The Ultimate iPhone Buyer’s Guide

If you don’t know the answer to this question, well what you need to know about what an iPhone is, does, models, colors, and everything else that is to know. You will it find all right here!

Nowadays, if don’t own a phone you can consider yourself living in the stone age, information means everything in our current time, and being an informed person is what makes the difference between successful choices and bad choices.

This is where the phone comes in hand and if you want the best of what’s out there, your only choice is buying a smart phone, such as an iPhone the main actor in our story today.

Although on the market today there are many smart phones, some of them better then others, you can consider yourself choosing one better suited to your personal individual needs. I am not saying that the iPhone is the best of the best out there, but when it comes to the iPhone different models (iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4), colors (white & silver or black & slate for the iPhone 5, white or black for the iPhone 4/4s), storage capacity (16GB, 32GB, or 64GB), and carrier network (in the U.S., AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint are the major ones), can make you a happy user.

Should I buy an iPhone or something else?

Being just released on the market you’ll probably want the newest and hottest Apple device, but does it really stack up? does it worth the money? Many of you would say that this is an apple profile blog and my job here is to persuade people to buy an iPhone, well in a way this is true, but let’s not forget that the iPhone is not the only one out there, there are still a bunch of Android phones competing for the world best selling smart phone.

Here’s the pros and con’s of upgrading to the iPhone 5, whether you own and existing iPhone, an Android, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone, or a feature phone. Also because the Samsung Galaxy S3 is probably the best match against iPhone, we’ve also done a special, in depth, comparison of the two.

Now vs. later: When should you buy an iPhone?

You’ve seen the comparisons, the reviews, hard all the buzz, you are convinced that this is the one, but when exactly you should buy it?

Buy in the fall: Since 2007 Apple released a newer model of Iphone in every year, but in 2011 it has shifted from a summer to a fall release schedule, giving the importance of the holiday quarter, that probably won’ t change soon. So in the fall/winter its probably the best time to consider buying an Iphone without worrying that it will be forgotten any time soon.

Summer: Changing the release date was a smart move, as it turned out its more profitable to release a product in fall with the holidays close by waiting to give apple a boost in sales, so i strongly recommend if you are reading this to wait a few more months because Apple is probably just about to announce a new iPhone and when a new model comes in scene, it will come with the same price (so far it has) $199 and $299 (and now $399) as the old one, but offers way more hardware and software improvements for the same price.
When you need: If you have been following me until this point, you probably know when the best time is to buy an iPhone, but what if you lost your current phone and you can’t wait until fall? No doubt you should get it with no regrets. We live in a never ending evolving world and there will always be something new on the horizon, but that won’t help you if you need a phone now right? If you just want it, wait as long as you can possibly can, then buy the best iPhone available if you can’t wait any more.

iPhone 5 vs. iPhone 4s vs. iPhone 4:

Which model should i get?

iPhone Models The Ultimate iPhone Buyers Guide

Although some of you might consider the latest iPhone from Apple, the right choice when it comes to your next purchasing decision, the older models (iPhone 4s/iPhone 4) are kept on market with some good reasons. Apparently for some people the price has a big significance when it comes to buying a phone. However before making this decision is very important to take into account the amount of money you have to pay over the lifetime of a contract, so i strongly advise you to do so and see what’s the best option for you guys out there. Here it is :

Black & slate or white & silver

Which iPhone 5 color should you get?

One of many decisions you have to take before you get to play with your new toy is white or black? The only colors available for iPhone 5 is black with slate aluminum metal edges and anodized black metal aluminum plate to make it as dark as possible and white with silver aluminum edges and metal aluminum back plate. Now as my personal opinion, the white version resembles the best with the iphone4/4s having the same grey metal edges so i prefer more the black version being “more different”.

All said is up to you now to choose:

16GB, 32GB, or 64GB

How much do you need?

Now storage is something that has a great importance whether you are a heavy photographer/gamer or an occasionally one the 16GB, 32GB, 64GB models all have their pros and cons. Buying a 32GB or 64GB and using it at its only 50% capacity will only make you pay more(with each capacity improvement the price rises with 100$) for something that you won’t get to benefit, so if you’re weighing your options, here’s what you should consider:

AT&T vs Verizon vs Sprint

Which iPhone 5 carrier should you choose?

AT&T, Verizon and Sprint are the biggest carriers in the U.S. and depending on your needs, one of these carriers might be a better place to buy the IPhone 5. Smaller carriers offer the iPhone 5, and users can buy the Iphone 5 from Cricket to use as a prepaid plan, but we are foucusing on the major carriers.

The most important factor when choosing a carrier is price, but don’t forget to take into account the coverage too when making a decision, because one of the new technologies that comes with the IPhone 5 is LTE cellular, better known as 4G, you’re going to want to take a close look at which carriers offer the best LTE coverage in your area.

Apple store vs. Carrier stores vs. big box retailers:

Where should you buy?

You’ve chosen the model, color, storage, carrier but where to buy it from? Carrier compatibility, the iPhone , will be the same but what differs greatly is the customer service you receive. Bear in mind that when choosing the store ( other then an Apple retail store) they tend to treat clients with less respect and you could be forced to get in a situation where you’ll have to wait much more longer to get your iPhone replaced than normal. Also if you are an older client at one of the above mentioned carriers you may have specific loyalty rewards and that can change the situation greatly. It would be a pity not to take advantage of it.

Apple Retail:Having an Apple Retail store nearby means that you have won the jackpot, this is the best place from where you can buy your iPhone having the best customer service . Here you can get help setting up you iPhone free of charge, they will offer help with your purchase, you can also setup with AppleCare if you are worried about protecting your investment. Also their Genius Bar can help you with future hardware and software problems. No discounts here but carrier discounts can still apply.
Apple Online:If you are not lucky enough to have a nearby Apple Retail store, your option is Apple online store which can be found in many countries, still no discounts here but you are dealing directly with Apple. No matter if there are some shortages or shipping delays, you can order at any time and you will get your product as soon as it’s available. For some countries this is the only place from where you can get officially unlocked iPhones.
Carrier stores and big box retailers: If you don’t have any of the stores mentioned above then you’ll probably find what are you looking for at your carrier stores. This is also the place where you can get the biggest discounts for upgrading your contract or other carrier incentives. Big box and chain retailers, also carry iPhones so its worth checking them out as well.

Smaller operators may try selling discount iPhones, but this devices functionality and warranty service may be questionable. You don’t want to be in the situation when a problem occurs to your device and you’ll have to wait a lifetime to get it fixed or the device you just bought it’s really an iPhone? so bear in mind that any deal that its to good to be true probably is.

How to sell your old phone before upgrading to the iPhone 5

If you just want to sell your old iPhone or you want to offset some, if not all of the cost of a new iPhone, especially if you are eager to get as soon as possible your hands on a top end device your only hope is to sell it. We have talked about pretty much everything that is to know when buying an iPhone, odds are that you’ve already decided which capacity and color you’ll be getting so you have some idea of how much money you need to get out of your current iPhone to cover the purchase.

Well if you don’t have anybody in your family that would want it for free or just using it as a backup phone we can guide you in the right direction and getting top dollar for it.

iPhone 5 user guides

Now you’ve got your hands on it, you love it. Odds are that many of you already know this but for those new to the apple ecosystem we prepared a bunch of guides to help you get started with you new iPhone.

By Alex Dumitru
November 14th, 2012
News