My goodness I have had some typing issues today. Thanks for taking me seriously despite those. To me that's usually the first sign of someone you can't take seriously. That's what happens when you type furiously in between work tasks I suppose. 
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NEWBIE Want iphone, current Verizon user- need advice on my best options!
- Thread starter Greene23
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My goodness I have had some typing issues today. Thanks for taking me seriously despite those. To me that's usually the first sign of someone you can't take seriously. That's what happens when you type furiously in between work tasks I suppose.
No worries, we're just here to help.
I would recommend getting the iPhone. I switched from a blackberry and for me there is no comparison. I am able to carry one device with phone, texting, email, calendar, iPod, camera, video, web browsing and games.
If you don't mind carring two devices then I would recommend getting and iPod Touch and another phone, but it will not be bery convenient or simple.
If you don't mind carring two devices then I would recommend getting and iPod Touch and another phone, but it will not be bery convenient or simple.
I have an iPhone on T-Mobile. No i cant have 3G and it is slow at times outside of wi-fi but it depends on how you will use it. If you will go to website a lot on EDGE, you wont like it. If you want email, EDGE is fine, SMS is fine, MMS is fine.
Personally i dont think id be happier with another phone because i could get the new MyTouch but my data plan would cost more ( i pay $5.99 now) and it wont be able to do as much. Just can do so much with the iPhone and im not a tech geek so things like push and tethering dont matter much to me.
As for phone service, T-Mobile has been fine for me in my area. Some areas vary as with all services .
I dont think it is a tough decision. Really it is how much think you can put up with EDGE when out of wi-fi service. If Steve Jobs died tomorrow and Apple shut it down, then id be forced to use another. Til then, im using the iPhone till Apple figures out to how keep it from being unlocked and jailbroken.
Personally i dont think id be happier with another phone because i could get the new MyTouch but my data plan would cost more ( i pay $5.99 now) and it wont be able to do as much. Just can do so much with the iPhone and im not a tech geek so things like push and tethering dont matter much to me.
As for phone service, T-Mobile has been fine for me in my area. Some areas vary as with all services .
I dont think it is a tough decision. Really it is how much think you can put up with EDGE when out of wi-fi service. If Steve Jobs died tomorrow and Apple shut it down, then id be forced to use another. Til then, im using the iPhone till Apple figures out to how keep it from being unlocked and jailbroken.
I had the same dilemma you had, OP. I was on Verizon and agonized over leaving so that I could get the iPhone. I had an iPod touch, but it just made me want the iPhone even more. It's like a gateway drug.
I finally went with buying a used iPhone on eBay (I got lucky and the phone was pristine), I unlocked it and switched to T-Mobile. I don't miss Verizon one bit, even though their coverage is much, much better. You get so much more freedom on ATT & T-Mobile. You don't get stuck with a 2 yr contract every time you want to switch phones. Even activating a phone on Verizon automatically renews your contract. I hate that! With T-Mobile, when I signed up, I got a Blackberry (and the Blackberry unlimited plan) and it works fine with the iPhone. And if I feel like switching to the Blackberry (I never have, lol) I can easily do so without asking "permission" and extending my contract.
I keep the Blackberry as a back-up in case I do something stupid and lock my iPhone. That's really the only pain in the ass about being on T-Mobile. You must stay jailbroken & unlocked, so that means waiting around for these to be available after every update. But.. that's not such a big deal to me since I save money on my monthly plan.
Edge can be slow, but when I surf the internet next to my friend surfing via 3G, it's practically the same. I'm pretty impatient, and edge is suitable for me.
My advice - get the iPhone. If you don't mind paying a little more each month, go with ATT and save yourself the headache of always staying unlocked and plus you'll get the 3G network. If you want to save those extra bucks and don't care about having 3G speeds and can keep up with the jailbreaking/unlocking, go to T-Mobile. I've had it for almost a year now, and I'm happy with it. Honestly, I kind of wish I had signed up with AT&T because their coverage is a little better in my area and sometimes I hate having to worry about the stupid baseband all the time. But overall, I'm happy.
I finally went with buying a used iPhone on eBay (I got lucky and the phone was pristine), I unlocked it and switched to T-Mobile. I don't miss Verizon one bit, even though their coverage is much, much better. You get so much more freedom on ATT & T-Mobile. You don't get stuck with a 2 yr contract every time you want to switch phones. Even activating a phone on Verizon automatically renews your contract. I hate that! With T-Mobile, when I signed up, I got a Blackberry (and the Blackberry unlimited plan) and it works fine with the iPhone. And if I feel like switching to the Blackberry (I never have, lol) I can easily do so without asking "permission" and extending my contract.
I keep the Blackberry as a back-up in case I do something stupid and lock my iPhone. That's really the only pain in the ass about being on T-Mobile. You must stay jailbroken & unlocked, so that means waiting around for these to be available after every update. But.. that's not such a big deal to me since I save money on my monthly plan.
Edge can be slow, but when I surf the internet next to my friend surfing via 3G, it's practically the same. I'm pretty impatient, and edge is suitable for me.
My advice - get the iPhone. If you don't mind paying a little more each month, go with ATT and save yourself the headache of always staying unlocked and plus you'll get the 3G network. If you want to save those extra bucks and don't care about having 3G speeds and can keep up with the jailbreaking/unlocking, go to T-Mobile. I've had it for almost a year now, and I'm happy with it. Honestly, I kind of wish I had signed up with AT&T because their coverage is a little better in my area and sometimes I hate having to worry about the stupid baseband all the time. But overall, I'm happy.
Vegastouch and Sparrky- Thanks for your help!
