iPhone 4 by Flickr user bfgreen
Chances are, you want an iPhone. If you don’t have one, then you are either locked into another providers plan or the cost of the phone with data plan is just too much. I totally understand that. The worst part is, the iPhone is so amazing (in my book) and the cost of ownership is so high, the features make it hard to turn down.
Well, I think I’ve come up with an alternative for you. A way for you to get some “iLove” without having to have a contract for the iPhone. Long story short, my idea is going to end up having you carry both a cell phone AND an iPod Touch so it’s not really as simple as just having an all in one iPhone but in my mind, it can be a close 2nd alternative that’s relatively cheap.
Option One
Step One: Buy an iPod Touch
-or-
Alternate Step One: Wait until Apple unveils the latest iPod Touch (it’s supposed to have at least one camera on it and better features like Face Time) then buy that.
Step Two: Pick a phone and activate your plan through Virgin Mobile USA.
They have a seemingly decent choice of phones but I’ve never used any of them and haven’t even seen one in person. So check Cnet.com for ratings on the phones Virgin offers before you buy.
One of the main benefits of an iPhone or iPod Touch is all the apps. Twitter app, Facebook app, YouTube app, etc. Those are some of the basics apps that I use on a daily basis (if not hourly) on my iPhone. But there is some good news and bad news with going this route…
Good news? You can still access Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Gmail from your non iDevice phone.
Bad news? They aren’t pretty apps but mobile sites that are watered down. Just the bare essentials to get your ‘social networking fix.’
- Twitter Mobile
- Facebook Mobile
- YouTube Mobile
- Gmail Mobile
Are you starting to realize how this is working? You have the Virgin Mobile “unlimited” web cell phone plan for $25 a month and the wifi only iPod Touch for all the email and online games/apps for when you are at places that have a wifi connection (which is almost always free). But you can still use the iPod Touch in tons of ways that don’t require an Internet connection.
What do you get with the $25/month Virgin Mobile plan?
- Unlimited Messaging
- Unlimited Email
- Unlimited Data & Web
- 300 minutes
You can get more minutes if you need them too:
- 1200 minutes for $40
- Unlimited minutes for $60
But personally, the 300 minutes a month would be fine for me. They don’t roll over, but I rarely use the phone as an actual phone. I almost always email, tweet, or text message before I’ll call someone. I also read a great article about how people are talking less and less on the phone and I’d love to show you it but I can’t find it! BUT I did happen to find a similar article that has some neat info in it.
The average length of a local call was 1.81 minutes in 2009 compared to 2.27 minutes in 2008.
Read the whole article on New York Times.
So, that’s my solution for you if you can’t afford an iPhone and data plan but still want mobile internet and access to the iTunes app store. Free wifi is growing and almost everywhere so I don’t think you would feel too crippled or weighed down with these two devices on you.
Option Two
The other option is one I don’t know much about. Basically you buy this device that looks like a case but has a battery and SIM card in it. You put your iPod Touch in this “case” and it turns your iPod Touch into a semi-legit iPhone. Read more about it on Engadget. Overall, it’s quirky at best and requires you to jailbreak so it’s not really going to be a viable option for all but I wanted to still share it with you.
Do you have any ideas for getting around not having an iPhone? What’s your strategy, I’d love to hear it!
Photo source: Flickr user bfgreen