5 Reason NOT to Buy the iPhone 4S on Sprint (list)
Sprint is the newest player in the iPhone game now that it will carry Apple’s latest version, the iPhone 4S. Before, only Verizon and AT&T were the two that carried it. Now that Sprint has it, you might be wondering if you should jump ship at one of the other carriers and sign up with them, right? Well, here are 5 reasons NOT to make the switch.
Update: Checkout out our complimentary article which provides 5 reasons to BUY the iPhone 4s on Sprint.
5. No Insurance
The iPhone is a costly device so insurance is usually a good thing, especially if you’re prone to losing things or breaking phones. AT&T and Verizon both offer insurance plans, but Sprint doesn’t seem to offer one for the iPhone at all, instead suggesting that customers buy Apple’s $99 AppleCare Plus Extended Warranty.
4. Headaches of Switching Carriers
Switching carries might not always be that easy. There’s early termination fees to think about, whether or not you want to take your old number to the new carrier and if you don’t, you’re going to have to alert all of your contact of the new number and so on. If you’ve been living with a month-to-month plan this won’t be a problem but those who want to jump ship for the Unlimited Data Plan will have to think about all this.
3. Trouble Providing Advertised Speeds
If Sprint does lure all these customers away from AT&T and Verizon, Sprint’s network might not be able to handle it all and might actually have trouble providing the speeds they advertised for the iPhone 4S.
2. Less Than Great 3G Coverage
Many have argued that Sprint has the worst 3G coverage from all three of the iPhone carriers, which might bother some costumers, especially if they switch over from either Verizon or AT&T. With that said, the Unlimited Data Plan that they’re offering might not be that great without better than average 4G coverage. Thanks to having less coverage in some areas it means that the iPhone experience on Sprint might be slightly worse than the iPhone experience on Verizon and actually a lot slower than the experience for folks using AT&T’s upgraded HSPA+ network.
1. Unlimited Data Plan Lure
While an unlimited data plan sounds great, it might just be way to lure customers away from AT&T and Verizon and then later to the data tier, putting you right back where you started or even worse, given you might be paying more in the long run. So even though it might seem like a great deal in the beginning, you should think about long-term effects. AT&T and Verizon first offered unlimited data plans in the beginning so Sprint might also repeat history.
AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint iPhones Compared
| AT&T | Sprint | Verizon | |
| iPhone 4SCosts
(with contract) |
16 GB – US$199 32 GB – $299 64 GB – $399 | 16 GB – US$199
32 GB – $299 64 GB – $399 |
16 GB – US$199
32 GB – $299 64 GB – $399 |
| Plan Costs | Voice: $39.99-$69.99/month
Data: $15-$25/month Texts: $5-$20/month |
Voice: $39.99-$99.99/month
Data: $10/month Texts: Included |
Voice: $39.99-$69.99/month
Data: $30-$80/month Texts: $5-$20/month |
| Contract Length | Two years | Two years | Two years |
| Service Coverage | Advantage Verizon | ||
| Network Quality | Advantage Verizon | ||
| 3G Speed | Advantage AT&T | ||
| Tethering | $20 for 2 GB | $29.99 for 5 GB | $20 for 2 GB |
| Push to Talk | No | Yes | No |
| Data & Voice Use Simultaneously | Yes | No | No |
| Early Termination Fee | $325, reduces by $10/month under contract | $350, reduces by $10/month under contract | $350, reduces by $10/month under contract |
| Insurance | $6.99/month | $7/month | $10.99/month |
Kristie Bertucci
