Why Radio Shack May Be The Best Place To Pick Up iPhone 4

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The iPhone 4 is on sale at a bunch of places — Apple, AT&T, Best Buy and Wal-Mart — but Radio Shack may be the best place to pick one up, thanks to rebates on older iPhones.

The Shack is offering special trade-in deals for older iPhones that can be applied to the cost of a new iPhone 4. In some cases, a new iPhone may be free.

According to the company’s Twitter account, last year’s iPhone 3GS can be traded in for a $200 credit towards the new iPhone — making a 16GB iPhone 4 free (with a new 2-year AT&T contract, of course).

Couple of caveats:

  • You have to eligible for an AT&T upgrade in 2010. Eligibility varies by customer, but if your account is in good standing and you spend more than the minimum on services, you should be eligible.
  • Also, you may get a better offer from a trade-in company like Gazelle, which is offering $222 for a 32GB 3GS. You almost certainly make more than $200 selling your iPhone 3GS through eBay or Craigslist, especially if you unlock and jailbreak the device first. You will, however, have to deal with Craigslist flakes.

Radio Shack trade-ins can be conducted online, but the Shack’s Twitter account advises shoppers to trade-up to the iPhone 4 in-person at a local store.

iPhone 4 pre-orders begin on Tuesday. Devices will be available on June 24th.

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