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Comcast (xfinity) has a deal now where when you buy any new iPhone from them, & transfer your old phone #, you get a $250 Visa gift card. I've been holding out getting a smart phone for all these years partly b/c I didn't want to pay $50 or $60 a month for service, & also I have an old Nokia phone that works just fine (I have T-Mobile prepaid). Also I usually use my land line for calls, & just use the cell phone occasionally.
However Comcast also has a pay-by-the-gig plan ($12 per)--that plus the $250 gift card has me thinking I should finally do it. They seem to have every iPhone model made--from the iPhone 7 for $18.74/month (24 months), to the XS Max at $45.83/month. I'm thinking maybe the 7 Plus ($23.74/mo.) or the iPhone 8 for $24.99/mo.? $24.99/mo. = $600 of course, but spreading it out over 24 months makes it seem more painless. And with the $250 gift card--it seems like a great deal.
The XR 128GB is $33.33/mo. (or $800--yikes!), but it has a 6" screen, ios 12, & on & on. I think I might like the larger screen.
I should mention that I have 2 Macs at home, plus an iPad Mini 3 (with cellular, for when I'm away from Wi-Fi). So this is kind of a splurge for me, but I can well afford it. Oh, & my old cell phone # that I'd have to transfer--I get TONS of junk messages on that, I don't know why. Also, I'm wondering--how steep of a learning curve for a new smart-phone user?
TIA for any advice.....
PS--here's the link to the iPhone XR on the Apple site. They make it look incredible, inc. the camera which I might use a lot.
Comcast (xfinity) has a deal now where when you buy any new iPhone from them, & transfer your old phone #, you get a $250 Visa gift card. I've been holding out getting a smart phone for all these years partly b/c I didn't want to pay $50 or $60 a month for service, & also I have an old Nokia phone that works just fine (I have T-Mobile prepaid). Also I usually use my land line for calls, & just use the cell phone occasionally.
However Comcast also has a pay-by-the-gig plan ($12 per)--that plus the $250 gift card has me thinking I should finally do it. They seem to have every iPhone model made--from the iPhone 7 for $18.74/month (24 months), to the XS Max at $45.83/month. I'm thinking maybe the 7 Plus ($23.74/mo.) or the iPhone 8 for $24.99/mo.? $24.99/mo. = $600 of course, but spreading it out over 24 months makes it seem more painless. And with the $250 gift card--it seems like a great deal.
The XR 128GB is $33.33/mo. (or $800--yikes!), but it has a 6" screen, ios 12, & on & on. I think I might like the larger screen.
I should mention that I have 2 Macs at home, plus an iPad Mini 3 (with cellular, for when I'm away from Wi-Fi). So this is kind of a splurge for me, but I can well afford it. Oh, & my old cell phone # that I'd have to transfer--I get TONS of junk messages on that, I don't know why. Also, I'm wondering--how steep of a learning curve for a new smart-phone user?
TIA for any advice.....
Learning curve is negligible.
I'm wondering about that $12 per GB though. Seems really high. I have unlimited with AT&T Prepaid and they charge me $65. Some would say that it is a 22 GB plan. For $50 a month, until AT&T decides to change their mind, you can get 16 GB. With Comcast that would be $192 a month. As far as the phones, you can get a 7 Plus for $399 up front, but then you aren't financing anything. If I were into iPhone, I'd rather go that route, than to finance the phone. If you're really cheap you can go to a 6s with AT&T for $199 and that would include your first month, so for $204 down you get a 6s, and the first month payment on the 16 GB plan I was speaking of, and you're done until the next month. ($45 of the $199 actually goes towards the price of the plan) It is the best deal they have going on right now.
I mean, you can give Comcast your money, but that $250 gift card is just them giving you back money you wouldn't have to pay another carrier to begin with. If you need data, that's not a deal; at least not on the pay as you go data plan. Get the unlimited for $45 that 20 GB high speed far better deal. No way I'd pay someone $12 for a GB.
