Comments on: Case Study: iPhone from Fido vs. iPod Touch and a Cell Phone

By: Rich Life Carnival

Rich Life Carnival — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:15:28 +0000

Rich Life Carnival #18…

Welcome to the the 18th edition of rich life carnival. I have received a record 57 submissions this week. I had the feeling the carnival would bounce back nicely after last week. Just as I thought, the reduction in the number of submissi…

By: Kathryn Lagden

Kathryn Lagden — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:29:23 +0000

I recently went through the same decision process. I ended up buying a refurbished 32G ipod touch and keeping my existing cell phone. Only pain point I've found is when I'm listening to music and can't hear the cell phone ring. Kathryn Lagden’s last blog post..Would you pay to smash stuff?

By: Festival of Frugality | On a Quest To Be Debt Free...

Festival of Frugality | On a Quest To Be Debt Free... — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:32:56 +0000

[...] Cajun Man presents Case Study: iPhone from Fido vs. iPod Touch and a Cell Phone posted at Canadian Personal Finance Blog, saying, “Is it cheaper to buy an iPhone or an iPod [...]

By: bigcajunman

bigcajunman — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:23:00 +0000

If you figure it out please post how!

By: guinness416

guinness416 — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:58:30 +0000

I’ve seen a few people with iPhones instead of blackberries at meetings. Seems a lot of them are going on expenses. Wish I could swing that!

By: This and That: Stocks are cheap but could get even cheaper

This and That: Stocks are cheap but could get even cheaper — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:37:29 +0000

[...] Canadian Financial Stuff compares buying an iPhone with an expensive monthly plan to an iPod Touch and a cell phone. [...]

By: sundae1888

sundae1888 — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:59:24 +0000

I personally bought a 8GB iPhone from Fido just to flip it, and bought a 16GB iPod Touch with the profit.

Longer version: I wanted to sign up for the $17.50 plan from Fido to reduce my cell phone cost, which comes with 3-year contract. Since I have collected $100 FidoDollars over the years and have no intention to buy any new cell phone from Fido because they’re all locked, I decided to use find a way to utilize all the loyalty points.

With a 3-year contract on the cheapest plan available, I bought the 8GB iPhone–the phone with best resale value–for $249, with only about $180 out of my own pocket. Initially, I thought about keeping the iPhone for myself, but signing up for a $30 data plan for 3 years totally defeated my original goal to slash my cell phone bill. Instead, I turned around and sold the iPhone for $500 cash.

I bought the 16GB iPod Touch in the States when the loonie was stronger, and with various discounts from Amazon it worked out cheaper than buying it in Canada even before tax. The “reason” I bought it (other than lust) was to provide portable entertainment when I’m in labour. (OK it was totally lust.)

As for WiFi coverage, Bell offers free WiFi access to its ADSL customers, at least at Starbucks locations. While it is mildly inconvenient to log in whenever I need to use WiFi at Starbucks, the lack of omnipresent data coverage didn’t really bother me.

The one complaint I have against the iPod Touch is its location service. Unless you’re at a public hotspot, it can never seem to locate where I am–consecutive location requests would jump from Kitchener to Guelph to downtown Toronto, but nowhere near where I was. The iPhone, with its A-GPS built in, does so much better in this regard.

By: deanfun

deanfun — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:15:04 +0000

I’m not a pro-apple person, but my girlfriend has an Iphone through rogers and it is absolutely a game-changer. Your comment about the technology in it being ‘old hat’ is, bluntly, way off base. Sure, the individual components may have been done before, but there is no other device on the market that accomplishes as much and as ridiculously easy as the iphone. The gps/navigation/maps alone is worth the price of entry. We do a lot of long trips and it’s great to be able to pull out the phone, hit up locly (an app that uses gps to find events, stores, restaurants, etc. near you) and find great local spots to go.

A touch / cell combo may sound cheaper in theory, but now you’re hauling around two devices, one of which is effectively useless in replicating many of the iphone features unless you have wifi coverage.

I wasn’t a big fan of the iphone concept, especially the accompanying (and ongoing) pricetag. Once I started using it, seeing it’s capabilities, it’s a no brainer.

By: bigcajunman

bigcajunman — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:05:12 +0000

Good comments CJR that is the kind of info I am looking for. I think I’d love an iPhone if I didn’t have to pay for it, but as Michael James pointed out I am a bit of a techno-junkie too.

By: bigcajunman

bigcajunman — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:56:03 +0000

I might if I find a ridiculously overpaid job and have all my bills paid off… so not likely in the near future that is for sure