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Comparison of iPhone 4S Service Plans for AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon

baummer said:
No, you can't. Unlocked phones are only going to work on international carriers. They're locked from using any US carrier.
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That's a bummer, if you could just buy an iPhone and use it on one of the pay as you go networks you could save a ton of money.

So anyone have a recommendation for another reasonably priced, decent basic smartphone for text/email/web? I have to say, the $35 Virgin Mobile plan for unlimited data and unlimited texts looks pretty tempting - anyone using it and happy with it?
 
Its funny how we pay the big tap while Apple employees only pay $28/m flat (including unlimited data, voice etc..) with Verizon.
 
milo said:
That's a bummer, if you could just buy an iPhone and use it on one of the pay as you go networks you could save a ton of money.

So anyone have a recommendation for another reasonably priced, decent basic smartphone for text/email/web? I have to say, the $35 Virgin Mobile plan for unlimited data and unlimited texts looks pretty tempting - anyone using it and happy with it?
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Yeah it is a bummer. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be seeing any pay-as-you-go options for the iPhone anytime soon. Apple, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint all have a financial relationship. They actually lose money on pay-as-you-go plans (moreso the carriers than Apple).
 
atomwork said:
Its funny how we pay the big tap .................................
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It's funny how so many guys can spend hours at a time bitchin' on this site about their phone being locked, but CAN'T spend a few moments reading how to jailbreak, or unlock their phones. Total dweebs, it's a crying shame - :eek:
 
Eager Beaver said:
It's funny how so many guys can spend hours at a time bitchin' on this site about their phone being locked, but CAN'T spend a few moments reading how to jailbreak, or unlock their phones. Total dweebs, it's a crying shame - :eek:
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Jailbreak has nothing to do with apple employees paying only 28 bucks for their phone plan? That was my whole point. I just pointed out the humor in comparing how they can have a flat rate on Verizon but the rest of the country cannot buy it that low.

I believe almost any tech savvy person have jailbroken their phones... :)
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

I have $30/mo unlimited too, but I haven't figured how to get Hotdpot without changing plans.
 
atomwork said:
Jailbreak has nothing to do with apple employees paying only 28 bucks for their phone plan? That was my whole point. I just pointed out the humor in comparing how they can have a flat rate on Verizon but the rest of the country cannot buy it that low.

I believe almost any tech savvy person have jailbroken their phones... :)
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Not you personally atomwork, just a bucnh of these people in general -
 
stellardream said:
2 years, not 1 year.

And Europeans saying: "we also get international calling" makes me LOL, because Europe is so tiny, you walk across the street and you just crossed into another country.
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From sweden to spain is further then from main to texas.

Europe is 10.1 million km² The usa is 9.8km²

I know we always laugh with americans and their knowledge of geography, but think before you post.
 
One thing this diagram leaves out:

AT&T's is a 4G data package, the rest aren't.
 
Jstandifird said:
Great chart, but the Sprint plan includes unlimited text messaging, which is like a $20 add on with other carriers.

Also, Sprint has an $80 plan with unlimited texting, data, and mobile to mobile minutes with any carrier.

Bottom line, no one can come anywhere near Sprint on price. Service and other factors may be another story, but Sprint is by far the cheapest. If you have a family plan you'll save even more, especially when factoring in texting. I have one plan with 5 lines, and another family plan with 3 lines on Sprint. Switching to VZW or ATT would make my bill almost double. Glad I can finally get an iphone, even if it's not an iphone 5.

----------

If you're on a family plan with multiple lines Sprint is even cheaper.
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Also any 450 minutes on sprint is basically unlimited with free m2m on any carrier. I spent 150 out of my 1500 minutes last month. The google voice integration is great too.
 
vw195 said:
Also any 450 minutes on sprint is basically unlimited with free m2m on any carrier. I spent 150 out of my 1500 minutes last month. The google voice integration is great too.
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450 minutes w/ texting on AT&T is basically unlimited too because of the unlimited calling to any cell phone.
 
Is there any way to NOT get texting on Sprint and saving some more money?

It just seems so dumb to pay for texting on a smart phone. Between iMessage, Skype and even email, I should have no need for an archaic service such as text messaging if I have a data plan.
 
My wife bought me the new iPhone 4s today. It was my first new cell phone since Feb of 2008 when I bought the original iPhone (8gb). My current AT&T plan is $39.99 for voice, $15 for unlimited data and $5 for 200 text messages. Total is $59.99 before taxes. My bill averages about $65 per month with taxes and fees.

We went through Apple's online process and the new one is $39.99 for voice, $30 for unlimited data (I was given the choice of $15 for 200mb, $25 for 2gb or $30 for unlimited - it was a no-brainer), but no tiered text plans, so the only thing I could choose was $20 for unlimited texting. Total is $89.99 per month for 450 minutes, unlimited data and unlimited texts. Probably $98-$100 after taxes and fees.

That's my experience, for anyone interested.
 
baummer said:
It basically means it's not tied to a carrier, but it does have security in place to prevent the phone from accessing U.S. carriers, as I understand it.
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You understand incorrectly. Unlocked means any GSM network can be used, CDMA companies lock their networks still in the USA.
 
I'm really going to laugh if Sprint drops the unlimited data after a few months. It seems iPhone's are the "unlimited-data" killer. First AT&T, then Verizon, and soon perhaps Sprint -- unless they can handle the load.
 
MythicFrost said:
I'm really going to laugh if Sprint drops the unlimited data after a few months. It seems iPhone's are the "unlimited-data" killer. First AT&T, then Verizon, and soon perhaps Sprint -- unless they can handle the load.
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Just curious. Why would you laugh? Why would other people's unhappiness make you happy? Do you really mean that? Do you really want people to lose a benefit they currently have? Comments like this sadden me. I don't understand things like this. Personally I hope whoever your with gives you more benefits, I really do.
 
rocknblogger said:
Just curious. Why would you laugh? Why would other people's unhappiness make you happy? Do you really mean that? Do you really want people to lose a benefit they currently have? Comments like this sadden me. I don't understand things like this. Personally I hope whoever your with gives you more benefits, I really do.
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What? You must've misunderstood what I'm saying. I'm laughing at the tendency for the "little" iPhone to cause carriers to change their plans to cope with it -- not that it makes people unhappy. I'd much rather them keep unlimited plans (I wish I had them in Aus) but overall I suppose it would slow everything down if they keep them.
 
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