iPhone 4G Looming. I Want.

Nope. Can't help but get all caught up in the iPhone 4G hype. The reason I believe I'm getting sucked right in is the fact that my current iPhone, the original 3G from two years ago, seems to be showing its age: (1) very sloooowwww page and app load times, (2) limited support for some apps, and (3) dropped calls which may be the Carrier's fault, maybe the phone's fault, depends on who you talk to.

Here's the kicker. My current contract is a lovely 3 year beauty, which locks me in to an $80 per month rate. I'm not eligible for parole until August 2011. So the question is, "am I willing to eat a big penalty fee to become liberated?". I think I am.

Here's why.

When I signed up with Rogers two years ago, I got the 6 GB plan. I was so excited I nearly soiled myself. I'll never run out of data! That's more data than the American AT&T "unlimited" data which has a soft cap of 5 GB. Wow!

However, after two years of feverish use, its become clear to me that there's no way I would ever use that in a month. If I'm using heavily (I realize I sound like a intravenous drug user here), I'm lucky if I can slurp up 300 MB worth of data. I've come to the conclusion that any 500 MB plan would probably do me fine and dandy.

Here's the plan.

Rogers has an Early Termination Fee, which I will now present as Exhibit "A":

ECF
The ECF is the greater of (ii) $100 or (iii) $20 per month remaining in the service agreement, to a maximum of $400 (plus applicable taxes), and applies on each line in the plan that is terminated.

For me, that equates to 12 months or $240.

My current plan is
Voice = $35

Data = $30

System Access Fee = $7

Caller ID = $8

Total = $80 / month

My proposed new plan is
Telus PlanVoice & Data = $50

Caller ID = $7

Total = $57 / month

So, the difference is about $23 / month or $276 over the year. If my ECF comes to $240, and my money saved over the next year is $276, I'm actually a little bit ahead.

So, I guess this leads me to another question: how much is the iPhone 4G gonna cost?

iPhone Data Plans - A Quick Compare

In the next couple months, Steve Jobs will descend from Mount Sinai with stone tablets in one hand and the new iPhone 4G in the other. It is good.

Having skipped the last rendition of the iPhone 3G, the underwhelming 3GS, I probably will adopt the 4G. I also may use this opportunity to end my contract with Rogers and start fresh with a new data plan, there's now a myriad of choices to be had. Why not at least consider starting fresh. My current bill is about $87 / month.

With that, I delved into each provider's website, wearing my "iPhone Newbie" hat, seeing what was out there. I'm only going to consider plans that suit my typical iPhone daily routine:

• 10 - 20 minutes a day talking and texting, usually to people in "My 5".
• A few minutes on Facebook every few days
• Daily use of Twitter through the Echofon app
• Email checking throughout the day through GMail on IMAP using Exchange settings
• Web surfing 10 - 30 minutes per day
• Radio listening over 3G through the "Tuned In" app (which I recommend, by the way)
• No tethering needed
• Non-3G games and iPod use does not factor in here since there's not data involved

So, I'm looking at a plan at around 500MBBelow is my cross-compare, maybe you might find it informative.

Rogers

Price:
>> $50 / month = 200 minutes / 500 MB data

Includes:
>> A "My 5" option, unlimited voice and data to 5 numbers.
>> Call forwarding, call waiting, group calling
>> Unlimited access to social sites like Facebook, Twitter, PhotoBucket, LinkedIn, etc.

Comments:
Its an extra 8 bucks for Caller ID, which I have grown fond of. Rogers goes down quite a bit during bad weather. I also average 1 dropped call per month. Bars are sporadic. It wouldn't break my heart to leave Rogers.

Bell

Price: $50 / month = 100 minutes / 500 MB data

Includes:
>> Unlimited text and talk to 5 numbers
>> Not a whole lot else

Comments:
Bells coverage map is really nice. I like the blue they use on their web page. Aside from that, Bell seems to come up really short. My stomach got queezy looking through their offerings.

Telus

Price: $50 / month = 200 minutes / 500 MB data (seeing a trend yet?)

Includes:
>> an equivalent "My 5" deal - unlimited talk and text to 5 numbers.
>> voice mail, which no other carrier includes at this level.
>> call waiting, conference calling
>> PERKS plan, basically a bunch of coupons to places like Mr Sub, Shell, Shoe Company, etc.

Comments:
Caller ID is a whopping $15 / month under their "Package 15" option. By reputation, Telus is the most reliable network, not likely to get dropped calls through these guys. Their data speeds will probably be a smidge better. Really not liking the extra $15, not good, Telus.

Virgin Mobile

Price: $50 / month = 200 minutes / 500 MB data

Includes:
>> Choice of unlimited texting or caller id (damn! I like BOTH)
>> Unlimited received texts - outgoing is 15 cents per text
>> Members area with a lot of fluff you can buy, wrist bands, ring tones, whoop-de-freaking-do

Comments:
Network speeds and reliability make me nervous with Virgin. Although they were part of the 3G+ consortium that banded together against the evil empire (Rogers) to create this 3G+ network, my gut tells me that I'm not going to get a good experience for the price. Please correct me if I'm wrong, because the pricing seems decent.


Overall Summary:
Golly, not sure what to say. Rogers still looks good, but the uncertainty of Virgin has me wondering. If I could only come across some dude who has a Virgin iPhone and get his/her opinion. Not seeing too much info out there on raw 3G data speed comparison across networks. I guess if I were to choose right now, I would lean towards Rogers again. However, I would go at a much lower price. I'd like to see my $85 / month go down to $50 / month.

Of course, this could all change once the big iPhone 4G announcement happens. Some of these providers could get aggressive with some deals. At least, I hope they do.