iPhone 4 on VM (Smart Move or Disaster Waiting to Happen)

[johncase3]

there is going to be a significant uptick in iphone thefts and robberies?

I, dunno. I's not clear to me if a VM iPhone would be worth significantly more or significantly less, seeing as how it could (typically) only be used on VM...

[monkeyboy]

I, dunno. I's not clear to me if a VM iPhone would be worth significantly more or significantly less, seeing as how it could (typically) only be used on VM...

I don't think that is how thefts (and thieves) work... your average thief isn't going to understand that a VM iPhone won't work on anything but VM, or that a non-VM iPhone won't work on the $30 VM plan. Rather the general public is going to think 1) iphone's cost $550, not $200, wow!, 2) you can get a $30/mo plan for an iphone...

[johncase3]

your average thief isn't going to understand that a VM iPhone won't work on anything but VM, ..

I'm no expert on thieves, but once the word gets out that people are getting stuck buying iPhones they can't use, the market is going to adjust. Either the seller or the buyers (or both) are going to have to get smarter, or the price comes way down due to the high risk of getting ripped off...

[monkeyboy]

I'm no expert on thieves, but once the word gets out that people are getting stuck buying iPhones they can't use, the market is going to adjust. Either the seller or the buyers (or both) are going to have to get smarter, or the price comes way down due to the high risk of getting ripped off...

I'm no expert on what "can't be used" at this point, but with Cricket allowing iphones on their CDMA network, I'd guess nearly every iphone can be used in some way or another, and even if only 2/3 can "be used", that's plenty enough to drive the theft market for a $550 device. Only thing that might slow it down a bit is the intercarrier IMEI theft blocking and blacklisting DB that has been proposed.

Of course for that mechanism to work, it requires that the victim report the lost... which means that there would be an incentive for a thief to "disable" the victim, preventing the report... dark mind, eh... too many movies I guess...

[gotanmp3]

anyone else think that with all the 12year olds running around with $550 iphones

I see spoiled brats walking around the mall all the time with iPhones. I think family plans with device subsidies on each line did more to get iPhones into the hands of children than any prepaid offering ever will. A subsidized iPhone 4 is actually less expensive than most video game consoles parents buy their kids.

Also, remember things aren't worth what the stores sell them for, they're worth what you can get for them at eBay, Craigslist or a pawn shop. The market will soon be flooded with unwanted iPhone 4 and 4S models when the new version is released. Honestly, I'd say anyone with a lick of sense should just buy the most beat-to-hell AT&T one they can find for as cheap as possible, make a Genius bar appointment and pay Apple the $150/$200 to swap it for a refurb (which are basically like-new) and put it on one of the many AT&T MVNOs. It'll still be cheaper than whatever Virgin wants for their iPhones and you'll get decent 3G speeds.

That being said, I still think Virgin will sell a boatload of these iPhones. There are plenty of people who have no clue you don't have to use an AT&T iPhone on an expensive postpaid plan.

[spekkio]

Yea, I see more iphones in the hands of teenagers than anywhere else. I don‘t think having prepaid iphones available will make any difference in that regard, these kids are on family plans.

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