AT&T turns to $49 iPhone 3GS to combat Verizon in new TV ad [video]

By on Feb 15, 2011 at 10:59 AM
mobile February 15, 2011

Is AT&T finally realizing that not as many people care about simultaneous voice and data as it once thought? Initially, it seemed like AT&T would endlessly harp on the feature as its only selling point to combat Verizon Wireless’ new iPhone 4, but now it appears AT&T has finally found some new ammunition: the iPhone 3GS. It seems like an odd choice at first; using a year-old device to combat Verizon’s shiny new iPhone 4. The price tag says it all, however — at $49, AT&T’s iPhone 3GS is $150 cheaper than the 16GB iPhone 4 and $250 cheaper than the 32GB model. This makes the device accessible to a whole new demographic, and AT&T has to be quick in addressing this market because once the iPhone 5 launches, Verizon Wireless will have its own previous-generation model to sell on the cheap. Hit the break for a video showing AT&T’s new iPhone commercial.

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  • Anonymous

    Nobody shows their desperation better than At&t.

    • http://mindmirror007.blogspot.com/p/home.html Sathya

      I would say they are learning to stay in the game!

  • Anonymous

    I would not suggest to anyone doing that. That is a 1 year old, really pushing 2 year old device (iPhone on top of that) and you will have to be stuck with it for another 2 years before being able to get a better iPhone unless you want to come out of the pocket for it. And if you are going to come out of pocket for it, just get the iPhone 4 on either ATT or Verizon, $199 for latest device is better then $599 for the same device.

    • Laneclosedx

      Actually, that phone it not a year old, that phone is brand new. How could that phone be a year old when the 3gs was only a 16 or 32 gig? Apple made the 8gig 3gs when they realeased the 4, and this is a fantastic idea for people who don’t want to shell out 200 or 300$ for a phone as well as people who just want an great smart phone without all the bells and whistles, what’s the diff between this and the 4? A front facing camera and a clearer screen? not everyone needs or even wants that. I have the four, don’t get me wrong, its a better phone – for me, but that doesn’t mean it’s better for everyone.

      • Drew

        Oh, that’s right, they didn’t make an 8G did they… Which means this is now a refurbished afterthought with parts they just slapped together. How special. You’re an outright sucker if you fall for this.

    • LookLively

      1. If you only pay $50 who cares if you have to replace it?
      2. Exactly what about this phone is going to be so outdated 2 yrs from now? Most people don’t do enough to even warrant 3G, must less 4G. What we need is a way to make calls, send emails and check social media sites. We’ve become pitiless consumers.

    • Max

      What a ridiculous pompous comment. OMG NO my world would just END at the though of an “outdated” phone. I still have a fully functioning first generation ipod mini from 2005. Get real. You know how many third world families get poisoned from all the electronic waste we send them from people getting convinced that they will die without the LATEST and most updated versions of electronics, and throwing out their old devices?

  • Senor Chang

    pfft… this is what cellphone companies do. Give you old junk for a 2 year contract.

    Even if an Apple Lover wants to comment on how capable and not-really-outdated the 3GS is, they can’t argue that its not worth signing a 2 year contract for. Just buy the thing outright or find a used one. Better than a contract any day.

    • Bobbyellis

      where can u buy a used I phone

      • http://twitter.com/D4mi4n1988 Damian Wozniak

        ebay, or craigslist. Craigslist could be the cheaper option

      • LookLively

        Welcome to 1996. Ecommerce is in full swing. You can iPhones, Leather Jackets, Goats and Porsches. No really – all that sh*t can be found on the internets. Enjoy. And welcome to yesterday.

        BTW – none of that stuff can be bought for $50. Stop listening to this morons and go sign up. A third of all cell phone users keep their phones for 20.5 months. It won’t hurt you kid.

    • Robinsonb99

      If someone is dumb enough to sign a contact for it then let them

    • LookLively

      So Mr. Change pray tell – where can a person buy a 3GS for $50 without a contract?

      (Shhh, grown folks are talking.)

  • Anonymous

    is there any chance vz will get the iphone 5 in feb 2012?

    • Troy Loisel

      There will not be a chance. Everything the iPhone 5 is is just mere rumor. This talked about iPhone 5, along with the “iPhone Nano” are made up items by people who “hear & read” too much. They, Apple, have really only talked and discussed about making, basically, an iPhone 4 V2, which entails a perfected antennae.

      • Eric

        your a idiot their will be a iphone 5 and the antennae problem has already been fixed.

      • Bg

        Eric, you can call names when you learn grammar.

      • Eric

        @bg go back to teaching class professor.

      • serpentor

        No, it was never fixed because Jobs said there was never anything wrong with it in the first place.

      • sirpaul

        If that is all that will be improved in the next iPhone I doubt it will do very well. Why buy a new phone + 2 year contract when you can get iPhone 4 discounted and just use a bumper or case? Most people use a case anyways.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=503037611 Brett Smith

    Not everyone needs cutting edge technology here. Look at all the people that just bought an IP4 because it came to Verizon. Not exactly cutting edge with all the other phones out there.

    I do wonder if Apple with continue to support it for 2 years. Didn’t they stop supporting the OG Iphone pretty early?

    • Anonymous

      RE: OG iPhone. They supported it for over two years all the way to iOS 3.1.3 expanding it’s feature set from basically a “dumb” phone to supporting the app store and native apps, realtime notifications, etc.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=503037611 Brett Smith

        But it’s already how old? Add 2 years to that (the contract) and are people going to be screwed when Apple releases some version that won’t run on anything less than a IP4 and all the new apps and games are designed around that new version?

