Should I get an iPhone?

[Meecrob]

So my verizon 2 year contract is up in february... at which point i'm considering going with either a verizon smartphone or switching to ATT iphone. There's a few things to consider... by February will it be too close to an iphone update to get a new one?
There's also cost to consider: I have Verizon's 39.99 plan which amounts to like $50 every month. I know that I would go with ATT's 59.99 plan but I don't have any info on how much each monthly bill really is. In addition, a verizon smartphone would need a data plan, which can go up to something like an additional $44/month.
Anyone have experience with these two carriers?

 

[question fear]

If you use more than 200 txts per month, add more for the extra texts for ATT. For reference, I have 1500 texts + 59.99 plan and I think my bill runs ~80ish per month.

VZW with a smartphone will be far more expensive, due to their much higher data plan. Also consider that VZW tends to carry older models or not refresh the choices as often as the GSM carriers do.

 

[munckee]

I have 1500 texts + 59.99 plan and I think my bill runs ~80ish per month.

That's a lot of taxes and fees!

 

[RussM]

iPhone

I have an iPhone, and love it ! I have the $ 59 plan, which totals about $ 67 with taxes. This is basically the ATT 39.99 voice plan plus a $ 20 (unlimited useage) data plan. A lot of people seem reluctant to go with ATT because of the bad reputation they got a few years ago while they were merging systems, and moving off of TDMA to GSM. In my opinion, ATT service is excellent today.

 

[Samwise592]

i'm considering buying one as well. How would you rate the EDGE newtork? would it be worth waiting until febuary for a possible 3g/spec upgrade?

 

[GSMiller]

That's a lot of taxes and fees!

That's AT&T for ya.

 

[JurgenWigg]

i'm considering buying one as well. How would you rate the EDGE newtork? would it be worth waiting until febuary for a possible 3g/spec upgrade?

If you can wait for the update, it can't hurt.

 

[Sauron's Master]

That's AT&T for ya.

That's the US Government for you.

 

[Mindflux]

That's AT&T for ya.

No, that's the government for ya. He pays 59.99 a month + whatever for 1500 texts (10~ mo probably) and pays another 10 in federal phone taxes.

 

[Eric Piercey]

That's the US Government for you.

Tax on a tax on a tax on money created electronically by private banks. Meanwhile another 50 species became extinct today.

 

[rdowns]

My $59.99 ATT plan costs $72.32 a month.

Taxes and fees...

County Gross Receipts Surcharge $1.28
Federal Universal Service Charge $1.25
MTA Telecom SUrcharge $0.40
State Telecom Excise Surcharge $1.63
Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge $0.86

State Sales Tax $2.56
City Sales Tax $0.30
New York State Fee $1.20

Take It Up The Rear End Surcharge $0.00

 

[Meecrob]

My $59.99 ATT plan costs $72.32 a month.

Taxes and fees...

County Gross Receipts Surcharge $1.28
Federal Universal Service Charge $1.25
MTA Telecom SUrcharge $0.40
State Telecom Excise Surcharge $1.63
Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge $0.86

State Sales Tax $2.56
City Sales Tax $0.30
New York State Fee $1.20

Take It Up The Rear End Surcharge $0.00

Thanks, that was what I needed to know...

 

[siurpeeman]

If you use more than 200 txts per month, add more for the extra texts for ATT. For reference, I have 1500 texts + 59.99 plan and I think my bill runs ~80ish per month.

actually, having more than 200 texts isn't enough to justify adding a higher texting plan. if, for instance, you consistently hit roughly 275 texts (well over the allotted 200), it would actually be cheaper to stick with the base 200 messages rather than paying $10 more for the 1500 messaging plan. it really depends on the number of texts you have/mo. and the cost of each text over the 200 (for me, it was $0.05). further, there is a cheaper option to the $10/1500 texts, and it's the $5/unlimited mobile-to-mobile, giving you unlimited texts between at&t users. so if you're texting 2000 messages a month only to at&t mobile phones, the $5 add-on would be the way to go.

 

[transformer2007]

I have an iPhone, and love it ! I have the $ 59 plan, which totals about $ 67 with taxes. This is basically the ATT 39.99 voice plan plus a $ 20 (unlimited useage) data plan. A lot of people seem reluctant to go with ATT because of the bad reputation they got a few years ago while they were merging systems, and moving off of TDMA to GSM. In my opinion, ATT service is excellent today.

Agree. Because back then, ATT was ATT. Now, ATT = Cingular's reception and towers.

 

[Meecrob]

So today my verizon bill totaled $65.01

$39.99 + $5 (for 250 txt)
$10.60 for the extra 106 txt messages (expensive)
Verizon Wireless' Surcharges and Other Charges & Credits $3.21
Taxes, Governmental Surcharges & Fees $6.21

Maybe I should switch to unlimited IN messages + 500 others for an extra $10. Seems like it's getting pretty close to what att would charge anyway... all in all, verizon is much more expensive per unit data then ATT is.

on the fence.