beat me to the punch.)

[Yonzie]

Originally Posted by Gizzer For example, can you give it to a family member

It won't be worthless, you don't need to give it away (although someone is going to be happy )

Originally Posted by Gizzer on the same network, let them just pop in their SIM and let them continue on their existing contract? Or, do they have to then sign up for the standard 18 month iPhone contract and tariff? Seems a bit poor if this is the case....

As long as it's an AT&T SIM, it should "just work".
However, much of the appeal of the iPhone lies in the features that require significant data usage. If they use these features, their current plan might well be a lot more expensive than switching to an "iPhone plan".

Originally Posted by kieran23kk Already happened....

While the v2 firmware is hacked for v1 iPhones, we know nothing about the state of v2 iPhones. Apple may well have hardened the hardware significantly. A good example is the Xbox vs. the Xbox 360. While the 360 is certainly not hacker-proof, it made life a lot harder for hackers.
Of course, I know nothing specifically, and I do believe the v2 iPhone will be cracked much faster than the 1st, just cautioning a bit

[Miko]

Originally Posted by ghoti I haven't heard about that, but it makes a lot of sense. A wipe feature is very easy to implement, the bigger question is where to put it in the GUI and how to make sure some joker won't wipe your phone while you're not looking. I'm guessing that that feature won't be available on the device itself, but only via iTunes.

Yea from what little I saw on the iPhone Roadmap presentation, it's actually a remote wipe, not something done on the iPhone itself. They demoed it under the Enterprise features. If someone was to lose their iPhone, they call into work to inform them and they can remotely wipe the phone so precious data doesn't get into the wrong hands. It dose make sense to offer this through iTunes too since it's pretty much the command center for everything iPhone/iPod.