Hi Folks,
we are relocating to nyc at the end of the month. Both my wife and I have IPhones on O2 and my question is, has anyone transferred their O2 Iphones to AT&T Iphones in the states, and if so what it the process.

I'm not talking about the actual number, obviously I would get a new US Number, I'm just loathed to buy a brand new Iphone in the US.

Thanks,
Andrew
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Assuming that you own the phones the process is that when you arrive in the US you go to a cell phone store that is an AT&T reseller and tell them that you want to sign up for an AT&T phone plan, that you already have a phone and just need the SIM card, and ask what the shortest contract term is that they have available. (They will almost certainly start out by offering you a 2 year contract but they should be able to do better than that)

You may or may not want to tell them that you have an iPhone - last time I looked AT&T insisted that you had to have the special "iPhone plan" which was, I think, a bit more expensive than the normal "cell phone with "unlimited' data" plan. (I use a Google G1 phone on an AT&T "unlimited" data plan and manage to run well within the actual data "limit" that is in the fine print of the agreement).

Since you have 2 phones you will probably want to get one of the family plans with shared minutes etc - AFAIK there are no shared data plans for individual users so that will still be per phone.

You will also I guess need to get the phones unlocked if there are presumably locked to the O2 system.

thanks for this information, I am now in the US therefore can update this post. If indeed I do want to avoid buying a new Iphone I will have to "unlock" "Jailbreak" my current O2 locked Iphone, this is the only way you can use the phone on a US AT&T (or any other SP for that matter) that is not the SP that the Iphone was purchased from in the first place.

Once unlocked you cannot use Itunes updates to the phone as this automatically relocks the phone and you have to go through the process again. I have unlocked other Iphones and it's not the most elegant of things

I have been going month to month on my AT&T plan for the last year since my 2 year contract ran out, I am cancelling it this week, they said I can come back and do month to month anytime as long as I dont need a new phone...

So why is it that people need to sign a contract at all if they dont want a phone? Or do they just not advertise that you dont have to sign a contract, or is it only after the original contract runs ou?

The only significant reason to sign a contract is to get a new phone. They are willing to subsidize a phone purchase in return for the guaranteed monthly payments. Eg - an iPhone is an approx. $400/$500 item. They will let you have a '3g' iPhone (now the 'old' model) for $99 (so $300 to $400 discount), as long as you do a 2yr plan. The 2yr plan is going to cost you about $100/month (depending on how many minutes, etc). $100/month = $2,400 over 2 years. So they get $2,400 from you, subsidize your phone by say, $300, leaving $2,100 to cover the costs to them of providing you voice and data services - which is probably a good deal for them. If you cancel the contract at any time, you pay a $200 penalty (or whatever it is) so they get most of their subsidy back.

Numbers above are approximate

So if you think you are going to stick with them for 2 years anyway, you may as well sign a contract and get that subsidy... reason to not sign a contract is if you expect to be switching carriers any time soon ...

BTW - do O2 not officially support the unlocking of a contract phone after 'x' months? Some providers do.

Seconding the "jailbreak your iPhone" suggestion. AT&T will insist that you get the iPhone plan, which is quite expensive. Jailbreaking your phone will allow you to use it with any SIM card, on any carrier - a friend of mine uses his jailbroken iPhone with a cheap AT&T plan, and he's very satisfied.

Does he get any data - what is the 'cheap' AT&T plan he speaks of ...? An iPhone without data is a very expensive phone!

I have two G1 phones on an AT&T "FamilyTalk Nation 550" for $59.99 per month along with "unlimited data" for $15 per month per line.

The "iPhone data plan" is $30 per month per line.

Of course the "unlimited data" isn't really "unlimited" but my average usage is less than 50MB per month per line which is way below the limit mentioned in the fine print of the agreement.

So, while it isn't exactly "cheap" it is $15 per month per line less than it would have been for an iPhone.

just as an update folks. I have unlocked my UK based Apple IPhone 3G and put a pay as you AT&T sim in that I bought on 34th Street yesterday. It all works fine. I have now cancelled my UK O2 account

thats cool - I am in the same situation with an iphone... do at&t also do a data plan on pay as you go ?
nick

good question. Actually I must correct an error from my previous post. The sim I inserted was a AT&T SIM that my employer provided me therefore I would assume it's got all the data bits included. I am going to unlock my wife's phone tonight and insert the pay as you go sim - will update after

I would expect either - no data, or - data usage will suck down your minutes allowance ... that is - each kb of data you access will be converted into an equivalent number of minutes usage.

be careful AT&T charge $20 a MB for data when roaming etc if you have a data plan, so it might be even more on a pre pay plan.

You mean international roaming, right?