i still need to get one

they are out of stock in my country as well for almost 3 weeks

Sprint will sent you a free fem-to-cell unit that boosts signal indoors. Had one sine I got the iPhone 5 because it was suit at keeping a connection indoors.

He's right.... mine is arriving tomorrow with the one I bought for the missus for her birthday pressie (bless, she's still on the iphone 3G*). Bought from Apple for €670 each and we each pay €20/mo for unlimited everyting (calls inc international too, internet, sms etc). For the same call plan under 24mo contract to get the phone for €200, we'd each be paying €60/mo. OK, we could go for the more limited packages eg 1hr talk, 2GB internet and pay €45/mo, but even that is €25/mo more than we pay now. x24 mo == €600 extra, plus the €200 for the phone means paying the €800 for the phone instead of €670

Maybe you say *only* €130 difference, but that's like taking out a 2yr load loan at 19% APR, which is nuts. Plus we have a much better call plan, *and* we have no contract on that plan, so can switch to any other operator when we want.

I haven't been tied into a phone contract for many years.... only the phone companies win in contracts...

*edit the iphone 3g hand me down that she got for her pressie last year (or yr before cant remember) from me when i got myself the 4.... She thinks her pressie this year is my iphone4 handmedown, so at least time she'll have a surprise!

We have no contract options here in the US, but they are more often than not a bit more money and piggy back off of the big networks.

Prepaid sims here in the US are a completely different market as compared to elsewhere. For most, you get a prepaid when you are unable to get to qualify for a phone on contract, so it has that stigma to overcome.

Walked right into the store and got one yesterday. Black 32GB. Very nice aesthetically and ergonomically.

idiot alert............

Ok then that makes more sense if each network has a single tarif.
Here, everything changed when Free got into the mobile market in feb 2012 with its ?2/mo plan and budget ?16 internet call plan. All the other telcos had no option but to drop,their prices to compete. Only 12 mo ago, you had to pay at least ?30/mo to have an internet plan, now if you pay >25?/mo and dont have unlimited everything with no contract, you're a sucker. Just goes to show how much profit margin the telcos have/had. Just takes one giant to take the plunge to force others to follow suite

:thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

Hey dude, you shouldn't be giving a thumbs up to your insane network plans!
Just had a quick looksy on at&t -
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/pla...id=0dVBlcF6qxu

For unlimited minutes call and 3GB data, you're paying $100/mo according to that site....add another $20/mo for unlimited texting.

Compare that to any of these (translated to english for you)
http://translate.google.com/translat...e.free.fr% 2F

http://translate.google.com/translat...rfaits-mobiles
(for that site, fill in the missing boxes with the original site )

Crazy price differences (and 2-year contracts) for the exact same thing.

But yeah, if you're already having to pay $100/mo for 24 months, I can see why you would only get the iphone on contract and not direct from Apple....

I'm very happy with my EVO 3D on Virgin mobile. $300 to purchase the phone outright, and only $35 a month. I have fine credit, just don't want to pay twice that for the same exact plan with the big 3.

Haha, I work with what I have. I can pay $100/mo for unlimted talk, text, and 2GB transfer on Verizon (which I am) or I can own a phone that was phased out 10 years ago and pay $20/mo for no contract.

Not to mention all non-big carriers don't even cover nationwide unless you get a contract with them, which then brings you back up to the $100/mo mark anyway.

I'll pay $100/mo for an iPhone than $20/mo for a Nokia 6010.

you're missing my point... I can see that $100/mo is the de facto standard for anything useful, so you have no choice. Just saying those prices are frikken crazy - if I travelled to the US, I could add an option for 1G data and 3hrs talk for ?15/mo. Now god knows which network that would go on, but I'm with Orange, which in Europe is a major player, so their roaming I'm guessing peers with major players, so I'd expect pan-US coverage...

if so, I'd have unlimited European everything and 3 hr talk and 1GB data in the US for ?45/mo, which is still a shit lot less ($60/mo) than what you are paying...

How can your telcos rationalise that discrepancy?

Monopoly. :Oh crap

my S3 has the best battery life ever , abt 36 hours .. and i surf on the net .. email .. games .. and talk. best phone ever. i didnt had the "omg i have to recharge" feeling no more with this phone .. i forgot how it is :))

You have some very very old information about no contract plans in the USA. The phones they offer are usually less then a year old. You can even get the iphone 4s or Samsung Galaxy II with no contract. And they're all nation wide and 4g now.

Location: Sunny California

Not all over the country. The midwest has shit for no-contract based phones. I leave the tri-state area good luck on making or receiving a call.

That's odd since they all use the big 3's lines. StraightTalk uses either ATT or Verizon mattering on which phone you bring/buy. Virgin and Boost use Sprint's network. I'm not sure what cricket or MetroPCS uses for their networks.

I've used many carriers and phone types... Even if I found a non-contract based phone service in my area, I still wouldn't have an iPhone 5 with 4G or LTE.

If I want a good phone, I have to pay.. And I'm fine with that. I don't need to pinch every penny I can. $100/mo for my phone is reasonable considering I can do double that a night out drinking.