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

Having the two year contract price slapping you in the face really highlights the silliness of get the "free" 3gs phone.

Get the 4g current generation phone with contract for $2618.76.

BUT if you can't afford to put down $99 for a phone,
Get the old "free" 3GS with drastically less capability for ONLY $2519.76

seriously - if you need to save that $99 bucks,
you should not be getting a data plan cell phone of any sort.
 
holy shmokes

US is expensive!! Here in Canada, I got 35$ unlimited minutes/texts/unlimited international texts, voicemail & call display, and 6 gigs of data for another 30$, so paying total 65$/month + taxes and I thought that was expensive!!
 
Is the mobile hotspot included if you're a grandfathered in unlimited customer with at&t?
 
I may finally dump my unlimited plan on ATT for the 4th tethering. I've been wanting it, but now tht ATT is capping speeds for unlimited customers, why bother staying with the plan?

To answer the question above: ATT does not allow unlimited + tethering.
 
That seems pretty expensive. Ive got 3GB data shared between iPhone, and rocket stick, 450 anytime minutes, Free rogers to Rogers calling, Free evenings after 5pm, all weekend is free. Caller id, visual voicemail, call waiting, and voicemail, and I pay 65 a month CDN.
 
I'll be buying the iPhone 4S staying with my AT&T unlimited from my Oct 2009 iPhone 3Gs purchase.

First, I want simultaneous web/phone capability. Many people call me asking me to check something online while speaking to them away from home.

Second, my Unlimited Data and Unlimited Text costs me 98.00/month cheaper than Sprint!
 
igator210 said:
I still don't understand how Data costs less then Voice / Text. It seems upside down. Mathematically, it would be a wash, but cell companies should charge $30 for voice and text and $60 from data. At least this way the higher cost would be shifted to that which causes a high strain on the cellular network.
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There are still more regular cell phone users out there than feature or smart phones. Why would they charge $30/month to customers as a flat fee with a $60 add-on when they can charge everyone $60? That's why I've never owned anything but a pre-paid phone, a fully stocked plan from AT&T is only $20 less than my monthly car payment.
 
Caliber26 said:
So, with Verizon, you pay more, get less speed, and you lose the ability to surf and talk simultaneously. And when it's all said and done, Sprint isn't really all that much cheaper, and they, too, are much slower than AT&T on data. I guess if you live in an area where AT&T gives you poor coverage, you can always settle for Verizon or Sprint. I'm glad Orlando, FL has great AT&T coverage.
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But with Verizon you get a more reliable network.

What do you want -- Slow and steady or fast and unreliable?
 
Yvan256 said:
If you think that's bad, wait until you see the numbers from the Canadian carriers. Not to mention that's it's 3-years contracts up here.
Click to expand...

Ok, I'll wait and see...

escogido said:
US is expensive!! Here in Canada, I got 35$ unlimited minutes/texts/unlimited international texts, voicemail & call display, and 6 gigs of data for another 30$, so paying total 65$/month + taxes and I thought that was expensive!!
Click to expand...

So...uhm...?
 
This points out the TRUE cost of owning a smart phone. I always think it is pretty funny when people make a big deal about a phone now being $99 or Free and how it makes it sooo much more affordable. This shows what a very small percentage of the cost of the phone to the overall cost is with the subsidized model.

Bottom line: spend a bit more and get the current phone!
 
WannaGoMac said:
But with Verizon you get a more reliable network.

What do you want -- Slow and steady or fast and unreliable?
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I will fully admit the best coverage, as in zero dropped calls unless in the desert, Verizon wins period. Too bad I hate them only slightly less than AT&T. I really wish we had a better GSM alternative in the States. (Sorry T-Mobile you have the worst coverage)
 
I would recommend one the other options:
H2O Wireless - $60 per month for unlimited everything, including all taxes and fees. It works with all unlocked GDM phones (including the iPhone)

This also include $20 worth of international calling per month at no additional cost.

https://www.h2owirelessnow.com/pageControl.php?page=plans

Straight Talk - $45 per month for unlimited everything, including all taxes and fees.

