Let's Talk iPhone

With Apple's announcement, I will

  • Keep the phone I have (iPhone)

    Votes: 6 42.9%

  • Keep the phone I have (Android)

    Votes: 4 28.6%

  • Buy the new iPhone from my current provider that isn't Sprint

    Votes: 3 21.4%

  • Buy the new iPhone from a different provider other than Sprint

    Votes: 1 7.1%

  • Jump to Sprint for the iPhone 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Jump to Sprint for the new iPhone even though it's not iPhone 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Stay with Sprint for the new iPhone 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Stay with Sprint for the new iPhone even though it's not iPhone 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    14
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DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Twelve hours to the big announcement. A few rumors are floating around. One is Sprint getting an iPhone of some type. Another is not only is Sprint getting an iPhone, but theirs is the iPhone 5, and it's a Sprint exclusive. Some folks aren't buying that one bit.

Most folks are expecting an iPhone 4S, and the announcement, if not outright release, of iOS 5.

So, seeing as the announcement is still a few hours off as of this posting, how does this affect your mobile plans for the rest of the year?
 
Covar

Covar

I'm not eligible for an upgrade until January so I will most likely do nothing but figure out what I'm going to do in January.
 
strawman

strawman

It would astound me if Apple allowed a sprint exclusive. Apple has to compete with Android now, and for many people Verizon is simply the only network they can use (ie, they will not switch due to coverage issues).

I myself am probably going back to verizon as well, having been on AT&T for 2.5 years with the iPhone 3GS.

Whether I go to the iPhone 5 or to another android phone depends on what they release as the iPhone 5.

If I had to choose between the iPhone 4 and the current crop of android phones, I'd go with one of the androids.

Apple needs to wow me to keep me, despite the fact that I'm invested into iOS with over 600 apps... (the vast majority free, but it's still an investment I wouldn't have automatically switching to android - and it's not a blocking issue for switching)
 
fade

fade

Staff member
I'm not switching. My iPhone 4 is less than a year old. I am however looking forward to the new OS.

I was at a computational science conference last week, and the topic of smartphones came up in a talk. The current prediction (by very smart people--not hacks) is that smart phones will have the same computational power as a current supercomputer in just ten years. Know what that means? Tricorders. There's already an X-Prize for it.
Added at: 14:25
Also, I'm sticking with AT&T for now. I've had no problem with the service, apparently unlike a lot of people.
 
Sara_2814

Sara_2814


We're sticking with AT&T. Haven't had any problems with them. We'll upgrade when our contract is up next year.

fade said:
I was at a computational science conference last week, and the topic of smartphones came up in a talk. The current prediction (by very smart people--not hacks) is that smart phones will have the same computational power as a current supercomputer in just ten years. Know what that means? Tricorders. There's already an X-Prize for it.
Click to expand...
I looked that up. That would be awesome.
 
C

Chibibar

I'm sticking with AT&T mainly cause I have internet and cable in my home WITH education discount. So I'm sticking to that :)
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

I haven't had any real problems with my sprint signal, but everything else they're doing during this "Season of Change" (their phrase) seems designed to drive off customers.

First they raise fees to 3rd party content providers to send text alerts to Sprint customers. So those providers cut of Sprint users. I lose scores from ESPN, headlines from MSNBC, and news/weather from Yahoo.

Then they eliminate the 1 year full upgrade for the Silver tier of their preferred customer program. A month before I become eligible. Then they eliminate the preferred customer program entirely.

They've raised the ETF (nearly doubled it), eliminated 1-year contracts and billing to account for existing customers.

Unless Sprint really is getting an iPhone 5, I'm inclined to eat the remaining 6 months on my contract and switch to AT&T and the iPhone 4S.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

I am forced to continue with my Motorola v191 on a Pay-As-I-Go T-Mobile plan until such time as I feel the carriers will not treat me like an old-style veal calf. Seriously, if one of them offers a data-only plan (no voice) I'll be there, but until then I'm not going to pay $70/mo for voice minutes I'll never use *just* so I can acquire mobile Internet.

--Patrick
 
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Jay

Jay

PatrThom said:
I am forced to continue with my Motorola v191 on a Pay-As-I-Go T-Mobile plan until such time as I feel the carriers will not treat me like an old-style veal calf. Seriously, if one of them offers a data-only plan (no voice) I'll be there, but until then I'm not going to pay $70/mo for voice minutes I'll never use *just* so I can acquire mobile Internet.

--Patrick
Click to expand...
Pretty much this.
 
SpecialKO

SpecialKO

First-day purchase for me. I still have an iPhone 3G (not even a 3GS), so I am way out of contract, and my 3G chugs on iOS4, so no way will it survive 5.

I wasn't going to at first, but I'm sticking with AT&T: I'm grandfathered into unlimited, and AT&T is the only US carrier with an appreciable HPSDA network, unfortunately. I guess we'll see what happens when the LTE/4G iPhone comes out in a year...
 
strawman

strawman

Well, color me unimpressed.

It has a dual core processor, a better camera (not just in magapixels, but much better optics and a specialized low light sensor), aaaand that's pretty much it. Probably a better radio, better antennas, and hopefully double ram. Oh, and it's the first time they've put 64GB into the phone, which isn't bad.

I am not surprised they've labeled it the 4S - it's not the next generation of iPhone, merely an iteration on the existing 4 line.

