Post: #1

I have a old beater iPhone 4s that's been going on for 4 years. I'm eligible for an upgrade and would go for a iPhone 6.

But I'm on the fence whether to stay with AT&T and get another two year contract. I have no plans of leaving the USA anytime soon, but I do plan on traveling overseas several times over the next several years... probably once or twice a year with 1 to 3 week stays each time.

Am I better off buying a prepaid iphone with no contract, or get a data plan with AT&T that bests suits my needs? Are burner phones cheap for overseas travel?

EDIT: If I go with an unlocked/prepaid phone, should I get one with a SIM card, or without? Apple store offers 2 options, one with T-mobile SIM card preinstalled, and one without a SIM card.

Post: #2

Keep in mind all iPhones are now "universal" meaning the 6s are all factory unlocked.

I think most of the 5 models are too, because I was given a 5 and 5s that were Verizon models which worked fine with my AT&T SIM. I ultimately went with the 5s because it has AT&Ts LTE bands inside which the 5 only has Verizon's. With a regular 5 I only get "faux-G" 4G service over HSPA+.

The only exception is Sprint, which might block other carriers phones from being activated. They are also doing massive network overhauls meaning they use newly allocated bands for LTE service.

Post: #3

Tmobile has never let me down while traveling. They have an international plan with 150 countries so it's the same as domestic. I never change my phone number and I don't have a contract. I have the 1gig per month option but i dont notice any difference when the speeds slow down from 4g to 3g if I go over. I also use WiFi so I rarely use data. You don't have to pay more if you go over the 1 gigabyte, it just slows down. You can buy higher options but it's not worth it in my opinion.

http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans...idual.html

I despise any sort of contract.

Also check out this article but draw your own opinion.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/kill-the-wir...1424807865

Post: #4

(03-02-2015 05:47 PM)LINUX Wrote:  http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans...idual.html

The $50-$80 plans, are still contracts, right?

Post: #5

(03-02-2015 05:54 PM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

(03-02-2015 05:47 PM)LINUX Wrote:  http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans...idual.html

The $50-$80 plans, are still contracts, right?

No, they are month to month.

Post: #6

(03-02-2015 07:51 PM)Moma Wrote:  

(03-02-2015 05:54 PM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

(03-02-2015 05:47 PM)LINUX Wrote:  http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans...idual.html

The $50-$80 plans, are still contracts, right?

No, they are month to month.

OK, so if I want unlimited, I have to pay $650 for a 16 gb iphone 6, and then $80 a month for the plan... did I get that right?

Post: #7

T-Mobile USA is a great deal for data-hungry users. A "secret" plan that you can sign up for online is $30 for unlimited texting and data (throttle after generous 5GB allotment is used) with 100 minutes of voice. Using a VoIP solution you like FaceTime audio or a standard SIP client for iOS can stretch that a little bit.

   

I believe you can also get one of their iPhones on the payment system and still sign up for the $30 plan.

Post: #8

AT&T doesn't have two year contracts anymore what they do now is make you pay the full price for a phone through their next program which you basically pay a monthly fee for your phone (fee depends on how fast you want to pay off) apart from your monthly bill.

That being said its the same shit, before you had a two year contract and paid 200$ for an iPhone now you have no contract and pay full price for an iPhone which takes about two years to pay off at a monthly rate of 25$

Ideally you can go get a phone and never pay for it, but goodbye credit. Some people could give a rats ass about credit though

Post: #9

I have some question for you iPhone users if you could be so kind.

I'm looking at changing from my Samsung android phone to an iPhone, on the grounds that I find it to be clumsy and infuriatingly slow, and people say the iPhone 'just works'. But when you change operating systems, you always face the possible irritation of losing features you liked.

Regarding the iPhone:
- Does it permit you to 'share to' on files? For example, on android I could be in the photo gallery and press 'share to' dropbox or email for a photo.
- Does it permit you to place 'widgets' on the desktop screens? I.e. on my android there is a weather widget on the home screen which shows time/locale and weather forecast etc. There is also a 'notes' widget and calender list on one desktop screen which I use frequently.
- Does it permit you to turn of all animations whatsoever? On my android, all of the irritating 'transition' animations, such as swiping between app screens or on opening an app, are disabled.
- Does it permit you to keep a 'most used' set of apps on the home screen?
- Does it permit you to search for an app rather than hunting? (android can't do this)
- Does it permit you to 'wifi hotspot' so you can wifi connect your laptop via the phone's 3G?
- Can you do 'navigation' on it's equivalent map app? On google maps it can calculate time to travel between two points (car, train, or on foot) and show the route live.
- Is it missing any normal apps like 'dropbox', 'skyscanner', or any messaging apps?
- Is there anything on the internet it cannot access?
- Can the camera be made silent? (Android irritatingly makes a shutter sound that cannot be turned off)
- Can you access the file structure? (On android you can download an app for this, to navigate and open files just like a laptop)
- Are the buttons to turn on/off the wifi/3G/airplane mode and adjust screen brightness easily accessible?
- Can you switch between previously opened apps easily (multitasking)?

Many thanks

Post: #10

(03-06-2015 06:15 AM)Phoenix Wrote:  I have some question for you iPhone users if you could be so kind.

Not an expert but I'll try. I have a 5C which has been very reliable. Feel free to correct me.

- Does it permit you to 'share to' on files? For example, on android I could be in the photo gallery and press 'share to' dropbox or email for a photo.

