
Unlocked phones are the way to go - pwthornton
http://interchangeproject.org/2013/10/30/unlocked-phones-are-the-way-to-go/
======
programminggeek
I have tried lots of different prepaid and no contract services and here's
where I landed. Virgin Mobile is ok if you like the Sprint network.
Net10/Tracfone are both fantastic if you don't want/need a smartphone and just
want voice and text. Straight Talk is awesome if you want a smartphone.

I do Straight Talk SIM with an iPhone 4 on AT&T's network and the only problem
I've had is no media messaging, which is not a huge deal. Also, iMessage is
great for that. If you care about MMS, buy a phone from Straight Talk
directly. The iPhone on Straight Talk is on the Verizon network, but since
it's a VZW phone, you can use SIM as well.

Straight Talk SIM now supports LTE on AT&T if you want to go that route.

The point is, for phone service, you don't need to spend more than $45 a month
and off contract phones can be had for $400 or less for top end phones (like
iPhone 5 or Galaxy S3). If you don't want data, you can drop down to $25 a
month or less.

There is no reason to be on contract, it no longer makes financial sense.

~~~
freehunter
I'm still trying to find my pre-paid provider. I have two AT&T phones, a Lumia
920 and a Nexus 4. On both phones with Net10/AT&T, I ran into an issue where,
like you had mentioned, MMS was flaky to non-existent. Also, a 1.5GB cap on
data for AT&T.

I switched to T-Mobile prepaid on their 5GB "unlimited" plan, but there are
even worse drawbacks there. For one, I struggle to get service. My apartment
is half underground, and neither VZW or TMo have coverage, even though I'm in
the city. AT&T does, but they don't deserve my money. The second issue is that
it only comes with 100 minutes, and I can't figure out how to activate the 10c
per minute overage (my phone just tells me I'm out of minutes and I should
upgrade the plan).

My SO gets frustrated when I'm out of contact, and is seriously pushing for me
to get back on a contract. Maybe Google Voice and a SIP gateway would be a
better option? I really don't know.

~~~
footpath
The Net10/Straight Talk data cap on AT&T SIM cards has actually been
lifted,[0] now it's just 2.5GB at full speed and then throttled until the
month is over.

I find that the BYOP offerings of Net10 and Straight Talk don't differ that
much: both offer LTE, similar APN settings, same throttling limits, etc., as
both companies are owned by TracFone. The only difference is that Straight
Talk costs $45/month while Net10 costs $50/month, although if one sets up
recurring payments on Net10's website the cost will be reduced to $45/month as
well.

[0]: [http://androidforums.com/net10/763501-net10-t-sim-card-
data-...](http://androidforums.com/net10/763501-net10-t-sim-card-data-plans-
now-back-unlimited-1-5gb-cap-removed.html)

------
pwthornton
One of the things about going with an unlocked phone in the U.S. that often
doesn't get discussed is that you can realistically own multiple phones. We
miss out on this experience because we are so tied to contracts and only using
one phone with a sim card.

The biggest regret I have as someone who has been on phone contracts for years
is that it is very prohibitive to experiment with different phones. If we
treated phones more like computers, we could have more than one phone at a
time. When you're on a contract with a locked phone, it's really difficult to
experiment with different phones in any meaningful way.

That doesn't mean I would be buying new phones all the time. Perhaps I get
used ones off of Ebay, and I probably only buy a new phone every two years or
so. Phones are starting to hit an inflection point where they will run well
beyond two years.

If we can get better unlocked options in this country with data and voice
plans that are priced better, geeks like us can experiment with different
phones and OSes. I use OS X and Windows every week (and Chrome OS, but that
depends on the week).

I hardly ever use Android, Windows Phone or Blackberry OS. And I think that's
a shame.

~~~
mildtrepidation
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding, but long before T-Mobile did away with their
contracts, I was SIM swapping between Android devices (and even flip phones)
with no problems.

I still do this occasionally since I keep hoarding my old phones as
development devices, and even with phones T-Mobile doesn't actually support
(i.e. you can't select it as your current device if you use their web portal),
I have not had problems.

Perhaps this is different between providers?

