My iPhone 4S contact expires this December. I will have to upgrade the phone because if I don't upgrade I would still have to pay the same monthly subscription fee. That's how things work here.
I have two options. iPhone 5C or 5S. Since the 5C is same as yesteryear's flagship model, if you know me, I wouldn't set my eyes on that old outdated electronics. So iPhone 5S it is. But I cannot update yet, otherwise I will have to pay the potion of the original price of the phone for the remaining months (you don't pay that if you are using the phone for whole 26 months of the contract period). That's about ¥1,920 x 3 moths if I upgrade the phone now.
But good news is, just like when I upgraded to iPhone 4S from iPhone 5S, they are waiving off the remainder if we upgrade now. This probably is to keep the existing customers with them. With Docomo getting the iPhone 5S from this year, these definitely is a lot of competition. So if they didn't let the existing iPhone 4S users switch, there is a good chance that once their contract expires, they would switch to Docomo. Docomo is the biggest mobile carrier in Japan with the widest coverage.
The big issue is that they are asking the same ¥1,000 hiked fixed monthly subscription fee as the previously year's iPhone 5 for the iPhone 5S. So even if I upgraded today, I would pay ¥1,000 more than what I pay for my iPhone 4S. However, for upgraders, they are going to charge the same iPhone 4S for the first year. Paying ¥14,000 is better than paying ¥26,000. (Not sure about the exact figures - it could be ¥12,000 vs ¥24,000 if they don't charge for the first two months)
Plus, I can sell my iPhone 4S as well.
Anyways, I went to the SoftBank shop in the office building during the lunch break on the iPhone 5am launch day. I asked for the Gold model. They said I had to reserve it because only the Space Grey model was available for purchase on that day. I didn't ask whether they didn't have them right from the beginning or whether the stock ran out. So I had to reserve the phone and come back. Sucks! When I asked how long the ETA is, they had no clue. I hope they will get the new stock back in a week or so. Otherwise you will have one pissed off Sri Lankan riding the train from Nakanoshima to Kosugi in the next few days. Sometimes I wonder if I should have bought the black model because you have to cover it up in a case anyways. Now I have to find a case that can show off the new color. At least I can order it early do that I have the case by the time the phone is my possession.
At least I got a chance to play with the new iPhone 5S at the SoftBank store. It's so fast compared to my iPhone 4S - there's no doubt about it. I just want LTE and at least stable coverage around the places I commute often. And Touch ID worked perfectly as well. I was skeptical about it at first. Not anymore.
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