T-Mobile U.S. Has The Cheapest iPhone 5 Plan to Date

Now that the iPhone 5 is finally available on T-Mobile, it's time to figure out where you can get it the cheapest. We've compared prices in the chart below to help you figure out which carrier is right for you. Note that the prices listed here are for the iPhone 5, but should apply to just about any smartphone on each of these carriers.

It turns out that, even though T-Mobile is charging you for the full price of your phone, you're still paying the least amount of money in the long run (the amount you see in the chart includes your monthly $20 phone payment). Additionally, now that T-Mobile is contract-free, you're able to leave at any point you please. You'll either need to give up your phone or pay for the remainder, but you're not tethered to the carrier in any other way. Of course, you can still get out of your contract on AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon, but it's going to cost you. 

You're also paying less upfront on T-Mobile—an iPhone 5 will cost $99.99. But you need to pay an additional $20 per month for 24 months, until you've paid off the full cost of the phone, which you don't need to do on any of the other carriers. AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon will all give you an iPhone 5 for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement.

Verizon has the highest price by a hair, but then again, you're getting unlimited talk time, which you're not getting on Sprint or AT&T. Additionally, Verizon took home top honors last year in our testing for the Fastest Mobile Networks. So if you go with Verizon you're going to get the most LTE coverage and some of the fastest speeds available.

Sprint costs a bit less than AT&T or Verizon, and gets you unlimited data. Sprint's 3G network didn't fare well in our testing, but the carrier's burgeoning LTE network looks a lot faster. It's rolling out slowly, though, so you may not see coverage in the near future.

And while T-Mobile gets you unlimited talk, text, and data for the least amount of money each month, the carrier only turned on its LTE network in seven markets for the first time just yesterday. Its HSPA+ 42 network is a very fast alternative to fall back on, and the carrier plans to cover 200 million Americans with LTE by the end of the year, but coverage is always something to keep in mind. [Source]

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Apple Care Under Attack in Europe

Apple’s warranty plans have drawn the ire of a Belgian consumer watchdog agency, Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats. The group has filed a complaint against the company over how AppleCare is sold and marketed to customers, who in the EU by default are entitled to a free two-year warranty with any consumer electronics purchase. The complaint says Apple markets its warranties in a manner which doesn’t properly explain consumer rights to Belgian gadget shoppers.

The decision to pursue legal action comes only after Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats decided to join up with 10 other Europe-based entities to make complaints about how Apple operates its warranties, but now the group feels it is time to escalate to a court case after efforts to petition the Mac maker have gone unheard. The move also follows successful action in Italy regarding the same exact issue, a case which the Belgian watchdog cites as a precedent, noting that Apple not only had to pay a €900,000 penalty in that case, but also modified its practices for the Italian market.

Why all the fuss? There is lots of money to be made in value-added warranties, that’s why. It’s not clear exactly how much Apple makes via AppleCare, which offers consumers extended protection on their devices above Apple’s basic one-year warranty, for an additional fee. But it is likely a lot; added warranties are much higher profit than gadgets themselves, since many consumers never take advantage of their services at all, more than compensating for the few who do redeem them for expensive repairs or replacements. That’s why Apple isn’t moving to change its practices in the EU for anything short of a court order to do so, and why we may see others beyond the Belgian group pursue the same kind of action. [TechCrunch]

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