~~~
vvhn
>Perhaps this is different between providers?

On the CDMA side (i.e. Verizon, Sprint), yes.

On the GSM side (T-mobile and AT&T), if your phone is locked to a carrier it
will still accept _any_ SIM from that carrier and your carrier provided SIM
will work on any GSM unlocked phone with compatible frequencies.

------
scragg
I've done this and the math already. We had 3 of us on a shared family plan on
contract with Sprint at around $200/month. We broke contract and ate some
large fees and sold our Sprint phones. We bought 3 nexus4 phones and switched
to T-mobile that came around $100/month. Even after paying for breaking our
contract with Sprint it was cheaper than to wait the contract out.

As a bonus, we all got unlocked phones with Wifi tethering (free) and better
data service. Keep in mind though, T-mobile signal might suck for your
location.

------
toddmorey
Another advantage: an unlocked phone can really help for international travel.
I'm heading from the US to Hong Kong and my friends with unlocked phones can
get local, prepaid SIM cards for very good voice + data rates.

AT&T has told me that "standard" rates for international roaming in Asia is
$2.50/minute (!!) and even the biggest package they have only brings it down
to $1.50. It's completely insane. Plus you need to purchase voice roaming,
data roaming, and text roaming all separately. Believe it or not, it will
actually be slightly cheaper to cancel my AT&T plan, pay the cancellation fee,
and switch to TMobile than it would be to purchase all of their punitive
roaming services.

~~~
Arelius
To be fair, Verizon at least, will unlock your phone for international SIM
cards if you call them before traveling abroad. Thus allowing you the same
advantages. I'd be surprised if AT&T wouldn't do the same.

~~~
vvhn
With newer LTE phones, Verizon "world phones" (i.e. phones with a GSM SIM slot
alongwith the CDMA stuff - For eg. iPhone 5, 5c and 5s) already come GSM
"unlocked". This is apparently not out of the goodness of their hearts but
because of some LTE spectrum agreements with the FCC. The kicker though is
that the phones will favor the Verizon network while in the US.

~~~
Arelius
Oh, so this really is a Verizon specific thing, huh?

------
jdmitch
* I can tell you we just switched from AT&T to T-Mobile and it’s been flawless.*

That's because you haven't actually had to start using T-Mobile's horrendous
service. When I tried to do this (admittedly a couple years ago) they told me
with a straight face, after I had gone through all the effort of changing "You
can't use data on your smartphone because you didn't get it from us." Why
would I have changed over if I couldn't use data!?!? (It would have been edge
or something ridiculous as well, as only people on certain contracts could use
3g!)

~~~
toomuchtodo
I've used T-Mobile for over 13 years. Can you tell me what this horrendous
service is? Its worked fine for me in Chicago, Tampa, Miami, Key West, New
York, San Francisco, LA, and last but not least, on the playa at Burning Man
(in the middle of the desert).

~~~
bluedino
Non-major cities can have terrible coverage. You might only get 2G speeds or
have trouble using the phone indoors. It seems the more remote you are, the
more you are forced to go with Verizon.

~~~
toomuchtodo
I admit, yes, if you are in the middle of nowhere, you may have a problem. I
myself encountered some blackholes between Chicago and middle of nowhere
Nevada, and on my way back through Yellowstone to Chicago.

No carrier is going to have perfect coverage. This is something I'm willing to
live with for unlimited connectivity @ $50/month.

I mean, seriously! I get coverage in the Virgin Islands! Included! And with
their new rates for International travel, I'm willing to let A LOT slide.

------
at-fates-hands
I don't even upgrade my phone through my carrier anymore. I just go on ebay
and get a used phone for around $200. Case in point: The new Nokia 928 which
was released in May of 2013 is selling on ebay for $250.00. To upgrade its $99
and I get my unlimited data plan yanked and re-up for another two years? No
thank you.

