What exactly does no-contract mean in this case -- or let me put it this way: can I buy the phone and walk away? No-contract should by definition mean I don't have to pay for service. So the out-the-door price is $385? I'm sure I don't understand. (I realize I can't use the phone elsewhere -- my point is that it's still a great price.)
What exactly does no-contract mean in this case -- or let me put it this way: can I buy the phone and walk away? No-contract should by definition mean I don't have to pay for service. So the out-the-door price is $385? I'm sure I don't understand. (I realize I can't use the phone elsewhere -- my point is that it's still a great price.)
no contract is exactly that "no contract"
you don't have to sign a contract- in fact Virgin have no contract at all for their plans.
You can use the on with other carriers is a big YMMV.
I and my family have bought several phones from Virgin Mobile (iPhone 4s and older models). "No contract" means you're not locked into any kind of monthly payment contract. Instead Virgin's plans are pay-as-you-go, either:
- You pay for 1 month of service, in advance, and then consume that service. There are different plans for different quantities of talk minutes, messages and data.
- You pay "by the minute" - example: pay $20, in advance, and get talk at 10c/minute, messages at 15c/message, etc.
Since you're paying in advance, you can stop paying any time. Typically, if you stop paying for a while (somewhere between 30 and 90 days), then they'll discontinue the phone number on the account, so if you restart service later you'll need to setup a new phone number (which takes about 15 minutes).
These plans have worked great for me and my family. In the past we were all on the pay-by-the-minute plans, but as my kids have grown older we've transferred them to pay-by-the-month with the "Beyond Talk" plan, which is 300 talk minutes, and unlimited messaging and data. Normally that plan is $35/month, but if you auto-pay from a credit card then they drop the cost to $30/month (about $33 with taxes and fees).
Service for us, on the Sprint network, in North Texas, has been very good.
I should also add, that as of last summer I personally switched from Virgin to a Google Nexus 4 (16GB from Google for $250), on T-Mobile ($30/month pre-pay). That's worked well for me too.
With the Nexus 6 due out in a few months, I'm hoping Google will again drop prices on the previous model (Nexus 5 this time) and I'll be able to snap up another deal (though of course the Nexus 5 is already a good deal).
That great Nexus 4 deal, last August: http://bensbargains.net/bargain/lg-google-nexus-4-unlocked-8gb-android-smartphone-209-at-google-play-107499/
Thanks for the replies -- I think I wasn't 100% clear. What I'm saying is basically: hmmm, is it worth it to pay $385 for an iPhone, if the owner understands up front that it won't be used as a phone? Put another way, is $385 a reasonable price for a basically top-of-the-line iPod Touch? Maybe that's still a lot, but I'm otherwise puzzled that the unsubsidized price is $649. In other words, you pay almost $300 more for the luxury of an unlocked phone that you can take to your preferred carrier (and use as a phone, naturally!).
If you want an iPod Touch then just buy that instead. This is 16GB. For about the same amount of money you can get a 64GB device. Plus this is probably thicker than an iPod Touch.
Taking phones to another carrier is at times hit or miss. Verizon and AT&T have competing standards so your phone that you buy will probably only work on one of those networks. But Virgin will not allow you to unlock the phone to take to another carrier. So if you want an iPhone for another carrier (eventually) then go to that carrier.
Yes, if you only want the iPod features, then just get an iPod (we have 3rd, 4th and 5th gen iPod touch devices as well as iPhone 4s devices in our house). Note that the cameras on the phones are generally much better than the equivalent generation iPod, in part because they can fit more optics into a thicker device. Also the Iphone 5s has a superior processor, and the best camera across all the i-devices. See apple.com for all the specs.
I used a cheap phone (on pay-as-you-go Virgin) and an iPod for many years, before getting a Nexus - simply because I spend ~90% of my life within range of some kind of WiFi (sad, but true!).
Now definitely off-subject, but this reminds me of one other note about using a Nexus on T-Mobile: free WiFi hotspot and tethering capability! T-Mobile can't detect that the Nexus hotspot or tethering features are turned on - so they can't prohibit it.
Note that the cameras on the phones are generally much better than the equivalent generation iPod, in part because they can fit more optics into a thicker device. Also the Iphone 5s has a superior processor, and the best camera across all the i-devices.
This is precisely what I meant, thanks! But I also think the previous comment about 16GB vs. 64GB is the other side of the coin.
