As an existing AT&T user, can I buy iPhone...

[lyme greene]

add the data plan, then cancel the data plan within 30 days and still use the iPhone as a phone too? I don't want the data plan, just want iPod, phone, and WiFi. I realize that the iPhone will work as a iPod, but will it work as a somewhat crippled iPhone? Also, would I be able to continue to update the firmware or would I eventually get locked out? Sorry if this has been answered, couldn't find it. Thanks

[anypats]

As far as I know you would not be able to do this as an existing customer. If you have the iPhone as an AT&T customer then you are required to have the data plan. The only way that you can get around this would be to jailbreak your phone but you would have to be through a different carrier to get around the data plan. As long as AT&T sees the iPhone on your account you are going to get charged for a data plan. There may be some way you could switch over to a pay as you go plan but I'm not sure if this would work either.

Maybe there is someone out there that has figured out a way how to do this that I am not aware of.

[jhollington]

There have been reports over on TUAW (www.tuaw.com) about cancelling your data plan and still being able to maintain your service, but people have had mixed results, so it's impossible to say if this is an advertised feature or simply something that people have gotten away with.

It's not so much that AT&T "sees" an iPhone on your account in any technical fashion... It's likely in your customer profile, but they don't track what device you're using by any hardware specs, so you could probably in the very least get away with cancelling the data plan through a bit of social engineering -- not that I am condoning such behaviour, and you should be aware that it might very well be in violation of AT&T's usage agreements.