OT: Looking for iPhone/carrier advice

[Dr. von Yinzer]

My wife and I are in the market for new smart phones. We have each had droids before but were underwhelmed.

For the past two years we've had iPhones and liked them well enough that we have decided to get the new one.

Our contract ended in July but we decided to wait until now to replace them so that we could get the new iPhone 6S.

We are pretty utilitarian in our use of our phones. Neither of us really plays games much and we use it a lot for work and of course I use it for this message board. I never use all of my data but I do like having it.

I guess my question is I'm very confused on all of the deals being offered by the various carriers. It really does feel like you're comparing apples to bowling balls. I wanted to hear people's opinions on who they thought offered the best deal for the iPhone 6S/Plus and why?

We are currently with Verizon but I am open to other carriers if one emerges as a clear best option.

Thoughts?

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

I should also mention that our plan would be to keep these phones for at least the next two years and maybe a little longer.

I don't need the newest shiny object every time it comes out. However, the iPhone has improved fairly dramatically since we last purchased ones back in 2013.

 

[ratking17]

It is really about a bunch of things. Coverage obviously is important. I have t mobile and probably pay too much, but I get good coverage and customer service is good. I have a family set of phones with unlimited everything (we have no land line at all for over a decade) and it runs about 170 with all of the taxes per month.

 

[ratking17]

Also I forgot part of my cost includes their jump program that allows me every year to upgrade to the newest phone, but that doesn't seem like a priority for you and your wife

 

[Ray-Ray]

My wife and I are in the market for new smart phones. We have each had droids before but were underwhelmed.

For the past two years we've had iPhones and liked them well enough that we have decided to get the new one.

Our contract ended in July but we decided to wait until now to replace them so that we could get the new iPhone 6S.

We are pretty utilitarian in our use of our phones. Neither of us really plays games much and we use it a lot for work and of course I use it for this message board. I never use all of my data but I do like having it.

I guess my question is I'm very confused on all of the deals being offered by the various carriers. It really does feel like you're comparing apples to bowling balls. I wanted to hear people's opinions on who they thought offered the best deal for the iPhone 6S/Plus and why?

We are currently with Verizon but I am open to other carriers if one emerges as a clear best option.

Thoughts?

We have the Verizon Edge program that works well for us. I would seriously consider getting a real phone instead of an I phone. Galaxy S6 or S6 edge.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

Why do you say that? What makes the Galaxy S6/Edge better than an iPhone 6S for someone like me?

I am certainly not arguing with you. I am just trying to learn something about this world.

This seems like a very complex decision and I feel very underqualified to make it.

 

[ratking17]

I like Google and their unlimited storage in the cloud for photos for android phones. I don't know if I phones have that. Also having Google drive and being able to use that at work is big for me. If you have MAC's I phone makes more sense then in my opinion

 

[anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr]

iPhones can use google drive also. You should check if your work has a deal with any carriers. VT and the providers have discounts for university employees. Not sure if you have deals like that. All these phones are good phones.

 

[fivetoolprospect]

i will let u know on Tuesday. waiting for the iphone 6 plus on tmobile. I will let u know about the service etc. I been on android for several years but gonna switch to ios. just trying a change. the lagging on android after a while is a lil nerve racking but I will add my 2 cents later

 

[pittpantherfeet]

I moved from an Iphone 5 on Verzion (work-provided and paid) to a Nexus 5 (Android) on T-mobile (personally pay). Phone-wise, I'm able to do everything I want, just needed to learn the Android way of doing things at first. Really Iphone vs. Android is just a personal preference. I like some things that Iphone did that Android doesn't, and I like some things that Android does that Iphone doesn't.

Coverage-wise, within major metropolitan areas, it is the same between T-mobile and Verizon. Once you get outside of major metropolitan areas, Verizon outshines T-mobile greatly. Made the road trip to Iowa last weekend, and there a many times T-mobile had limited network. Never had that problem with Verizon when I made the same trip the last time we played in Iowa.

My reason for T-Mobile is that I'm on a individual plan that costs me $70/month. Same thing on Verizon is $100/month. I don't travel often, so the $30/month savings is worth the occasional spotty service to me.

Ideally, it would be nice to have a employer paid cellphone(IOS or Android) on Verizon again .

 

[beiglepanther]

DVY,

U should be like Elvis, the phone company gave him clips and a headset he would make one of his guys crawl up a pole and hook into a line and he could call anyone he wanted from the road, that was the first cell phone in America, he also had a cadillac with a bw tv with rabbit ears and a record player.....

 

[drunkinoakland]

I have a work phone on Verizon and a personal phone on AT&T. Around civilization, my AT&T service is faster and better. When I'm in rural areas or travel further west, Verizon seems to be a lot better and AT&T is useless in a lot of rural places.

I would probably tell Verizon you are leaving and see what they throw you. From everything I have heard and read the 2 providers I have are the best in terms of service, so at that point it comes down to price. Either way, you'll be paying too much.