It does take a bit to find it, but they also offer SIM cards for phones, so it should work for any unlocked GSM phone as well (including the iPhone).

All you need to do is buy an unlocked iPhone directly from Apple.
 
This is inaccurate! If you are going to compare to Sprint Unlimited data, then you should compare to the largest available data plan on ATT and Verizon, the 12GB plan, as it is the most comparable to what you will get with sprint!

ATT $204.99, Sprint $99.99, Verizon $179.99 per month for the most complete plans each offers.

Capitalism only works 4 consumers when companies #CompeteOnPrice

MacRumors said:
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PC Mag has put together a nice comparison of voice and data service plan options for the iPhone 4S on the three U.S. carriers that will be offering the device: AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon.

Image


At the top, the chart shows pricing for the three standard voice tiers used by carriers (450 minutes, 900 minutes, and unlimited), all paired with unlimited texting. The second section compares pricing for various buckets of data usage, and while different carriers have different cutoff points, the chart allows users to compare pricing at any given usage level. Sprint of course is offering unlimited data for the iPhone, requiring only a $10 "premium data" surcharge on top of the basic "Simply Everything" charge of $99.99 per month.

Some users may also be interested in mobile hotspot offerings, which allow them to use their iPhones as access points to 3G data for Wi-Fi enabled devices. Mobile hotspot functionality is included in higher-level data packages (4 GB and above) from AT&T and Verizon, while it is a separate $29.99 per month add-on for Sprint's unlimited data service.

Users looking to get the best deal on service for the iPhone 4S will need to gauge their data needs ahead of time, as different carriers offer strengths in different areas. High data usage customers may find Sprint appealing, as it is the only carrier offering unlimited data. Sprint's pricing makes it the best deal all the way down to only 2 GB of usage, but low-use customers might be interested in AT&T's $15/month data package offering 200 MB of data as a cheaper option.

As PC Mag notes, users will also need to weigh the pros and cons of each carrier's network, and users should also be aware that Apple's new iCloud service may result in them using more data than they do currently, depending on how much data they move up and down through the service.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 4S will begin at 12:01 AM Pacific time tonight/tomorrow morning.

Article Link: Comparison of iPhone 4S Service Plans for AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon
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gnasher729 said:
Every carrier started with unlimited, and then unlimited showed its limitations. Because if Verizon and AT&T charge $100 for 12GB of data, then Sprint is going to lose lots of money on anyone downloading 12GB for $10 a month.
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Okay until that happens who cares? I don't argue in "what if's" there's no point.
 
This chart is wrong, the Sprint voice prices listed also include data, that 10.00 charge is a smartphone charge. So the voice plans are really 20.00 cheaper, and unlimited data is 30.00 not 20. Someone may look at that chart and think Sprint charges more for voice but that is inaccurate
 
mopatops said:
Is it me or are those ridiculous prices in comparison to the UK?!
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it is, i could never afford it. i also love how u have to pay for incoming text and call in the us, this seems so insane and not justified at all

the iPhone 4 starts at 1 € here (depending on the plan) the 4S will be the same.

i paid 99 € for the iPhone 4 and pay 39 € for data incl. tethering, voice and text.
 
aidensocal said:
This is inaccurate! If you are going to compare to Sprint Unlimited data, then you should compare to the largest available data plan on ATT and Verizon, the 12GB plan, as it is the most comparable to what you will get with sprint!

ATT $204.99, Sprint $99.99, Verizon $179.99 per month for the most complete plans each offers.
Click to expand...

No, that's not what they are trying to do. If you want unlimited voice, with the cheapest (or most usable data plan - 2GB in their case) data plan, their comparisons are accurate. With Sprint, you can't choose anything other than unlimited for an additional $10 required surcharge.
 
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