Hmph. I'm looking at the available droids now. Honestly I'll probably still upgrade, but if I had known it wouldn't be much more than the 4 gussied up a bit, I would have upgraded to the 4 this time last year when AT&T were doing their special offers to prevent people from switching to verizon.

The killer, though, is that the radio is still 3G. It offers great speeds on AT&T, but only EVDO Rev A on Verizon, which isn't as fast as I'd like.

But, you know, first world problems.

I won't be able to afford it for a month or three anyway, assuming things go well with my current projects, so I'll have time after it's got hand-on reviews and has been disassembled to decide what path I should take.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

I've outgrown my current phone, the original Evo 4G. There's not enough room for updated Sense 2.x or 3.x and the apps I had, and going back to stock and Sense 1.x is not an appealing scenario. So to move on from here, a new phone is in order.

If Sprint will let me get by paying the same $199 or $299 as a new or full upgrade eligible customer, then I might stay, in spite of the limitations of being a Sprint customer. Otherwise, it's cheaper to switch over to AT&T as a new customer and pay Sprint the ETF on the remainder of my contract. Verizon is still a year or more from providing any service here, so they can suck it.
 
Shegokigo

Shegokigo

Yeah.... I'm sticking with my DROID series. Hopefully a shiny new one will be out and about when my contract comes up for renewal next June. Though honestly with the 10.1in Kindle Fire I'm getting this Dec, I might not give much of a damn about what my smartphone can do by then.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

stienman said:
It has a dual core processor, a better camera (not just in magapixels, but much better optics and a specialized low light sensor), aaaand that's pretty much it. Probably a better radio, better antennas, and hopefully double ram.
Click to expand...
Word is that it contains 1GB RAM and has the better antennae, and let's not forget the vastly improved GPU. The fact that it is also dual-mode GSM/CDMA is nice (meaning a fully unlocked phone would be able to ride all 4 of the major networks in the US). The only real loser here is T-Mobile, since the phone will only be capable of either slow 2G or full-on 4G* on their network, but no 3G.

--Patrick
*HSPA+, that is. Really more like 3.5G than "true" 4G.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

The more I think about it, the more likely I'd switch to AT&T for the new iPhone. For the reasons I don't care all that much for Sprint I've already mentioned, the local upgrades to the AT&T network, and price.

Some googling found the non-upgrade price for the iPhone 4S is starting at $649 for the 16GB model. If Sprint is going to expect me to pay that, forget it. It's cheaper to pay even the full $350 ETF and go to another carrier.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Um, yeah. Thanks to killing off the Premier loyalty programs, I went from an annual upgrade at full discount to 22 months. Which puts the iPhone 4S at $649 and up if I stay with Sprint. Bailing in favor of AT&T gets me in at $199 for the 16GB model. Prorated ETF comes in at $60-70 depending on when the iPhone arrives and when I finally cancel my Sprint line.

Preordered from the AT&T store at noon on Friday. Everyone ordering in-store is being told 14-21 days to ship no matter when they put the order in.
 
Espy

Espy

I gotta be honest, Siri seems super cool IF it works right. It's enough to make me consider switching up in the next year. I'm hoping and praying that with everyone now having the iPhone they will start a small price war or two.
 
strawman

strawman

Apple surely controls the prices the carriers can offer the iphone at. It's one of the things Apple keeps an iron grip on - if they could stop secondary sales they would, but by grabthar's hammer they WILL control the price new units are sold at.

I'd like them to start a price war on plans though. Over the two year life of the phone, an $80/mo plan ends up costing nearly $2,000, not including the cost of the phone.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

The way Sprint's been behaving with cutting all the perks for long-time customers, the price war is on, but in reverse.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Still listed as backordered when I checked a few minutes ago. Anyone here get a "shipped" email or *gasp* the phone itself yet?
 
Dei

Dei

Speaking of iPhones, it's really fun to watch the iPhone iOS 5.0 update basically delete my phone, update itself, then restore from backup. Hoping to god it doesn't fuck up. >.>
 
Covar

Covar

I love the thumb keyboard on iOS5. I hate apple's current love affair with skeuomorphism. It just seems really pointless and frankly a step backwards.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Bah. Bah, bah, and bah. Preorder? What's the point? If I had done nothing, I could have shown up at AT&T this morning and walked away with a 32GB iPhone 4S. Instead, I was told I was locked into the preorder and couldn't cancel, no matter how far backordered it was.

Dude, there's a customer standing in front of you prepared to spend *more* money than originally intended. Why make up excuses why you don't want his money?
 
strawman

strawman

Latest rumors suggest the iPhone 5 is likely to be coming out June 2012, and is the one Jobs was working on - the 4S was seen as a yearly refresh internally, and Jobs gave it little attention.

It makes some sense given history:

iPhone 1: test market, see if it can be successful as essentially an iPod phone.
iPhone 3G, 3GS: Next generation device and a refresh
iPhone 4, 4S: Next generation and a refresh
iPhone 5...?: Next generation

I dunno. The iPhone 4S camera is compelling, but I would probably be fine with my 3GS until next year. I do know that if I got a 4S this winter, then found out the 5 really was coming out next summer I'd suffer a bout of buyer's remorse.

Sadly I haven't been impressed by the android phones I've been looking at as replacements.
 
C

Chibibar

I didn't get 4S, but I did upgrade from 8GB 3G to 8GB 4 :) a world of difference. I love it.
 
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