iPhone as iPod + GPS

[jerH]

I have gotten conflicting answers, so I'll throw this out to a new forum:

I run a lot, and I love the Nike+ GPS app. However, I don't own an iPhone, only an iPod Touch, which of course doesn't have GPS. The Nike+ GPS app is actually reasonably accurate even without GPS, but you can't use any of it's mapping features.

Now that the iPhone 4S is out, I'd like to pick up an old iPhone 3 for use as nothing more than an iPod Touch with GPS. But assuming I get a phone off eBay, can I use it at all without activating with a carrier and obtaining a SIM card? I have no desire to use any of the phone functionality; I literally am just looking for an iPod Touch + GPS solution.

Thanks in advance!

 

[bab2010]

Yes you will be able to use any sim card on it, just make sure that it's a factory unlocked iPhone 4S.

 

[jerH]

Okay, but how do I go about obtaining a SIM without signing a contract/activating service with a carrier? Forgive my ignorance...I'm reasonably tech savvy with computers, but I work in an environment where cell phones are not allowed to be carried so I haven't had a mobile phone in years...

Also, to be clear, I'm not looking at the iPhone 4S...what I've got in mind is more like an old 8GB iPhone 3. That's enough storage to hold my running playlists and the Nike+ app, and that's all I need....

 

[iJeff]

If you are in the US you can get a sim kit from TMobile and do a month to month with them with out doing a new 2 year plan. My next door neighbor has his don this way. The only catch is you have to get an unlocked phone in order to do this because TMobile does not support the Iphone it self.

 

[EWyatt]

Yes you will be able to use any sim card on it, just make sure that it's a factory unlocked iPhone 4S.

Hmmmmmm..... I thought (wrongly?) that any recent iPhone could be used as an iPod without subscription to a cellular provider and without a SIM card. No dice?

 

[jerH]

Hmmmmmm..... I thought (wrongly?) that any recent iPhone could be used as an iPod without subscription to a cellular provider and without a SIM card. No dice?

Welcome to my confusion No one seems to be able to definitively answer this question. I'm not interested in the phone functionality at all, so a month-to-month deal (with T-Mobile or anybody else) is a non-starter....

 

[kingnba6]

Well you can hacktivate it. Im I allowed to talk about it ? It's basically you jailbreak the phone and then from their you have full function of the phone.

 

[iGaz]

You will need to activate the phone with a compatible sim. Once activated via iTunes you can throw the sim away. However you will need it if you ever need to restore it.

Jailbreaking the device will get round this...

 

[jerH]

So this brings it back to how can I obtain a SIM card without signing a contract with a carrier?

 

[kingnba6]

So this brings it back to how can I obtain a SIM card without signing a contract with a carrier?

borrow a friends sim? if they say no just ask to use their phone and do the old switch trick and bam you got yourself a phone. i activate my iphones with my at&t sim that has nothing but calls and it still works

 

[jerH]

So the SIM is required ONLY for activation, and can then be removed and the iPod functionality will still work? I don't care if it works as a phone, as long as the iPod and GPS functions still work.

Other than "borrowing" a friend's, any ideas on how to obtain a SIM?

 

[kingnba6]

So the SIM is required ONLY for activation, and can then be removed and the iPod functionality will still work? I don't care if it works as a phone, as long as the iPod and GPS functions still work.

Other than "borrowing" a friend's, any ideas on how to obtain a SIM?

yup you got it no need for a sim after you activate it. and other then borrowing i would say get like a prepaid sim card and just activate it thru that ? i say just jailbreak it. no harm done only gains

 

[iGaz]

Things must work differently in the US. We can get free sims in the uk no problem. I used to use an old O2 sim to activate my 3G when I had it unlocked. It wasn't even registered...

 

[kingnba6]

well in some cases if you plead you will get a free case. but lets say you loose your phone or the card gets messed up; you would have to go to the nearest store and spend like 10-15 bucks on a new sim. but if you need a micro sim oooo boyyyyyy its 25 bucks. well this could just be here in NY