Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I just paid $799 for the iPhone 4S.

You mad?

----------

Dead horse. Which carrier gives you discounted service for bringing your own device? None of them. It really depends on a number of variables. It is possible to save some by paying full price. It's also possible to pay the same or more by paying full price. There's no one-size-fits-all answer despite the assertions above.

Hahaha.

$816 over 24 months, I get 200MB of data a month.

$1896 over 24 months, I get 3GB of data a month.

$1495 over 24 months, I get 5GB of data a month. <-- Buy outright.

I use my iPhone for tethering too. Carrier doesn't care as long as you don't exceed the cap.
 
It cost me exactly 1k usd for iphone 4s 64gb factory unlocked , when the iphone 4 came out it cost me the same but of course the 32gb model :) i feel like i got the 4s cheaper hahaha , anyway when the iphone 5 comes out of the dark i expect to pay 1k also :)
 
I just paid $799 for the iPhone 4S.

You mad?

----------



Hahaha.

$816 over 24 months, I get 200MB of data a month.

$1896 over 24 months, I get 3GB of data a month.

$1495 over 24 months, I get 5GB of data a month. <-- Buy outright.

I use my iPhone for tethering too. Carrier doesn't care as long as you don't exceed the cap.
Vodafone?
 
How did you know?

-------

$1164 for 2GB data, over 12 months
$1149 for 5GB data, over 12 months

:)

Australian and my crap phone broke so I wanna get an iPhone 4. so I looked for the cheapest deal and found a 32gb iPhone 4 for $816 over 24 months!! :)
 
I'm slightly spoiled because my work pays for my phone and service. Unlimited everything. That may actually make my opinion unbiased though.

I would not pay that much. I can understand your excitement but I'd switch to a quality android phone. Your current phone well it was junk new. The top tier android phones aren't really that much cheaper but if you shop around you can find some decent deals.

I could easily afford dropping a grand but I couldn't justify it. It took about a week for the luster of my iPhone 4s to wear off. I'd have some serious buyers remorse.

Anyway I see you got one and i hope you enjoy it! I doubt I could.
 
If you can afford it and already have a plan, I say go for it. You won't have to worry about an ETF or be stuck in a new 2 year contract. Many pay $700 and up
for the lastest Android unlocked phones without a contract.
 
In the US, I can't see paying this price for the phone. As others have said, you have two options, ATT&T & T-Mobile. AT&T's price is going to be the same monthly, regardless of subsidy or not, and T-Mobile, while probably cheaper monthly, is going to limit you to EDGE data speeds due to the freqs involved, and you're still going to have to justify ~$1000 over the life of your phone versus the 24 months you signed on with in order to get the phone several hundred dollars cheaper. The truth is, the cell market in the US sucks, but don't make it even worse on yourself by not taking the subsidy just because you don't want to deal with a ETF (thats usually even slightly cheaper than the price difference on the phone) or being locked in to a contract. Now, for those who travel and use their phone abroad, the whole equation changes, but for those of us who use their phone exclusively stateside, theres no logical reason for the contract free iPhone.
 
Over two years, you will pay more than $1000.

don't know if this was already mentioned or not, but i seriously hate when people say this.

while you are right in a way, this makes NO sense.

let's say he does pay $1000 for the iPhone, he still has to pay money to use the phone on a service provider. and since you're using it on a service provider, why not sign a contract and save some money on the hardware?

i posted this on another forum i frequent a while ago, so i'll repost here.

substitute appropriate numbers for the iPhone. it actually makes more sense to sign a contract, financially.

no contract
- $500 phone
- $70 a month for a phone bill x36 months = $2520

total: $3020

advantages:
- terminate line without penalty

contract
- $100 phone
- $70 a month for a phone bill x36 months = $2520

total: $2620

advantages:
- discounted hardware every year or two
____________________________________

ok so now, let's say you want to leave your wireless provider after 6 months.

contract
monthly: $70 x6= $420
phone: $100
termination fee: $400

total: $920

no contract
monthly: $70 x6= $420
phone: $500
termination fee: $0

total: $920

it's essentially the same thing.

*obviously depending on the phone and carrier you have, pricing will vary but this is just an example.
____________________________________

let's say you want to change your phone after 1 year.

contract:

monthly: $70 x12= $840
original phone: $100
HUP: $300

total: $1240

no contract:
monthly: $70 x12= $840
original phone: $500
total:............. $1340
...................- $250 (say you get $250 for your current phone)
total:............. $1090


new phone: $500

new total: $1590
*termination fee is what Canadian providers charge
 
Maybe if the service came free with it!! haha. Thats still less than my annual phone bill.

Actually, yea same here! LOL. I don't have a contract bc I don't have a stable FT job since I still go to school so that is really beneficial for people like me. So T-Mobile fits my needs. However I still won't pay 1k for a phone... if anything, what I have now, the white unlocked iPhone 4, was like $600 and that is still "cheaper" than paying $80 a month for two years, w/ a contract. I just go for the one w/ the least amount of gb, etc. Still gets the job done, I don't use many apps or put much music, movies, entertainment etc on it (that is what my 160gb iPod is for, which I love!!)
 
Just get a 16 or 32 gb. There is no need to have a 64 gb. :rolleyes:


You're just blowing money if you don't take advantage of the cloud, swap out music, etc.

Save money. =]
 
Obviously I can't speak for others, but I think the iPhone is worth paying $1,000 & that's exactly what I did by purchasing an unlocked 64GB iPhone 4S for use on T-Mobile. :eek: I bought my iPhone with AppleCare+ service plan so it cost about $1,025 after including sales taxes. However, I do "make some savings" by not having a data plan. Of course, I also know that it is very silly of me to even get a smart phone since I only use it for phone calls, text messages, & apps usage. :eek: But seriously, who doesn't like an iPhone? :D

Looking back, I regret being too stupid not to switch over from T-Mobile & sign up for an unlimited data plan from AT&T when it was still being offered. :eek: :( That way, I would have been happy to just get my iPhone subsidized with cell phone plans & thus save significant money along the way.
 
Last edited:
don't know if this was already mentioned or not, but i seriously hate when people say this.

while you are right in a way, this makes NO sense.

let's say he does pay $1000 for the iPhone, he still has to pay money to use the phone on a service provider. and since you're using it on a service provider, why not sign a contract and save some money on the hardware?

i posted this on another forum i frequent a while ago, so i'll repost here.

substitute appropriate numbers for the iPhone. it actually makes more sense to sign a contract, financially.


*termination fee is what Canadian providers charge

There is no free lunch. You are getting screwed, but slowly, so it is not so painful.

I pay 10 cents a minute with 30 cents flagfall a phonecall on my $20 Nokia 1100. I spend about $250 a year all up. My ipad 3G data is $150 for 12 GB over 12 months which will last me easy.

Our Telco companies are extremely lucky for having such gullible customers with a penchant for expensive high status items. I given up trying to explain to people why they don't get $400 worth of calls for their $50 cap.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.