Hi,
I wanted to buy an iPhone in the UK (1st gen or 2nd gen doesn't really matter) and I wondered, if I could cancel the contract. I don't like being pushed into a 2 year's contract...
My plan was to buy the iPhone in a O2 store (169pound) and then I'm simply not gonna activate the contract via iTunes. This way I have the iPhone, paid only 169pounds and there are no further costs, right? Then I can hack the iPhone as described in this forum?

Sorry for this question; the steps after you have an iPhone in your hands are described really well here, but up to there I couldn't really find a guide.

I bought an iPhone in the UK from carphone whorehouse and didnt activate it in store, I took it home and unlocked it, no problem. In the last few months someof the stores wanted you to activate in store, especially after price drop. Now there dont seem to be any phones left, in London at least. I'm still not sure if they will make us activate the 3g phones in store. I think its likely they will. But they will be offering pay as you go phones. Also the new 3g iphone may not be unlockable for a long time. While many people are confident we can unlock the new firmware on the old phones, they are not so confident about the new firmware on the new phones. Hope that helps.