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As tempting as the iPhone is... it's just too darn expensive

wrldwzrd89

wrldwzrd89

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jun 6, 2003
12,110
77
Solon, OH
Not the phone itself, but the plans are what drives me batty. Right now I simply cannot afford to pay around US$80 per month ($60 for the cheapest voice plan + $20 for the cheapest mandatory data plan). Now I'll be the first to admit that I have no idea what goes into phone plan pricing... but I know I can find a MUCH better deal elsewhere that meets my needs perfectly. An ideal plan for me would offer 300 minutes (since I don't even come close to using up 300 minutes most months and that's the fewest I've seen anyone offer) and unlimited text, web, etc. It just so happens that I've found a plan from Virgin Mobile offering EXACTLY what I'm looking for... and it's cheaper than what I pay now (by $5 a month). The only thing left to decide on is which phone model out of the 5 offered.

*sigh* I'd REALLY love an iPhone... but just can't afford one.
 
The iPhone, any smart phone, is a luxury for some and a lifeline for others. You can buy an iPod Touch and get that "fix" and then go with Virgin Mobile for cell service. That is what I would do in the event I feel the need to downsize.
 
jessica. said:
The iPhone, any smart phone, is a luxury for some and a lifeline for others. You can buy an iPod Touch and get that "fix" and then go with Virgin Mobile for cell service. That is what I would do in the event I feel the need to downsize.
Click to expand...
I have an iPod touch already, a 4th gen model... it's awesome, does everything I ask of it. I think I will do exactly what you suggested then. :)
 
Yep, the big phone companies are rather expensive. But it is nice to have choices. As for Virgin Mobile none of the 5 phones offered is really appealing to me, but if I had to choose one I would get the Blackberry Curve.
 
Not sure where you are getting your numbers from, but cheapest voice plan is $40 + cheapest data is $15

no text is included, but you could always opt for google voice and that just used data
 
Don't worry; if you have an iPod Touch, you are still getting quite a bit of the "iPhone" experience.
 
yep, the plans are a nuisance

Hopefully, with more carriers getting access to the iPhone, some competition on plans will develop.

A return to unlimited data would be great, as would bundling in the Mobile Hotspot feature.

Or maybe someone will start a data only plan that would let us use Google Voice and/or Skype for voice...
 
is that seriously how much a contract is in the US?
jeez i pay £20 a month (about $30) and i get 200 mins, unlimited sms (fair usage limits it to 5000), 3000 network to network minutes and unlimited data.
my fiancée pays £25 a month gets everything i get but she gets 500 anywhere minutes instead of my 200 mins!
do you get the phone free though and how long is the contract? in the uk the phone was £129 and is tied to a 24 month contract
 
barebackbadger8 said:
is that seriously how much a contract is in the US?
jeez i pay £20 a month (about $30) and i get 200 mins, unlimited sms (fair usage limits it to 5000), 3000 network to network minutes and unlimited data.
my fiancée pays £25 a month gets everything i get but she gets 500 anywhere minutes instead of my 200 mins!
do you get the phone free though and how long is the contract? in the uk the phone was £129 and is tied to a 24 month contract
Click to expand...

no the iphone ranges from 99 (I think now its actually 49 though) for the 3gs, 199 for 16 gig ip4, 299 for 32 gig 1p4
 
wrldwzrd89 said:
Not the phone itself, but the plans are what drives me batty. Right now I simply cannot afford to pay around US$80 per month ($60 for the cheapest voice plan + $20 for the cheapest mandatory data plan). Now I'll be the first to admit that I have no idea what goes into phone plan pricing... but I know I can find a MUCH better deal elsewhere that meets my needs perfectly. An ideal plan for me would offer 300 minutes (since I don't even come close to using up 300 minutes most months and that's the fewest I've seen anyone offer) and unlimited text, web, etc. It just so happens that I've found a plan from Virgin Mobile offering EXACTLY what I'm looking for... and it's cheaper than what I pay now (by $5 a month). The only thing left to decide on is which phone model out of the 5 offered.

*sigh* I'd REALLY love an iPhone... but just can't afford one.
Click to expand...


Might want to wait until people have had a chance to see if the verizon iPhone will work on metroPCS or cricket, if they're available in your area. $40 a month unlimited everything with an iPhone sure sounds nice!
 
I have a family plan now with 4 iphone on it but when I had an individual plan, the lowest plan was: 75.00/ $40 for 550 minutes talk time, $30 iphone data and $5 for 200 texts. At that time, there wasn't even a choice of data plans. It was a mandatory $30
 
Yeah, very expensive. More expensive than most people consider. This is, unfortunately, pretty well balanced out across all high-end smartphones, and you just can't get something like that with Virgin Mobile (or similar services). No harm in it, though. These phones really aren't appropriate for everyone. For most they are a luxury.

