iPhone: The Missing Manual, 6th Edition

Appendix A. Signup & Setup

You gotta admit it: Opening up a new iPhone brings a certain excitement. There’s a prospect of possibility, of new beginnings. Even if you intend to protect your iPhone with a case, there are those first few minutes when it’s shiny, spotless, free of fingerprints or nicks—a gorgeous thing.

This chapter is all about getting started, whether that means buying and setting up a new iPhone, or upgrading an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, or iPhone 4S to the new iOS 6 software that’s described in this book.

Buying a New iPhone

Just because the iPhone 5 is now the big kid on the block doesn’t mean its ancestors are suddenly worthless. At this writing, you can still buy an iPhone 4S (for $100 with a 2-year cell contract) or even an iPhone 4 (free with a contract).

Of course, each newer version of the phone is faster, has a better camera and screen, and comes packed with more features.

In any case, once you’ve chosen the model you want, you also have to choose which cellphone company you want to provide its service: AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint.

Verizon has the best cellular coverage—the fewest dropped calls—and by far the most 4G LTE (high-speed Internet) areas. Sprint offers some of the best deals but doesn’t cover as much of the country. Research the coverage where you live and work. (Each company’s Web site shows a map of its coverage.)

You can buy your iPhone from a phone store (Verizon, Sprint, AT&T), an Apple store, or from the Apple Web site. You can buy the phone either with ...