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BeatWeek claims to have heard that at least one Apple Retail store location seems to be getting Sprint signal repeaters installed.
According to the source, who resides in Austin, Texas: “One thing I can tell you is that the electrical contractor that I work for is contracted to install Sprint “repeaters” at The Domain. There is a Apple Store at The Domain. One of the “repeaters” is to be installed INSIDE the Apple Store. There is to be a total of 5 “repeaters” installed. The equipment is CDMA and 4G (Sprint)”…
These signal enhancers are used in Apple Stores to ensure a high quality signal for existing AT&T and Verizon customers.
If Sprint is deploying these en masse to Apple retail stores, it would be a strong sign that Apple will be launching the iPhone 5 on Sprint as well. So far, we've only heard this one report at one particular mall, and it appears Sprint was also installing repeaters at other locations in the mall as well.
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But then, I live in Munich :D
p.s. 12 days till Octoberfest :p
Mostly out of curiosity, I decided to run some numbers on the USA's current iPhone4 service providers and I'm comparing the lowest possible plans with the minimum cost efficient text-msg and data services that each phone provider offers based on a 2-year projected service timeline, with phone plan prices based on today's rates (Sept. 6th, 2011), and from what I can see cost-wise there is only a marginal difference between AT&T and Verizon rates, so choosing one of them really boils down to 1) the type of data plan you want/need and 2) your personal preference with the actual network and customer service you wish to have.
However, if one elects to by an unlocked iPhone4 and use T-Mobile's $30 monthly plan, you can save about 33% in overall costs when compared to the previous two service providers! But, on the downside, you *first* must pay a minimum of $700 for the phone itself AND you have minimal, if any, insurance on your handset incase of theft or damage, while *secondly* the reliability of T-Mobile's service itself is somewhat spotty, especially if you live outside of a large metro-area.
What remains to been seen now is what Sprint (assuming they're going to start selling the iPhone this Autumn) offers for their iPhone service plans, and if they'll be less expensive than what AT&T & Verizon currently offers?
All the details to this conclusion is provided below:
QUICK REFERENCE:
* $200/$300 for contract iPhone4 16GB/32GB + AF†
* Unlocked (GSM) iPhone4 16GB/32GB = $649/$749††
POSSIBLE iPhone4 PLANS:
AT&T 2-year contract:
OVERVIEW: 450 anytime minutes, 200MB data, and Unlimited Text Messages†††
COST DETAILS: $75 per month* ($40 + $15 + $20, respectively) or $1,800 for 24 months*
TOTAL COST for life of contract: $2,036 ($1,800 + subsidized handset + AF†)
Verizon 2-year contract:
OVERVIEW: 450 anytime minutes, 2GB data, and 250 Text Messages†††
COST DETAILS: $75 per month* ($40 + $30 + $5, respectively) or $1,800 for 24 months*
TOTAL COST for life of contract: $2,036 ($1,800 + subsidized handset + AF†)
T-Mobile $50 monthly non-contract plan:
OVERVIEW: Text, Talk, and Web Unlimited§
COST DETAILS: $50 per month* or $1,200 for 24 months*
TOTAL COST for life of a 2-year monthly plan: $1,906 ($1,200 + handset**)
T-Mobile $30 monthly non-contract plan:
OVERVIEW: Text & Talk 1500 minutes or messages§§, Web 30MB a month
COST DETAILS: $30 per month* or $720 for 24 months*
TOTAL COST for life of a 2-year monthly plan: $1,426 ($720 + handset**)
Sprint 2-year contract: ??? (rates TBD)
---- Notes ----
* based on projected minimum costs of phone plan usage.
** unlocked 16GB iPhone with approximate taxes.
† one-time $36 Activation Fee (AF) for new customers.
†† approx. $56/$66 in taxes for 16GB/32GB models.
††† this is the lowest txt-msg plan after the "pay-per-use" option.
§ First 100MB at up to 4G speeds (T-Mobile).
§§ Use any combination of minutes or messages up to 1500.
AT&T and Verizon rates taken from the Apple Online Store (http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone).
T-Mobile USA monthly rates taken from their 4G-plans (http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans) webpage.
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Now, I'm just curious to hear from those who are actually using an iPhone with T-Mobile and what your level of satisfaction is regarding the service plan you're using of theirs???
In the meantime, I hope this breakdown can be of some use for those still undecided with their potential iPhone4 purchase plans. :)
I have to agree, I mean come on....Beatweek Magazine, really?:confused: While i appreciate the digging and wanting to bring the news to us a.s.a.p. One look at their front page today also shows quality articles such as this one titled "T-Mobile iPhone 5 officially goes on sale today just not in U.S." I'd rather wait a little longer and get quality news from macrumors.com.
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Its highly unlikely they will offer a pre-paid variant, especially along side their initial launch and possibly cannibalizing contract customers. Even if by some chance they did I would wager that it would only be the Iphone 4 and "4S" available with prepaid plans. Finally even if all that occurred i don't believe theres a chance in hell it would be bastardized to the point that they allow it offered on Virgin Mobile in the U.S. I agree though, Iphone rates at Virgin Mobile levels would be wonderful, just not FROM Virgin Mobile.