With the plain 3G you don't need iTunes unless you want to download large apps (over 10mb), add music, or update the software. Just make sure you know your iTunes username and password. I recently got a new computer and when I sync'd the phone to it all my apps were deleted, but the music stayed (I think I did it wrong and there is a different way to avoid this), but it wasn't too much of a pain to replace them and you don't need to pay again for the ones you bought. Don't know too much about the new version, hope this helps.