I have heard from several people who read this site but don't yet have an iPhone. And I can't even count the number of times that I have used an iPhone in public and someone has asked me about getting one -- something that I am sure happens to all of you, too. If you or someone you know is looking to buy an iPhone now, there is a useful post on Art of the iPhone entitled Where is the Best Place to Buy an iPhone? There are currently five places to buy an iPhone in the U.S.: an Apple store, an AT&T store, Best Buy, Wal-Mart or Sam's Club. Wal-Mart is cheaper than the others, but only $2.00 cheaper. The article explains that if saving money is critical, you can save $50 by buying a refurbished iPhone, and if you do so your best bet is to buy from Apple or Best Buy where you get a 1 year warranty. [UPDATE on 2/18/09: AT&T is now offering a $100 rebate on a refurbished iPhone.]
One thing not discussed in that article that I will add is that if you have a complicated data plan such as a split billing arrangement where your employer pays the data portion of your bill, a combined billing plan, etc., then you may be required to buy from an AT&T store. Other stores, including Apple, may not be able to add an iPhone to one of those plans.
If you are looking to buy an iPhone, should you buy one now or wait? I wrote about this last month, and I continue to believe that a new iPhone will be released by Apple this year, probably in June or July. Remember that Apple increased the memory on iPhones in February of 2008, so it is possible that they will do so again before a new model is released later this year.
Last year, the inventory of first generation iPhones started to dry up in April, two months before the iPhone 3G was announced on June 9, 2008. We might see a similar inventory decrease at some point this year, and if so, that will be a sign that a major new model of iPhone is coming and a reason to hold off on purchasing if you can. But we are not there now, so if you are looking to buy your iPhone now, check out the article.
