Nexus 4 options + idea

[lx____]

I've been looking into getting a new phone for a few months now (as my contract with AT&T expired in July) and currently I'm pretty interested in the Nexus 4. Right now I'm looking at my various options I have as far as carriers go.

I'm currently still using AT&T with my parents which saves me some money, though I could always split off and go for TMobile (Prepaid) or Straight Talk.

Sticking with AT&T would probably be the cheapest for me (as I share the bill with my parents) though apparently their HSPA+ speeds aren't as fast as TMobile's.
TMobile's $30 plan is very tempting though I'm a bit concerned about only having 100 minutes (even though I rarely use any).
Straight Talk is an extra $15 for unlimited minutes and possibly less data (when they throttle/cut you off seems to vary).

One thing a friend recommended doing seems like it may be a bit fishy but I can't see why I shouldn't do it. The plan is to renew my contract with AT&T (my parents are getting new phones anyways) and to purchase an iPhone 5 for $200. I could use the SIM card in my Nexus 4 and sell the iPhone for quite a nice profit. I'd be stuck with AT&T but I don't really have any issues with that aside from the possibly slower HSPA+ speeds. Would this work or would there be some sort of issue with the SIM card? For the record, I'm currently using whatever came with my Samsung Captivate; It has a little 3G icon on it. I don't know too much about phone hardware so I'm not sure if I'd need a new one because of that (may not support 4G) or not.

Any thoughts?

 

[SumthinMynur]

Well your friends idea is a bit backwards. You are still paying full price for the iPhone 5 if you buy one with a contract @ ($199) because you will be paying for the service from AT&T at contract pricing vs. if you own the device your service price is less. I doubt you will profit much money if at all since you will pay greater service costs over time.

On the other hand if you buy your Nexus 4 from Google you can switch to T-Mobile and get a Value Package 500 Minute, unlimited text and data plan for $60 a month or unlimited everything plan for $70 a month which is far better than AT&T pricing. Also as you mentioned, T-Mobile data speeds on HSPA+ tend to be greater performing.

Keep in mind too that the iPhone 5 is a Nano Sim and the Nexus 4 is a Micro sim.

 

[epicness4G]

Well your friends idea is a bit backwards. You are still paying full price for the iPhone 5 if you buy one with a contract @ ($199) because you will be paying for the service from AT&T at contract pricing vs. if you own the device your service price is less. I doubt you will profit much money if at all since you will pay greater service costs over time.

On the other hand if you buy your Nexus 4 from Google you can switch to T-Mobile and get a Value Package 500 Minute, unlimited text and data plan for $60 a month or unlimited everything plan for $70 a month which is far better than AT&T pricing. Also as you mentioned, T-Mobile data speeds on HSPA+ tend to be greater performing.

Keep in mind too that the iPhone 5 is a Nano Sim and the Nexus 4 is a Micro sim.

He's on a family plan meaning he is only paying for the line (9.99) and whatever his data plan is. With that said, you can totally do it. I've done it before, I had previously purchased a galaxy s3 and then my upgrade came when the iphone 5 arrived so I upgraded to that. Sold it for 1,200 USD and then went back to my gs3. At&t doesn't care what you do with the phone. You can flip that 199.99 into 600-700. The only downside is that you'll stay in at&t two more years. But that will be cheaper than going with tmobile for their 60.00 value plan

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Android Central Forums

 

[Woosh]

You assume they don't split the bill x amount of ways? I'd say buying iPhone and selling isn't bad but it depends on what your goal is here...are you trying to get the n4 for free, are you trying to save money monthly, or do you want faster and possibly unlimited data.

Without rly knowing what the goal is and what your current plan is its hard to make a decision on that.

I personally can't stand the $350 ETF....don't like having one that huge in case something happens where canceling is needed. But that's just my opinion. The n4 likely won't hold too much resale since new ones are so cheap to recover that.

