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@ Eric Slivka. I does your calculation account for the $10.00 per month premium sprint charges for smart phones? This could possible increase the total 2 year commitment cost by $240.00. I'm just saying.

Yep, it's the $10 listed under Sprint for Unlimited data - including that it's either 79 or 99 depending on the minutes you choose.
 
I was hoping Sprint would undercut the price fixing giants, but I was wrong. Are we all aware what a complete and utter rip off these plans are?

But hey, I'll pay just like you will. I think that one day I might just say forget it and buy a pre paid dumb phone.

Sprint's offerings are the better deal, even with the stupid $10/mo. premium fee. For $79.99/mo. ($69.99 base + $10 smartphone fee) you can get:

  • 450 landline minutes
  • Free cell phone minutes (any call placed from your cell to another cell phone does not deduct from your minutes)
  • Free minute periods after 7pm weekdays and full weekends for no additional charge
  • Unlimited data (no throttling, no caps, free gps, etc.)
  • Unlimited messaging (including text and MMS)
  • Corporate discounts on base plan rates ranging from 10%-30% (call and see if your company qualifies)

There's simply no comparison to other carrier based on what they give you and what they charge you. Now network coverage and speed is highly subjective and depends on your location, but as far as overall value, Sprint can't currently be beat.
 
I just got off the phone with AT&T, and they said I would loose my unlimited plan (which I have had since my iPhone 3G) if I upgraded. The rep said you cannot keep your unlimited data plans when you buy a new phone.

Can anyone confirm this? I was pretty surprised to hear it.

Thanks!

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!

I plan on buying at the Apple Store on Fifth Ave. in NYC. They told me it would carry over. I am going to avoid going through AT&T they may make me change. Apple may just switch the SIM Cards
 
you forgot something

Yes you forgot the elephant in the room as to why sprint is so awesome. Sprint includes unlimited text with all these plans, it's not extra. They also include unlimited calling to ALL mobiles on all us carriers. Very few people I know actually get over the 450 min plan. It's great not having 2 worry. Also sprint nights start at 7 which is a +.
 
People in ATT forums indicate it seems like they are able to keep their old phone data plan. Remember when you call a rep, they typically don't look at your account and how it transfers old stuff.


http://forums.att.com/t5/Apple-iPhone/iPhone-4s-and-unlimited-data-plan/m-p/2894307

http://forums.att.com/t5/Phone-Upgr...the-4S-can-I-still-keep-unlimited/m-p/2894265

Great info on this link:
http://forums.att.com/t5/Apple-iPhone/iPhone-4s-and-unlimited-data-plan/td-p/2894307/page/3

Looks like you can do a dry run on the Apple site with an order to see if the unlimited data sticks, it did for me. :)

See below what showed up when I tried to order and they confirmed my existing account:

AT&T Account
2-year contract required
Unlimited$69.99/mo
Unlimited$30.00/mo
200 messages$5.00/mo
Plan Total:$104.99/mo
 
Interesting, my Bill for family of 3 is $190 per month X12=$2,280.00

Now Subtract $135.00 per month that my company pays towards my bill
2,280-1660=$620 is what I pay for three iPhone's on AT&T per year

If it were not for my company paying part of my bill, I would be crying too :eek:
 
I didn't see it in this thread but Tmobile + Walmart just announced a $30/month unlimited data & text plan (no contract): http://www.tmonews.com/2011/10/t-mobile-wal-mart-introduce-30-no-contract-plan-arrives-october-16th/ starting Oct 16.

$30 * 12 = $360/year
Assume what $800 for an unlocked iPhone?
$800+$360 = $1160/yr.

Yes data only (well actually 100 minutes of talk is included) means a VOIP app for voice calls (but, in my own situation, I've found VOIP to be excellent for voice calls). Unlimited texting & data may cover some people's needs quite well if they can cough up the up-front money for the (unlocked) iPhone.
 
I don't thik I saw this being asked but if I get another phone other than an iphone 4S will I still keep my grandfathered unlimited data plan?
 
