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Virgin Mobile USA Launching iPhone on June 29 with Plans Starting at $30
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Still?When I was with Sprint about 10 years ago and traveling through Chicago on my way to MI, I zero bars on the TriState and on the 80 until about the IN state line.
It's ok in spots but I know that I get nothing on my Sprint work phone in a lot of places.
Blame the FCC. They had a chance to go with a single standard when we switched from analog to digital.
I suppose they took the lobbying money and voted for inconsistent "standards" so that the carriers could maintain their own little monopolies.
If you really want to rile yourself up, take a look at the list of FCC commissioners over the years and see where they end up working after their terms are over. They all pretty much end up working or consulting telecommunications firms ... either that, or they came from telecommunications firms before they were appointed to the FCC. It's an outrage, yet the media never reports this type of stuff ... perhaps because the media benefits from having insiders in the FCC.
Sorry I didn't take the time to read through the whole thread but I have a few questions.
- What are the chances that VM will let you use an iPhone sold by Sprint on the "VM" network?
- What will the used market for VM specific phones be like? Will they sell anywhere near what you pay for it? That's the one plus of buying the subsidized phones is you can actually make money when you sell off your old model.
- Regarding the minutes, are these considered anytime minutes only? Is there a such thing as "mobile to mobile" type minutes with VM?
- Will the texting function be SMS or MMS?
Thanks guys.
- What are the chances that VM will let you use an iPhone sold by Sprint on the "VM" network?
- What will the used market for VM specific phones be like? Will they sell anywhere near what you pay for it? That's the one plus of buying the subsidized phones is you can actually make money when you sell off your old model.
- Regarding the minutes, are these considered anytime minutes only? Is there a such thing as "mobile to mobile" type minutes with VM?
- Will the texting function be SMS or MMS?
Thanks guys.
As a current VM user, I'll try to answer your questions.
1. Slim-to-none. As a no-contract carrier, the bulk of their money is made through selling hardware, which is why it costs more upfront.
2. The iPhone compared to the rest of VM lineup is a completely different beast in terms of resale value. Generally, the iPhone holds a very strong value up to 2 years down the road. However, seeing as though the 4S is already several months old, you may not have as long to get a good resale value from it. In addition, if it really is locked to VM's network as it has been rumored, the resale value will likely drop tremendously.
3. In terms of minutes, its plain and simple. Say you purchase the cheapest plan, which nabs you 300 minutes. This is all you get for the month. No mobile-to-mobile, no nighttime minutes, and no weekends. Just 300 minutes to use whenever you want. When the new month begins, you start fresh with 300 minutes (the minutes do not rollover).
4. As for SMS vs. MMS, I assume you're asking this because some people have pointed out that VM press release explicitly mentions SMS, and not MMS. I can't give you a definitive answer, but all of the other VM smartphones do have MMS capabilities, so I see no reason why the iPhone would be limited in such a way.
I hope this helps!
Unless they have a change in operating procedure, I'd say close to ZERO. You cannot take Android phones from Sprint and use them on VM for instance (or visa versa). Despite that they use the same towers and Sprint owns VM, it is definitely run as a separate company with separate phones, C/S..almost separate everything really.
Hard to say in this case. iPhones have never been on prepaid networks officially before, and never ever on Virgin Mobile, so there is definitely some new ground being broken here. I guess it depends on how well iPhones sell on a carrier where the most expensive phone to date has been half the price of an iPhone, and usually a lot less. It will be interesting to see. I suspect it will do well though.
Nope...your minutes are your minutes. There are not different types. No mobile to mobile. No nights or weekends. Nothing like that.
I've never had the need to MMS ever, so I've never even tried...so can't comment on MMS capability. Maybe someone else can answer that one.
I actually emailed VM Customer Service over the weekend. The rep who responded to my question informed me that they will have the 16/32/64 iPhone 4S models available to purchase.
I am on the same boat as you and need the 64GB since I have a lot of music/photos/apps on my iPhone. However, if they're going to be selling the 64GB model for $900+ I may just stick with VZW for now.
Nope! Never have had any reason to. If I want to share a pic with someone, I just use social media of some sort.