So my conclusion is this:
Question: why would anyone buy an iPhone unsubsidized from Virgin (at what I still think is a suspiciously low price), if they weren't certain they wanted the pay-as-you-go option?
My first answer: because if they decide not to use it as a phone, they still have a pretty good device at a competitive price.
Second answer: probably a stupid thing to do, since the iPod is cheaper and you get much more storage space (though a lesser processor and camera).
Third answer (my latest insight): THE PHONE *IS* SUBSIDIZED. In particular, Virgin knows since the phone is locked, owners have basically no choice but to stay with them month-to-month. They must have run the numbers and discovered "If we sell the phone WELL under MSRP, we can still lock customers in by preventing them from moving to another carrier." The perception that you can "walk away with the phone" is pretty much an illusion -- no owners will realistically walk away with a very expensive iPod.
Comments & Reviews (13)
No. It's locked to Virgin.
which i believe is basically sprint...
but then you can't use this phone with other carriers, or in other countries? If it can only be used with Virgin, then it's pretty useless to me.
no contract is exactly that "no contract"
you don't have to sign a contract- in fact Virgin have no contract at all for their plans.
You can use the on with other carriers is a big YMMV.
- You pay for 1 month of service, in advance, and then consume that service. There are different plans for different quantities of talk minutes, messages and data.
- You pay "by the minute" - example: pay $20, in advance, and get talk at 10c/minute, messages at 15c/message, etc.
Since you're paying in advance, you can stop paying any time. Typically, if you stop paying for a while (somewhere between 30 and 90 days), then they'll discontinue the phone number on the account, so if you restart service later you'll need to setup a new phone number (which takes about 15 minutes).
These plans have worked great for me and my family. In the past we were all on the pay-by-the-minute plans, but as my kids have grown older we've transferred them to pay-by-the-month with the "Beyond Talk" plan, which is 300 talk minutes, and unlimited messaging and data. Normally that plan is $35/month, but if you auto-pay from a credit card then they drop the cost to $30/month (about $33 with taxes and fees).
Service for us, on the Sprint network, in North Texas, has been very good.
With the Nexus 6 due out in a few months, I'm hoping Google will again drop prices on the previous model (Nexus 5 this time) and I'll be able to snap up another deal (though of course the Nexus 5 is already a good deal).
That great Nexus 4 deal, last August:
http://bensbargains.net/bargain/lg-google-nexus-4-unlocked-8gb-android-smartphone-209-at-google-play-107499/
For those asking the "can this iPhone be switched to another carrier" questions, perhaps the following will help:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57598544-94/confused-about-locked-vs-unlocked-phones-ask-maggie-explains/
This video suggest that a Virgin Mobile iPhone 5S cannot be switched to T-Mobile - the SIM card is considered invalid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0-QKhIF83E
Taking phones to another carrier is at times hit or miss. Verizon and AT&T have competing standards so your phone that you buy will probably only work on one of those networks. But Virgin will not allow you to unlock the phone to take to another carrier. So if you want an iPhone for another carrier (eventually) then go to that carrier.
I used a cheap phone (on pay-as-you-go Virgin) and an iPod for many years, before getting a Nexus - simply because I spend ~90% of my life within range of some kind of WiFi (sad, but true!).
Now definitely off-subject, but this reminds me of one other note about using a Nexus on T-Mobile: free WiFi hotspot and tethering capability! T-Mobile can't detect that the Nexus hotspot or tethering features are turned on - so they can't prohibit it.
This is precisely what I meant, thanks! But I also think the previous comment about 16GB vs. 64GB is the other side of the coin.
So my conclusion is this:
Question: why would anyone buy an iPhone unsubsidized from Virgin (at what I still think is a suspiciously low price), if they weren't certain they wanted the pay-as-you-go option?
My first answer: because if they decide not to use it as a phone, they still have a pretty good device at a competitive price.
Second answer: probably a stupid thing to do, since the iPod is cheaper and you get much more storage space (though a lesser processor and camera).
Third answer (my latest insight): THE PHONE *IS* SUBSIDIZED. In particular, Virgin knows since the phone is locked, owners have basically no choice but to stay with them month-to-month. They must have run the numbers and discovered "If we sell the phone WELL under MSRP, we can still lock customers in by preventing them from moving to another carrier." The perception that you can "walk away with the phone" is pretty much an illusion -- no owners will realistically walk away with a very expensive iPod.
Thank you!