If Sprint didn't have such TERRIBLE customer service and the worst coverage for my Family Plan, I'd probably re-join them in a heartbeat! The most dropped calls of the three iPhone carriers for me and any refunds take three months to show up on your Sprint bill after four or five 2 hour phone conversations via my home phone b/c I couldn't get a single bar to make calls on my cell phone. The number sure look good...:eek:

----------

I didn't see it in this thread but Tmobile + Walmart just announced a $30/month unlimited data & text plan (no contract): http://www.tmonews.com/2011/10/t-mobile-wal-mart-introduce-30-no-contract-plan-arrives-october-16th/ starting Oct 16.

$30 * 12 = $360/year
Assume what $800 for an unlocked iPhone?
$800+$360 = $1160/yr.

Only thing with T-Mobile and the iPhone unlocked, is that the iPhone operates its data plan on the EDGE network. I've never seen 3G for the iPhone on T-Mobile...:eek:
 
Only thing with T-Mobile and the iPhone unlocked, is that the iPhone operates its data plan on the EDGE network. I've never seen 3G for the iPhone on T-Mobile...:eek:

Do you know this for certain... that an unlocked iPhone is limited to EDGE only when connected to Tmobile? The head of Tmobile recently shared that >1 Million iPhone users are on the Tmobile network. I find it hard to believe they would all settle for EDGE even if they save a few bucks. Can anyone confirm this (EDGE only) with certainty?
 
AT&T's pricing is absolutely disgusting;

$125 for only 12gb of data versus Sprint's $10 for unlimited?

What kind of idiot would chose AT&T over Sprint where both are available?

Smart people who know Sprint sucks and Sprint will eventually go out of business or cut off their inferior coverage anyways.

It is easy to see how an android fan might be easily fooled into believing a vastly inferior product is somehow comparable.
 
Do you know this for certain... that an unlocked iPhone is limited to EDGE only when connected to Tmobile? The head of Tmobile recently shared that >1 Million iPhone users are on the Tmobile network. I find it hard to believe they would all settle for EDGE even if they save a few bucks. Can anyone confirm this (EDGE only) with certainty?
YES. I am one of those >1 Million iPhone users on T-Mobile. And I have to settle for EDGE, and its the slowest. That's the reason i'll be switching to Sprint or ATT when the 4S arrives.
 
What kind of idiot would chose AT&T over Sprint where both are available?
The kind of idiot who gets crap sprint 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)
You can have a locked iphone too.

am i really going to have to wake up at 3:01 to order this thing? Or do you think there will be more than enough stock?
Set your alarm. Go to bed early.

Google Voice allows the user to have a secondary number at no cost and you can use their app to send and receive texts, just like Whatsapp. The only problem with this is getting people to realize that they must text me at that other number.
I reply to people from my GV app.

Isn't there some kind of agency to regulate/watch over competition and prices?
The FCC supposedly watches out for us, but they're bought off by the phone companies.

Do you know this for certain... that an unlocked iPhone is limited to EDGE only when connected to Tmobile? The head of Tmobile recently shared that >1 Million iPhone users are on the Tmobile network. I find it hard to believe they would all settle for EDGE even if they save a few bucks. Can anyone confirm this (EDGE only) with certainty?
Maybe it sounds inconceivable to you, but some people don't care about the speed or only use it when they don't have wifi. It's edge only.
 
YES. I am one of those >1 Million iPhone users on T-Mobile. And I have to settle for EDGE, and its the slowest. That's the reason i'll be switching to Sprint or ATT when the 4S arrives.

Thanks for the confirmation. So the financial choice is EDGE and save a lot of money on service- albeit slow- or pay up for faster service- but really pay up big? How miserable for those that want cellular service. (Broken) Capitalism at it's best.
 
Do you know this for certain... that an unlocked iPhone is limited to EDGE only when connected to Tmobile? The head of Tmobile recently shared that >1 Million iPhone users are on the Tmobile network. I find it hard to believe they would all settle for EDGE even if they save a few bucks. Can anyone confirm this (EDGE only) with certainty?
That's absolutely true, well known, and unfortunately does not change with the iPhone 4S. T-Mobile got relegated to the oddball AWS spectrum that Apple apparently doesn't want to touch. I've tried coping with Edge and have found it unbearable, so I don't know how people get by but they do.
 
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.


