Have a question for Techland? Send an e-mail to tips at techland dot com and we’ll do our best to answer it.
Question: My ancient AT&T cell phone—it has a Cingular logo on it, if that gives you any indication of its age—is rapidly circling the drain. People can’t hear a word I am saying and the battery life is shot. I’ve heard that I could get a refurbished iPhone for $50 or so. How do I go about doing that?
I have shied away from buying a new phone because I don’t know what to get and hate getting nickeled and dimed by those companies with the hidden fees and small print. Know what I mean?
Answer: I do know what you mean—absolutely. Let’s take a look at your iPhone options, as well as some alternative ideas.
There are three iPhone versions available. Oldest to newest, they are:
1. The iPhone 3G
2. The iPhone 3GS
3. The iPhone 4
Pricing
The iPhone 3G is the one you can get refurbished for $50, but it’s more than two years old and it’s being phased out completely. AT&T currently shows it as out of stock and Apple doesn’t even sell it at all anymore.
If you’re going for price, you should look at the iPhone 3GS instead. You can currently get a refurbished one for $80, but you can get a brand new one for $100. I’d just get a brand new one, if I were you.
If you want to spend a little more, you can get a refurbished iPhone 4 (which is the newest model) for $150 or a new one for $200.
Monthly Fees
You’ll have to renew your contract to get any of the above prices, which will extend it to two years. You’ll also need to add a data plan to your voice plan, which adds between $15 and $25 extra per month. I’d go with the $15-per-month plan at first, which gives you 200 megabytes of mobile data.
Use the phone’s Wi-Fi connection at home and at work, and use the AT&T data connection when you’re out on the town. The phone will switch seamlessly between the two as long as you’ve set it up to connect to your home and work Wi-Fi networks first (this is done under Settings > Wi-Fi).
You’ll have to add another $5 per month for text messages, too. That’ll allow you to send up to 200 text messages per month.
So your minimum total cost would be $80 or $100 for the phone, $40 per month for the 450-minute voice plan, $15 per month for the data plan, and $5 for texting. Basically, plan on $80 to $100 for the phone and around $60 per month before taxes for the next two years.
Be aware that AT&T charges you extra if you go over your data, voice, and messaging allotments. If you go over on your data plan, you’ll pay another $15 for 200 more megabytes. If you go over your voice minutes, you’ll pay a whopping 45 cents per minute. If you go over your messaging limit, you’ll pay 20 cents per text message and 30 cents per picture or video message.
An Alternative Option
A lot of people are surprised to find out how much more the monthly plans cost when switching from a standard phone to a smartphone. If you want a total no-screwjob smartphone plan that may even end up costing less than your current plan, I’d look at something from Virgin Mobile. The company offers prepaid, no-contract plans that work on Sprint’s network.
Virgin Mobile doesn’t carry the iPhone, but you could get a BlackBerry for $250 upfront and then pay $35 per month for the plan. That includes unlimited data, messaging, and 300 voice minutes.
That’s a steal compared to the cheapest iPhone plan and, again, there’s no two-year contract. You can’t go over on your texting or data use, and if you go over your 300 minutes, each additional minute is 10 cents instead of 45 cents. The downside is that you have to shell out $250 for the phone.
The phone isn’t nearly as “cool” as the iPhone, but it does web and e-mail and you can download plenty of apps for it just like you can on the iPhone. It beats the pants off of any phone with a Cingular logo, too, that’s for sure.
Running the Numbers
Total minimum cost for a refurbished iPhone 3GS over two years:
$80 for the phone + $60 per month: $1520 (plus taxes and any overage fees associated with messaging, data, or voice minutes)
Total minimum cost of the Virgin Mobile BlackBerry Curve over two years:
$250 for the phone + $35 per month: $1090 (plus taxes and any overage fees associated with voice minutes)
That’s for a new phone, too, not a refurbished one. And remember that you’re not locked into a contract this way. If you don’t like how things are going, walk away—maybe sell the phone on eBay, too.
Have a question you’d like answered? Send it to tips at Techland dot com.
More on Techland:
Ask Techland: What’s the Best Android Phone on T-Mobile?