As far as preference goes..... I prefer the Samsung way, but really as long as you are getting a Galaxy or an iPhone, you are getting a quality product. Samsung's are the higher quality machine for most techies, but to us laypeople it all comes down to personal preference/what you are used to.

 

[Gregory25]

I would advise purchasing your iphones directly from Apple through their new installment plan. They come unlocked and and include Apple Care. They will also allow you to upgrade the phone every 12 months if you want.

 

[mdpitt]

My wife and I are in the market for new smart phones. We have each had droids before but were underwhelmed.

For the past two years we've had iPhones and liked them well enough that we have decided to get the new one.

Our contract ended in July but we decided to wait until now to replace them so that we could get the new iPhone 6S.

We are pretty utilitarian in our use of our phones. Neither of us really plays games much and we use it a lot for work and of course I use it for this message board. I never use all of my data but I do like having it.

I guess my question is I'm very confused on all of the deals being offered by the various carriers. It really does feel like you're comparing apples to bowling balls. I wanted to hear people's opinions on who they thought offered the best deal for the iPhone 6S/Plus and why?

We are currently with Verizon but I am open to other carriers if one emerges as a clear best option.

Thoughts?

My wife and I are in the market for new smart phones. We have each had droids before but were underwhelmed.

For the past two years we've had iPhones and liked them well enough that we have decided to get the new one.

Our contract ended in July but we decided to wait until now to replace them so that we could get the new iPhone 6S.

We are pretty utilitarian in our use of our phones. Neither of us really plays games much and we use it a lot for work and of course I use it for this message board. I never use all of my data but I do like having it.

I guess my question is I'm very confused on all of the deals being offered by the various carriers. It really does feel like you're comparing apples to bowling balls. I wanted to hear people's opinions on who they thought offered the best deal for the iPhone 6S/Plus and why?

We are currently with Verizon but I am open to other carriers if one emerges as a clear best option.

Thoughts?[/QUOTE
I upgraded on AT&T to the iPhone 6 S Friday and I will tell you what I was offered. I was going to get the phone anyways but when you get it att store, they upgrade you to 20gb a month for data on a sharing plan and you rollover the unused data. They also offered an iPad mini 2 for free but committing to $10 per month because it has cellular connectivity as an added line. My wife's iPhone 5 s received a $200 trade-in compared to $140 at the Apple Store.

I personally have had a great experience with att and I live and travel through rural areas. I have an app called Ookla Speed Test that measures data speeds and they are often faster in smaller towns than Pittsburgh. Average speeds are often 30-60 Mbps which is faster than a lot of people's broadband at home or work.

If you have DirecTV and combine the bills it's another $10 discount per month. As far as performance, the new iPhone is noticeably faster on my att signal and at home. The fingerprint sensor is much improved and starts the phone instantaneously instead of a small lag with the 6. The camera is great and is improved in bad light situations. I took a bunch of pictures yesterday facing the sun and sunset and they seemed better than the 6. If you buy the 6 it's a great phone, they are in stock and it's $100 off compared to the new phone.

So here is my secret sauce discovery. Apple now has a "mirrowing " feature that connects to Apple TV. Similar to Chromecast for Google ( I have one ) but with a $65 Apple TV box (wal -mart) or $69 anywhere else, it basically shows anything on your iPad, iPhone on the TV at the same time seamlessly. The Chromecast is glitchy compared to this. DirecTV now allows you to basically play anything you subscribe to through their app. This mirrowing feature allows you to hook up a TV with an Apple TV box and maybe save a recurring monthly directv box charge on a tv you seldom use. This now allows one to carry a TV to a part of your backyard to watch a game off your wi-fi signal or at the tailgate through the app ( racking up data ) but who cares, your buddies will kick in a few bucks.

I guess I'm trying to make a case where the att/direct merger and an apple product make sense as a synergy.

As far as Android but more importantly Google. If you run Google Now through an IPhone it's a better experience than through an Android. My IT buddy pointed this out to me and showed me on his Android phone why. I have had an Android Note phone in the past so I can attest to this.

If price is ultimately your main driver, it sure sounds like Sprint or T-Mobile are the winners. If you are worried about the furthest out reaches of America, Verizon may win but if you are traveling anywhere in Western PA, my experience with ATT has been very good and has really turned the corner in the last year for coverage. I would not have said this 12-18 months ago.

The Directv/ Apple TV box is a really interesting thing. Forget about directv, the Apple TV box with an Apple Phone or iPad is a reason for many to even drop cable and just live on the tv apps if you can receive over the air coverage with an antenna.

Hope this helps.

 

[Harve74]

My wife and I are in the market for new smart phones. We have each had droids before but were underwhelmed.

For the past two years we've had iPhones and liked them well enough that we have decided to get the new one.

Our contract ended in July but we decided to wait until now to replace them so that we could get the new iPhone 6S.

We are pretty utilitarian in our use of our phones. Neither of us really plays games much and we use it a lot for work and of course I use it for this message board. I never use all of my data but I do like having it.

I guess my question is I'm very confused on all of the deals being offered by the various carriers. It really does feel like you're comparing apples to bowling balls. I wanted to hear people's opinions on who they thought offered the best deal for the iPhone 6S/Plus and why?