A nice luxury, but a luxury all the same.

Do they have a mid-range Android at a good monthly rate?
 
Xian Zhu Xuande said:
Yeah, very expensive. More expensive than most people consider. This is, unfortunately, pretty well balanced out across all high-end smartphones, and you just can't get something like that with Virgin Mobile (or similar services). No harm in it, though. These phones really aren't appropriate for everyone. For most they are a luxury.

A nice luxury, but a luxury all the same.

Do they have a mid-range Android at a good monthly rate?
Click to expand...
Top-end phone runs Android 2.1. They have 3 plans: $25 for 300 minutes/month, $40 for 1200 minutes/month, and $60 for unlimited minutes/month. The 5 phones they sell range from $69.99 (Kyocera Loft) to $249.99 (Samsung Intercept). Text, web, email, and data are unlimited on all plans.
 
Cool. If you don't want to pay the fees to the top mobile wireless providers and would rather go with Virgin, I say pick out an Android that best suits your needs (check reviews on them as they vary considerably in quality—decide about features like a hardware keyboard and screen size) and go with that. It's not as slick or polished as iOS by any means, but it is a great mobile OS and some of the Google apps are great. On a budget their free mobile navigator will be cool.

On that note, software version is going to be important. I'd try to get something which is going to be upgraded over time. You don't want to be stuck with one of the older versions of Android... but unfortunately it can be a little difficult to predict this one...
 
i pay $50 with Rogers

started off paying about $80, but then had discounts applied to my account cause i've been with them for a while.
 
I've always thought the complaints about the cost of smart phones to be a bit ridiculous. My wife and I pay $130 a month for our two Android phones (droid X and original Droid). Yes it's a bit expensive, but it isn't all that much more than our old "enhanced" standard phones where we paid $115. Our old phones couldn't play games/surf the "real" internet/productivity apps/etc. For that I am willing to drop an extra $15 a month. This is for 700 shared minutes (unlimited mobile to mobile), unlimited data, and 250 texts (we google talk back and forth to save on texts).
 
acfusion29 said:
i pay $50 with Rogers

started off paying about $80, but then had discounts applied to my account cause i've been with them for a while.
Click to expand...

I pay about the same...

300 Anytime (inc. 100 Long Distance) Minutes
Unlimited Evenings & Weekends @ 6:00pm
2500 SMS/Call ID/Voicemail
6GB Data

Can't really complain... my usage falls way under my allotment, but that's the lowest plan they have.
 
jessica. said:
The iPhone, any smart phone, is a luxury for some and a lifeline for others. You can buy an iPod Touch and get that "fix" and then go with Virgin Mobile for cell service. That is what I would do in the event I feel the need to downsize.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity what is that "fix" you were talking about. A mifi device and a VOIP app?
 
wrldwzrd89 said:
Not the phone itself, but the plans are what drives me batty. Right now I simply cannot afford to pay around US$80 per month ($60 for the cheapest voice plan + $20 for the cheapest mandatory data plan). Now I'll be the first to admit that I have no idea what goes into phone plan pricing... but I know I can find a MUCH better deal elsewhere that meets my needs perfectly. An ideal plan for me would offer 300 minutes (since I don't even come close to using up 300 minutes most months and that's the fewest I've seen anyone offer) and unlimited text, web, etc. It just so happens that I've found a plan from Virgin Mobile offering EXACTLY what I'm looking for... and it's cheaper than what I pay now (by $5 a month). The only thing left to decide on is which phone model out of the 5 offered.

*sigh* I'd REALLY love an iPhone... but just can't afford one.
Click to expand...

As has been said above, the cheapest voice plan is 450 minutes for $40 and the cheapest Data plan is $15 for 200 MB.

I got my daughter a Virgin Mobile phone for $25/month 300 Minutes and Unlimited Text and data, BUT, take a closer look, those phones are all "feature phones" not "smart phones" (except for the BlackBerry Curve, which they charge extra for every month also, not the regular $25). The mobilke web that they access is in no way comperable to what an Android or iOS phone can, its basically the same web I used to have on my old RAZR, and its not 3G speed. (Not even the BlackBerry) As well, email is just treated like text, so you can't use your regular email client unless you go to it on the mobile web.

Its fine for my 13 year old, but completely unsuitable for me
 
Do you get an employee discount. I have unlimited everything and 450 minutes (a zillion if you include rollover) and my total bill is always just above $70.
 
Well, it is expensive, but so are other smartphones. The typical cost of iPhone ownership has been in the range of $2,000 ($199/$299 + $75*24). That's a lot to drop when you can get most of that same functionality from an iPod touch that only costs $399 and in fact has more storage. I have a feeling I am not the only one who wouldn't pay that kind of money ESPECIALLY considering how undependable AT&T is for coverage (other than in most of the most densely populated regions).
 
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