bohemiancoast

I'm sure if you asked nicely, they'd like you sign the contract and then receive a phone when they re-stock.

Not impressed by that approach really. What if the new phone's a lemon...? And I haven't even had the joy of having it on day one.

It makes no difference exactly when your contract ends, as the V3 iPhone will be out before that, so you'll be re-upping for another 18 months in any case.

That's pretty much my thinking; I suspect I've sold my soul to Steve Jobs and will be locked into some form of iPhone contract until and unless I reach such utter destitution that My Precious becomes unaffordable.

In the mean time, Dieselsweeties is very apt.

Well, this is true. £35/month always seems like rather good value to me.

The deal on 'what to do with your old iPhone' is particularly sweet -- it turns out it's 'get a free PAYG Sim, bolt on £10/month for unlimited internet and WiFi, and you're good to go; the only thing that doesn't work is visual voicemail'. My guess is that this offer means that the second-hand value of my old iPhone will be greater than the £159 I'm likely to pay for the new one.

You can at least upgrade a V1 iPhone to V2 for free - and then use it until they get more in stock...

Still, I understand the issue about minimising contract end dates.