bassically what the topic says because i dont really understand the point of it or exactly what they do for you.

also since im probably planing a iphone purchase for my self there are a few things id like to know if any of you are iphone users that is, if you could answer them then thanks in advance or if u know about phone contracts then thanks in advance as well (ok to start off with my questions)

1: what is usually added upon new iphones?
2: will it use apps thats available already on the previous iphones?
3: what is normally thier price launch?
4: it obviouly have phone calls and text etc etc but will i be able to text to other people who have different phones?
5: do u think Iphone 4g will have camera and video recording?
6: could someone explain the numbering after the word iphone ?

7: also i read post saying something about wifi and a different form of connecting to the internet something called a provider or watever that has got me confuse and made me think that it sounds like it has 2 internet connecting options only using if you can understand this and know the answer to it. if not then i dont blame u lol

8: last question is there some kind of monthly fee like per text mesagge, minutes talking on phone that kind of thing or can u put in minutes as u go and if u run out u cant text or talk without paying to add more . that kind of thing?

and im sorry for this unorganize long questions and almost unprofessional way of approaching this and thanks again in advance

Okay, lets try this out for size.
1. Phone, Messages, e-mail, safari, ipod, calculator, camera, images, youtube, maps, weather, settings (i think theres about 1 or 2 more)
2. Yes.
3. Don't know.
4. Yes, you can SMS, MMS etc. to all other phones
5. All iPhoneS have both Camera and Video, the S was the second version of the iphone to be released.
6. Look above.
7. You can access the internet via either Wi-Fi or your service provider (Virgin or AT&T etc.)
8. Depends on the plan you get.

Hope that helped.

thanks alot Aviator that really help ease the understanding also would u happen to know if using the service provider gonna come with some kind of cost compared to just connecting to your own wifi?

You'd have to pay when you go through your service provider, however, with the plan you might have say a 300MB allowance, which would all be free till you go over 300MBs.

currently, the iphone is only on AT&T, you need a monthly fee to pay for the phone service. Be warned, while you can connect to wifi for the internet and downloading things, to do it on a 3G network, you need a data plan, which will cost more. The number means the network it can connect to. the "S" is the second model of it, which has better hardware. 3G is basically high speed internet through cell phone towers. AT&T has better speed than other providers, but their 3G coverage (the areas where the signal reaches) is very small. Chances are if you are in a small town, you will not have 3G at all. any other questions? edit you asked for the price. It depends on how long you have been with your provider. If it is a long time (2 or 3 years) they may see you as a loyal customer, and give you a discount, additionally, when you get an iphone, your provider will give it to you at a discount, if you sign a 2 year service contract. This basically states that you will buy service from them for 24 months, and should you leave that contract, they have the right to charge a cancellation fee. 2nd edit about the apps. When they say "there's an app for that" they are not kidding. There is everything. internet browsers, games, visualizers, compasses, star charts, movie review sites, coupon apps, diet trackers, calculators, dice machines. It is ridicoulous how many pointless things are on there, but many are very useful, and many are free

@aviator, if he gets 300mb, he wouldn't want to go on youtube then. Honestly, many sites are so code heavy that 300 mb won't go far at all. If you have an iPhone, get an unlimited plan. You will need it. Trust me

I wasn't telling him to get 300MBs i was just using that as an example. But it all depends on what you will use your iPhone for.

all iphones have video? i only know how to use my camera on mine. how do you record? lol

if u can watch youtube videos then why am i hearing that theres no flash support?

http://tinyurl.com/y6wblss

@y2josh Only after the S models came out were iPhones able to record video.

As for your main question: What is the purpose of contracts for the iphone in general? The answer is the iphone is offered at a below market rate when you purchase it. That's why they make you get a contract, to ensure AT&T will actually make money off of the iphone sales. It's also so AT&T can ultimately charge even more money, since it has an exclusivity agreement with Apple, so if you want an iPhone, you have to go AT&T. In the US, most cell phone companies do this in some way (ever been offered a free cell phone when you sign up for your phone contract? That's how they can afford to give you it, because they know you'll be paying them for two years).

The iPhone 3GS offers photo and video recording, so I don't see why the next iphone wouldn't offer them too.

According to the AT&T website, you must purchase an unlimited data plan for the iphone ($30/month), limited data plans are no longer available (and honestly, if you plan on using 3G at all, fairly useless anyway, you'll need the unlimited). You then need to add the cost of minutes (they have plans allowing 450 anytime minutes - unlimited minutes), and text messages if you want. The cost per month really depends on what you need for your phone.

I can't wait until that exclusivity agreement runs out. I would love to put my iphone on t-mobile's $50 unlimited voice/data plan that they have for their blackberrys.

@Token Girl you are so right, and I agree. I have t-mobile, and I want an iPhone badly. Not because it is popular, but because I want some of the things it can do. Fortunately, the contract with AT&T is running out soon, and apple wants to release the iphone for every company they can, and make it THE phone for everyone, instead of just THE phone for AT&T

@Jangonov

Yeah, I'll probably see if I can get it unlocked and take it to a T-mobile store once my contract runs out. I've kept it pretty nice, and it should be done with by Jan. Unless something really freaking amazing comes out with the next iteration of the iphone, I can't see it being worth an extra $50 a month for the next two years to upgrade.

Unlocked? no. They are locked into AT&T and to unlock it for any company, you have to software hack it, which means no more apps, or updates. No deal for me. They say that Verison and T-mo might get it next though, with the iPhone 4G, so be on the look out.

Which ain't exactly right. You can jailbreak an iPhone up to FW 3.12 and use the appstore without restrictions.
What you can't do right now is update to FW 3.1.3 with a BaseBand unlock.

I looked it up, you are right stryker, but I don't follow how to hack many items, or the limitations of them (the hacks). Especially since, despite my knowledge of the iPhone, I don't have one, being on t-mobile

Seriously? That's so lame. It should be illegal to do that. The way I see it, once my contract is up, I should own the phone.

As long as I can use the app store, I'll just jail break it, and hold off on updates until there's a fix for them. It usually doesn't take long for hackers to work around it. I'm pretty much happy with what I have now, so I wouldn't even NEED to update for a while if I couldn't. It would be annoying but worth it to not be giving AT&T more of my money and still use my iphone.

The other option is to import from somewhere like HK where phones are unlocked and just put in whatever sim card you have. It's an expensive cost upfront, but still cheaper than 2 years with a plan usually.

Youtube have made an app that converts the video into a format the iPhone/iPad can display; if you go to a site that's just using flash video you'll be out of luck.

@TokenGirl: Yeah, that's what I think. I would like an iPhone, but there's no way I'm dumping my £15/mo. contract with 3. I'll get one when 3 is selling them and I can just buy the phone and pop my existing sim into it, but I'm not interested in paying an extra £100+/year for a data plan when I never really need it.

The main reason I want the iPhone is superior UI and having the iPod built into the phone. As it is I rarely feel my phone vibration when I get a call and I'm on the move listening to my 3G Nano; the fact that the iPhone pauses the music and calls would then come through my earphones would be superior and my Nano could then just be used as a high capacity voice recorder or backup music player.