Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Crazy, Brilliant (I think?) Iphone Idea!!!!

Ok, so I am fully aware that I am going to made fun of and called probably either dumb, or more likely CHEAP......well you got one thing right, I am CHEAP :-) LOL

Anyway I have been toying with the idea of getting an Iphone. They are absolutely the coolest mobile device that you can get!!! (cell phone, gps, camera, millions of add on apps, etc etc etc)

My problem is that in Canada if I were to buy an Iphone it is going to cost me $100 (for the Iphone 3G 8GB) or $199 (Iphone 3GS)....that I can live with. The part that I cant choke down is that Rogers locks you in to a 3 YEAR contract which is about $60 a month after taxes. Ok so that means my Iphone would cost me $100 + ($60 x 36 months) = $2260. Ya, I am WAY too cheap for that!!!

So what are my options you ask? I want an Iphone but I am too cheap to buy one.....What am I going to do? Well I did a bunch of research and reading the other night and here is the plan....

I can get an unlocked Iphone 3G on Ebay for approx $400. Now that it is unlocked I can just slap in a Rogers Sim and activate it. Since I purchased an UNLOCKED phone I do NOT have to sign any 3 year contracts with Rogers and I most definitely do NOT need the $60 a month plan!!!

Now before I hit you with the crazy brilliant part of the plan, you must know something about me. I do NOT talk on my cell phone. I use it for about 30 min a month on a crazy chatty month. I send about 20 text messages a month. That is about all.

Crazy Brilliant Part
I plan on activating my new UNLOCKED Iphone on Rogers Pay As You Go. (ya thats right, you read that right).
If you "Top Up" with $20 per month that will go into your "Pay As You Go" balance
Calls on the Iphone will cost $0.31 per minute on Weekdays UP TO 6pm
Calls on the Iphone will cost $0.01 per minute (ya a penny) on Weekdays AFTER 6pm
Calls on the Iphone will cost $.01 per minute (a penny again) on Weekends anytime
Text Messages are $0.10 (10 cents) per Text sent
Webpages viewed are $0.05 (a nickel) per Page - (or alternatively you can pay $7 per month on the Pay As You Go package and have unlimited mobile internet....that may come in handy)
I know people are going to look at this and call me stupid to have an Iphone on a Pay As You Go....but you know what....the hard truth is that it works for me. Like I said I rarely talk on my phone or text and I dont plan on using the mobile internet unless I am connected to my wireless network at home. As far as the GPS goes I can get the Tom Tom GPS for about $100 CAD and all the maps are already loaded on the phone (no need for internet).

So if I go this route, lets look at the 3 year cost - $400 + ($20 x 36 months) = $720. This is ONE THIRD the cost of the way Rogers would "like you to do things".

Right now I am paying $17 a month on my current cell phone, so essentially the only difference in cost to me is the initial Iphone purchase. My monthly cost will hardly change (may like $5 per month more)

I have checked this out and believe it or not their are other people that are cheap like me that use Iphones on Pay As You Go. Apparently everything functions just like normal (gps included) and it is working great for them.

A person at my work has an Iphone and I am interested to know if they spot any wholes in my plan?

**The only thing I need to research further is how apps are installed? Can you download them onto your computer and THEN install them to the Iphone? Because if I decide to buy the Tom Tom GPS App and have to download that 2 or 3 GB direct to the Iphone that could be a costly "Pay As You Go" data usuage. I would assume you could download on your PC (Windows PC that is) and install it on the Iphone somehow??**

Well there it is.....That is the big plan!!!
I will wait for some feedback on this first....then I might be onto step one - getting an UNLOCKED Iphone (which appears to be pretty easy to do!)

10 comments:

3treescreations@gmail.com said...

What a crazy brilliant idea :)

Andrew McKinlay said...

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be looking for "wholes" or "holes" :-)

It sounds reasonable, I know other people who did this before iPhones were officially available in Canada. If you can live without a data plan it seems like a reasonable option.

I think you have to be careful what you're getting off eBay. Is the phone officially unlocked? If it's just been hacked then I think Apple can shut you down via iTunes. But I don't know too much about this. The other issue with a used device is what kind of shape the battery is in. (Since Apple doesn't let you swap batteries.)

I don't think those per web page and unlimited browsing rates apply to an iPhone (or other "smart" phones). (But good luck trying to figure out rates on Rogers web site. I have to assume they deliberately make it hard.)

I agree it's a ripoff to have to sign a 3 year contract, but as far as your cost calculation, to be fair you should subtract off (or compare to) what you'd pay for a regular phone e.g. $30 per month. That makes it a bit more reasonable.

Anonymous said...

I think it's a good idea. I'm the same as you - rarely talk on my cell phone (it's mostly for emergencies) and if anything I text on it the most, but even that isn't alot.

From my experience, you go to the itunes app store and you can download the apps for your iPhone and then put them on your phone via usb cable -- at least that is how it works with my iPod :) Julia

Anonymous said...

Could you hook up the iPhone on a Virgin Mobile prepaid plan? For example: I pay $100 once a year and that is good for 365 days and is carried over each year as long as I put more money on it prior to the expiration date. Cuz then your iPhone would only cost you $8.33/month, but then calls are 30 cents/min and texts are 15 cents each. Just a possible thought - although I don't see that Virgin even offers the iPhone, so don't know if this would work....Julia

Derek said...

Thanks for the comments and Tips Everyone!!!!

Lynne said...

Well Derek, I think you are a technology genius. Andrew and Julia gave you some excellent feedback. I know you'll check into their considerations. Julia told me that you gave her tremendous insight today. I'm getting more knowledgeable every day, from reading your blog entries. Keep up the great work! :) :) :)

Lynne said...

Please let us know what your total doughnut money is on Oct. 10th(1 month since your last posting), and how your ranking is doing. Thanks a bunch.

Lynne said...

Hey Derek, remember saying this: Hopefully Favre will break his hip in Week 1 and I don't have to see his old mug all year long :-)

Do you still feel the same after this announcement was made? Favre also made history by becoming the only quarterback to defeat all 32 NFL teams.

hehehehe!! Just gotta bug you! :) :) :)

Lynne said...

I'm trying to get your comment numbers into the double digits. Have a great day!

Jen said...

I think it was yesterday that Telus announced that they will also be carrying the IPhone. Could check into that too.