Also, the only company to actually reduce their price plans to account for not
subsidizing their phones is T-Mobile and I figure they're going to get more
customers as people start to realize the upgrades from AT&T and Verizon are a
total crime.

~~~
Domenic_S
> reduce their price plans to account for not subsidizing their phones

When I brought my own phone to sprint and they forced me to sign a 2 year
agreement, I knew that business was on the way out. I'm on straight talk now.

------
lnanek2
Kind of bizarre he goes to such lengths to save a little money and then still
buys upgrades regularly. If he cares about money so much, he should be
skipping upgrades as well. His plan is not reasonable for me since AT&T and
Verizon are the only decent LTE carriers here in the US, so he's permanently
crippled his bandwidth. LTE means I don't need a home internet connection any
more, so it saves much more than he does by going T-mobile.

So anyway, he's sacrificing network speed to save money, but won't sacrifice
upgrades, which seems illogical. Also he writes off skipping upgrades while on
a decent network, because he says that is costing him money for free, but it
still saves him the cost of the upgrade handset itself, typically $200 for a
premium phone. He would be stuck paying the increased amount no matter what on
the only good network options there are right now, so it doesn't matter.
Saving 200 is saving 200.

------
mikro
I just switched from Sprint to T-mobile. I financed my T-mobile 5S through the
Apple store, then activated a T-mobile SIM card online, and got the $30 per
month deal for 5GB 4g data and 100 minutes per month, with 10 cents per minute
beyond that (prepaid). $30 per month is by far the least I've ever paid for an
iPhone.

------
dijit
Hm, I always assumed this stuff was transparent.

In the UK you have the well-known "Sim-Only" and "Rolling Month" contracts,
which are almost, not like contracts in the traditional sense given you can
cancel any time.

my Sim-Only contract that last's for 12 months is £15/m I paid £750 or so for
the iPhone 5s with 64GB of space which is: £31 (over 2 years) £46 total a
month for two years.

a contract with my provider for my phone is: £99 upfront cost. £51 a month
(over 24 months).

so, I'd be paying £5 for the privilege of _not_ having cash in hand for my
phone.

there are other downsides; like requiring carrier support instead of apple
support, which, honestly makes a large difference to how you're treated.

although the UK is under EU jurisdiction about the locking of mobile phones
so, it's now prohibited.

------
zellyn
One thing none of these articles mention: on AT&T, you don't use minutes to
call other AT&T customers. If your entire extended family is on AT&T (as mine
is), this provides a horribly effective incentive to stay.

~~~
bradleyland
If you're in a family of 2 or more, AT&T's new MobileShare plans don't charge
you for minutes, period. On-net or off-net, it doesn't matter. Data is the new
metering point.

Reference (you have to provide your zip code, boo!):

[http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/mobileshare.html](http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans/mobileshare.html)

------
tootie
This is the equivalent to buying a house or car with cash to save on interest.
Of course you save money by paying full-price up front instead of financing.
It only works if you have that much cash available though.

~~~
scrrr
Common sense dictates that if you can't afford a $800 phone, you shouldn't buy
one, doesn't it?

Consumers have forgotten.

~~~
bradleyland
No, it doesn't dictate that. Common sense dictates that:

A) Your expenses shouldn't exceed your income.

B) You should carefully evaluate the price you pay for financing.

There is nothing wrong with amortizing an expense, provided it doesn't break
your income/expense ratio and you aren't overpaying on the financing.

~~~
potatolicious
True, except the financing is shockingly expensive and comes with unknown but
substantial opportunity costs (i.e., negotiating for a better price when
you're not on a contract).

Ultimately the best way to minimize your costs is retaining the ability to say
"sod off, I'm going to [competitor]".

~~~
bradleyland
While a GSM unlocked phone sounds attractive, there are market problems. Not
all wireless carriers are created equal. AT&T and Verizon have the largest
networks, but they use incompatible wireless technologies, so an unlocked
device grants you no mobility. Yes, you can move to providers like T-Mobile,
but that's not a 100% equivalent comparison. Depending on your needs, you may
still be locked in to AT&T or Verizon, at which point an unlocked GSM phone
nets you zero savings.

My point is that it's still not a "common sense" evaluation. It's a nuanced
decision that must consider all variables.

------
ST4Y_G0LD
The cost-benefit analysis is elementary.

