how to have an iphone while paying as little as possible for monthly service?

[MacManTexas56]

so it looks like if i want a cheap plan at&t is the place to go?

everyone here is not including taxes in what they pay. It may look like it's cheap, but in reality it's not bc u are taxed and fee'd to death.

check out gophone. they came out with a new plan yesterday $50/unlimited voice and text but data is extra. but would you need data?

 

[mikelegacy]

Wao your FAN is 25%, mine is only 15%

Sent from my GT-I9100

I know man, it's crazy. I manage a movie theatre as a part time job for extra cash when my freelance work is slow. Regal Cinemas gives some good discounts on cellular bills.

 

[err404]

great reply! is free google voice reliable/efficient?

can anyone suggest any other combos, maybe verizon?

If you are a heavy SMS user, You may find Google Voice SMS frustrating. The back end system is fine, but the official app needs work. The biggest issue is that incoming SMS messages don't refresh automatically (you do get push notifications). Also it tends to split conversions if they are idle for too long. Can anybody recommend a good alternative app for GV SMS?

 

[selvage]

Monthly phone insurance is a scam regardless. You're much better off getting SquareTrade for an upfront charge.

thanks for the great replies everyone. ive never considered using a 3rd party protection/insurance company. so do others recommend using this company instead of getting apple care or monthly protection charge from their cell carrier?

 

[selvage]

also, does it matter where i buy the phone like bestbuy, apple, etc? i see that apple charges an activation fee while verizon's website waves the fee (i hope i was reading it correctly). i plan on buying the phone once i get off of work today

 

[err404]

thanks for the great replies everyone. ive never considered using a 3rd party protection/insurance company. so do others recommend using this company instead of getting apple care or monthly protection charge from their cell carrier?

Applecare is an extension of the base warranty and is intended to cover manufacturing defects. In general these issues will present themselves in within the first year. Second year issues will tend to be user abuse (broken glass). These is not covered by Applecare.
For better piece-of-mind, I would recommend Squaretrade over Applecare due to it's more comprehensive coverage.

 

[selvage]

thanks i will get the squaretrade coverage then

 

[JohnDoe98]

i have to purchase an iphone out of pocket and then buy the ipad plan? i never even knew this could be done though. are there any cons to this technique?

I don't know how you get your iphone, but you do need an unlocked phone I presume (probably can be a JB unlock, or at the very least, and this needs testing, a locked ATT phone but one that isn't on contract, because if it is on contract, you don't need the ipad data plan). As for cons... There is only one I can think of. It'll work until it doesn't anymore. Meaning, at worst, ATT can decide to close this loop hole at anytime they choose. When that happens you'll need an alternative data plan that works or to setup a normal phone contract with them. For what it's worth, I've been doing this since the first day the ipad plans were released without problems. At first on my Nokia N95 and now on my iphone 4. Voip is excellent imo

 

[psywzrd]

removed

Thank me later...

I know you're only trying to be helpful but it's probably not the best idea to freely post that link here. Just PM it to the guy if you really insist on sharing it. Posting it freely is only going to get it shut down.

 

[dickdaney]

If you are a heavy SMS user, You may find Google Voice SMS frustrating. The back end system is fine, but the official app needs work. The biggest issue is that incoming SMS messages don't refresh automatically (you do get push notifications). Also it tends to split conversions if they are idle for too long. Can anybody recommend a good alternative app for GV SMS?

GV Mobile Plus

Google "official" app is crap. GVM+ is 10 times better. Also you have the option to place takatone calls from with the gv app. It has push notifications with 1 huge catch. Text messages have to be routed from google to a gvm+ email servr before they're pushed to your phone. If you are uneasy about gvm+ having access to your messages then don't set up push. I've been using gmv+ with push for months and I love it.

 

[Dave Felix]

i had a metro pcs phone and was paying about 45.00 a month. i just lost the phone and now i want to make the jump to an iphone4. i cant jump on a family plan with anyone so i cant save money that route. what has steered me away from iphones is paying close-to or over 100.00 a month for phone service on a single plan. are there any of you guys paying a low monthly bill for your iphones? i dont care if its at&t or verizon. the initial cost of the phone doesnt both me its the monthly charge that is hard to swallow. (i live in the US)

any tips or plan types u have that can get me a payment of around 80.00 or less after all additional fees are added. the company i work for allows me to receive about a 15% discount from either verizon or att. but the discount is only off of the plan price and not anythine else.

450 RollOver Minutes - 39.99
2GB Data - 25
Unlimited Texting - 20

84.99 a month but 24% discount off and taxes have me paying around 80 a month

 

[Block]

You guys are still all overpaying.

 

[Sean1218]

Wow, interesting to see how you guys pay differently, up here in Canada I pay:

55$ a month, 200 minutes (6pm+weekends)
unlimited texting
1 gig of data
caller id / ringbacks (disabled)

Who are you with & which plan?

 

[Nyalotha]

Who are you with & which plan?

Rogers, the plan was originally supposed to be 65$ a month, I got a discount due to a phone issue early on.

 

[err404]

GV Mobile Plus...

Thanks. I had bought it when it first came out but was never quite satisfied with it. I'll load it back up again and see how it has been improved.