Do you think you have a super deal on your Smart Phone and plan?
May 19, 2013 7:59 AM Subscribe
I think I may be ready to delve into the world of smart phones; I am having trouble understanding what is a good price for the plan, for the phone, etc, even after some price-quoting with various companies (is there a less clumsy way to do this than pretending to buy???). Please share the deal that you are happy with to give me an idea of what is realistic.
Provider: I am probably limited to AT&T as a service provider because we have wonky reception from Verizon where I live. AT&T works fine and we haven't experimented with other providers. My husband receives a discount on AT&T through work. However, if some other provider has such an awesome deal I shouldn't ignore, I would probably get good coverage everywhere but at home -- our house in somewhat in a hilly area of the boonies, but we are not far from civilization.
Usage: I would be using the smart phone primarily for data at work, and to monitor traffic/best routes while I am commuting. My work culture seems to find it acceptable for people to work and communicate on phones while in meetings, but laptops are frowned upon. I am tired of wasting time being bored with info I could listen to with half an ear, like others do. And of course, the commuting would be easier if I had something besides occasional radio updates. I bet once I have the phone I will find it useful to look up those little things while out and about, since in my phoneless state, I often wish I could so so. I am not a big texter, and I am happy with the voice coverage we currently have...so if there's some reason to believe having a separate data plan (and then carrying both a smart phone and my cell phone) would be best, I am willing to do that.
Phones: I think I favor the iPhone because I am familiar with it and wouldn't have to 'learn' how to use it; choosing between phones that aren't iPhones seems like a whole nother bag of worms.
So what's the best deal I can get with these limitations? Is there anything I haven't thought of?
Provider: I am probably limited to AT&T as a service provider because we have wonky reception from Verizon where I live. AT&T works fine and we haven't experimented with other providers. My husband receives a discount on AT&T through work. However, if some other provider has such an awesome deal I shouldn't ignore, I would probably get good coverage everywhere but at home -- our house in somewhat in a hilly area of the boonies, but we are not far from civilization.
Usage: I would be using the smart phone primarily for data at work, and to monitor traffic/best routes while I am commuting. My work culture seems to find it acceptable for people to work and communicate on phones while in meetings, but laptops are frowned upon. I am tired of wasting time being bored with info I could listen to with half an ear, like others do. And of course, the commuting would be easier if I had something besides occasional radio updates. I bet once I have the phone I will find it useful to look up those little things while out and about, since in my phoneless state, I often wish I could so so. I am not a big texter, and I am happy with the voice coverage we currently have...so if there's some reason to believe having a separate data plan (and then carrying both a smart phone and my cell phone) would be best, I am willing to do that.
Phones: I think I favor the iPhone because I am familiar with it and wouldn't have to 'learn' how to use it; choosing between phones that aren't iPhones seems like a whole nother bag of worms.
So what's the best deal I can get with these limitations? Is there anything I haven't thought of?
As someone else who lives in hilly boonies near civilization, I use home and work wifi considerably more than my data plan, which means I don't need unlimited data, which in turn saves me some money with TMobile. If you think your usage patterns will be similar to your husband's, you might want to look at his monthly data usage and see if that opens some possibilities.
posted by gnomeloaf at 8:34 AM on May 19, 2013
posted by gnomeloaf at 8:34 AM on May 19, 2013
Best answer: I'm very happy with T-Mobile's new unlimited plan. One person, one phone line, unlimited calls, texts, and web, no contract, $50 month.
