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Switch to AT&T now or wait for Verizon iPhone

HuggyLowDown

HuggyLowDown

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 14, 2010
171
0
Northern Virginia
I've wanted an iPhone for quite a while now, but I have been a Verizon customer for the past years. But the main question is if I should switch to AT&T just to get the iPhone 4 or wait till it comes to Verizon, if it even is. Another question I have is what's the cost of the fees I must pay, activation fee etc.?
 
activation fee is $36 for nearly all carriers. sometimes they will waive it.

first 4G phone, Sprint EVO 4G. (unlimited data, yes, unlimited) - price is $200 (subsidized)

http://now.sprint.com/firsts/evo4g/

or Nokia N900 (its already unlocked so it can be used with Tmobile, AT&T and WORLDWIDE). (not subsidized, $400). it is unbranded AND unlocked.

check http://maemo.nokia.com/n900/
 
HuggyLowDown said:
I've wanted an iPhone for quite a while now, but I have been a Verizon customer for the past years. But the main question is if I should switch to AT&T just to get the iPhone 4 or wait till it comes to Verizon, if it even is. Another question I have is what's the cost of the fees I must pay, activation fee etc.?
Click to expand...

iPhone will never come to VZW (IMHO) and you can't wait forever. If you always wait for the next best thing, you'll never get anything.
 
One possible question you need answered is how is the ATT service in the areas you use your phone? (Also how is your current verizon?) If you are in a big city then probably not as big of a deal. OUt here in rural NH I can't get great ATT service....not even Verizon does well here.

There was a thread about cell phone bills and how much everyone was paying- perhaps search for that thread.

Most importantly what is the month charges you will face that you are not facing. As others have said all the activation fees, etc are typical- the real difference is the fees for data and service....those are considerably higher than most typical non- smart phone bills and those occur every month where activation and purchase you face only once.

I know for me it would be much higher as I have US Cellular, non smart phone/data plan and with US Cell all incoming calls, pics and text are free without counting towards minutes. So as a result my wife and I can share 700 minutes without going over- and hers is partially her business phone!
 
http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/22/apple-iphone-on-atandt-for-five-years/

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/10/...tandt-signed-five-year-iphone-exclusivity-de/

You'll be waiting until the summer of 2012 for a Verizon branded iPhone, at the earliest. If AT&T has good enough service in the areas you need it in, and you can afford to leave Verizon, by all means go for it.

Also, as far as monthly costs go, the average for an iPhone user a month in bills is around $110 I believe. AT&T's call/text/data plans are designed to make the cheapest available option look unappealing. Personally, I'm on Sprint and pay about $100 a month while getting a lot more out of my monthly usage.
 
Millionin20s said:
Also, as far as monthly costs go, the average for an iPhone user a month in bills is around $110 I believe. AT&T's call/text/data plans are designed to make the cheapest available option look unappealing. Personally, I'm on Sprint and pay about $100 a month while getting a lot more out of my monthly usage.
Click to expand...

Man, I cant believe how expensive that is! I pay around 25 euros monthly for unlimited text and 120 min to make calls ( I get called so I don't really need the minutes) and my wireless is around 100mbs/month! but I don't need more because everywhere I come, I have free wireless ( not secured )
 
.
Don't listen to the impatient ones. They end up locked to AT&T for 2 years with a defective phone.

iPhone for Verizon has been confirmed by multiple inside sources for January. The fact that AT&T allowed early upgrades 6 months before January is confirmation enough. There was a whole story on how Jobs was DYING to get out of AT&T but was held back. You don't think Jobs will get his way? Especially considering the revenue stream they get from AT&T alone (see the numbers yesterday?), they are finally at the point where no contract penalty from AT&T can negate the benefit from going multi-carrier.

So if you have a decent phone, you would be a FOOL to subject yourself to the misery that is:
- AT&T for another 2 years.
- A defective phone that will be fixed for Verizon.

:apple::apple::apple::D:D:D:apple::apple::apple:
 
I made the switch AT&T along time ago for iPhone 1g. I have not regretted that decision since that day. My service has been fine and to be honest with you I haven't noticed that much difference in dropped calls from Verizon to AT&T. I live in new York as well (long island) to boot. Verizon was and still is IMO the evil empire nickel and diming u for every little service and crippling their phones so you can pay them for stuff that should've been included as part of the original design of the phone. Yes they have gotten better (wife uses Verizon) but doubt I will switch back. In fact I hope Verizon gets iPhone so AT&T s service will get better from all those users who will leave AT&T

But to answer your question it depends on how good or bad AT&T is in your area and just how bad u want the iPhone vs what u have with Verizon now

My vote, switch iPhone 4 sure is pretty and it is one sweet piece of design
 
I had a similar question just a few days ago: Use my new-every-two upgrade on Verizon now, or try to hold out with my crappy Blackberry Curve (I have never hated a phone so much) until January in case the iPhone comes out?

Decided to go ahead and upgrade to a Droid X. By January, I will still be able to sell it for around $400, which will make the unsubsidized purchase of an iPhone within an acceptable monetary range.

stephen
 
Mac7 said:
I think you're going to be waiting for a while
Click to expand...

i 100% agree with this statement, i would go with the Droid X while your waiting because its probably going to be a while. Moneys not a problem for me but when 99 percent of my friends are on Verizon, it makes it alot easier to not lose minutes :)
 
As the others have pointed out, the most important thing is how well ATT performs in your town. Ask someone who has an ATT phone. Check with a neighbor. Location makes all the difference. I travel all over the country on business and mostly ATT works fine. The big trouble I have is where everyone else has trouble as in the remote areas of Wisconsin, Minnesota or South Dakota.

I'm no fan of ATT but I think they are getting something of a bad rap. The recent survey that came out the other day shows that actual iPhone customers, not bloggers, are fairly happy with ATT. There was also another test by some magazine that showed that ATT had the fastest data network, where 3G was available.
 
I'd say it would be a bad decision to switch to ATT just for an iPhone.

First, you need to spend some time at #attfail. These are real-time Twitter complaints about ATT. It is among the worst carriers, period.

Second, I know a fair number of folks with iPhones, a few with iPhone 4. None are blown away with it. Reception has always been spotty with iPhones, it's worse with the iPhone 4, and call/sound quality is mediocre at best.

Yes, this is anecdotal. But do some searches yourself, you will see a lot of people saying the same thing.

You're on Verizon now? I guarantee you -- guarantee -- the Verizon network is vastly superior to ATT, in terms of coverage, reception, and reliability.

So if you want to pay more money for an inferior network so you can tool around with an iPhone 4, make the switch.
 
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