Hey gang,

I'm going to get a new phone in the next month or so. I'm currently on a Sprint family plan with a friend and his parents. My share of it is $71/month. We all share 1500 minutes and unlimited data. I have a CDMA Android phone right now.

My plan was to move to Virgin next month and get an iPhone because I need GSM for whenever I go to Europe which is frequently since my better half lives there. Thing is, Virgin has the iPhone 4S and nobody can confirm when it's getting the iPhone 5. Sprint already has the iPhone 5. Virgin still has 3G and 4G while Sprint now has LTE. (Keep in mind that I live in the NYC area. Work in Manhattan and live in Brooklyn, below Prospect Park).

About my habits: I don't stream video, movies or anything intensive on my phones. I mostly surf, read articles, catch up on Twitter and FB. I may do some apping but I've been fine with 3G on Sprint so far. So, I think a 4S would be just fine for me, honestly. Has anyone experienced LTE yet? I ask because a friend said that makes the iPhone 5 a lot faster and is a huge difference.

I need to make a decision in the next couple of weeks because I'll be going to Europe April 9 - April 30th. I want to get a new phone and have them unlock it (they say to give 2 weeks grace period) beforehand. I guess that means I'd have to make my decision and buy around end of February.

Okay, here are the numbers:

Virgin
16GB iPhone 4S
Get the $45 option, reduces to $40 with autopay: [www.virginmobileusa.com]
$487.68 for the phone after taxes
$960 for 2 years of service
TOTAL = $1447.68

Sprint
32GB iPhone 5
$71 per month, Stay on the current plan for the next 2 years or 22 months, whatever
$325.11 for the phone after taxes
$1704 for 2 years of service
TOTAL = $2029.11


Sprint comes out to $581.43 more than Virgin…BUT, I would have a newer phone with larger capacity for less money. I'm kind of torn on this one.

Here's what I need opinions on to make my decision:

• How much better is the iPhone 5 than the 4S?
• How easy will it be for me to sell an iPhone 4S if I switch to Virgin now but they get the iPhone 5 3 months later? Is this an issue now with the anti-unlocking law that just went into effect? You also can't bring your own phone to Virgin anymore.
• Do I want the absolute newest phone that will last me the longest amount of time?
• Is my cheapness possibly blinding me to the best decision?
• Can you get loss/damage insurance on Virgin?
• Anybody using Virgin in the NYC area who can pipe up? Their service seems to be just fine.
• Anyone know for sure when LTE will be coming to Virgin?

I would really relish paying only $40/month for my phone bill. I want to trim expenses and this would be a good way of doing it. However, it feels like I may be shooting myself in the foot technology-wise. What do you think and what you do?

Thank you so much for any opinions or thoughts you can offer.

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trisho.
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Official Card-Carrying Mother Earthin' Sl*t.

Buy a Verizon unlocked and non-stolen 4s used on CL or ebay... 32G model will run you perhaps $200. Make sure it can be internationally unlocked. (the 4s is a global radio phone).

Get Pageplus monthly for it.

When you travel, get a mini SIM for it there. Prepaid, yadda yadda.

If you are fine with 3G, you don't need 4G.


Then when the iPhone 6 OMG SO COOL comes out, you're not locked in to a 2 year plan.

I was just coming back here to say that I need to be able to switch out the SIM cards when I got Europe. I'm able to do this with iPhone 4S, I gather?

With Virgin, I won't be locked into a 2 year plan either. It's no contract. I'm just concerned about being able to sell an iPhone 4S when the 5 or 6 finally gets to Virgin.

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trisho.
----------------
Official Card-Carrying Mother Earthin' Sl*t.

Do you know anyone who works at Sprint? If so, you can get an employee referral discount. It's a nice rate, I get it and pay about $47/month (including tax) for 500 minutes and unlimited text and web. Nights start at 7pm too which is cool. They have other plans too. I thought that Virgin leased their service via Sprint so I'd imagine their coverage/quality would be the same. Maybe that's Virgin pre-paid, though, not sure.

I doubt you'd have any trouble selling a 4S assuming you're up for the hassle of it.

4s vs. 5...I've had a 4S about a year now and it works fine for my needs which sound very similar to the ones you described. I rarely use the web outside of wifi...would rather just look something up when I'm at the home office on a large [computer] screen. I do have a lot of music on my phone but even if I run out of space, iTunes Match lets me stream the rest. Some coverage in the wild is spotty on that (buffering), though. I've heard LTE is cool but maybe go to the Sprint store or ask a friend to show you their 5 and see what you think.

I could've waited a little longer and gotten the 5 but my angle is if it works well enough and it's cheap, do it.

I'd imagine you can just get a SquareTrade warranty on loss/damage no matter what the network if the phone is new.

Another thing to consider, not sure if it holds true for the iPhone, but with Sprint you can roam on the Verizon network for free. Not so with Virgin.

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SteveO, I don't know anyone who works at Sprint but my friend whose Family account this is gets a government employee discount because he works for NYC.

MAVIC, seriously, no roaming on Verizon's network? I'll double check Virgin's map because it looks extensively covered. NYC looks pretty green, especially my 10016 work zip code: [www.virginmobileusa.com]. That's a good thought to consider, however.

cbelt3, checking out Page Plus' plans and they're still more expensive than Virgin's.

I think I may be leaning toward Virgin right now...This weekend I'll chat with Virgin to ask about how returning the iPhone 4S if the 5 arrives a certain number of months afterward. I'm sure they'd love to have more of money. I hope so.

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trisho.
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Official Card-Carrying Mother Earthin' Sl*t.

StraightTalk, through Walmart.com, has the iPhone 5 and a $45 month plan. You have to pay $650 for the phone, but you can get interest free financing for two years if you charge it on a Walmart card. The phone is unlocked on the GSM side, but runs on the Verizon network on StraightTalk. You get unlimited talk and text and they say unlimited data, but the will throttle you if you use too much, probably if you go over 2GB a month.

You can also get the iPhone 4S for ST, through Walmart.

You will not get LTE with StraightTalk.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Thanks for weighing in rgG! I actually don't have a Wal-Mart near me here in NYC. I considered Net10, which is the same company as Straight Talk but the customer service record was horrible.

I think I may revel in my cheapness and go with Virgin. Thanks for your help all.

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trisho.
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Official Card-Carrying Mother Earthin' Sl*t.

I realize this has nothing to do with expense but I used to be with Virgin and a couple members of my family still are, and somehow the company felt more customer-service oriented than most companies these days. I had all good experiences with Virgin and left because there was no iPhone option back then, not because of any other reason.

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I must be imagining it or confusing it with a 4s but I thought the iPhone 5 was available from Virgin a while back at $649 full cost. Must have been the 4s which is down to $449 because I don't see the 5.