Given:

-A phone is designed to physically break in 2 years (with or without contract)

-A cellular contract last 2 years

-Purchase cost of a new unlocked, contract-free iPhone 16g 5c is $600 after taxes

-Purchase cost of a new locked, contractual iPhone 16g 5c is $120 after taxes

-Monthly bill for iPhone contract is around $100 after taxes(unlimited everything)

-Monthly bill for iPhone without contract is $60 after taxes(unlimited everything)

Total cost of contractual iPhone over 2 Year period:

100+100 _24=2500

600+50_24=1800

((2500-1800)/2500)*100 = 28% more for contract. Factor in the cost-benefit of
peripherals you receive with a contract or non-contract phone and make your
decision.

Done.

------
pouzy
That's a lot of math, and it might work for most of the top-notch phones. I go
google.com/nexus all the way because I know that I'll be able to use my phone
anywhere (I'm french and live in the US). I've got a $30 no-contract sim-card
only plan on T-mobile, with unlimited data and use Google voice for my calls.
I don't think it's beatable (price wise. Quality wise it is.) it you want a
last-gen smartphone.

------
seivan
Confirms what I thought. I was once locked, it was hell. Now I am free. I can
switch or haggle the bastards for the things I want. And it's way cheaper. I
rather pay up front and pick what provider I want every 6 months pay a fee for
a card that renews itself ever 6 month without CC or bank account involved so
they can't overcharge as they are used to.

------
gagege
My family is definitely going to be doing this next month when our Sprint
contract is over. I'm also going to port our phone numbers over to Google
Voice to avoid any future porting fees.

The abysmal world of mobile phone carriers seems to be making some good
improvements.

~~~
colinbartlett
Be careful with Google voice as your mobile number. Your texts won't be texts
but will come in via an app. And it doesn't support MMS. You may not care
about receiving photos but MMS is used to send multi-recipient text messages
as well.

The net effect is that if anyone, ever tried to send a text message to you and
several other people at the same time you will not receive it. You will not
receive a notice or anything, it will just silently fail and the sender will
assume you are ignore them.

~~~
kjell
I've used GV as my only number for a few years now.

> The net effect is that if anyone, ever tried to send a text message to you
> and several other people at the same time you will not receive it.

I do receive these. I haven't ever heard from anyone "Hey, you didn't come to
my <birthday party, other event>!?!?!

I cannot send them. YMMV?

------
pinder
I don't think this applies in Canada. For example on Telus, as soon as your
contract expires, all the free bundled stuff you got like voicemail or texting
plans are now $6 or so a month, so your usual $60 bill jumps to $75.

------
reiichiroh
In Canada, one of the big 3 telcos, TELUS unlocks your phone for $35 if your
account is in good standing after 90 days without having to finish your
contract. So you can maintain your contract and have it unlocked for travel.

------
knodi
I'm in the process of moving from ATT to Tmobile.

~~~
sourc3
I just made the switch myself. The only thing is; it cost me the iPhone. Only
Android phones have the WiFi calling on them. As a result, I had to give up my
iPhone and switch to an S4. I have to say though it has been useful as I made
crystal clear calls in the middle of nowhere (through hotel wifi) where att
nor tmobile get good reception.

In the process with the cost of the new device included in the monthly
payments I ended up saving about $80/month for a family plan of 3 phones.

I wish iPhone supported the WiFi calling! Maybe a google voice solution is
under way.

If you travel internationally the fact that you can use your data connection
(albeit on 2g) internationally without any roaming fees is superb. I would say
make sure to get the right phone based on your needs but switch soon!

------
tesmar2
Anyone here use pay as you go services like AirVoice?

~~~
colanderman
Yup. I feel like they could go belly-up at any point they're so tiny, but you
can't beat $10/mo for voice + text on an unlocked phone in the US.

~~~
tesmar2
Right. And on the ATT network. And only 6cents per MB. Just flip on your
phone's data when you need a map or to check your email in an emergency and
you could pay < $15/month. Also they have $10 for 100min for 90 days. So if
you get a Voip service at home and make all your long calls there + over wifi
on your smartphone, you could even pay less for cell minutes, perhaps only
$3/month.

I do not work for them, just checking out the options.

