So while the Consumerist correctly mentions the requirement of buying into a new service plan, Giz does not?

The list price of a pink razr is 499???? Um, yea.. thanks.

im guessing you have to buy a service plan...

WHEN PURCHASED WITH NEW SERVICE PLAN.

.............catch? .....what catch?

@SinistarX: I thought that was a given. Updating for clarity.

Amazon is offering a $250 CONDITIONAL rebate...meaning if you buy a phone for .01 and change plans, transfer the phone to another plan, cancel the plan, etc, etc...you OWE Amazon.com $250 Still a great discount if you plan to buy a phone!

The Tilt is still the sma eprice it seems....

Most Sprint and TMobile phones are also only a penny through Amazon, as well as a few Verizon phones.

Oh does ATT still cripple the hell out of phones and make them more buggierer?

@SierraJulietGolf: PLUS you owe AT&T your termination fee. This would not be a price-beneficial decision.

Cheapeast AT&T plan with data comes to $69 a month.

I'll stick with my $30 SERO plan thank you very much.

My 500 minute/unl. messaging/nights/weekend/data plan costs the same as ATT charge for JUST data...

Note: $250 fee if you're LATE ON PAYMENT!

Also not on sale: the Moto RAZR2 V9.

I don't suppose this in any way indicates that AT&T plans on coming out with some new phones (read BB 9000) in the near future, does it?

does this apply to upgrades?

And I just got my new LG Shine and a two year contract 2 weeks ago...

Drats.

Here's a clever way to get your new expensive phone for less than $100 from Amazon if you already have AT&T wireless. First, you buy the 1 cent phone with plan on Amazon. AT&T allows you to cancel your contract within the first 30 days without a termination fee. But you WILL have to pay your first months bill which includes an activation fee. So what I did was to buy a BB Pearl for 1 cent with new activation. Used the phone for 3 weeks. Cancelled the contract. Paid the 1st bill. Kept the new phone. Transfered my old Palm SIM card to my new phone. So that $350 phone ended up costing me less than $100 and I don't have a 2-year contract. I've done this so I know it works.

i tried to upgrade (not eligible) but it let me check out all the way. I got an email after my confirmation saying it was canceled since I wasn't eligible.

@FinalValgas: You're thinking of Verizon.

@toddgarvin: I don't thin that's entirely correct. From Amazon:
You agree to repay this $250 discount to Amazon.com if, during the six-month period following the activation date or renewal date of your existing contract, you: (1) fail to pay your balance due each month on time; (2) fail to maintain your account in good standing; (3) disconnect the line of service; (4) transfer the phone to another line of service; (5) change your service rate plan, including canceling or removing required PDA, BlackBerry, or smartphone features after your product has shipped; or (6) use this line of service to replace an existing account with the carrier.

This actually seems like a good deal for me. Out of contract and am sick of my RAZR. Free phone to tide me over until 2nd gen iPhone. But which is better? Blackjack II or the Curve?

Yea, when the iPhone sells for one penny, hell would've defiantly froze over and pigs will fly and rule the world. That's just my opinion though.

So, it costs more than a penny to make a penny, and now you can use one to buy a crappy AT&T phone.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!

It's because AT&T sucks and their desperate for more customers.

AT&T has the WORST coverage!

AT&T has crappy coverage, maybe even THE crappiest of all

Thanks for the heads up. Need to switch services anyways. Just picked up the new LG Shine for a penny.

I do declare, Honest Abe does not swear!

Man, you guys kill me.

I fell for this the first time, and ended up getting locked in with AT&T and couldn't even upgrade my phone until this 6 month period was over.

You also have to stick to the plan you choose and can't downgrade under any circumstances within that 6 month period, either.

It's only cost effective if you know that you're not gonna want another phone in 6 months, and if you're absolutely sure that the plan you get is the plan you want for 6 months.

Otherwise, you're out of luck.

@drewheyman: No, but Hard-drinkin' Lincoln does.

@sublicon: Wow, six whole moths without replacing your phone! How would one ever survive??

I smell massive fear of commitment...

@SgtMac02: What are you talking about? It's six month with NO CHANGES whatsoever to your account, no rate plan changes, nothing.

@dantaylor08: Wait a minute...it's not AT&T offering these prices, and, in case you didn't realize, AT&T has over 70 million subscribers, which is #1 by over 5 million. Nice try, bub.

They're just figuring this out now? I got three sweet Sony Ericssons for my kids last year for 3 pennies with a one year family plan contract. AT$T has decent service in my area so it worked for me.

So which of the available phones is the best?

losers!
I got my phone for FREE from ATT with a 3 year contract of only 79.99 a month! (minimum)

@Gofastmazda: Do people really need to make changes to their plans that often? Particularly if you just bought a new one, it seems like you would be paying attention to the options you were getting, so that you wouldn't have to make changes a couple months down the road.

I'm not criticizing, just curious. I'd actually be really interested to see the data if Giz did a survey asking how often people buy new phones, switch carriers/service plans.

In my case, I rarely make changes to my service plan, I chose the one I wanted and stuck with it. My needs haven't changed drastically enough that I'm making all that many changes to what I originally selected. Also, I only buy a new phone when mine is a couple years old. (Well, I've had two new phones in the past two years, actually, but that is due to moving countries, not due to Needing a new phone after a year). I would love to see the stats for the average Giz reader.

@Buran:

Right right! My bad att.

@BBanzai: Maybe that's something new. I've had my phone since August 2007. Never even got an email from amazon regarding this. Glad I got mine for a penny. :o)