Advice on upgrading to the iPhone 5 on Verizon without losing Unlimited data

[thisischris]

I've been going around and around on this, doing research and such and am at the point where I could use someone else's opinion. I bought my iPhone 4 from Verizon back in June 2011, and I'm eligible for an upgrade in February. I always planned on getting the newest iPhone when I became eligible which is the iPhone 5. And I would be willing to wait, except that if I upgrade then, I will lose the unlimited data. So my only option is to pay full price. Or I can switch carriers and pay the ETF. And the most appealing, even they don't offer unlimited anymore, is AT&T. There are other reasons I'm considering it as well, like rollover minutes, and i'll be paying slightly less than what I'm paying now, for the amount of data I plan on using. I've never had any problems with Verizon, though having to do this sucks. I'm not sure about AT&T, though I've heard about dropped calls, among other things. And I would love to get an outside opinion here. Thanks.

 

[mjn298]

I sold my 4S and just bought the phone off contract.

 

[xlost6]

Buy it off contract price or add another line (pay bill for that line) to get it. Those are your only options. Or wait till Feburary or next year to get the next iPhone in 2013. Your choice.

 

[thisischris]

How about comparing AT&T and Verizon. On paper, other than not having unlimited, AT&T seems to be the better deal. But never having used them before I'm not sure. And there's only so much research I can do. Anyone out there used both carriers and would prefer one over the other?

 

[skywalkerr69]

AT&T 4G coverage is horrible. Unless you live in a major city. Adding the line is the best option that is what i will be doing. Maybe ill even charge someone to use the dumb phone lol

 

[thisischris]

Money is pretty tight with me, and even though I have the money saved to pay outright, it'll set me back big time and I can't afford an extra line a month. And I'm curious what constitutes a big city? I like in an area, two cities combine to make around 200,000 people in Oregon. So other than the horrible 4G coverage is AT&T any better in some areas than Verizon? And the plan I looked at for AT&T that I wanted was for 3 GB but is that going to be enough. I usually hover around 1GB a month now and don't plan on doing anything different. And another question, if I pay full price at Verizon, what do they do with my current phone? Would I get anything for it, like a credit or something? This is my first experience with a cellphone so I'm not too knowledgeable. Lol.