It's not that they can't qualify for the contract it's too save money cause contracts are too expensive prepaid is a lot cheaper
They've kept me grandfathered into my old plan at the same price for 6 + yrs
Having been a VM customer for 6+ years, I have a Dino-Phone, and have been grandfathered into the same Dino-phone-plan of only $15.00 Top-up every 90 days. If I use it up, it automatically dings another $5.00 from my C/Cd. You never loose the $$$ you have put in, and it continually accrues to pay for phone time in the future. This plan and phone was way before any hint of the fancy phones of today.
But my point, they have honored this plan even though they discontinued it 5 years ago. They have always been good to help me when I have called for service, though sometimes a little hard to understand. I think they are in the Caribbean somewhere.
So now that I am looking at a modern day fancy smart-phone type, I am strongly considering them. I think as long as you are in there regular metropolitan service areas, you will good to go. But if you are often way out off a beaten path, you may find yourself without service.
The Limitations are very well spelled out on there web site for prices and what you get. Yes at this time they ONLY use Sprint.
I would say that paying so little for a plan like they are offering now, and buying a phone for full price, (as long as it lasts long enough...), is a much cheaper way to go.
My 2¢ worth...
Having been a VM customer for 6+ years, I have a Dino-Phone, and have been grandfathered into the same Dino-phone-plan of only $15.00 Top-up every 90 days. If I use it up, it automatically dings another $5.00 from my C/Cd. You never loose the $$$ you have put in, and it continually accrues to pay for phone time in the future. This plan and phone was way before any hint of the fancy phones of today.
But my point, they have honored this plan even though they discontinued it 5 years ago. They have always been good to help me when I have called for service, though sometimes a little hard to understand. I think they are in the Caribbean somewhere.
So now that I am looking at a modern day fancy smart-phone type, I am strongly considering them. I think as long as you are in there regular metropolitan service areas, you will good to go. But if you are often way out off a beaten path, you may find yourself without service.
The Limitations are very well spelled out on there web site for prices and what you get. Yes at this time they ONLY use Sprint.
I would say that paying so little for a plan like they are offering now, and buying a phone for full price, (as long as it lasts long enough...), is a much cheaper way to go.
My 2¢ worth...
Any word on the 64GB iPhone? Im already on Virgin Mobile, just waiting for the iPhone. Does anyone have any idea why theres no mention of the 64GB iPhone and if its going to be available or if not, why not? All I know is what Virgin Mobile has posted on their site.
Im wondering if I should just wait for the iPhone 5 or if theres any proof from previous instances of a long delay between when new iPhones are available on the bigger carriers and when theyre released to the smaller carriers.
Ive had two Virgin Mobile phones and both of them bore the Virgin Mobile logo which I didnt mind since they were cheap phones. I hope these iPhones dont have the Virgin Mobile logo on them though...
Thanks for the great breakdown cvaldes!
Im wondering if I should just wait for the iPhone 5 or if theres any proof from previous instances of a long delay between when new iPhones are available on the bigger carriers and when theyre released to the smaller carriers.
Ive had two Virgin Mobile phones and both of them bore the Virgin Mobile logo which I didnt mind since they were cheap phones. I hope these iPhones dont have the Virgin Mobile logo on them though...
Thanks for the great breakdown cvaldes!
My husband and I have been with virgin mobile for over two years, we have tried so many carriers and we really like vm. We are still under the $25.00 monthly coverage...we do not have issues with the costumer service and had not had issues. We live in CO and the only problem we encounter is the coverage. Some areas in the mountains do not have signals but it's not a big deal for us because we don't go to those areas often. Also, I love the international calls, I just pay extra when I need to call and I am not charge an arm and a leg. I am very excited to have the iPhone!
This isn't entirely true, as with most products you negotiate to an extent based on what the market is offering. I negotiated my AT&T plan down to 90.XX a month.
