This is the golden age of unlimited data
use. If you are in the market to purchase a
smartphones or cell phones, here is a list
of options for you to consider. We did the
homework so you don’t have to!
DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU BUY
As tempted as you may be to immediately order the iPhone from
AT&T, or (if you’re really desperate), brave a visit to the Apple
store, it is better to do your homework and really find out the
phone that gives you the best possible bang for your buck. In this
day and age, where your cell phone carriers are competing fiercely
for your business, you will be surprised at how many options your
carrier or cell phone service provider will have for you. But you
have to be willing to let go of your traditional notions of what a
smartphone is and really investigate the options in the market.
For instance, Boost Mobile just launched their first smart phone
ever, the BlackBerry Curve 8330, and with it, comes its unlimited,
prepaid voice and data plan for only $60 per month. Now, if you
compare this to the data plan of the Verizon Droid (which comes
in the neighborhood of around $80 per month), you’ll clearly see
that it is a much better deal. Of course the catch here is that it
is prepaid. People use cell phones now for various reasons: for downloading data, for uploading pictures and YouTube videos,
for checking email and e-books and for general web surfing. The
amount of data that an average person consumes per month is
the equivalent of going to a bookstore and reading an entire shelf
of books.
In general, national carriers are pretty pricey with their phones
and their plan options. AT&T used to have an $80 per month plan
for the iPhone for unlimited data (not roaming), but they recently
changed this to a plan that lets you pay for the data that you use.
While consumers initially may balk at this, the charges are not
as steep as one would think (if you simply use the data plan for
emails and texts, with an occasional dash of surfing the web, then
you will probably have a less expensive bill than you did initially.
The smaller brands, like Sprint, Boost and T-Mobile are cheaper
than the larger national carriers like AT&T and Verizon when it
comes to the monthly plans. But other factors to consider when
buying a phone (apart from the carrier) is network connectivity,
availability of service and data streaming.
Pricing
If you’re looking for a true value-added option, you may want
to pick up a phone and use T-Mobile’s “Even More Plus” plans.
These plans are contract free and are typically much less
expensive than the other offerings, but the trick here is to bring your own phone (because the new smartphones on this plan
don’t have the subsidizing option). As a result you will get low
monthly rates and zero commitments to a contract. How does
that sound for value?
The carriers that offer the best value for your money options
include Sprint and T-Mobile, but if you really want a smartphone
carrier that blows the competitor out of the water in terms of
pricing, then go with Boost Mobile. Here is the run down on
pricing:
Unlimited Messaging & Data Use
450 Minutes + Unlimited Messaging/Data
T-Mobile Even More Plus: $59.99 (500 Minutes, No Contract,
Bring Your Own Device)
Sprint: $69.99 (Two-Year Contract)
T-Mobile: $79.99 (Two-Year Contract)
AT&T & Verizon: $89.99 (Two-Year Contract)
900 Minutes + Unlimited Messaging/Data
T-Mobile Even More Plus: $69.99 (1,000 Minutes, No
Contract, Bring Your Own Device)
Sprint & T-Mobile: $89.99 (Two-Year Contract)
AT&T & Verizon: $109.99 (Two-Year Contract)
Unlimited Voice/Messaging/Data
Boost Mobile: $60 (Requires $249.99 BlackBerry Curve 8330)
T-Mobile Even More Plus: $69.99 (No Contract, Bring Your Own Device)
Sprint & T-Mobile: $99.99 (Two-Year Contract)
AT&T & Verizon: $119.99 (Two-Year Contract)
(Source: PhoneDogMedia.com)
The pricing above shows several things: the first is that national
carriers are expensive; however, they have the best service
because their network is pretty extensive. That said, several
people have complained because of the poor cell phone service
given by AT&T in the metropolitan area. Most of the contracts
are indeed only two years, and you can save a bundle by going to
smaller carriers like Sprint, Boost Mobile, Metro PCS and T-Mobile
instead of to an AT&T or a Verizon.
The reason for the smaller carriers undercutting the pricing
is clear: they want your business. If you calculate your yearly
savings, you’ll find that by opting for the underdog, you would
have saved hundreds of dollars. Now, the question is to find out
what you want: a sexy phone that everyone is talking about (the
iPhone does have the largest marketshare of apps, I will wager.
If you don’t really want an overly sexy, app-sucking machine
then why not opt for value and get a Blackberry Curve 8330 from
Boost? You’ll end up saving $1,440 over two years by choosing
Boost instead of AT&T or Verizon.
If you are a customer who is dying to buy that iPhone or Droid,
but still has a few months of your contract left, then you would
do well to wait it out. No one wants to fork over $200 or $300 of
fees in order to terminate a contract.
Here are some handy dandy rules of thumb to keep in mind:
If you have a family, go with a family plan. It’s cheaper to
spread one contract over several people (plus phone to
phone calls are free) In order to qualify for this option, you
need to demonstrate that your monthly housing payment
needs to exceeds more than 31% of your gross monthly
income.
If you want the iPhone, you need to marry the AT&T plan:
there’s really no way around that in the foreseeable future,
because Verizon has not officially cemented plans to carry the
iPhone, at least for now.
If you do get an iPhone, remember to ensure you don’t
download too much data – or at the very least, not regularly.
You’ll now enjoy a $10 or $25 per month data plan that offers
a lot more content than the typically more expensive $80 per
month plan.
Sprint PCS offers a terrific deal when it comes to a prepaid cell
phone service, with $40 unlimited a month for voice, texting and
web access. You’ll be really hard pressed to find a deal this good
– and because it’s prepaid, it comes with no strings attached.
There is also an unlimited $50 per month plan for smartphone
users, which includes unlimited HTML browsing.
There is definitely a phone out there for you… enjoy the shopping
process and purchase wisely (if you opt for a carrier with a
contract), because you’ll be married to it for at least several years.
