AT&T was the only carrier to offer Apple's iPhone when it was
first released, forcing many users to switch to a new carrier in order
to snag the most advanced phone of the time. Since then, the iPhone has
slowly come to each of the three other major carriers — Verizon, Sprint
and T-Mobile — widening the iPhone's consumer base and giving customers a
choice of carrier.
Unfortunately, the differences between carrier plans and pricing can
make this choice overwhelming. Since every company seems to offer
different combinations of voice minutes, texts and data, we did the math
to find out which company gives you the biggest bang for your buck.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile has recently strayed from the pack, ditching the subsidy
model and separating the phone cost from the service plan cost. With
this model, new users can purchase an iPhone 5 for $149.99, with
additional payments of $20 per month for 24 months. This brings the
total cost of the phone to $629.99 — the same price that the iPhone 5
would cost from T-Mobile if the customer were to pay for it in full.
SEE ALSO: 11 Battery Tips for Your iPhone 5
An individual plan from T-Mobile with a healthy 2.5 GB of data and
unlimited talk and text costs $60 per month. Add in the cost of the
device, and you'll end up paying a total of $2,070 over the course of
two years. Unlimited 4G costs just $10 more, or $70 per month, which is
$2,309 after two years when you include the device. These plans operate
month to month, so you're not locked into a two-year contract, but if
you cancel early, you'll be required to pay off the remaining balance of
the iPhone.
Verizon and AT&T
If you were to purchase the iPhone 5 from Verizon for $199 and opted
for a 2 GB plan, you'd pay $100 per month over two years (for the line
access fee and shared data plan). That comes out to $2,600, or $530 more
than you'd pay on T-Mobile for its 2.5 GB plan. The total for a 1 GB
Mobile Share AT&T plan would be $2,276 (or $206 more than T-Mobile),
while the 4 GB plan would run you $2,876.
SEE ALSO: 25 Best iPhone 5 Apps
Sprint
Those new to Sprint get to pay just $99 for the iPhone 5 while
unlimited voice and data costs $109.99 monthly. Total after two years:
$2,740 vs $2,309 for T-Mobile. If you can live with 450 voice minutes,
though, you can pay just $79.99 per month for unlimited data for a total
of $2,020. That's cheaper than T-Mobile's 2.5 GB plan with unlimited
voice.
SEE ALSO: Top 10 Smartphones
4G LTE Coverage
Of course price isn't everything, so you'll have to weigh these
prices against the value of call quality and download speeds. Verizon
currently has the largest 4G LTE network, with AT&T in second place.
Although these two companies are the current front runners, T-Mobile
has the least amount of 4G LTE coverage, but is quickly expanding and
has less congestion than AT&T and Verizon but to fewer customers.
Sprint is in the middle, offering 4G LTE in 16 markets across the
nation. You'll need to check the specific coverage in the locations
where you spend most of your time to figure out which company will
provide the best coverage.
For many people, the low price and lack of contracts with T-Mobile
would make this company the ideal choice. However, if T-Mobile coverage
is spotty in a particular area, paying more for an AT&T or Verizon
account may provide the most value.
Is it worth the extra money to have faster download speeds or better
coverage? And how much is that extra reliability worth? No one can
answer that question but you.
By
Article From : mashable.com/2013/06/13/carrier-best-iphone-deal/
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