Jessica Rubright asks:
Getting a new cell phone carrier and phones in August. Not sure what to get. I love love love my MacBook Pro, but also love my Android phone, even though it’s old. Is there any carriers that will let me test drive an iPhone or the new droids before agreement?
10 Answers -
Vrancken René
June 17, 2012Iphone simulator: http://testiphone.com/
Mike
June 17, 2012Normally you can go into the providers flagship stores and test as in taking it into your hand and playing around with the menus of the phones.
No provider will give you a phone on loan to test it ‘in the field’.
Andrew Smith
June 17, 2012This allows you to simulate iphone web experience http://iphone4simulator.com/
Dave Parrack
June 17, 2012Any phone shop should let you try before you buy, and Apple Stores will bend over backwards to tempt you. But this will only be in store for a matter of minutes, you won’t be able to take one home and test it. The easiest way is to swap phones with a friend for a few days.
ecd4a4d35dce1b96560e85a8ce64f578
June 17, 2012An apple store will be your best bet. Otherwise find a friend (or make one).
ryandigweed0
June 17, 2012There are many Apple distributors or shops which let you test out the phone in the shop, but i guess they won’t let you take it home. Get the feel of texting and apps etc. Play around with it, and see if you like it.
Reý Aetar
June 18, 2012go to an apple show room you can get a free demo there
Kannon Y
June 18, 2012You’re in luck! Sprint has a 14-day return and account cancellation policy. And they added the iPhone to their mobile line up. So, if you wanted, it’s possible to temporarily use a Sprint iPhone for “free”.
On the downside, which is why free is in quotation marks, Sprint requires that you put down money up front – and if you fail to cancel your account within the first 14-days they’ll require that you fulfill the length of your contract or pay an early termination fee (ETF).
If anything happens to the phone during the trial period, you are liable for the cost of the phone. Also, they will bill you ala carte (for the minutes and data you used during the first two weeks) for the first 14-days of your plan, upon cancellation. That part is fair at least. But their policies may have changed since I last used them.
Sprint also carries a number of Android handsets, so, in theory at least, you could get both phones from them and simply cancel if you didn’t like the service. However, I’m not sure if Sprint will let you test out more than one phone. You may want to inquire at a brick and mortar.
DalSan Mack
June 18, 2012Although they don’t carry iPhones, T-Mobile has their 4G Test Drive promotion where you can try it for 14 days, and if you don’t like it, return it to the store for a nominal fee ($30 i think). Like Kannon says, Sprint does the same, and ask AT&T if they do it also. These would be the best ways to test the phones out in real use scenarios, though there are fees involved. Otherwise, try the phones out in store, including making phone calls and browsing the web to get a feel for the devices. In store testing has a lot of disadvantages as you will not get dropped signal areas and you cannot install all the apps you want and test them out on each phone. The phones that I would recommend you try are the Samsung Galaxy series as they are the most competitive with the iPhone, the iPhone of course, and the Droid series. HTC One series are very nice, but have many returns due to issues, but otherwise are almost as competitive as the Samsung Galaxy SII and SIII. The biggest drawback to the android phones, as you may well know, is that the updates are very few and between but the iPhones are more guaranteed (except the earliest series). Each have strong points and weak points, and you are doing the smart thing by trying out before buying. Find out which phones you prefer, then research them as much as possible.to see if there are any issues that people do find with the phones. Good luck.
Munish Gupta
June 21, 2012Also, Apple has a 30 day return back policy. ATT might have 30 days.