What iPhone Model and Cell Phone Plan Do I Need?

Just as the Pumper’s Friend® iPhone app was introduced, Apple released a new iPhone model, the iPhone 4S. For those of you who are looking to buy an iPhone, I wanted to help you with the selection of an iPhone model and associated cell phone plan that will work with Pumper’s Friend®.

With the introduction of the iPhone 4S on October 4, there are now three models to choose from. As with any high-end smartphone, there will be a charge for the hardware (physical handset) and the requirement to sign an agreement with a cell phone provider (AT&T, Verizon or Sprint).

iPhone Models

Of the different models, I would recommend the iPhone 4 (with 16GB of memory) for use with Pumper’s Friend®. The older iPhone 3GS (AT&T only) will be a bit slower, but is cheaper. It will run Pumper’s Friend®, but when I transitioned to the iPhone 4 about a year ago, I noticed the speed increase immediately, especially when using the GPS.  The new iPhone 4S will be faster yet, but it will be more expensive, and it will be available for purchase on October 15, 2011.

For right now, and for a while, the iPhone 4 should work fine in terms of cost and performance. If you want to wait a few weeks and pay a bit more, the iPhone 4S would be nice.

Cellphone Plans

As with any cellphone, you will need to sign up for a monthly plan. The three carriers, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, all have iPhone plans with different levels of service. The two major components of the plan will be voice and data.

The cell phone you currently use will have a voice plan, including a certain number of minutes each month. You will have to decide how many monthly minutes you normally use when you select this component. You can always start low and increase later if necessary.

Unless you are using your cell phone to access the internet, you may not have had to consider a data plan in the past. As with the voice component, you can start low and increase later if necessary. Check this link for details on the different plans: iPhone Plan Comparisons.

I hope the above information is helpful, and will get you on your way to using the Pumper’s Friend® software.