I'm thinking about getting an iphone. However I was wondering if I should get the standard at@t iphone or get an unlocked one. I do a lot of travel to Europe and Asia....I want to be able to use different sim cards in the phone depending on where I am. Is it better to get the at@t issue and unlock it myself using some third-party software OR pay additional and get an unlocked iphone to start with? Anybody has any experience with this? Also, is there a skype app. for iphones yet? Thanks...

 

Skype is for the iphone now.

You can go either way unlocked by the factory or jailbroken. Be aware though, any time an update is issued for the phone it will break the jailbrake unlock. If you want to buy a phone that is unlocked, its not cheap. I think the going price for a factory unlocked 16gb 3g is around $650 and unlocked for can only be purchased in a few countries.

 

I have an unlocked iphone with Tmobile. I have a smartcard behind the original simcard and it works. The only downside is whenever you turn off the phone or turn it into airplane mode, it usually takes anywhere from 3 to 20 minutes to recognize your simcard and catch a signal with your service provider. Other than that, the internet works great, I have no problem using the GPS function, and all for about half the price that AT&T offers.

The older 3G’s are pretty cheap now, you can get them for about $300-$400. In my opinion, there isn’t a big difference between the new one and the old one.

As to if it works internationally, I am interested in knowing that myself.

Best of luck.

P.S: I have Skype on my phone but the call function doesn't work yet, due to 'contractual reasons.'

 

Randomly today, I was looking at "add-on's" to my at&t service and noticed they have international add-on service as well. Don't know much about it, but you could probably call and get some more details. I have always had good customer service experiences with at&t.

 

as Thedude mentioned, Skype is now available for the iPhone. For those who are not familiar with the application, it uses the Voice Over Internet Protocol to handle the phone call. In Lehman's terms, it uses the internet as your phone line. You can click the app on your iPhone, and call anyone in the states or in the world that has the app on their iPhone or computer for free. Or you can use the app and call someone who doesn't have the app for a cheap fare per minute. Much cheaper than getting an international phone plan, and it doesn't even use cell minutes!

 

You don't want to use AT&T international. It's great for calling to Europe or other places but definitely not the way around. I was in Spain recently and I think it was almost 2$ a minute (from what I was told by customer service).

 

That is why I am thinking about getting an unlocked phone (or 'jailbreaked' AT&T) so I can switch back and forth different sim cards when I'm abroad.

 

I used my iPhone (vanilla AT&T) extensively while travelling as crew in Europe and South America.

I used Skype when in range of Wi-Fi and cell when I wasn't. If you get the AT&T International Plan, the rates aren't too bad. Just stay out of some of the eastern bloc countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, etc...) even with the International plan, the rate was absurd.

I have an old 1st Gen iPhone that I unlocked (unlocking and jail-breaking are different) and it works fine with a T-Mobile SIM card. However, Visual Voicemail does not work.

AT&T will NOT sell you an unlocked phone. They will sell you one without a contract for $699, but it will still require AT&T. You can pair it with a GoPhone account for pay-as-you-go.

Also, keep in mind, jail-breaking or unlocking an iPhone ends your warranty (the Genius Bar won't help you at all) and forces you to constantly lag behind the current iPhone software version.

Oh, and be sure to turn Data Roaming 'off' when traveling anywhere outside the US (including Canada and Mexico). Your iPhone gets tons of data even when you aren't using the internet. (Visual Voicemail, for example, is a data service)

 

Be careful if you're ever on a cruise ship. I know someone who was on one and missed a few incoming calls (they have a tower/base station on the boat). Even though he didn't answer them, he got charged just for having the local tower ring down his phone some crazy amount.

 

That is crazy. I use mine all of the time in LA and SA and never had that happen.