You can def share photos, but other file sharing is deliberately weak as discussed below. -- I am looking at photos now and options are
1) text send pic 2) email 3) twitter 4) the loathsome FB
, I have run into limits on numbers of photos that can be emailed at once, maybe four.

- Does it permit you to place 'widgets' on the desktop screens? I.e. on my android there is a weather widget on the home screen which shows time/locale and weather forecast etc. There is also a 'notes' widget and calender list on one desktop screen which I use frequently.

Dunno, there's a zillion apps and I have a weather app but it doesn't display anything unless you start it.

- Does it permit you to turn of all animations whatsoever? On my android, all of the irritating 'transition' animations, such as swiping between app screens or on opening an app, are disabled.
Dunno

- Does it permit you to keep a 'most used' set of apps on the home screen?
Yes, you can pick apps and move them to any position

- Does it permit you to search for an app rather than hunting? (android can't do this)
Yes there is a handy global search which searches EVERYTHING I think, 1) double tap on the center of home screen
2)Type in app name, fragment of chick's phone etc
3) You will see a list of things that have that in the name or content I believe. I just found candy crush like that.

4) Does it permit you to 'wifi hotspot' so you can wifi connect your laptop via the phone's 3G?

It's a champ at that. My apt complex has shitty 4 bit which 30 people share and slow down. Luckily I have LTE which I guess is like 4G and I can even run Skype over it. You can connect your laptop to the iPhone by USB->Thunderbolt cable or by Bluetooth.

- Can you do 'navigation' on it's equivalent map app? On google maps it can calculate time to travel between two points (car, train, or on foot) and show the route live.
It seems pretty good once you get used to it, I think I use google maps app.


- Is it missing any normal apps like 'dropbox', 'skyscanner', or any messaging apps?
I think it can do Line, WhatsApp, Tinder, dunno what sky scanner is. The file system is the weakness of the iPhone because they don't really want you accessing files, like listing, storing, and moving files in and out of a directory you can see.

They want it done by apps that are approved for stability. If doing low level stuff is important to you Android is better I think .

- Is there anything on the internet it cannot access?

Runs browsers,only gotcha I've found is I don't think there's an easy way to use bittorrent, because they won't put it on app store.

- Can the camera be made silent? (Android irritatingly makes a shutter sound that cannot be turned off)

I think so.

- Can you access the file structure? (On android you can download an app for this, to navigate and open files just like a laptop)

See above, it specifically is something they really don't want you doing this. You have to do workarounds, it's not very good at all for this.


- Are the buttons to turn on/off the wifi/3G/airplane mode and adjust screen brightness easily accessible?
Not bad, a couple menus in for adjusting the internet connection however.

- Can you switch between previously opened apps easily (multitasking)?

Yes, you just hit Home button, you see all apps, touch the one you want to switch to. Quite elegant.

Post: #11

Thanks ike.
To be fair, I've ended up navigating the file system as a result of not knowing where android has put things, or because of a lack of inter-app integration regarding files etc. However if the iPhone won't even permit file sharing beyond just emailing then I doubt it has this sorted either. The fact you can't get a torrent client is a concern - anything with a restriction-minded attitude I steer well clear of.

I wish there was just an OS which refrains from irritating behaviour and does everything and does it fast.

Post: #12

iPhone Explorer will let you see the filesystem without jailbreaking.

If you want to jailbreak, only 8.1.3 and lower are doable so do not update to the newest OS. I jailbreak to enable tethering and run my SNES/NES emulators

Post: #13

(03-03-2015 01:23 PM)DJ-Matt Wrote:  T-Mobile USA is a great deal for data-hungry users. A "secret" plan that you can sign up for online is $30 for unlimited texting and data (throttle after generous 5GB allotment is used) with 100 minutes of voice. Using a VoIP solution you like FaceTime audio or a standard SIP client for iOS can stretch that a little bit.



I believe you can also get one of their iPhones on the payment system and still sign up for the $30 plan.

100 minutes of talk is pretty low, and I could see myself going over that on a sporadic basis.

Post: #14

Plunked the cash down for iphone 6 and accessories. Keeping my grandfathered plan for $50 a month, no contract. I'll get a sim card when I travel.

Post: #15

(03-06-2015 04:57 PM)CleanSlate Wrote:  Plunked the cash down for iphone 6 and accessories. Keeping my grandfathered plan for $50 a month, no contract. I'll get a sim card when I travel.

In the end, your phone is unlocked, and is your month to month $50 cheaper than a contract plan? What does it include? Unlimited data and a certain number of voice minutes or is there a limit on the data that you previously had?

Post: #16

(03-08-2015 12:24 PM)JayJuanGee Wrote:  

(03-06-2015 04:57 PM)CleanSlate Wrote:  Plunked the cash down for iphone 6 and accessories. Keeping my grandfathered plan for $50 a month, no contract. I'll get a sim card when I travel.

In the end, your phone is unlocked, and is your month to month $50 cheaper than a contract plan? What does it include? Unlimited data and a certain number of voice minutes or is there a limit on the data that you previously had?

My data plan stays the same, except they increase my data limit to 3 GB a month instead of 1 GB. My speeds would get throttled after 1 GB, but now if I go over 3 GB, I pay $10 extra per GB. No voice minutes because I don't have a voice plan. Unlimited text messaging for $20. The data plan is $30, so that's $50/month. If I entered a new 2 year contract, then I would be paying $90 a month at least.