The Cheapskate

Well, here's hoping you waited on that $99 refurbished iPhone 3G, because as of Monday you can get a new one for the same price. Apple just announced at WWDC 2009 that the 8GB iPhone 3G will stay on the market for $99.

Forget refurbs--now you can get a new iPhone 3G for just $99.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

So what do you think? Now that you can finally get a shiny new iPhone with a full warranty (one year) for less than a hundred bucks, will you pull the trigger?

Based on the comments in last week's aforementioned refurb post, I'm guessing no. For most of you, it's not the price of the hardware that's objectionable, but rather the service.

AT&T still charges a minimum of $70 per month for minutes and data. In these craptacular economic times, that's just too much. Me, I'd love to give the missus my current iPhone and snag myself a 3G S, but then I'd be looking at nearly $150 per month. She'd kill me, and I'd probably let her.

Thoughts? Is the iPhone 3G (and/or 3G S) just that good that you'll pay whatever extortion Apple and AT&T want? I'll admit I'd be lost without mine; I use it all day every day, for countless purposes. Damnit.

Update: AT&T dropped the price of refurbished 8GB iPhones to $79.99. My advice: steer clear. It's well worth the extra $20 to get a full one-year warranty. But the 16GB model is down to $129.99 (though currently out of stock). That's pretty tempting.

You can get a refurbished iPhone 3G for $99 right now.

At next week's Worldwide Developers Conference, we should find out if the rumors of a $99 iPhone are true.

Of course, savvy shoppers know that it's already possible to buy an iPhone for $99: For several months, AT&T has offered refurbished 8GB models for that tempting price.

(More recently, the company dropped the price of refurbished 16GB iPhones to $149, but at the moment those are out of stock.)

Obviously it makes sense to wait a few days and see what develops at the conference. After all, if you can buy a new iPhone 3G for $99, why go with a refurb? On the other hand, if the rumors don't pan out, you stand to save $100 (or $150 if you choose the 16GB model).

What's more, the only real downside to buying a refurbished iPhone is the warranty: 90 days instead of 12 months. That's probably a deal-breaker for some, but at least you can add an extended warranty and still come out ahead.

Personally, it's not the price of the hardware that bothers me: It's the $70 minimum monthly service charges. Forget the $99 iPhone--I want a service plan that's under $50. Somehow, I doubt very much we'll hear that kind of announcement on Monday. Sigh.

If you need proof that new iPhone models are just around the corner, check out the latest refurb deal from AT&T: you can now get a refurbished 16GB iPhone 3G for just $149. Shipped!

That's $50 less than the last time I wrote about iPhone refurbs (when, admittedly, I was more focused on the $99 8GB model, which is still available) and a big fat $150 less than the price of a new unit.

And, hey, if you're gonna get an iPhone, you might as well get as much storage as you can. (Trust me, 8GB doesn't go very far.)

Of course, as I've mentioned before, it's not the price of the phone itself that stalls most people, it's the monthly bill. AT&T's bare-minimum service and data plans will run you $70 per month, plus another few bucks in taxes and fees.

Plus, you have to sign up for a two-year contract, but there are always ways around that if you really need to get out.

My only complaint with this deal is the 90-day warranty, but I believe you can purchase one of Apple's extended warranties at the end of that period--probably a good idea.

So, should you hop on this or wait for whatever next-gen iPhone Apple has waiting in the wings? Given that you'll be able to upgrade this model to OS 3.0 in a couple months, I say hop. I'd be very, very surprised if the hardware price ever gets lower than this.

Once you've received your shiny, new (well, slightly used) precious, be sure to check out my six killer iPhone freebies. Because the last thing you want to do is spend more money, right?

(Credit: Apple)

From time to time I'll post deals on refurbished/recertified items, which are sold at a discount because they didn't meet a manufacturer's quality standards or were returned (for one reason or another) and can't be sold as new. What do you think of these deals? Have you had good luck buying refurb gear, or did you end up regretting it? I'd love to hear your stories--and so would your fellow Cheapskate readers.

I'll kick things off with one of my own. Last year, Mrs. Cheapskate needed an LCD TV with a built-in DVD player. I found a great deal on a 20-inch refurbished model. When it arrived, however, we discovered that the stand had broken clean off the base of the TV as a result of shockingly poor packaging. To the vendor's credit, they picked up the busted set and shipped a replacement with a minimum of fuss.

The replacement's packaging was equally atrocious (seriously, the TV was wrapped in a single layer of bubble wrap inside the box, nothing more), but it appeared to be intact. Most importantly, it worked.

In fact, it worked for 15 days, at which point the built-in DVD player refused to play any more DVDs (leaving my poor wife scrambling during a business presentation). And, naturally, the vendor's return policy for refurbished items expired after--you guessed it--14 days. I thought they'd cut me a break, but no, they sent me to the manufacturer for repairs (bad vendor, bad!).

Yeah, I made a few mistakes along the way (the big one: buying a TV with a built-in DVD player. Those things always break), but it's the only bad experience I've had with refurb gear. How about you? Hit the comments page and share your own tales of woe (or satisfaction).

(Credit: Ocean)

There's much to love about the Helio Ocean smartphone, as evidenced by CNET's 8.0 rating. Of course, the $299 price tag always seemed a little rich for my cheapskate blood. That's why I'm geeked about Helio's new "refreshed" (a.k.a. pre-owned) Oceans, which you can score for just $99. You even get free 2-day shipping.

Helio says these refurbs are "good as new," though I'm troubled by the lack of specifics and warranty details on the company's Refreshed Devices page. Still, it's probably worth a little risk in exchange for such a sweet dual-sliding smartphone. Helio has also dropped the price of its Unlimited talk/data plan to $99 per month.

I've used an Ocean on and off for the past couple months, and while I find it a little on the bulky side, I love the overall design and sense of fun it imbues. Who says smartphones have to be all buttoned-down business? [Via Electronista]

Troll the Web all you want--you'll almost never find price breaks on iPods. Unless you go straight to the source, that is: Apple's own outlet store sells refurbished players for pennies on the iPod dollar.

For example, you can snap up a 4GB nano (last year's perfectly cromulent model) for a mere $99--half the original selling price. Other current bargains include a 1GB Shuffle for $49 and a 30GB video iPod for $199 $179. I say "current" because the deals and availability change on a fairly regular basis. So if you see something you like, don't wait to pull the trigger.

(Credit: Apple)

To Apple's considerable credit, refurb iPods carry a one-year warranty. If you don't mind last year's models, the deals are impossible to beat.