Quote:
Originally Posted by vonCZ
...or not.  I find it [iPhone] perfect for reading novels/epub stuff in the evenings/night.
That said: I live in Europe but am moving back to the US next month. Can I sign up for a voice/text-only plan (no data) in the US for my wife and I for under $80/month? Or will we have to switch phones? My iPhone4 is unlocked. |
How many minutes do you need? T-Mobile has some pretty great prepaid plans depending on your use.
- Monthly 4G $50: Unlimited Talk, Text & Web (throttled after 100MB - not that it matters since the iPhone can only do 2G on T-Mobile)
- Monthly 4G $30: 100 Talk, Unlimited Text, Unlimited Web (throttled after 5GB)
- Monthly 4G $30: 1500 Talk & Text, 30MB Web
- Monthly 4G $15: Unlimited Text, Talk at $0.10/min
For really low-usage, there's also:
- Pay By Day $3: Unlimited Talk, Text & Web (4G then throttled to 2G after 200MB)
- Pay By Day $2: Unlimited Talk, Text & Web (2G)
- Pay By Day $1: Unlimited Text, Talk at $0.10/min
- Pay As You Go: $0.10/min with Gold Rewards status, $0.10/msg
Verizon and AT&T usually have the best coverage.
You can use your iPhone on AT&T GoPhone prepaid without getting a data plan. They have different plans available:
- Monthly $50: Unlimited Talk, Text & Web (web doesn't work with smartphones, need to get a data package add-on for that)
- Monthly $25: 250 Talk (overage at $0.10/min), Unlimited Text
- Pay By Day $2: Unlimited Talk & Text
- Pay As You Go: $0.10/min, $0.20/msg
If you have really, really, really low usage and only use your cellphones for emergency and stuff, you can get away with just spending $100/year ($8.33/month) on AT&T or $10/year ($0.83/month) on T-Mobile (after initial first year $100 load to reach Gold Rewards Status).
Do keep in mind that both incoming calls and messages count against you.
Unfortunately, if you go Verizon, you won't be able to use your iPhone (need to get a new one from them) and you're forced to get a data plan whether you go contract or prepaid if you get a smartphone.