if you go to Apple it'll be activated there and then you just plug it into your computer and it'll recognize it's a new iphone and you can restore from backup and viola upgrade as for ATT refurb or radio shack i'm not sure if they come activated or not, i don't think and once you plug into iTunes it'll activate them
As for wiping data once you know the backup restore was successful, just go to settings -> general -> reset -> erase all content and settings
and follow the prompts
hope this helps
12-10-2010 03:01 AM