I checked out the Comcast plan a while back. It’s a good deal except for one problem. Your phone will only work on Verizon LTE towers. On 4g, 3g or 1x towers, of which Verizon has in a lot of places you can’t even place a call on the Comcast system. I have regular Verizon and am very satisfied. It works “everywhere” even in 3g and 2g areas. I passed on the Comcast set up despite the low cost. I need an iPhone that works. Gosh, if wanted to save money and didn't mind limited coverage I’d go with Sprint.
On a side note, we love our iPhones. They are easy to use and work well. Great call quality
3. Use it for 2+ years and then make the buying decision again
Two years? I'm still using an iPhone 5 I bought 6 years ago!
Thanks for the gazelle.com recommendation, though; I know it's not going to last forever and there's no way I'm going to spring for whatever is the latest and greatest.
Anyone new to iPhone I would suggest the 8 or 8+.
I would NOT suggest used unless you know for a fact that the battery has been renewed. That's a weak spot in Apple phone and you for sure want a brand new battery.
Anyone new to iPhone I would suggest the 8 or 8+.
I would NOT suggest used unless you know for a fact that the battery has been renewed. That's a weak spot in Apple phone and you for sure want a brand new battery.
I did look at used iPhone 8's & 8+'s on feebay. I buy a lot of things used, audio equipment, my current 2 Macs, even most of my cars, but I'm not too comfortable buying a used iPhone.
The person talking about how $12/gig is exorbitant--did I mention that I'm probably going to be a low use-age user? I can't imagine needing an unlimited plan unless I start traveling around the country a lot. Also, with Comcast, I found out that if you use LESS than 1 GB in a month, like 999 MB, there's no monthly charge. They also have free nationwide talk & texts, so I guess the useage charges are just for internet maybe?? They also have 19 million "hotspots", FWIW--actually I don't know what advantage that is?
Maybe a lot of people can't imagine someone who's not on their phone all the time-- but I could switch to their unlimited plan for $45/mo. tho if I ever need to. I do think maybe the iPhone 8 is the way to go. $799, but then there's the $250 gift card. As far as the Comcast cell service/coverage being bad, I guess I'll find out. I'm in S. NH......
I did look at used iPhone 8's & 8+'s on feebay. I buy a lot of things used, audio equipment, my current 2 Macs, even most of my cars, but I'm not too comfortable buying a used iPhone.
The person talking about how $12/gig is exorbitant--did I mention that I'm probably going to be a low use-age user? I can't imagine needing an unlimited plan unless I start traveling around the country a lot. Also, with Comcast, I found out that if you use LESS than 1 GB in a month, like 999 MB, there's no monthly charge. They also have free nationwide talk & texts, so I guess the useage charges are just for internet maybe?? They also have 19 million "hotspots", FWIW--actually I don't know what advantage that is?
Maybe a lot of people can't imagine someone who's not on their phone all the time-- but I could switch to their unlimited plan for $45/mo. tho if I ever need to. I do think maybe the iPhone 8 is the way to go. $799, but then there's the $250 gift card. As far as the Comcast cell service/coverage being bad, I guess I'll find out. I'm in S. NH......
I am that person. That is one of the highest per GB charges I've seen to date. I knew that you were not planning to use any data when you presented us with this information. But I don't think that it is wise to finance a cell phone. $250 gift card or not. Hotspots or not. Cox has hotspots I could have used when I had service with them and I did not have to finance a cellphone through them in order to use those hotspots. I just had to authenticate my internet account.
It is a trap. Comcast is not providing the cellular service to you, they're reselling it from Verizon. Verizon is only going to give priority to their own customers first. If you were to get Verizon's prepaid service you would have better service than you would with Comcast. The priority is going to look like this Verizon post paid > Verizon prepaid > Verizon subsidiaries > Verizon MVNO. Comcast, would be a Verizon MVNO in this situation, which means that your cellular calls will take bottom priority every single time. Which will be infuriating because the guy next to you will be on Verizon and be able to make calls and you won't. You're better off using something like Visible, which is a Verizon MVNO but still has better rates than what you'll get.