        My dad had an 3G (4 now) and he does not ever get on a computer, he can’t even turn one on. I tried installing some app for him and it wouldn’t install becasue he wasn’t on 3.0 or newer.

      • LookLively

        You can shoehorn updates onto any phone that is less than 3 yrs old, if you really really want to – and know what the heck you’re doing. Its a 3G, its not a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4FCM5OSC7NDKLOWF5D4KAAJBLI Ted

    AT&T, Verizon, take your choice. The one main point here is that we, the consumer, are the beneficiaries of this competition. Keep it up!!!

  • Joe

    It is a better strategy than Verizon to get new users into smartphones with AT&T a $49 iphone and a $15 data plan so people can have 2 iphones and plans with rollover for less than $100 a month. Verizon base plan with iphones is $130 a month without rollover for 2 iphones @ $199 a piece.

    • Joebutler85

      If you own an iPhone and can actually get by on the $15 data plan then you really have no business owning an iPhone. 200 MB’s isn’t enough data for an iPhone user. It is a trap plan to get overages. It isn’t bad for Blackberries but it fails miserably for the majority of Android and iphone users.

      • Duh

        Additionally – rollover minutes? Seriously, we are still discussing these things? If you have a lot of rollover minutes you are on the wrong plan!?!?! Same as if you are really able to get by with the 200MB plan with an iPhone – why have one?

      • Joe

        There are a lot of people that don’t even come close to 200mb, I have people with wireless cards that don’t even use 100 mb per month on data cards they only use it as a back up in case their Network goes down, I sold smartphones to people who just like the phone because of the large dial screen and want to play solitaire on their phone and rollover starts off on the lowest family plan @ $59.99 for 550 every customer is different you can have snowbirds or retired couples which VZW and AT&T has a lot of that during some months because they stay close to home and have rollover mins bundled up to use in the months they are in their vacation home.

      • Kitty Claws86

        Yes, if you have a lot of rollover minutes your on the wrong plan, however it is unwasted money! When you go over your monthly minutes its great to not wind up with a $400 due to overages. Not to mention AT&T just launched Mobile to ANY Mobile calling, so the only time you would really be using your minutes is when you call land lines. . . But if your a smart little guy and you could go into an AT&T store and ask them to see what could help you save money and miraculously the smart sales rep can help lower your monly costs!!!!

      • Laneclosedx

        200 MB is good for people who are on wifi basically all the time, cause it def keeps your bill down, but I agree, if you’re not constantly on wifi you should not have 200 MB with an iPhone

  • Spdr-Mn

    I LOVE the commercial that followed at&t’s…RECALCULATING!!!…Haha…

  • Tomm

    This makes AT&T look like its whoring itself to Apple. Oh wait…

  • Hilljack911

    It beats paying 100 bucks for a messaging phone

  • LookLively

    But wait – I thought there absolutely no way to get high grade technology to the masses? I thought it costs over $500 to produce one of these things. Oh wait. Those are lies. They could give these bricks away if they liked and still make money. This reinforces everything I hate about companies like Apple. If they want to impress us – reduce the price of iPhone 4s.

  • Anonymous

    Somewhere Adam Smith has a smile on his face…

  • http://twitter.com/waltah Walt Wilcutts

    My store easily sells as many 3GS models as iP4. Families come in and they can buy 4 of them for the cost of one iP4. That’s an appealing proposition to any parents who are thinking with their wallets.

  • Anonymous

    I like the AllState mayhem recalculation commercial better.

  • Arshad14

    The funny thing is that in Canada, Telus has always had the iPhone 3GS 8GB for $49, even FREE for a few weeks with the Facebook Locations Offers after Facebook launched that.

  • Guest

    90 *MILLION* people have been on Verizon… year after year… and *NEVER* once used “voice and data” at the same time.

  • Tnt918

    I have to say it loud and proud. Since switiching to ATT we have had not one problem. In my business a missed call is not only a missed opportunity but missed money. I was missing calls all the time from Verizon, Sprint and more then them all from T-Mobile. There is nothing more aggrivating then coming home and having an email from a client stating they have called numerous times and it went straight to voicemail (t-mobile on a fully charged phone) I love att’s service and its relyable.

  • Forrest Gross

    I am one of the fools, by some of the accounts here. I have been waiting for an affordable iPhone, and since I currently have an ATT Go phone, with no contract, signing another two year contract did not happen lightly, but since I do not plan to surf the web on my phone, the minimum data plan will suit me fine. What I wanted was the quality and features of an iPhone, and since they are not available as Go phones, this is my only option. I am currently using an LG Prime Go phone, but it cost over twice as much brand new as the 3GS I am awaiting via UPS, and it did not last 5 months before the touch screen failed. Two months, and TWO refurbs later, because they would not replace the original with a brand new phone, I am completely dissatisfied with this phone, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is functionality, or lack thereof. There have been times when I did not receive text messages for several days, and ones that I supposedly sent, according to the phone, that were never actually delivered. I do not “live” on my cell phone, unlike many of the users I encounter from day to day, but I do want it to work when I do use it. And from what I have researched about Apple products, I expect that the phone will still be working at the end of this new contract. By then, I should have the basics down, should I decide that I want the latest, greatest iPhone at that time. Until such time, this one will be more than enough for me.

  • Dallasalltheway

    I was told that I have to add another line to my plan in order to get the iPhone at this prices. Is this true?

  • Tylertd

    Good price for iPhone 3G 49$$$$$ (: sick

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