I live/work, etc, in downtown Seattle so I wonder if I would have the coverage/speed problems that many people are talking about. Which is why I wonder if I would have any issues going to an unlocked phone on Tmobile. The other thing here is bringing my husband on as well.. Family iphone users look at like over $170/month including data plans and text, NOT counting taxes and other fees. yikes! I guess people think its worth it?! That's how they make money, isnt it? In the data plan fee??????
I live/work, etc, in downtown Seattle so I wonder if I would have the coverage/speed problems that many people are talking about. Which is why I wonder if I would have any issues going to an unlocked phone on Tmobile. The other thing here is bringing my husband on as well.. Family iphone users look at like over $170/month including data plans and text, NOT counting taxes and other fees. yikes! I guess people think its worth it?! That's how they make money, isnt it? In the data plan fee??????
It's not that you'll have coverage problems with T-Mobile, the issue is that T-Mobile uses a frequency for 3G that isn't compatible with the iPhone so you wouldn't be able to surf on 3G, only on Edge.
I was just released from my Verizon contract last week, about three weeks early. Verizon wanted me to pay $30-$60 for canceling early but finally just released me when I complained about their killing popular features on their phones.
I was with Cingular and AT&T for eight years but the poor customer service was too much. As a fifteen year Apple customer, I really wanted to have an iphone and sync my machines. I have since received my iphone and am very happy with it. You need to figure out what your budget is and shape your plan accordingly. The 450 minute, 200 texts and data plan will run you about $80 including taxes. If money is an issue, I would buy a refurbished phone and save for a new phone.
I was with Cingular and AT&T for eight years but the poor customer service was too much. As a fifteen year Apple customer, I really wanted to have an iphone and sync my machines. I have since received my iphone and am very happy with it. You need to figure out what your budget is and shape your plan accordingly. The 450 minute, 200 texts and data plan will run you about $80 including taxes. If money is an issue, I would buy a refurbished phone and save for a new phone.
I've had 3 friends switch from Verizon to iPhones (AT&T) in the past 2 months and all of them are getting better reception with less dropped calls.
Anyone who says AT&T service sucks is full of **** or just happens to live in a bad area, which can happen on either network.
Anyone who says AT&T service sucks is full of **** or just happens to live in a bad area, which can happen on either network.
Man, I'm in EXACTLY The same situation you are in... my plan ends on the 18th of November (give or take a few days)... and I really dont know what to do, either get IPHONE 3GS now or stick with verizon out of contract for 7 more months, and get the next yrs iphone (with possibly a different carrier than att)
the lame thing is, only time will tell....
I feel you McBeats! This decisions has paralyzed me for so long... Like I said before, It seriosuly makes me feel like I am going to have a seizure. And I just found out the iphones arent just $200 retail, but that it is only that low if you sign a contract!?!?!?! Serenity now.
Another reason I wish I had just gone to AT&T. I paid $400 for my used iPhone and the money I save with T-Mobile's plans just about breaks me even.
I almost stayed on Verizon and was going to get the Storm to tide me over until the iPhone came to Verizon or another carrier... but I'm so glad I didn't wait, obviously. It's going to be one of those things you think about all the time until you just give in and get the iPhone.
And yes, dropped calls will be a reality. I get dropped calls like crazy between my T-Mobile service and my friend's AT&T service, and we live in a large city. That's the only downside to leaving Verizon, but it's still worth it.
They really don't make money off the data fee at all. The network is abused by many since it's 'unlimited'. They pretty much just break even on data, within the next 2 years I expect to see an end to unlimited data and we will see caps, probably at different price points.
As for what you should do, my husband & I left Sprint, and that wasn't an easy decision either. Sprint here has the best coverage of any provider, and the CS was great. We looked at tmobile, but in the end to us it wasn't worth it. I refused to jump on the iPhone train until it was 3G capable, so going to tmobile with no 3G was just not appealing, not to mention breaking the warranty with the iphone if something did happen... and the first 6 months in, we did end up having to go to Apple to have the phones replaced. Yes, there are ways around that, but it's a hassle. Although we would have saved SOME money, overall the difference between what we would save monthly, vs paying that much more for an unlocked iphone on tmobile was not a huge difference.
Well we had different BB's, I had the Storm. I find that the iphone 3Gs is easier to type on and I text more than I talk.
I work for ATT Tech support and thats what I would do......if I didnt already have Sprint
I had a g1 (I'm on T-Mobile) and an iPod touch. I got tired of carrying two devices, so I bought a Factory unlocked iPhone and am using it on T-Mobile. I can't stand AT&T and you just can't beat T-Mobile's prices! Edge is fine with me because I don't surf the web much unless I'm using Wi-Fi (which is 85% of the time). And t-mobile is very accommodating to non-t-mobile phones.
Where do you get these unlocked phones and how much are they?
Also, Aren't all wifi's locked and need a password these days anyways? So is it worth to work the iphone mostly on wifi?
Wait... Did I just do something way Un-kosher? Is that super secret information!?
factory unlocked iPhones are sold in only select countries. Here is the list: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1937
The ones that don't have a checkbox by them for locked to carrier come factory unlocked. But you will probably pay a pretty penny to get them. O and you need to travel....
The ones that don't have a checkbox by them for locked to carrier come factory unlocked. But you will probably pay a pretty penny to get them. O and you need to travel....
I bought mine on ebay. It was a little cheaper than buy.com.
ETA: I paid a bit more for a factory unlocked version because I knew I was using it on T-Mobile, so I didn't want to have to worry about having to wait to get updated software because of the fear it would lock the device.