But your question sounds like you are only asking about AT&T plans with an iPhone -- is that right?
posted by Houstonian at 8:34 AM on May 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
But your question sounds like you are only asking about AT&T plans with an iPhone -- is that right?
posted by Houstonian at 8:34 AM on May 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
NET 10 offers an AT&T SIM card that gives you unlimited talk, text and 1.5GB of 3G data (plenty for the average user) on any unlocked AT&T-compatible smartphone for $50/month with no contract. You may pay more for an unlocked phone at first, but much less for service each month, and this is AFAIK the cheapest way of using AT&T's network. If you can find someone who is looking to sell you their old AT&T iPhone (have them unlock it first), that's certainly your best deal.
posted by eschatfische at 8:44 AM on May 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by eschatfische at 8:44 AM on May 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
My apologies, I linked to the full-size NET 10 SIM card above, not the micro-sized card the iPhone and other newer smartphones use. For an iPhone, you'd want this one.
posted by eschatfische at 8:56 AM on May 19, 2013
posted by eschatfische at 8:56 AM on May 19, 2013
I used to have a $ 45 unlimited plan from straight talk using att network with an iphone. Too many people were ditching their att service that att cut off service contract with straight talk. Now you cant get that plan anymore.
NowThe best alterative is airvoice wireless.
$ 30 unlimited talk and text
$ 35 unlimited talk text and 100 mb data
$ 40 unlimited talk text and 500 mb data
$ 55 unlimited talk text and 1 gig data
SoThe service from airvoice can be cheap but it depends on how much data you used. I was a light data user because I use wifi at home and work.
ToStart the service you need to buy sim card from airvoice for $ 5 or from ebay for $1. The size of sim card wont fit into iphone. You must cut it to microsim card sizes. Cutting sim cards are trivial, there a lot of youtube videos for that.
I would recommend that you buy an unlocked iphone either used or new from apple. It is possible to use locked iphone but thats a lot of work.
posted by Carius at 9:03 AM on May 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
NowThe best alterative is airvoice wireless.
$ 30 unlimited talk and text
$ 35 unlimited talk text and 100 mb data
$ 40 unlimited talk text and 500 mb data
$ 55 unlimited talk text and 1 gig data
SoThe service from airvoice can be cheap but it depends on how much data you used. I was a light data user because I use wifi at home and work.
ToStart the service you need to buy sim card from airvoice for $ 5 or from ebay for $1. The size of sim card wont fit into iphone. You must cut it to microsim card sizes. Cutting sim cards are trivial, there a lot of youtube videos for that.
I would recommend that you buy an unlocked iphone either used or new from apple. It is possible to use locked iphone but thats a lot of work.
posted by Carius at 9:03 AM on May 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I tried to look where you live to see if you would get coverage, but I don't see that info in your profile, so I will give you the link to look up coverage in your city.
You mention ATT and Verizon, but not Sprint (hence the map). My plan is 30/month, unlimited text and data, but I selected a plan with limited phone time. Like you, I live in a place that has poor cell phone coverage in the building (for all carriers), so I use google voice to forward calls to both my cell and land line. You do have to pay more for the phone up front since you won't be buying into a contract (meaning a company will not supplement the price of your cell phone, but I did the math in advance and it is far cheaper to pay for the phone and get a cheaper plan). I selected an iphone but this plan lets you select other phones, too. For my area, I walked into a radio shack to get the phone and activate the plan and the rest is done online.
posted by Wolfster at 9:42 AM on May 19, 2013
You mention ATT and Verizon, but not Sprint (hence the map). My plan is 30/month, unlimited text and data, but I selected a plan with limited phone time. Like you, I live in a place that has poor cell phone coverage in the building (for all carriers), so I use google voice to forward calls to both my cell and land line. You do have to pay more for the phone up front since you won't be buying into a contract (meaning a company will not supplement the price of your cell phone, but I did the math in advance and it is far cheaper to pay for the phone and get a cheaper plan). I selected an iphone but this plan lets you select other phones, too. For my area, I walked into a radio shack to get the phone and activate the plan and the rest is done online.
posted by Wolfster at 9:42 AM on May 19, 2013
Check Pure Talk, Airvoice, and Good 2 Go for an AT&T-based prepaid plan. If you know what your usage is going to be, these can be a damn good deal for you compared to getting a contract. For a phone, get any AT&T unlocked phone with a clean IMEI, and have the provider (many have local dealers) give you a SIM card.