We are currently with Verizon but I am open to other carriers if one emerges as a clear best option.

Thoughts?

If you are not in a big hurry to get a new phone, I'd suggest that you check out Google Fi. It is just spooling up. It works differently than others. It only uses Nexus 6 Android phones but has a SIM which switches between Sprint and T-Mobile, and Wi-Fi, like VOIP, whichever is strongest. The switchover between 4G and wi-fi is supposed to be seamless. And Fi has an approved network of free wi-fi hotspots, in the thousands now and quickly expanding. In urban locations, it's a pretty good system.

Costs are pretty low and unused data gets rolled over each month to reduce the charge ongoing. You really do only pay for what you use.

Right now, the 4G network is still being established so if you are rural, it might not be the best solution for somebody who downloads a lot of video or music. They don't recommend it for my home at this time because my 4G is pretty spotty, but when our contract expires next year, we're going to try it because we would be using our wi-fi router.

You can check it out at https:/fi.google.com.

I'm not a I-phone fan. My wife is somewhat of a Luddite and doesn't want to upgrade her old i-phone. She fills her i-cloud capacity with photos about every 3 months and most of the recent updates have not worked. She has no choice but upgrade soon so we will have a decision to make. I'm not happy that Verizon raised my costs with their recent reorganization and when my Edge account pays off my Galaxy 5 phone, we're going to look hard at alternatives.

 

[Jeffburgh]

We have the Verizon Edge program that works well for us. I would seriously consider getting a real phone instead of an I phone. Galaxy S6 or S6 edge.

My wife and I get ours together. 2 1/2 years ago she got the S3 and I got a razor.

I knew the S3 was better, but there was a deal on the razor and I wasn't as extensive in my uses of the mobile at that point.

The razor literally just died two times, they replaced it earlier this year and the refurbished replacement died 10 days ago.

I had enough of that, it is like moving into a new house with a phone as is now, and when it dies you lose too much in the transfer.

So, I got the S6 and moved into it last weekend, and it is like night and day.

I have a Steelers case that apparently some chinese dude is boating over to arrive in a few weeks on order.

 

[Jeffburgh]

If you are not in a big hurry to get a new phone, I'd suggest that you check out Google Fi. It is just spooling up. It works differently than others. It only uses Nexus 6 Android phones but has a SIM which switches between Sprint and T-Mobile, and Wi-Fi, like VOIP, whichever is strongest. The switchover between 4G and wi-fi is supposed to be seamless. And Fi has an approved network of free wi-fi hotspots, in the thousands now and quickly expanding. In urban locations, it's a pretty good system.

Costs are pretty low and unused data gets rolled over each month to reduce the charge ongoing. You really do only pay for what you use.

Right now, the 4G network is still being established so if you are rural, it might not be the best solution for somebody who downloads a lot of video or music. They don't recommend it for my home at this time because my 4G is pretty spotty, but when our contract expires next year, we're going to try it because we would be using our wi-fi router.

You can check it out at https:/fi.google.com.

I'm not a I-phone fan. My wife is somewhat of a Luddite and doesn't want to upgrade her old i-phone. She fills her i-cloud capacity with photos about every 3 months and most of the recent updates have not worked. She has no choice but upgrade soon so we will have a decision to make. I'm not happy that Verizon raised my costs with their recent reorganization and when my Edge account pays off my Galaxy 5 phone, we're going to look hard at alternatives.

The best I can understand is that people were getting free phones in the older deals, taking the hit on cancelling service and then managing to sell their phones and come out making a profit, so they have this new "plan" where you are purchasing the phone at cost w a smaller line fee. It was almost a wash for us, about 10 dollars more a month, but if we keep our phones past the two years it takes to pay them off it will just be the smaller line fee.

I got a girl and she played it straight with me, my wife went in a couple days later and some guy was putting the hard sell on her to get a "deal" for a "free" tablet that was basically the hook to get us committed to a third line, like a fricken heroin dealer ...

 

[Harve74]

The best I can understand is that people were getting free phones in the older deals, taking the hit on cancelling service and then managing to sell their phones and come out making a profit, so they have this new "plan" where you are purchasing the phone at cost w a smaller line fee. It was almost a wash for us, about 10 dollars more a month, but if we keep our phones past the two years it takes to pay them off it will just be the smaller line fee.

I got a girl and she played it straight with me, my wife went in a couple days later and some guy was putting the hard sell on her to get a "deal" for a "free" tablet that was basically the hook to get us committed to a third line, like a fricken heroin dealer ...

That's a pretty good description of the way most plans were. The new plans seem more honest, where you buy the phone at market price and just pay for the services you're using. I 'm taking a hit because Verizon changed their data plan structure and actually raised my rate because I paid for a lot of data since my son and daughter were on my family plan. I've got to reconfigue to reduce my bills and haven't had the time to go in and talk to someone to optimize the best deal.

When my son switched to his own family plan, my daughter in law fell for the tablet "deal". Mention the word "bargain" to her and she's hooked. Well, that's my son's problem, not mine now.