I want an iPhone 4s but what to do

[discofuel]

I'm from england but i live in the USA.

I'm might only be here for another year so concerned about being tied into a 2 year contract. What happens if you need to break the contract - do you have to pay a big fee?

Also, when I go back to england for holidays I want to be able to use my UK simcard in my phone. Do the network providers in the US allow this?

I guess I could purchase an unlocked out of contract phone but with Apple Care plus and tax the 64GB I want comes in at $1000.

Seems an awful lot to spend on a phone!

 

[McGiord]

The US version of the iPhone will not be unlocked unless you buy them unlocked.
Maybe it will be better for you to buy the unlocked one in Europe at a subsidized price, and cancelling the contract in Europe could lower the price for the final transaction.

But so far the most direct and less cumbersome way of getting it is paying the premium of the hardware cost and buying the unlocked one since day one, so you don't have to pay cancellation fees.

They will not unlock it, all my attempts in the US have been unsuccessful with AT&T.

Maybe the other carriers in the US have different policies, or even Apple could be more open to doing the unlock for you.
My experiences had been with the iPhone 4 and the previous models.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

I agree that your best course of action would be to get the unlocked version, preferably straight from Apple. But my question is, if you're concerned about spending that much for a 64gb ($849), why not just go for the 16gb ($649) and save yourself a couple of hundred dollars?

I can see the allure of the 64gb, but honestly, now that iCloud is around (and iTunes Match), I think it's overkill. I've got the 16gb (not unlocked), and even with everything on it that I want, I've still got over 10gb free.

That would be my recommendation. Maybe go for the lower gb's to lower the price a bit.

 

[stickybuns]

If you get a Verizon iPhone, you can have the sim card slot unlocked for use with an international (eg British) sim card after 60 days. The early termination fee will cost you $175 - $5 for each month that you've been under contract, so about $105 to terminate at the end of the first year.

 

[moosquared]

If you get a Verizon iPhone, you can have the sim card slot unlocked for use with an international (eg British) sim card after 60 days. The early termination fee will cost you $175 - $5 for each month that you've been under contract, so about $105 to terminate at the end of the first year.

I only cost you $175 to break a contract with Verizon??
I should have done that instead of buying the retail price iphone...

 

[jdusoccer12]

If you get a Verizon iPhone, you can have the sim card slot unlocked for use with an international (eg British) sim card after 60 days. The early termination fee will cost you $175 - $5 for each month that you've been under contract, so about $105 to terminate at the end of the first year.

Actually it is a $350 cancelation fee for smart phones.

 

[stickybuns]

Ah, my mistake. I just did a quick google search.

ETA: did a bit more googling. The ETF is prorated $10 per month on smartphones, so the fee should be $250 at the end of the first year.

ETA2: An unlocked 64gig iPhone is $849, right? So even with a $350 termination fee, a contract iPhone ($399) would end up costing about a $100 less.

 

[Arnezie]

Seems an awful lot to spend on a phone!

Its not just a phone

 

[akdj]

I can see the allure of the 64gb, but honestly, now that iCloud is around (and iTunes Match), I think it's overkill. I've got the 16gb (not unlocked), and even with everything on it that I want, I've still got over 10gb free.

That would be my recommendation. Maybe go for the lower gb's to lower the price a bit.

Lol...for you, that may be the case. For me, I'm very happy I picked up the 64gig. Only 22gigs left right now and that's without pics and/or vids. I left all of those on my computer when I upgraded to the 4s. Even with iCloud, the 64 is mandatory in my life! These days, many of these high end graphic intensive apps are in the 1gig range! They're getting huge. Always better to have more than needed...rather than the other way around. Not to mention, price per GB taken in to account, the 64GB version is the best 'deal' of the lot. 16-199. 32-299 or 399 for 399. Each $100 doubles your capacity. The 32-64 jump is pretty significant for a hundred bucks...much better than the 16 gig jump from 16-32 at the same price.

To the OP...you may be able to renegotiate your contract in a year (you're still here for a year, right?)...seeing as though you're leaving the country. AT&T has been great for me with customer service...you may find they're easy to work with...OR, they may let you sign a one year contract at an increased subsidy price on the iPhone. Worth a look. Have you tried the others as well? Sprint or Verizon? I don't think there's justification for you to buy the unlocked model. Even if you were to cancel a month, as you mentioned, after you locked in, you'd only be out an extra 350...vs the 450 premium for an unlocked phone.

Forgive my ignorance...but isn't AT&T available in Europe?

Jer

 

[jekyoo]

Your best option is to get up Craigslist or eBay and get a sprint iPhone 4S. They are internationally unlocked. They go for $700-$750 for the 64gb. The only downside is that you'll have to use it on sprint while you're in the states.

 

[Sedrick]

the 64GB I want comes in at $1000.

Seems an awful lot to spend on a phone!

IMHO, a person would have to be insane or stupid to drop $1000 on a MIDCYCLE phone (or any phone for that matter).

You can get a pretty damn nice laptop for that and a cheap flip phone or a 99cent 3GS.