Looking to unload some excess inventory, AT&T is planning to offer the Apple iPhone
3G contract-free starting next week.
According to a presentation published by the Boy Genius Report, AT&T will sell the 8-GB iPhone 3G for $599 and the 16-GB iPhone 3G for $699 without requiring buyers to commit to a two-year contract. Contract-free iPhones are expected to be available March 26.
The "no-commit" price is only available to existing AT&T customers.
"Customers purchasing the iPhone 3G at the no-commit price are not required to sign a two-year service agreement," the presentation said. "Device activation is not required at point-of-sale."
The contract-free option is limited to one iPhone per line. The presentation indicates that AT&T is extending the offer to customers who want to add a line or give an iPhone as a gift.
When the iPhone 3G launched last year, AT&T said it would eventually offer a contract-free option but had not yet moved on it.
Offering a contract-free option could be a sign that AT&T is looking to unload its iPhone 3G inventory before it launches a new iPhone sometime this summer. Speculation of a new device ramped up this week when Apple unveiled version 3.0 of its iPhone software at an event Tuesday. Industry rumors indicate that a new iPhone model will likely be available in June or July, which would fall in line with the release times of previous iterations of the smartphone.
