AT&T has HSPA+ as wellit's the "4G" that they started peddling last year
Yea but it's limited to HSPA+14
AT&T has HSPA+ as wellit's the "4G" that they started peddling last year
Wrong.
With these plans, you are paying for upcoming usage, not what you have done with your handset over the past month. If you don't refill before the service deadline, your phone goes dead. You never get a bill. Luckily, the phone company will pester you several times before the expiration date.
That's why there's no credit check with these prepaid plans. The mobile operators get their money before they activate your phone.
Moreover, neither party signs a legal document which is what a court of law would look for when the word "contract" is brought up.
In most cases, you can buy the prepaid plan service cards ahead of time and not use them. You can go to Walmart and buy several Straight Talk service cards. You have paid in advance and you aren't required to use the service right away. Straight Talk will even give you a few dollars off if you pay for three months of service in advance.
For a company like Straight Talk, you can also set up auto-load via a credit card. They will send you a text a few days before your plan expires telling you they're about to charge. If your card is declined for whatever reason, they will apparently pester you to update your billing information or give you a chance to enter a prepaid card activation code before they cut you off.
With many of the other cellular companies, you can buy discount prepaid cards online (like getting $100 of AT&T GoPhone credit for $95 at CallingMart.com). That's actually the best way to use the iTunes Store as well. Occasionally there are bargains on iTunes Cards from online retailers, like a $50 iTunes Card for $40. That's a 20% cash savings.
And what they mean is: no contract beyond one month (which is the great appeal compared to the usual two-year contracts.That is not how the mobile industry markets these plans. They are advertised by the carriers themselves as "no contract."
Obviously this can be gamed by people going to Cricket and get an unlocked 4S for $499 and then switch to another carrier a month later.
No, it is not a one-month contract.And what they mean is: no contract beyond one month (which is the great appeal compared to the usual two-year contracts.
As a T-Mobile user in a contract, this kinda hurts. With T-Mobile refarming to 1900MhZ to offer 3G compatibility to iPhone and over a million unlocked iPhone users on there network, I'm very surprised at the lack of an official T-Mobile iPhone.
Doesn't prepaid mean that you pay whenever you run out of credit? As opposed to a fixed monthly amount? Then what's the difference between this and a contract??
Seriously, did the CEO of T-Mobile kick St.Jobs' puppy as a kid? Did a T-Mobile user make fun of his turtleneck sweater? After Bluegrass Wireless and Alaska Telecom, now even freaking Cricket gets the iPhone? Just not T-Mobile. Lame,![]()
Originally Posted by baryon:
Doesn't prepaid mean that you pay whenever you run out of credit? As opposed to a fixed monthly amount? Then what's the difference between this and a contract??
No two year commitment.
T-Mobile USA resigned themselves to this fate the day they picked the frequencies for their 3G network. Just their bad luck.
Yeah. It sure is a shame that it is absolutely impossible for any phone to be made in different versions with different radio hardware, making it impossible for any vendor ever to make a phone work on both t-mobile and AT&T.
... Which is to say: The frequencies are not a significant barrier, because that problem is totally solved. If Apple wanted to sell a t-mobile phone, they would. (And I'd get two or three and phase out my AT&T contracts.)
How do they subsidize it with no contractual obligation, odd but cool.
You do not need to unlock an AT&T handset to work with the Straight Talk SIM card. I'm using a factory unlocked iPhone 4S on Straight Talk, but it's not a requirement. However, if I go overseas, I can pop in a local carrier's SIM without issue.
Straight Talk is an MVNO that purchases wholesale access from AT&T, T-Mobile USA, and Sprint. They sell AT&T compatible SIMs and T-Mobile compatible SIMs. In addition, they sell a number of handsets run on the AT&T and Sprint networks if you don't want to bring your own device.
Here's my cost analysis that I just did on another site:
Straight Talk "Bring Your Own Phone" SIM card, $45/month no-contract. Unlimited talk, unlimited text, and "unlimited" data (which anecdotally has a soft cap around 2GB followed by an allegedly "you're a data hog" message). Just buy the unlocked retail iPhone 4S at Apple.com for $649 plus the one-time $15 for the SIM card. Your phone will be connecting to AT&T's cellular towers. If you're in an area with HSPA+, you'll have the faster connection.
So, switching to Straight Talk, what do you lose in the bargain? Does MMS still work? Visual Voicemail? Etc.?
I have 2 concerns about this. First, this little tidbit:
When I go to that link, it lists the Coming Soon cities and I live no where near any of them. The closest is Pittsburgh but it's about a 90 min drive there. Yet when I check the Coverage Map, where I live, work, and everywhere in between is covered, and I don't travel that much so that isn't a problem. Could I order it online and still use it in my areas or since I'm not in their "market cities" I couldn't use it?
Second, I've never used Cricket, nor know anyone who does. I just wonder how good their service is (clear calls, typical 3G speeds, etc). If their data speeds are like Sprint, then I think I would pass.
I think it is funny to read the arguments about the social class division between "prepaid" carriers and the big four.
For me, it is obviously a better deal to buy an unlocked phone and then go Straight Talk or RedPocket Mobile - or Cricket with the iPhone that this thread is about.
