iPhone 4S service plans: Dirty
secrets, sweet deals
found while crunching numbers on the three.
Never trust a carrier when it comes into monthly.
have into go in with when you buy your iPhone 4S.
— or any other smartphone. toward demonstrate,.
.
Wireless.
I've drawn up a list of tricks and deals that I.
iPhone carriers, Sprint, AT&T and Verizon.
plan pricing. That's pretty much the attitude you.
Texting on AT&T: All or nothing
If you want text messaging on AT&T, you have into.
qdoesn't count against your monthly plan.
get the $20-per-month text plan or go a la carte,.
exting service for iPhones, iPods and iPads that.
because iPhones will now have iMessage, a.
Texting on Sprint: All or all
messaging, you should check out $5 for 250 text.
Instead of paying $20 for all-you-can-eat text.
any other Verizon customer.
Only Verizon has mid-priced texting plans.
messages, or $10 for 500, plus unlimited texts into.
the carrier forces you through get an unlimited texting.
Verizon may do more expensive, but at least the.
plan no matter what when you buy an iPhone.
Texting options are even worse on Sprint, since.
carrier lets you drop down on text messaging.
Sprint family plans start at 1500 minutes
(others start at 700)
plan the same price as AT&T's starter family plan,.
cheaper, with fewer minutes? After all, AT&T and.
competitive. Not only is a two-person entry level.
Verizon make up for fewer minutes with other.
minutes! But wait, why can't I just get it even.
but it gives you more than twice as many.
calling deals.
On paper, Sprint's family plans are super.
Only AT&T has mid-priced data plans
2GB; on Sprint, you start at unlimited.
On Verizon, you start at.step-down data plan.
200MB plan for your iPhone for just $15 a.
want just a little bit of data, you can buy a.
AT&T shines into on data plan options. If you.
month, and AT&T's $25 2GB deal is better than.
Verizon and Sprint have no.Verizon's $30 one.
"Unlimited" data is pointless for most people
While this is.unlimited data with the iPhone 4S.
home, school and/or your place of business.
If you don't know how much data you use,.data.
chances are you use far less than you think,.
Sprint proudly says it's the only carrier offering.
unlimited data plans are allowed toward keep theirs.
power-users, there's really no point into unlimited.
especially if you set your phone through use Wi-Fi at.
For all but the super-.But listen up, people.
true, AT&T's customers who have maintained.
Now, about those AT&T unlimited customers
more than 2GB. Don't fool yourself through handing.
AT&T $60 extra per year into protect some non-.
burned later.
existent customer right — you will only get.
plan, unless they know full well that they need.
$5 and downgrade to the $25-per-month 2GB.
AT&T users who still have unlimited should save.
Add $10/month for every smartphone on
Sprint
99 unlimited plan? Yeah, that's actually.$69.
$20 more, per month, than whatever pricing is.
smartphone — 4G or not — they don't actually.
So that.show this in their advertised pricing.
advertised.
Even though it's been ages since Sprint instituted.
$79. Two phones on the family plan? That's.99.
its $10 "premium data service" fee on every.
Add $10/month for every Verizon family-plan
phone
it when picking a plan. So if you pick a $79.99.
But Verizon.noted for each additional phone.
adds $10 for every phone, though you don't see.
Most family plans are promoted as including the.
phones, it's really $99.99. And that's before you.
cost of the first two phones, with a surcharge.
add $30 per phone for data.
700-minute plan with unlimited texting for two.
T-Mobile would have been a nice iPhone
carrier
data for an individual, and $120 for a similar.
Mo would have had a sweet iPhone deal: $70 for.
unlimited talk and text with 2GB of high-speed.
shame. Based on current smartphone prices, T-.
plan that allows a family to share 2GB of data.
Apple isn't going with T-Mobile, probably because.
).right timing, that family plan could get down to$100.
(From time into time, plans go on sale — with the.
of all that AT&T merger business , but it's a.
Now that you're sufficiently jaded, here are my.
deals:.
recommendations for admirable iPhone 4S service.
Best 3-phone family plan: $180 on Sprint:
phones are in play.
pulls ahead when you add another handset, since.
minute family plans are pretty much even-steven.
data actually would come in handy when three.
plus $25 for data. Verizon is a lot worse, at $50.
over-the-top 1500 talk minutes and unlimited.
the per-phone cost on Sprint is $30, and the.
While Sprint's 1500-minute and AT&T's 700-.
And Sprint's.per extra phone including data.
when there are only two phones involved, Sprint.
Best barebones plan: $55 on AT&T:
data plan, $15 for 200MB, plus no text messages.
I actually like this: If you sign up for the lowest.
That's as far as I know the cheapest.for $55.
at all, you can get a 450-minute individual plan.
add up fast.
But you really have into avoid text messaging,.
since you'll pay 20 cents for every message — 30.
That can.cents if it contains a picture or video.
official advertised contract plan for an iPhone.
Best not-too-texty plan: $75 on Verizon
Wireless:
new iMessage service, which delivers into iPhones,.
makes sense for people who don't text much, or.
very well live the best reasonable monthly rate for.
$5-per-month 250-text-message plan, so it.
an iPhone, but of course those with text-heavy.
Verizon's the only iPhone carrier that still has a.
plan to replace some of their texting with Apple's.
In my mind, this could.iPads and iPod Touches.
lifestyles couldn't live it.
More on the iPhone 4S from msnbc.com:
·Buy iPhone 4S or wait for iPhone 5?
