Turn an old iPhone into a pre-paid phone

If you yen for an iPhone but are put off by the cost of AT&T's data plans, the AppleBlog tells how you can turn a old iPhone into a pay-as-you-go wonder.

Of course, you need an old iPhone. You can buy one on eBay for less than $200 or you can con one of those new-adopter friends of yours into selling you their old phone for a song.

Then, you go to your friendly AT&T retailer and buy a GoPhone, which works like a calling card. Take the SIM card out of the the GoPhone and put it into the iPhone.

But you're not done yet. You'll need to change the over-the-air provisioning on the phone. Check the AppleBlog how-to for details.

Don't expect to wander the countryside and browse the Web, though, GoPhone data is pretty pricey. But if you stick to WiFi for most activity and only use the network when necessary, a pay-as-you-go iPhone might be for you. 

Let me know if you give it a try.