iPhone or Itouch?

[MatiArg]

Hello peeps,

Im debating wether to buy an unblocked iphone and take it to Buenos aires. Will it be fully functional there as far as using all the applications and having internet? is the service expensive?.... im really just interested in using the wifi and be able to consult the internet around the city. How about the itouch? i think that would do the job, i would only have to find wifi though. here is the breakdown of both, what would you advice?

Iphone: Pros- Telephone, internet access, applications.

cons- Not enough mp3 space. ( I have ove 30gb of music i wanna carry)

Itouch 32 or 64 GB: Pros- Internet via WiFi and all my music and movies.

cons- No telephone. I would have to carry a Cell phone.

 

[jp]

You can buy a cheap phone here for 100 pesos with a prepay contract.

I'd take an itouch. Its also less conspicuous - talking on a iphone makes you more of a target than listening to one in your pocket.

 

[JHB1216]

You can buy a cheap phone here for 100 pesos with a prepay contract.

I'd take an itouch. Its also less conspicuous - talking on a iphone makes you more of a target than listening to one in your pocket.

I agree with JP. Friend of mine has had 3 IPhones snatched from him. My friend has the money to replace them.

I don't know how you would use an unlocked IPhone here because if you have to open it up to put in a SIM then there is a chance you could break it. I tend to play it safe here in the city rather than be sorry later.

Peace.

 

[Sleuth]

I just brought an iPhone from the States and jail broke and SIM unlocked it. It's great!

You will probably have to buy pre-paid service since foreigners cannot get a service plan here, so you will only get voice and SMS not data, but it almost doesn't matter as there is so much free wifi here. I often find that when I arrive somewhere I have new email on my iPhone just because it connected to some hotspot along the way. Also, you can use Skype from it over any wifi connection. The iPod Touch does not have voice functionality.

Without a data plan, the GPS doesn't work perfectly since it uses cell towers to triangulate, but I have found that the maps are stored on the device, so even without wifi they are generally accessible if you have already loaded them. A few drawbacks to not having a data plan, but like I said with the amount of free wifi, it is not bad at all.

 

[Napoleon]

iTouch myself.

Many times a day.

PLUS... you can get special headphones with microphone and call via Skype on the iTouch when you're in a WiFi area. Not too shabby.

 

[2GuysInPM]

We've been using unlocked iPhones in Argentina for a couple of years. It works well once you get it setup. The only issue is that if you want to use the data network (Edge or 3G), you have to sign up for a data service. I believe this still requires a contract with any of the 3 carriers (Claro, Personal, or Movistar). Although this might have changed.

Personal did not have a standalone data plan we could add when we tried a while back, so we ended up going with Claro. Getting the data plan with Claro was easy, but had tons of issues with their billing afterwards (overbilled every time). It took months to solve and a lot of headaches (worst customer service experience ever!). -- Unless you REALLY need to use the cell data network; I would suggest using your iPhone with a pre-paid card, and sticking with WiFi for your data needs.

 

[aguia]

I've got a iTouch and it suits my needs. One nice this is that McDonalds does free wi-fi in BA so i used to pop in there every time i wanted to check my email or search for something on the internet. Also the green line has free wi-fi on it.

 

[JHB1216]

I've got a iTouch and it suits my needs. One nice this is that McDonalds does free wi-fi in BA so i used to pop in there every time i wanted to check my email or search for something on the internet. Also the green line has free wi-fi on it.

I think that most of the Subte stations have free WIFI although some stations have questionable internet access (you can connect to the network but can not access the internet. But this is the same with a number of WIFI cafes(California Burrito Company recently).

 

[smirkypants]

I have an unlocked iPhone that I bought in Italy and my girlfriend has a Touch. I just put a pay-as-you-go MoviStar SIM in it that is pay as you go and it works fine for email and it's convenient not to carry two devices around. Though there's lots of free wi-fi in BsAs, my girlfriend doesn't really carry it around much because she finds it inconvenient.

With the iPhone you can download a very handy little APP called iMapsPro Buenos Aires. You just press a button and it shows you where you are on the map, and the APP only costs 99 cents. You can't use that with the Touch just walking down the street.

If you're not super price-sensitive, go with the iPhone.