Virgin iPhone

[Arsinek]

What do you guys think of this?

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/07/virgin-confirms-iphone-4-and-4s-coming-june-29th-pricing-reveal/

 

[Phokus]

1. Ludicruous price

2. Poor reception/speed since you're using Sprint towers (i'm a VM customer myself, but i'll be transitioning to T-mobile)

 

[AstroManLuca]

Way too expensive. I'd never consider going to VM anyway because their phones are locked into their own service. You should be able to bring Sprint phones to VM but you can't so fuck them. There are tons of Sprint iPhones for sale; you can find a NEW 4S for under $500 easily.

 

[soccerballtux]

You'll make up the difference in a year. This is a fantastic deal.

 

[AstroManLuca]

That's true. On an individual plan, Sprint is $80 a month vs. $30 for VM. So in one year you pay $600 more in plan charges but $450 less for the phone (assuming 4S). Savings of $150 in the first year (break even after 9 months). Second year is another $600 savings. So $750 over the course of a 2-year contract.

For two lines, VM saves you $1,080 in plan charges in the first year and you pay $900 more for the phones. Again, the real savings hits in the second year, when you'll get the same $1,080 savings but shouldn't have to buy phones again.

That said, it's not always easy to shell out $650 for a phone in one shot, much less $1,300 if you are on a multi-line plan. You might save money in the long run, but if you are really serious about saving money you're probably better off sticking to one of the less expensive VM phones. The Evo V, for instance, is actually good and costs less than half as much as the 4S. Go with a pair of those and instead of having to wait almost a year to realize the savings, you make it up within just a few months.

I think my issue is with paying such an incredible amount of money for a no-contract phone that is forever tied to a single prepaid provider.

Also keep in mind that VM is running on the Sprint network, which is slow, and their plans have fewer minutes than Sprint and a 2.5 GB data cap. But at less than half the price that's not bad at all.

 

[Arsinek]

So Tmobiles network is faster then Sprints?

 

[soccerballtux]

I believe so

 

[Bman123]

T mobile is leaps and bounds better then sprint. Go tmobile pre paid and byod. $30 a month monthly 4g plan with google voice and groove ip for minutes since you get 5gb of 4g data

 

[QueBert]

T mobile is leaps and bounds better then sprint. Go tmobile pre paid and byod. $30 a month monthly 4g plan with google voice and groove ip for minutes since you get 5gb of 4g data

Depends where you live, in my town T-Mobile could offer me any phone for free + $100 a month to pocket and I'd still say no. In my area Verizon > Sprint > AT&T > MetroPCS > Cricket > T-Mobile.

 

[Bman123]

I find that very surprising because no one I have ever met has said sprint is better then tmobile.

 

[zerocool84]

I find that very surprising because no one I have ever met has said sprint is better then tmobile.

For coverage, I've found Tmobile to be seriously lacking.

 

[bearxor]

I find that very surprising because no one I have ever met has said sprint is better then tmobile.

Sprint is better than TMobile. Data speeds are lacking right now but that will start to be fixed by the end of the year.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I'd rather have usable speeds in a few places than unusable speeds everywhere. Sprint has good coverage but the data is so slow I can't use it for anything.

I recently switched to Verizon and it's amazing having LTE coverage everywhere, even in buildings. Both wimax and HSPA+ dropped off in buildings and have lots of dead zones. But obviously Verizon isn't cheap.

 

[soccerballtux]

T mobile is leaps and bounds better then sprint. Go tmobile pre paid and byod. $30 a month monthly 4g plan with google voice and groove ip for minutes since you get 5gb of 4g data

GrooveIP on the 4G does not work very well.

 

[Arsinek]

So really it just sounds like it depends on your area which is better? I know a couple people with TMo but I dont think I know anyone with Sprint so it would be hard to get feedback on Sprint in my area.

 

[AstroManLuca]

So really it just sounds like it depends on your area which is better? I know a couple people with TMo but I dont think I know anyone with Sprint so it would be hard to get feedback on Sprint in my area.

Yeah, it really does. There's no magic bullet carrier. Many people find Verizon to be the best, but that's because they have the biggest LTE network right now. Some people live in Verizon dead zones too.

 

[dagamer34]

Sprint is better than TMobile. Data speeds are lacking right now but that will start to be fixed by the end of the year.

T-Mobile's theoretical speeds (14.4Mb/sec) far exceed those of Sprint (3.1Mb/sec). Whether the tower has enough bandwidth to give you that kind of data is all a local issue.