But if you are happy with your current service and don't mind being in contract then you mine as well keep using it.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[klau25]

if they split a family plan evenly, it prob will cost under 50 a month. i am not on my paretns plan anymore, but with theirs, it's about 25 a month. haha, your friend's idea is pretty awesome, but others are right also. do you care if you stuck with att for another 2 years even though the monthly cost is low? but i guess you might still make money even if you have to pay the etf later since a 16gig iphone 5 is still selling for 7-800 on ebay right now(ppl are crazy!!!). haha.

You assume they don't split the bill x amount of ways? I'd say buying iPhone and selling isn't bad but it depends on what your goal is here...are you trying to get the n4 for free, are you trying to save money monthly, or do you want faster and possibly unlimited data.

Without rly knowing what the goal is and what your current plan is its hard to make a decision on that.

I personally can't stand the $350 ETF....don't like having one that huge in case something happens where canceling is needed. But that's just my opinion. The n4 likely won't hold too much resale since new ones are so cheap to recover that.

But if you are happy with your current service and don't mind being in contract then you mine as well keep using it.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[lx____]

My parents probably wont be dropping AT&T any time soon and I'm currently paying them $30/month to stay on it. This gets me practically unlimited minutes (we have tons of rollover), texting, and data (3GB limit). The only time I've gotten close to hitting said limit was when I was on vacation for a week and a half and I was constantly using my phone; I use WiFi most of the time.

As far as the SIM card goes, would I need a new one for the Nexus 4? I've seen some people saying that you can buy a cutter or go to a store and get them to cut it. As I said in my original post, my sim card has a "3G" icon on it and I'm not sure if that means that it's incompatible with 4G or not.

 

[SumthinMynur]

My parents probably wont be dropping AT&T any time soon and I'm currently paying them $30/month to stay on it. This gets me practically unlimited minutes (we have tons of rollover), texting, and data (3GB limit). The only time I've gotten close to hitting said limit was when I was on vacation for a week and a half and I was constantly using my phone; I use WiFi most of the time.

As far as the SIM card goes, would I need a new one for the Nexus 4? I've seen some people saying that you can buy a cutter or go to a store and get them to cut it. As I said in my original post, my sim card has a "3G" icon on it and I'm not sure if that means that it's incompatible with 4G or not.

If that is your case I would say stick with AT&T. That rate is cheap and works for you although if you got an iphone you'd be locked into 2 year agreement because of it or have to pay an ETF. As for your SIM you can get a cutter for about $3.99, maybe less or you can go to AT&T and ask for a replacement SIM and let them know you need a micro SIM. The iPhone 4 and 4S use micro SIM. The icon you speak of is just printed on the SIM you have now and should not cause a limitation of not being able to connect to their HSPA+ 21 4G network.

 

[Woosh]

My parents probably wont be dropping AT&T any time soon and I'm currently paying them $30/month to stay on it. This gets me practically unlimited minutes (we have tons of rollover), texting, and data (3GB limit). The only time I've gotten close to hitting said limit was when I was on vacation for a week and a half and I was constantly using my phone; I use WiFi most of the time.

As far as the SIM card goes, would I need a new one for the Nexus 4? I've seen some people saying that you can buy a cutter or go to a store and get them to cut it. As I said in my original post, my sim card has a "3G" icon on it and I'm not sure if that means that it's incompatible with 4G or not.

If it were me I'd keep that plan but don't renew the contract and just go month to month.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[epicness4G]

The sim card is irrelevant as at&t will give you a new one at no charge. Get the iphone 5. Sell It and then buy the Nexus 4 and you'll have cash to spare, but only if you don't mind staying with at&t for another 2 years.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Android Central Forums

 

[Freshly_Snipes]

Totally agree. You will no doubt enjoy the Nexus 4's pure experience. I am sure of that. Enjoy the couple bucks you'll have left over. Or you could do like I do anytime i get a few extra bucks and throw it on my bill...Nothing like getting that text "Your Monthly Bill is ready to view" and you know it's like next to nothing because you paid on it already. I do that because I can NOT go without my phone. I hope you enjoy and keep us up on what decision you decided to make.