Please help? iphone5 Verizon Wireless and Verizon Straight Talk question
I would very much like an iphone5, however I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the conflicting information I am running into. I understand some of the tech lingo, but I can't seem to find the answers I'm looking for (here's hoping somebody here knows answers and makes sense - and in English, oh my at the outsourcing - at the same time ;o)
We are currently on the Verizon Wireless network with two dumb phones and one smart phone, but to add the iphone would push our bill close to $200/month (and who can afford that?) We've been looking into Straight Talk's unlimited plan for smart phones which is almost half of what our current plan would be. The contract on my "stupid" phone expired a year or two ago, but I never upgraded as I was holding out for an iphone.
Here's my dilemma: Where do I get a phone that isn't married to a carrier? Is it even possible?
From what I've been able to ascertain, the iphone5 model that you can buy from Straight Talk is a Verizon phone (CMDAv) and it runs on Verizon towers through the Straight Talk unlimited plan, but it won't work on Verizon Wireless. So if I hate Straight Talk does that mean I blew $649 for a phone I can't use anywhere else? Yikes! If I buy the iphone5 as an upgrad from Verizon for $199, it will not work on another carrier including Straight Talk as it is a CMDA (hold the v).
I did see some guy with a post about a pair of scissors and a home grown Nano card (from a Simm), but that idea makes me a little twitchy. I would appreciate any help you can give me, and I'll offer an apology for the length of this post *wince*. It's awfully long.
Thank you so much!
iPhone 5, Carriers