So I've been looking at getting a new phone. What with all these smartphones around, I wanted to get one that had internet and such.
I'm currently with Verizon, with a RAZR V3c from a couple years back.
Looking around a bit, and seeing what my co-workers have, I decided I'd like to get an iPhone, or at least a phone with similar features. One of the guys at work got one shortly after launch, and after about thirty seconds of fiddling with it, I thought to myself "I gotta get me one o' these..."
So, I do some digging.. I'm with Verizon already, and they give you a new-phone bonus after two years, so you can trade up, alongside a new contract. They recently released the LG Voyager, which was meant as a direct competitor to the iPhone.. it has a touch screen, full internet access, etc.
But, I wasn't sure if it had everything I'd want.. music? movies? Probably for an extra fee, like everything else on Verizon's service. And what about the data plans? That's what I'd use it for mostly, would be internet.
I started with AT&T, to figure out what I'd be paying for an iPhone plus data plans and the like. Their smallest package is similar to my Verizon package, roughly 400 minutes (which I never come close to using), unlimited data, etc, even 200 text messages, which are a dime a pop on Verizon. Base cost is sixty bucks a month.
So then I go look at Verizon. Plans for the Voyager start at the same base rate I'm paying right now, forty dollars. Same minutes, etc, but no included data transfer.
Now here's where Verizon starts getting frikkin' nuts. Data transfers are charged at the rate of $1.99/MB. That's two bucks for every megabyte you download. I did the math on that... if I were to hop on Youtube and show a friend of mine the video of Jeff Dunham and Achmed the Dead Terrorist, which clocks in at 25MB (it's hilarious, by the way, check it out), it would cost me fifty dollars in transfer fees for that one video. Not to put too fine a point on it, but that's ****ing insane.
So clearly, I would want a plan with unlimited data transfer. As much internet as I want, no extra charge. The cheapest plan they offer for this is eighty dollars a month. Twenty dollars more than AT&T's plan, for pretty much the exact same features.
Over the course of a two-year contract, that comes to $480 more spent on Verizon than on AT&T. That's the cost of the iPhone right there. Verizon could give me the Voyager for free (which ain't gonna happen), and it would still cost more over the life of the contract. And chances are, the phone wouldn't have had all the other features I would have wanted.
So needless to say, I've decided to drop Verizon when my contract is up, and switch to AT&T, and get an iPhone.
Which brings me to another point... Verizon's "New Every Two" plan for buying a new phone every two years. Turns out it's not quite every two years. You see, I'm eligible for a new phone right now, as of yesterday. But my two-year contract isn't up for another four months. You see, they try to trick you that way... tack two more years on your contract before your current one is even expired! Good thing I called them to verify when my contract expired instead of going off of what's on their website. Isn't it interesting how none of their bills or account info tells you when your contract is up?
So, word to the wise.. when you're shopping for stuff like this, do your homework. What looks more expensive up front may end up being cheaper in the long run, and vice versa. Sure, I can save myself a few hundred dollars up front by buying a Voyager and sticking with Verizon... but I'd end up paying more over the next two years than if I pony up the money for an iPhone up front and pay a lower monthly fee. It pays to research.
I'm currently with Verizon, with a RAZR V3c from a couple years back.
Looking around a bit, and seeing what my co-workers have, I decided I'd like to get an iPhone, or at least a phone with similar features. One of the guys at work got one shortly after launch, and after about thirty seconds of fiddling with it, I thought to myself "I gotta get me one o' these..."
So, I do some digging.. I'm with Verizon already, and they give you a new-phone bonus after two years, so you can trade up, alongside a new contract. They recently released the LG Voyager, which was meant as a direct competitor to the iPhone.. it has a touch screen, full internet access, etc.
But, I wasn't sure if it had everything I'd want.. music? movies? Probably for an extra fee, like everything else on Verizon's service. And what about the data plans? That's what I'd use it for mostly, would be internet.
I started with AT&T, to figure out what I'd be paying for an iPhone plus data plans and the like. Their smallest package is similar to my Verizon package, roughly 400 minutes (which I never come close to using), unlimited data, etc, even 200 text messages, which are a dime a pop on Verizon. Base cost is sixty bucks a month.
So then I go look at Verizon. Plans for the Voyager start at the same base rate I'm paying right now, forty dollars. Same minutes, etc, but no included data transfer.
Now here's where Verizon starts getting frikkin' nuts. Data transfers are charged at the rate of $1.99/MB. That's two bucks for every megabyte you download. I did the math on that... if I were to hop on Youtube and show a friend of mine the video of Jeff Dunham and Achmed the Dead Terrorist, which clocks in at 25MB (it's hilarious, by the way, check it out), it would cost me fifty dollars in transfer fees for that one video. Not to put too fine a point on it, but that's ****ing insane.
So clearly, I would want a plan with unlimited data transfer. As much internet as I want, no extra charge. The cheapest plan they offer for this is eighty dollars a month. Twenty dollars more than AT&T's plan, for pretty much the exact same features.
Over the course of a two-year contract, that comes to $480 more spent on Verizon than on AT&T. That's the cost of the iPhone right there. Verizon could give me the Voyager for free (which ain't gonna happen), and it would still cost more over the life of the contract. And chances are, the phone wouldn't have had all the other features I would have wanted.
So needless to say, I've decided to drop Verizon when my contract is up, and switch to AT&T, and get an iPhone.
Which brings me to another point... Verizon's "New Every Two" plan for buying a new phone every two years. Turns out it's not quite every two years. You see, I'm eligible for a new phone right now, as of yesterday. But my two-year contract isn't up for another four months. You see, they try to trick you that way... tack two more years on your contract before your current one is even expired! Good thing I called them to verify when my contract expired instead of going off of what's on their website. Isn't it interesting how none of their bills or account info tells you when your contract is up?
So, word to the wise.. when you're shopping for stuff like this, do your homework. What looks more expensive up front may end up being cheaper in the long run, and vice versa. Sure, I can save myself a few hundred dollars up front by buying a Voyager and sticking with Verizon... but I'd end up paying more over the next two years than if I pony up the money for an iPhone up front and pay a lower monthly fee. It pays to research.