I have a Page Plus phone - they're prepaid and run on the Verizon network. $29.95 for 1200 minutes, 1200 texts, and 250MB of mobile data. For some people that's not enough of any of them, but I tend to use about half my monthly allotment on that (aka I'm not surfing much when I'm away from wifi.)
Sprint and T-Mobile have their own MVNOs (Mobile Network Virtual Operator) that offer prepaid plans. If it's on AT&T or T-Mobile, you'll need a GSM phone and a SIM card for the carrier. If it's Verizon or Sprint, you'll need a CDMA phone and it may need to be flashed depending on the carrier it was originally with. Most MVNOs also have phones for sale, albeit at a pretty good markup. It may require a bit more legwork and research on your part than just walking into a AT&T store and signing up for a free or cheap phone and a contract, but it will save you a ton of money. Howard Forums is a great source of info.
posted by azpenguin at 10:00 AM on May 19, 2013
I have a Page Plus phone - they're prepaid and run on the Verizon network. $29.95 for 1200 minutes, 1200 texts, and 250MB of mobile data. For some people that's not enough of any of them, but I tend to use about half my monthly allotment on that (aka I'm not surfing much when I'm away from wifi.)
Sprint and T-Mobile have their own MVNOs (Mobile Network Virtual Operator) that offer prepaid plans. If it's on AT&T or T-Mobile, you'll need a GSM phone and a SIM card for the carrier. If it's Verizon or Sprint, you'll need a CDMA phone and it may need to be flashed depending on the carrier it was originally with. Most MVNOs also have phones for sale, albeit at a pretty good markup. It may require a bit more legwork and research on your part than just walking into a AT&T store and signing up for a free or cheap phone and a contract, but it will save you a ton of money. Howard Forums is a great source of info.
posted by azpenguin at 10:00 AM on May 19, 2013
I have a family plan through T-Mobile. Unlimited messaging, unlimited data, 1000 shared minutes, $100 a month, and I have an iPhone 5. I don't have a contract because I want the freedom to leave whenever I want. T-Mobile will usually match an employer discount if you ask for it.
posted by notaninja at 10:54 AM on May 19, 2013
posted by notaninja at 10:54 AM on May 19, 2013
I like T-Mobile's new no contract post-pay plans. Just don't pay for more 4G data than you need. With T-Mobile you can easily use Wi-Fi wherever it's available instead of 4G, so you may be cable to get by with the minimum tier (I think it might be 500MB of 4G, and then anything over that is 3G).
posted by Dansaman at 10:59 AM on May 19, 2013
posted by Dansaman at 10:59 AM on May 19, 2013
Best answer: Check out tmobile, and see what their coverage is like in your area. They still have the $30 300 minutes/unlimited data plan which is a steal(if you look on their site, it's hidden near the bottom left of the plans page in tiny text. Sneaky bastards!)
Nothing even approaches that deal. Virgin/sprint has a similar deal, but their service sucks.
posted by emptythought at 12:19 PM on May 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
Nothing even approaches that deal. Virgin/sprint has a similar deal, but their service sucks.
posted by emptythought at 12:19 PM on May 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I just bought a Nexus 4, and I'm going with the $30 plan emptythought mentions, but it actually only gives you 100 minutes a month, with $0.10 for each additional. Still a great plan for anyone who uses under 300 or so minutes. Keep in mind that it's a prepaid plan, so you'll want to set it up to auto-reload money for additional minutes in case you go over.
posted by tonycpsu at 12:43 PM on May 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by tonycpsu at 12:43 PM on May 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yes you will find a smartphone useful to have when you are out and about. But that won't use much data, even with maps. You probably don't need a huge data plan. 100-500MB/month should be fine. It does seem that T-Mobile's new approach to contracts and plans is more customer-friendly than the other providers. And at the end of two years you might save money, too. I use T-Mobile and have wonky reception at home but I put an antenna on the roof, ran a cable into the house, and use a booster/repeater amp so now I have good reception, which was worth the trouble to avoid being locked into a two-year contract with AT&T.
