Skip to footer

IPhone 5S prices drop sharply; best deal at Virgin Mobile

IPhone 5S prices have fallen recently, and Virgin Mobile has the lowest price if you're looking to make the switch. The iPhone 5S headlines the best smartphone deals for the week. 

|
Steve Helber/AP/File
A Best Buy employee prepares to scan an iPhone 5S during the opening day of sales of the phone last September in Richmond, Va. Now is a good time to take advantage of falling iPhone 5S prices.
  • By Marcy Bonebright Guest blogger

There's nothing wrong with your phone per se, you just don't like it anymore. Call it a first world problem if you will, but sometimes we all just need a change. So not to worry, we're not here to judge! We've, in fact, rounded up five Editors' Choice smartphones to help you find a new handset to love. Save $150 on the LG G Flex, get $110 off an iPhone 5s, or score a Nokia Lumia 521 for just $29.

LG G Flex 32GB 4G LTE Android Smartphone for AT&T bundled with a $100 AT&T Bill Credit
Store: Amazon
Price: $149.99 with free shipping
Lowest By: $150
Is It Worth It?: If your smartphone's lost its cool factor, swallowed in a sea of iPhones and Galaxies, then it's time to reclaim your tech joy with the LG G Flex, an ergonomically curved smartphone. Although Engadget found the phone uncomfortable to keep in a pocket, the reviewer was impressed with the G Flex's neat design: "The phone's flexibility ... protects the device from external forces; its banana shape means the mic is closer to your mouth than it would be otherwise. Also, the curves allow for more sound to reflect off of other surfaces, so speaker volume gets a boost." Order the phone from Amazon for $150 and you'll bag a $100 AT&T bill credit, saving you $150.
The G Flex features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 2.3GHz quad-core processor, a 6" curved OLED 1280x720 display, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 2.1MP front camera, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, and Android 4.2.2 OS (Jelly Bean). Note that the credit will be applied to your account within two to three billing cycles.

Apple iPhone 5S 16GB No Contract Smartphone for Virgin Mobile
Store: Virgin Mobile
Price: $439.99 in-cart with free shipping
Lowest By: $110
Is It Worth It?: If you switched from Apple to Android at your last phone upgrade, you may be experiencing iPhone withdrawal. Luckily, iPhone 5S prices have come down sharply in recent weeks, meaning you don't necessarily have to wait for the iPhone 6 announcement to get a deal. Virgin Mobile is still your best bet if you want the current title holder of "best iPhone ever made" without a contract. Virgin offers the 5S for $440 in-cart, a full $110 under what everyone else charges.
The iPhone 5S boasts an Apple A7 64-bit processor with an M7 motion coprocessor, a 4" 11136x640 Retina display, an 8-megapixel iSight camera, 1080p video capture at 30 fps, a 1.2-megapixel FaceTime HD camera, a built-in fingerprint reader, 802.11a/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, dual microphones, and iOS 7.

Apple iPhone 5C 16GB No Contract Smartphone for Virgin Mobile
Store: Virgin Mobile
Price: $359.99 in-cart with free shipping
Lowest By: $189
Is It Worth It?: Should the iPhone 5S be a little too pricey, you can upgrade to the still-excellent 5C for $80 less. Virgin Mobile continues to offer the iPhone 5C for just $360 in-cart, which is $189 under this smartphone's going no-contract price with other carriers. Though you might be tempted to think of the iPhone 5C as a gussied-up iPhone 5, CNET reminds us that the 5C has "more widely compatible global LTE coverage, an upgraded front-facing camera, and slightly better battery life" than its predecessor.
The iPhone 5C features an Apple A6 processor, a 4" 1136x640 Retina display, an 8-megapixel iSight camera, a 1.2-megapixel FaceTime HD camera, 1080p video capture, 802.11a/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, dual microphones, and iOS 7.

Nokia Lumia 925 No Contract Windows Smartphone for T-Mobile bundled with an iLuv Portable Speaker Case

Store: Newegg

Price: $239.99 via coupon code "CEWK728" with free shipping

Lowest By: $159
Expires: March 15
Is It Worth It?: Windows smartphones have been somewhat hit and miss, so it'd be understandable if you're looking to jump ship. But rather than abandoning a Windows Phone entirely, why not give it another go with the Nokia Lumia 925? Noting the excellent camera and sleek design, the Verge called this smartphone "a great piece of hardware that's perfectly suited to a consumer who doesn't demand the latest and greatest hardware or applications." Coupon code "CEWK728" drops this smartphone to $240, and you'll even score an iLuv Speaker Case. That's a $10 drop from last week's mention (which didn't include the case) and a current price low by $159.
The Nokia Lumia 925 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz processor, a 4.5" OLED touchscreen display, 16GB of internal memory, a 8.7-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front camera, 1080p video capture, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, and Windows Phone 8 OS.

Nokia Lumia 521 No Contract Windows Smartphone for MetroPCS
Store: MetroPCS
Price: $29 via $20 mail-in rebate with free shipping
Lowest By: $51
Expires: April 9
Is It Worth It?: Picking out a new smartphone doesn't have to mean paying an arm and a leg. For example, you can score a killer Windows smartphone for just $29 after rebate when you opt for the Nokia Lumia 521 from MetroPCS. "The essentials all seem to work, the hardware is sturdy, and the camera is better than average," CNET's reviewer noted. "This is a good buy for someone seeking a wallet-friendly smartphone off-contract."
The Nokia Lumia 521 sports a 1GHz dual-core processor, a 4" 800x480 LCD display, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of internal memory, a 5-megapixel camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, and Windows Phone 8 OS.

Marcy Bonebright is a features writer at Dealnews.com, where this article first appeared: http://dealnews.com/features/Overcome-Smartphone-Ennui-Save-150-on-LG-G-Flex-Get-110-off-iPhone-5-S/1002033.html

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to IPhone 5S prices drop sharply; best deal at Virgin Mobile
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Saving-Money/2014/0312/IPhone-5S-prices-drop-sharply-best-deal-at-Virgin-Mobile
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe