IPhone 3G Temperature Error - Water Damage

Question

Let me give a basic run down of what happened. (I'll get to the temperature error)
2 nights ago, I was shaving and had the sink full of water (I had a very strong feeling I was gonna drop my phone in). and I did. I pulled it out in half a second or less, almost as soon as it hit the water. There was a towel right there and I dried it off immediately. I sat outside thinking hey it's hot it'll dry out my phone. I was texting people but my service was shaky and it kept giving me the "accessory was not made for iPhone" error and asking if I wanted to put it in airplane mode to reduce audio interference. I started seeing water leaking out of all the openings and the home button so I took it inside and put a hair dryer to it, part of the time on the hottest setting. (Yes, stupid me, I didn't know any better I had never dropped something like that in water). I could still text at this point and receive texts but my service was still on and off. I turned my phone off let it dry, later turned it back on and it wouldn't stay off, it would just reset and flash on and off. Apparently I was still receiving texts, but at this point I just left it in a bag of rice to dry. Came back to it later, it was off, turned it on and got all my texts/replied to them, then my service dropped again. So I just turned it off and let it dry more. I heard about the "vacuum trick" to vacuum all the water out of your phone. So earlier today I tried it, and tried to turn my phone on. It gave me a temperature error, saying I would have to wait and let the phone cool down before I could use it. I also had no service. And the phone won't turn off, just reset. It wasn't in an environment where it was too hot or cold, just in a 75 degree air conditioned room in a bowl of rice. Oh yeah, and I took the SIM card out to let it dry as well. I vacuumed the slot for that too.
Can anyone help me figure this out? I even let it sit for a while after I vacuumed it and I'm still getting the temperature error.

Answer 1

Are you eligible for AT&T's upgrade or fully subsidized price with a new phone?
If not, then AT&T's fully subsidized price for the 8GB 3G which is $99, and for the 16GB 3GS is $199 doesn't apply. If you don't qualify for AT&T's fully subsidized price, the only way you can get these prices would be to cancel your existing contract having to pay an early contract termination fee along with having to change your phone number, which makes Apple's "repair" price, which is a discounted exchange price not all that unreasonable. The full retail sales price for the Phone is $300-$400 more than that depending on the storage capacity.
And I suggest keeping your next phone out of the bathroom and vanity area, whatever phone that ends up being.
Message was edited by: Allan Sampson