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Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

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Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#91

Post by jsz0 »

whichdan wrote: post #58

For people with LTE: Is the difference significant enough to warrant upgrading from a 4 or 4s?

By itself? Probably not. I leave LTE disabled on my Galaxy Nexus to save battery life most of the time. I can't even remember the last time I turned it on. It's nice for tethering I suppose but for normal usage it's not worth the battery cost. If you're on AT&T HSPA+ is actually fairly close to LTE speeds already though the latency is generally higher. I see about 7-8Mbit/sec on Verizon LTE and about 4-5Mbit/sec on AT&T HSPA+ -- not a huge difference.

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#92

Post by frankus »

indiekid wrote: post #15
frankus wrote: post #5

Anyone know if VZW will let you use something other than the "Share Everything" plans with the iPhone 5? I'd like to switch (they're the only ones with LTE coverage in my city) but probably half of my calling is to/from/in Canada.

Share everything is the only current option. If you're going to Canada a lot, your best option would be the AT&T iPhone as the Verizon iPhone won't support Canadian LTE bands.

I'm in Canada a lot, but I'm here (Bellingham) more, so I'm torn.

Right now I'm trying to decide between sticking with AT&T's Nationwide plus Canada and a global data add-on ($110/month) and Verizon's cheapest Sharing is Caring option plus a prepaid Virgin Mobile Canada plan (once VZW will unlock my SIM slot -- $105/month total).

With AT&T I only have one phone number and get free long distance calling to and from Canada (which I do a lot). But the closest LTE market is out of state, and I would need to use my old phone for overseas use with a local SIM.

With Verizon I get LTE in my hometown and much of the rest of the world, and I can use local SIMs when I travel, but I would need to use Skype or FaceTime to call people across the US/Canada border, and probably wouldn't get missed call or voicemail notifications until I crossed into each carrier's coverage area.

The AT&T option appeals to my practical side and the VZW option appeals to my hacker side. Anyway I'm traveling till October so I have a couple of weeks to decide.

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#93

Post by indiekid »

thoughtsimple wrote: post #89
eddieplan9 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That $18.75/month buys you much more than unlimited data, if it's a truly unlocked phone.

It's a CDMA phone which by definition can't be unlocked.

That's not true. CDMA is just one band. The iPhone 5 supports multiple bands, including GSM bands and LTE bands. It also includes a SIM card slot. The iPhone 5 can be unlocked and a new SIM inserted.

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#94

Post by w1ntermute »

tejaswiy wrote: post #36
w1ntermute wrote: post #4

Looks like there's no competition here - Verizon is dominant. Even when it comes to price, they're not much more expensive, and actually cheaper if you've got 3+ members on a family plan.

Verizon doesn't do rollover minutes month to month though which is very annoying.

I guess that matters for some people, but do you really use your phone to call people all that often? I'm still on my parents' family plan with 700 shared minutes and we rarely run out. And I'm never leaving the plan either, because I've got grandfathered unlimited data, which is a dream come true on Verizon, especially with a Galaxy Nexus running Jelly Bean.

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#95

Post by DomKM »

indiekid wrote: post #49
mmanfrin wrote: post #46

Since when is CDMA a 'worldphone' compatible format?

It's not. That's why the iPhone 5 has GSM bands supported as well.

Could you explain this? This chart* would suggest that, while LTE bands are shared between the CDMA model and the non-North America GSM model, none of the models are both GSM and CDMA capable and therefore are not "worldphone capable". I would love to be wrong about this so please elucidate the situation if you are able.

*http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#96

Post by dubya »

achille2 wrote: post #41

This is cool but if you could, please add prepaid? Specifically add the following? - 4th column for StraighTalk as one of the carriers - 5th column for Tmobile as one of the carriers) - Cost to buy iphone (199 normally, but full price prepaid) - Cost over the entire life of the plan See: - Tmobile: http://9to5mac.com/2012/09/10/t-mobile-unveils-its-big-plans... - StraighTalk: http://9to5mac.com/2012/07/30/review-the-…

StraightTalk doesn't have LTE. I'm not sure if an iPhone 4S claims it is using 4G as it does on AT&T.

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#98

Post by lsllc »

mdasen wrote: post #65
kurtvarner wrote: post #8

Imagine how much of an advantage it'd be to only enforce a 1 year contract. That'd be a huge differentiator, as it would allow you to upgrade your iPhone on it's yearly release. I'm sure that would cause a massive switch in carriers for Apple fans.

AT&T used to allow iPhone users an upgrade annually for the new iPhone despite being on a two-year contract. I'm not sure if they have for this round, but every other year, they simply changed upgrade eligibility for iPhone users right before the iPhone came out. The problem is that this is very expensive. An iPhone costs $650 and you get it for $200. That means that the carrier is eating $450. Even if you argue that…

If you ask nicely, AT&T will upgrade every year -- they have for me. They'll tell you about the "early upgrade fee" ($250), so just ask them what your current early termination fee is -- it'll be less (that's why they raised it last year).

So you pay the ETF and switch to Verizon. If you got the 4S last year, you're looking at $215 right now for an ETF vs $250 for the "early upgrade fee". Chances are, they want to retain you as a customer, so they'll waive the upgrade fee.

I certainly don't feel bad for AT&T, my average monthly bill is $130, so I'm paying them ~$1600 in monthlies per year plus the annual $200 (& change!) upgrade fee. So I don't think it's unreasonable to get a new $650 iPhone each year for the $2K I'm paying (which as you say probably only costs them $350).

I just wish they'd formalize this into a "Apple fanboi" plan so I don't have to threaten to cancel, argue with managers etc to get that shiny new phone on release day!

Full disclosure: I do sell the previous phone via eBay, so I guess I'm at least making the $200 upgrade fee back.

Re: Apple iPhone 5 US Carrier Comparison Chart

#100

Post by needcaffeine »

css771 wrote: post #86
runjake wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no point in adding Straight Talk at this time because official word (via their Twitter) is that they do not have nano SIMs and they have no (announce-able) plans to sell nano SIMs at this time. Micro-SIMs cannot be cut down to nano-SIM dimensions and be used.

Why not? Is there a difference in the actual chip? I thought it was just a trimming of the plastic around the chip.

Nano sims are also thinner.

Source: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/09/12/dont-plan-on-cutting...

But it looks like you can hack it: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/09/14/convert-micro-sim-ip...

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