I've hit the point where switching out of Android and Google would cause much more harm than it solved. Vs. Apple, the two ecosystems play okay with each other...went through this with an iPad in 2010, which btw served me well until 2013. Okay does not mean great, though. And it it isn't great, it's ponderous. Ponderous means 'usernames' and 'passwords' and other BS switching from A to B, then B to A, and converting this to that. Pass.
I'm not knocking Apple, if that's your thing. I don't have any use for them, but they are certainly slick from the entry level iPhones to fully-load MacBook Pros (assuming they still exist). I haven't dug into their ecosystem since 2011 or so, but I'm sure it's vast like Google's.
Once embedded in Google, it would be dumb to get away from Photos, Maps, Chrome, Calendar, Contacts, YouTube, Play Music, Play Books, Keep Notes, Gmail, and more. All swap info back and forth constantly, it's heading toward an eventual convergence and I can't wait: most is increasingly interconnected. Oh, and most importantly Drive, where the bulk of my important docs are stored. Disentangling that and adding in Apple-anything would be a train wreck. Android and Google have socially engineering me into more-or-less permanent use of their ecosystem, as-intended, and I have per month fees on some of that listed. I'm a willing participant, however, they're best kind of long term customer.
Something to consider before switching to some new Apple phone. The day Apple and Google devices play seamlessly with one another's ecosystems, I think we'll have a anti-trust lawsuit brewing. They need to keep things Coke vs. Pepsi, essentially forever.
I've hit the point where switching out of Android and Google would cause much more harm than it solved. Vs. Apple, the two ecosystems play okay with each other...went through this with an iPad in 2010, which btw served me well until 2013. Okay does not mean great, though. And it it isn't great, it's ponderous. Ponderous means 'usernames' and 'passwords' and other BS switching from A to B, then B to A, and converting this to that. Pass.
I'm not knocking Apple, if that's your thing. I don't have any use for them, but they are certainly slick from the entry level iPhones to fully-load MacBook Pros (assuming they still exist). I haven't dug into their ecosystem since 2011 or so, but I'm sure it's vast like Google's.
Once embedded in Google, it would be dumb to get away from Photos, Maps, Chrome, Calendar, Contacts, YouTube, Play Music, Play Books, Keep Notes, Gmail, and more. All swap info back and forth constantly, it's heading toward an eventual convergence and I can't wait: most is increasingly interconnected. Oh, and most importantly Drive, where the bulk of my important docs are stored. Disentangling that and adding in Apple-anything would be a train wreck. Android and Google have socially engineering me into more-or-less permanent use of their ecosystem, as-intended, and I have per month fees on some of that listed. I'm a willing participant, however, they're best kind of long term customer.
Something to consider before switching to some new Apple phone. The day Apple and Google devices play seamlessly with one another's ecosystems, I think we'll have a anti-trust lawsuit brewing. They need to keep things Coke vs. Pepsi, essentially forever.
Well. I'm in the process of leaving Google. I'm getting further into Microsoft by the day. There are some things it makes sense to use Google but in my honest opinion it only makes sense to use Google if you don't have an iPhone, because of the way that Google is baked into Android. My perfect Android phone would not have anything Google on it. Microsoft does not have a phone so I have to deal with enormous apps, because Microsoft has to do everything within those apps, whereas Apple and Google prioritize their own apps and everything is transparent, and does not take up as much space on the phone. Microsoft apps, on Android or iPhone, will always be bigger for that reason. But you're right it is a Coke vs Pepsi thing going on, on a lot of different levels.
As far as iPhone and Apple's services on their own products I'm not sure about the execution of their services. I think it works great if you have a Mac. But if you're on Windows I would try it, but my expectations would be low. I'm also not a fan of iTunes and prefer how Google and Microsoft handles payments.
Personally Google just does not execute the way that I need them to for me to stay in it deep. I'll never get a Chromebook. I don't like the way that Photos, Drive, and Google Voice works. I don't like how Duo works, and I am not a fan of Hangouts or Hangouts Dialer. Maps has turned into a social network, I went back to Here We Go. Google Plus was confusing. Messages is the only useful app they have in my opinion.
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