Long and short of it, I was pretty much dead set on paying the early termination fee on AT&T and switching to Verizon because of the LTE deployment but then I saw that they do not offer any sort of early upgrade pricing. It's either discounted or full price. With AT&T, I can upgrade to the 16GB iPhone 5 for $449 plus the upgrade fee less whatever I can get for selling my iPhone 4S. If I were with Verizon, it'd be $650 less whatever I can get for selling my current phone. Seems to me that for an Apple customer who wants to upgrade annually, is AT&T the best option...am I missing something?
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Verizon/AT&T - who to go with?
- Thread starter CDutch
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Early upgrade isn't all that's it's cracked up to be.
Yes, it means that, in the long run, you're paying less for your iPhones if you're upgrading annually. However, you're also renewing your 2-year contract every single year. Which means that if you ever want to jump ship at some point (if, for example, AT&T's network gets worse, you move somewhere with awful AT&T coverage, etc.) you'll be paying a nasty ETF.
With Verizon, you may get stuck paying for a few full price phones, but you're not extending your contract. Meaning that if you ever need to jump ship the other direction, you're ETF could potentially be smaller or non-existant.
Yes, it means that, in the long run, you're paying less for your iPhones if you're upgrading annually. However, you're also renewing your 2-year contract every single year. Which means that if you ever want to jump ship at some point (if, for example, AT&T's network gets worse, you move somewhere with awful AT&T coverage, etc.) you'll be paying a nasty ETF.
With Verizon, you may get stuck paying for a few full price phones, but you're not extending your contract. Meaning that if you ever need to jump ship the other direction, you're ETF could potentially be smaller or non-existant.
You really need to look beyond cost and at who has the best coverage in your area and where you travel to. In my case, I tried Verizon and their coverage was horrible. AT&T is far superior, but that will vary from locale to locale. To me, I would rather pay more if I had better coverage. If coverage is about equal, then I would go for the savings on the phone. A phone is to be used and if you have spotty coverage, dropped calls and slow data you're going to be frustrated and unhappy.
AT&T for me.
Although AT&T has less LTE coverage, there are still many places where neither Verizon nor AT&T have it, and I travel. And it's a long way down from LTE to EVDO.
Not to mention, I have a discount through work.
Although AT&T has less LTE coverage, there are still many places where neither Verizon nor AT&T have it, and I travel. And it's a long way down from LTE to EVDO.
Not to mention, I have a discount through work.
Good point. Over the course of two years with Verizon...first phone is $200, second is $650 total of $850 and the contract is up. With AT&T, it's $450 each year so $900 and you're still under contract. You actually end up ahead with Verizon.
Just to clarify, if you upgrade your phone during your contract with Verizon, it does not extend it? The $650 for the $16 GB phone is unsubsidized and therefore does not extend the contract?