posted by conrad53 at 1:11 PM on May 19, 2013
posted by conrad53 at 1:11 PM on May 19, 2013
Buy an unlocked phone and the proper size SIM card off of eBay for Straight Talk. $45 a month for unlimited everything. Simple, no bullshit awesomeness. Highly recommend.
posted by oceanjesse at 2:31 PM on May 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by oceanjesse at 2:31 PM on May 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
Seconding Straight Talk. Used to be a TracFone customer for *years*. Bought a broken iPhone 4, fixed it, then bought a SIM for $15 and pay $45/mo for unlimited talk/text/data (3G speeds, but that's fine for my needs, and probably yours too.) Even ported my TracFone number in an hour or so.
There's also Consumer Cellular, who has plans with set numbers of minutes, etc. but I didn't think that the savings justified the minute-counting for me.
posted by Wild_Eep at 5:39 PM on May 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
There's also Consumer Cellular, who has plans with set numbers of minutes, etc. but I didn't think that the savings justified the minute-counting for me.
posted by Wild_Eep at 5:39 PM on May 19, 2013 [2 favorites]
A word of warning about Straight Talk: while they used to give you the choice between AT&T or T-Mobile's network, new customers can now only use T-Mobile's network. If you don't get good T-Mobile reception, Straight Talk would not be an option.
posted by eschatfische at 6:49 PM on May 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by eschatfische at 6:49 PM on May 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
If you're limited to AT&T as a service provider, then just get the iPhone at 2-year-contract price (much cheaper than full price), and use your husband's discount to knock a little off your monthly bill.
As someone who lives in the hilly boonies without decent cell reception, and who was not a texter when I had a dumbphone, I'll tell you right now that you might become a moderate-to-heavy texter once you have a smartphone. Texting on a smartphone is MUCH easier than on keypads, and although our cell reception is not good enough for talk, it is good enough for texting (the phone seems to need just a second of decent signal strength to send a text).
I will also add, though, that if you both get iPhones, you'll end up with most of your texts going over iMessage and not counting against your text allotment anyway, so you might not want to get a lot of texts. (On the other hand, there are a lot of useful things to use texting for; I get text alerts from my state DOT about traffic issues in my area, and I can text my bank to find out my balance.)
Also, get Waze for commuting! It's better than Google maps in almost every situation. It's got a social element, so other users can warn you in real time about speed traps, accidents, and heavy traffic.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 7:54 AM on May 20, 2013
As someone who lives in the hilly boonies without decent cell reception, and who was not a texter when I had a dumbphone, I'll tell you right now that you might become a moderate-to-heavy texter once you have a smartphone. Texting on a smartphone is MUCH easier than on keypads, and although our cell reception is not good enough for talk, it is good enough for texting (the phone seems to need just a second of decent signal strength to send a text).
I will also add, though, that if you both get iPhones, you'll end up with most of your texts going over iMessage and not counting against your text allotment anyway, so you might not want to get a lot of texts. (On the other hand, there are a lot of useful things to use texting for; I get text alerts from my state DOT about traffic issues in my area, and I can text my bank to find out my balance.)
Also, get Waze for commuting! It's better than Google maps in almost every situation. It's got a social element, so other users can warn you in real time about speed traps, accidents, and heavy traffic.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 7:54 AM on May 20, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks all. I am hugely enjoying my new life with my unlocked iPhone4 on the TMobile Prepaid plan ($30 for unltd data, unltd text, and 100 min) that emptythought wised me up to. I don't know how I ever handled driving for business trips in strange cities without maps at hand.
As feared, there is absolutely no coverage at my home, but that is fine since I use the Wifi there only and I am keeping my AT&T dumbphone too.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 8:34 PM on June 6, 2013
As feared, there is absolutely no coverage at my home, but that is fine since I use the Wifi there only and I am keeping my AT&T dumbphone too.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 8:34 PM on June 6, 2013
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You can look at AT&T's rates online - that link is to the family plans, but on the left you can look at the individual plans and data plans too. No need to call!
posted by insectosaurus at 8:20 AM on May 19, 2013