I don't see any "luxury" or "status" in paying $100 and then get a branded device (iPhone is luckily saved from that though) with a nice carrier logotype and bloatware installed. In Europe, it is rather "finer" to have an unlocked, standard device than those carrier branded ones.
It is a better deal to get a cheaper monthly plan with an unlocked phone that can be replaced whenever a new model comes out. The price calculations that has been provided in the thread is very telling. It doesn't matter what "clientele" that are opting for Cricket, the fact remains: the big four charges a lot and gives a crippled device in return. Either locked or branded or both. Personally, I am not into iPhones since I prefer the iPad when it comes to iOS and Android and other platforms when it comes to smartphones and just seeing what the carriers does with the devices (changing design, buttons, CPUs, radios, adding bloatware, locking down etc) makes it silly to even try to argue that having an account with AT&T or Verizon is some kind of "status" unlike the "poor prepaid customers".
There is NO STATUS or LUXURY with a BRANDED device. A perfectly standard, unlocked smartphone on Straight Talk or RedPocket is rather an indicator that the buyer piss on the big four and their behavior.
I don't want any carrier messing with my devices, no logotypes, no bloat, no restrictions or any alterations. It should be 100% clean as the manufacturer designed it. That is "status".
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I am using Straight Talk but with a Galaxy Note GT-N7000 but can confirm that it is working great, both MMS, data and everything.
I am not using Visual Voicemail though since I prefer Google Voice and use it for both the voice mail and international calls.
I can recommend Straight Talk and both the service and quality is even better than Verizon that I used before (with a Thunderbolt) but that is from my perspective with the Note.
Paying $45 and be able to buy unlocked phones is certainly worth it, I see no reason to pay $100 or more for service. I am used to the European prices and think the big four are completely outrageous.
I am using Straight Talk but with a Galaxy Note GT-N7000 but can confirm that it is working great, both MMS, data and everything.
I am not using Visual Voicemail though since I prefer Google Voice and use it for both the voice mail and international calls.
I can recommend Straight Talk and both the service and quality is even better than Verizon that I used before (with a Thunderbolt) but that is from my perspective with the Note.
Paying $45 and be able to buy unlocked phones is certainly worth it, I see no reason to pay $100 or more for service. I am used to the European prices and think the big four are completely outrageous.
I don't think it's really about people thinking they have more "class" or "status" by carrying a phone branded with a major carrier's name on it!?
I know plenty of people who wish they could easily remove those carrier logos on their handsets, actually.
The reason for the class division comments is the reality of who tends to be the typical customer for the no-contract, pre-paid phones.
I used Cricket for a while, because I hate the carriers with their 2 year contracts full of restrictions. I tried out the very first Android device they offered on their network. Unfortunately, it was blatantly obvious I was far from their usual customer. They had a big struggle configuring my account properly for the Android smartphone package, because their reps weren't yet familiar with how it worked. They kept trying to put me on one of their data packages where everything goes through a web proxy server -- so most of the phone's functionality was broken. Then they got the billing all screwed up, and it took several billing cycles and phone calls to get that straightened out. (One rep. even hung up on me after treating me rudely on the phone, when I tried to explain why she misunderstood my issue.)
They were also clearly used to customers who had to come in or call up to make each month's payment, just before it was due. When I wanted to set it up so Cricket would simply bill my account each month -- that was difficult for them too! They kept trying to shut off my service for not paying each month, refusing to charge my credit card I put on file.
Then, I decided to visit my local Cricket Wireless store when I needed a new charger and case for my phone in a hurry. Unlike the corporate stores I was used to, this place was run like a pawn shop! A foreign guy made me wait while he had issues running another customer's credit card payment. (Turns out his co-worker was chatting on the only land-line phone in the store, in the back room, so their credit card machine couldn't dial out to run the card properly!) Then when I asked him about what he had for sale for my phone, I quickly learned "Everything $15 .... charger? $15 case? We have 3... All $15."
Don't get me wrong... I had high hopes for Cricket and their voice phone service was about as good as anything I had with any other carriers. They had a few little quirks with SMS texting and multimedia messaging, but those seemed to only affect web-based services that people could text you through, vs. people sending them from their own cellphones. Data was slow, but functional. With better smartphones like the iPhone, it could be real game-changer for them. (Their bargain-basement Android phones were pretty pathetic.) But these guys are a budget carrier, clearly staffed like one -- and you can easily see the "class" of their usual customers if you wait around in line at any of their local stores.
I must say I never expected Apple to participate in the race to the bottom.
Cricket is akin to a check cashing service for the credit challenged, highly irresponsible segment of the population.
That Apple would even consider this speaks volumes about their addiction to profits first, foremost, and above all.
Yes, yes, I can imagine the responses now...
"but that's what corporations do, maximize profits".... to which I say, there _is_ a limit.
It's not like Apple is struggling desperately to survive.
This ought to be interesting. I surely wouldn't want to work in AppleCare or at the Genius bar with this type of clientele.
An all time low for Apple, once the premier company of stellar design and beautiful products.
I've done the math. I always do the math on everything.Have you ever done the math on how much someone pays on a contract plan vs a prepaid plan.