Reasons To Buy The iPhone 5

T-Mobile’s iPhone 5 has arrived.  In fact, it’s been on sale since April 12th, so it’s hardly new news.  But there is a good chance that you’re still debating as to whether or not you should opt for an iPhone 5 with T-Mobile instead of Verizon, AT&T or Sprint.  And while every carrier has its pros and cons, T-Mobile is the only one to offer the iPhone at a discount and all without the hassle of a carrier contract that traditionally binds you to them for a minimum of two years.  So is it worth making the jump to T-Mobile for the iPhone 5?

1. Lower Retail Cost

Buy an iPhone 5 at retail cost and you’ll spend $649.  At T-Mobile they’ll give it to you for $580, which is a $69 discount.  However, you will be expected to pay this off over the course of 2-years at a rate of $20 a month.  Fortunately, the money is interest free.

2. Trade in an iPhone 4 or 4s

Trade in an older generation iPhone and T-Mobile is willing to negate that $100 upfront cost of the iPhone 5.  That brings the retail cost down to $480, a price you’d be hard pressed to find even on Craigslist or Ebay for a brand new iPhone 5.

3. $120 Credit on Qualifying Devices

Trade in an iPhone 4s in top-notch quality, and T-Mobile might sling you a $120 credit that you can use however you’d like; accessories, your monthly bills, and more.  It’s not clear what the requirements are for this, and you’ll likely have to have solid credit.  But with this credit the overall price of the iPhone 5 now drops to $360.

4. HD Voice

T-Mobile is the only network to offer an HD voice enabled iPhone 5. Voice quality is said to be better than any other iPhone 5 from any other carrier.  A moot issue for some, but for those that chat to other T-Mobile customers, this could be a nice perk.

5. Unlimited Plan for $70

T-Mobile’s everything plan is just $70 a month.  That’s a fair bit cheaper than any other carrier, all of which charge $110 a month.  It’s important to note that it only includes 500MB of mobile hotspot connectivity, but considering the savings on the monthly bill, it’s a moot issue.

6. HSPA Backup Network

T-Mobile is launching an LTE network so speeds should be blazing.  AT&T and Verizon (Sprint is now rolling theirs out) have them as well, but what they don’t have is T-Mobile HSPA+ network which offers significant download speeds in the event that LTE isn’t available.

7. No Contract

While you’ll still be stuck paying $20 a month for your handset, you can walk away from T-Mobile at any time – you’ll just need to pay off the cost of the handset in full.  Other carriers require you to pay an early termination fee.

8. Overall lower 2-year cost

According to Mashable calculations, you’ll pay out less to T-Mobile over the course of two years compared to any other carrier.  Total cost to T-Mobile for 2-years, not including the aforementioned discounts, will be $2260.  Verizon and AT&T it’s $2840.