So a subsidized $199.00 iphone plus 35.00 activation fee plus 90.XX over 24months (My plan includes 450min plus rollover minutes, nights starting at 7pm, free weekends, free mobile-to-mobile, and 3gb of data on a faster network). This costs around $2400 over the contract, what you forgot to include is that once your two-year commitment is up you are allowed to unlock the phone as re-sell it. An unlocked iphone still fetches between 350-450, so even being conservative it costs around $2050 over the span of the contract.
Now you have to weigh your options? Does the faster network, stolen/lost protection, and certainty that you will be able to fully use all the features capable on the device outweigh the $200.00 less it costs to be on VM? Im sticking with AT&T.
If I'm up to date on the thread, VM iphones only work on their network. So this means that the up front $650 you spend on an iphone, must then be sold to an existing VM customer or someone who wants to be on the VM pre-paid service. So your options on re-sale are limited for the time being, I personally dont know one person with a VM phone.
Your analysis is good, but there are other factors a consumer must consider than just "price" valuations.
Any word on the 64GB iPhone? Im already on Virgin Mobile, just waiting for the iPhone. Does anyone have any idea why theres no mention of the 64GB iPhone and if its going to be available or if not, why not? All I know is what Virgin Mobile has posted on their site.
Im wondering if I should just wait for the iPhone 5 or if theres any proof from previous instances of a long delay between when new iPhones are available on the bigger carriers and when theyre released to the smaller carriers.
Ive had two Virgin Mobile phones and both of them bore the Virgin Mobile logo which I didnt mind since they were cheap phones. I hope these iPhones dont have the Virgin Mobile logo on them though...
Thanks for the great breakdown cvaldes!
I contacted VM Customer Service about the 64GB iPhone. According to the rep I spoke to, they will offer the 16/32/64GB models of the iPhone 4S. I'm in the same boat as you, and need the 64GB model. However, if the prices are through the roof (which I expect them to be), I'm ready to just get the 16 or 32GB model and get a 32 or 64GB iPod Touch (even though I hate carrying two devices with me). I'm just not in favor of paying upwards of $900 for an iPhone.
But now it's sounding like there WILL be 32 and 64GB models available? I was sort of resigned to making do with 16GB...but that's really 13ishGB, and from my experience with my iPad 2, I know it's a bit painful. IMO the extra $100 is probably worth it.
Obviously the $100 from the iPhone 4 to 5 is 1000% worth it, which probably everyone here knows, but if you've got relatives, etc. that don't... Besides 2x the flash (which is worth a lot in and of itself), the CPU(s) and GPU(s) have well over 2x the power, and of course the cameras are I guess better which is a nice bonus. The CPUs though...yikes are they better, and they're slow enough as is.
Obviously the $100 from the iPhone 4 to 5 is 1000% worth it, which probably everyone here knows, but if you've got relatives, etc. that don't... Besides 2x the flash (which is worth a lot in and of itself), the CPU(s) and GPU(s) have well over 2x the power, and of course the cameras are I guess better which is a nice bonus. The CPUs though...yikes are they better, and they're slow enough as is.
Thanks for the information nburwell! I'm glad to hear it. If you go by their pricing it does look like the 64GB could cost $849, but I can't believe they would actually charge that much. It seems crazy. Might have to wait a few months for the price to drop if they actually start that high. If you're going to get an iPhone and iPod Touch, it looks like your only choice would be the 8GB iPhone 4 for $549 and the 8GB iPod Touch for $199. If you think about going with the $30/month plan with a 64GB iPhone at $849, that would be $1209 for the first year and $360 for the second year. A lot less than a plan with most other carriers I imagine.
Given that Apple always controls the sales price of its products, I'm sure the 32/64 pricing will be the same as what Apple sells unlocked phones for, which is $749/$849.
There will be no price drop on the 4S by any carrier until the next iteration of the iPhone is released, probably in the fall. I would guess that Apple's offerings then will be iPhone 4, 4S and the newest model.
Looks like they're just charging full price for them. I'd love if they were subsidized a little bit-not sure if the other phones are or not...I mean they're cheaper than they would be, but it could just be the phone companies are willing to cut the price a bit, and Apple doesn't.
But as is, they're the price of unlocked iPhones, which is basically fine though of course it would be nice if you could buy a phone and use it anywhere.