I live in one of the surrounding cities of Phoenix, AZ, Yes, as in over 4 Million People and... In my neighborhood, we get NO AT&T Service!! None!! In 08 I gave up and lost over 12K Rollover Minutes, but I rather settle for Verizon and get service than have all the benefits of AT&T and not being able to use them because lack of SIGNAL!! Heck, back in 08 they told me they were building new towers, this is over three years later and we still don't have service in this region of Phoenix.
 
Ok, so I'll be pre-ordering the 4S tonight. Will be switching from T-Mobile. Any advise or recommendations on whom should I switch to from ATT or Sprint. Can't afford Verizon. I'm not a heavy data user. I'm in Chicago north side.
Any opinions and comments will be appreciated. :)
 
Maybe it sounds inconceivable to you, but some people don't care about the speed or only use it when they don't have wifi. It's edge only.

Hey, I mean no offense. I thought it might be a way for those that could pay up in full for the iPhone to get a cheap service alternative. The duopoly is about to add a third. But as the table shows, there really isn't that much competition. I would make a strong bet that the initial "unlimited" on Sprint will disappear soon just like it did for the other guys when they got iPhone.

I was hoping that maybe the pairing of iPhone at full price unlocked plus this new deal from Tmobile might be an excellent alternative. And maybe it still is for those satisfied with the speed of EDGE. Could you offer your insights into what it's like with an iPhone on EDGE? I assume Voice & texting is just fine while Internet browsing is more painful and video is probably just too slow (too much buffering)??? But please, I'd be very interested in a first hand account of the combination of iPhone + Tmobile Edge for the various stuff people use iPhones to do.
 
at&t grandfathered plan

In case this has not be answered already... Just spoke with at&t rep and you ARE grandfathered in under their 3G network. Their 4G (HSPA+) should you decide to use that instead will invalidate your unlimited status and you would have to sign up with one of their tiered plans starting @ $25 for 2gb per month.

Edit: The iPhone 4s will operate on both the 3g and 4g networks with at&t. 4g will be backward compatible to 3g.
 
Hey, I mean no offense. I thought it might be a way for those that could pay up in full for the iPhone to get a cheap service alternative. The duopoly is about to add a third. But as the table shows, there really isn't that much competition. I would make a strong bet that the initial "unlimited" on Sprint will disappear soon just like it did for the other guys when they got iPhone.

I was hoping that maybe the pairing of iPhone at full price unlocked plus this new deal from Tmobile might be an excellent alternative. And maybe it still is for those satisfied with the speed of EDGE. Could you offer your insights into what it's like with an iPhone on EDGE? I assume Voice & texting is just fine while Internet browsing is more painful and video is probably just too slow (too much buffering)??? But please, I'd be very interested in a first hand account of the combination of iPhone + Tmobile Edge for the various stuff people use iPhones to do.
As an iPhone user on T-Mobile, I can tell you that even the simplest tasks like loading Facebook or Twitter app which don't consume too much of bandwidth, will take forever. So you can think for yourself how long would it take to load websites like ESPN which require decent bandwidth.
 
MarkLai, thanks for that post. Not what I wanted to see, but glad I got to see it.

Too bad. The triopoly all priced about the same (no real service savings of substance) is nothing new. I thought that Tmobile play with Voip might be a way to get it done without a separate MIFI + Virgin Mobile or similar. Thanks for the insight.

If someone doesn't want to pay so much for service- and that table does show how ridiculous it really is (IMO)- it looks like the nearly "always on" equivalent for the penny pinchers continues to be an iPod Touch with Voip and a MIFI modem with a prepaid plan like Virgin Mobiles or similar. Not ideal but about 35% of the iPhone's service toll no matter which carrier one might choose.

Prior to the event, I was hoping for iPod updates with 3G for data (only) plus the iPad data plans. That seems like the perfect combo for the tweens wanting iPhones to still be able to lock into the iTunes ecosystem now rather than going with cheaper options on Android. I got into the rumor because I could see the strategic play: lock them into the Apple apps now and they'll be more likely to buy an Apple iPhone 7 or 8 in a few years (when they can afford their first "real phone") rather than switching to Android. But we end up only with a new iPhone carrier with about the same service rates as AT&T and Verizon. If parents want to buy their tween a smart device but don't want the heavy monthly tolls, it's hard to stick with Apple on this one.
 
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It is very simple. Because us is the most riches and powerful we need to pay the most expensive. Stop whining!
 
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