Unlocked cell w/o contract and use wifly or vibo for data?

Life Technology
1

I am in the market for a new cell phone and carrier.

I shopped around and was pretty set on getting the HTC Incredible S through Taiwan Mobile. The plan I was gonna choose is 998nt a month(includes unlimited data) and the cellphone itself would cost 7,990nt.

However, I was recently offered an opportunity to buy an unlocked HTC Incredible S for a slight discount, 16,300nt vs. retail of 17,900nt(according to PChome). At first, it didn’t seem like there would be any benefit(price wise) to buying an unlocked phone and choosing a customized monthly plan.

Then I started getting a little creative with my thinking. What if I bought the unlocked phone and signed up for Taipei’s WiFly service? I did a search here and read every single thread within the past 3 years concerning wifly. It seems like not a lot of people use the wifly service because everyone has an unlimited data plan through their carriers.

The wifly service costs 1200nt a year for unlimited access, a stupid cheap price. 1200nt a year certainly seems much better than paying 998nt a month for a cell plan. I was thinking I could buy the unlocked phone, sign up for wifly for the internet and also sign up for one of those really cheap monthly cell plans from the main carriers for my calls(100-200nt monthly fees). I don’t make a lot of calls so those cheap cell plans suit me well.

Is this a viable strategy? Has anyone ever done this or tried something similar? Will wifly even work with the HTC Incredible S? I don’t wanna drop 16,000+nt for a cell only to find out my whole master plan won’t even work.

Obviously wifly is not the same as the carriers which is 3G. Which brings me to my next question. While doing my research here about wifly, I found out about Vibo. So I did a search and read every single thread about Vibo. It seems like this is another method I could employ. Buy the unlocked phone and sign up for Vibo. I went to Vibo’s website to check out their rates but the chart is really confusing, it looks like complete gibberish to me. So many different rates, redeemable, non-redeemable, it doesn’t even mention anything about internet access. If anyone can decipher that chart, it would be much appreciated.

So what does everyone think? Any advice, comments, or suggestions?

2

Unlimited data with Taiwan Mobile is not NT$699 but NT$800, just FYI. The NT$699 plan is advertised as “unlimited” but in reality is a bucket of 800MB, with an overage charge cap at NT$800.

Anyways, back to Vibo. In your social circle, are there other Vibo users? How much voice do you use a month?
For unlimited data, Vibo charges NT$750/mo on top of whatever voice plan you choose. The cheapest voice plan they offer is NT$186/mo, which is good for NT$186 worth of calls billed according to their in-, out-network and landline rates.

Now though, seeing how you want a new phone, I would actually suggest that you sign up for an iPhone promo plan, sell the iPhone, and use the proceeds to buy an Incredible S.

3

This is true. In practice, the overwhelming majority of people will never see past 800MB per month unless they do things like tether regularly, use a group Dropbox or stream video or music while on the move. So effectively, this 800MB is likely “unlimited” for the vast majority of users.

This is a sound plan. The only challenge is actually getting an iPhone on contract without ending up on a waiting list. The other issue is also assuming one will get full value for their second market iPhone when the second market is already flooded. Also, one you have the iPhone, you may just end up keeping it. :slight_smile:

I would mirror catfish’s advice to go for a subsidy. When doing your comparison, do it on total cost of ownership of the phone plus any plan you need. Typically the compare will look like unsubsidized phone + 24 months of contracted plan or subsidized phone plus 24 months of contracted plan. The choice there is obvious.

For data, stick to a 3G plan over WiFly. Even though Taipei is promising 100% coverage, a smartphone does not become one without an unlimited data plan. Imagine having an iPod Touch and a normal phone in your pocket. That is what you end up with using WiFi as the data source. It won’t work well in transit, for example.

4

I can’t answer this myself. I guess, it just depends on the situation. But personally, people who are in transit shouldn’t have such problems with wifi

5

I used my iPod touch with, Wifly last time in Taibei I got good coverage but, not 100% more like 80%. For example can you get a Wifly signal at home? (As an indicator to coverage).
Worth pointing out I just paid for one days use, so long term use may or may not be as good, in terms of constant coverage…