Apple iPhone 4S buyer's guide
(CBS) - Apple kicks off pre-orders for the iPhone 4S today. If you're thinking of buying one, but want to know which network you should choose, we've got you covered.
We broke down possible price plans for the iPhone 4S from cheapest to most expensive on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.
Not all networks are built the same, so keep in mind what type of usage you are shopping for. Verizon has the largest 3G network in the country, but it also has the most expensive entry point.
AT&T is surprisingly cheap, if you opt out of the text messaging plan. Sprint and Verizon bundle the talk and text plans. Once you choose to text, however, you can only choose the $20 plan.
The biggest thing to consider is which data plan to choose. Sprint bundles it into the price, while Verizon and AT&T offer tiered plans.
My plan hovers around 857MB of data a month and I consider myself a heavy user. By comparison, a friend of mine uses about 262MB. I would say a 2GB data plan is plenty for a beginner, unless you plan to stream music over 3G all day. You can always upgrade your plan if you go over.
Cheap
AT&T
$199 for a 16GB model
$36 activation fee
$39.99 450 minutes talk with rollover minutes
$15 200MB data for iPhone 4S
No text messaging plan
$54.99/ month before taxes and fees
Sprint
$199 for a 16GB model
$36 activation fee
$69.99 450 minutes talk, unlimited text and data
$10 premium data fee for iPhone 4S
$79.99/ month before taxes and fees
Verizon
$199 for a 16GB model
$35 activation fee
$59.99 450 minutes talk, unlimited text
$30 2GB data
$89.99/ month before taxes and fees
Moderate
Sprint
$299 for a 32GB model
$36 activation fee
$89.99 900 minutes talk, unlimited text and data
$10 premium data fee for iPhone 4S
$99.99/ month before taxes and fees
AT&T
$299 for 32GB model
$36 activation fee
$59.99 900 talk with rollover minutes
$25 2GB data for iPhone 4S
$20 Unlimited text messaging
$104.99/ month before taxes and fees
Verizon
$299 for a 32GB model
$35 activation fee
$79.99 900 minutes talk, unlimited text
$50 5GB date
$129.99/ month before taxes and fees
Expensive
Sprint
$299 for a 32GB model
$36 activation fee
$99.99 unlimited talk, text and data
$10 premium data fee for iPhone 4S
$109.99/ month before taxes and fees
AT&T
$399 for 64GB model
$69.99 unlimited talk
$45 4GB data for iPhone 4S
$20 unlimited text messaging
$36 activation fee
$134.99/ month before taxes and fees
Verizon
$399 for a 32GB model
$35 activation fee
$89.99 unlimited talk and text
$80 10GB data
$169.99/ month before taxes and fees
Good luck!
