iPhone: The Missing Manual, 7th 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 4s or iPhone 5 to the new iOS 7 software that’s described in this book.

Buying a New iPhone

Each year’s new iPhone model is faster, has a better camera and screen, and comes packed with more features than the previous one. Still, “new iPhone” doesn’t have to mean the iPhone 5s ($200 with a two-year contract) and 5c ($100). You can still get an iPhone 4s for free (with contract).

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, T-Mobile, or Sprint. Each has something to offer.

Verizon has the best cellular coverage—the fewest dropped calls—and by far the most 4G LTE (high-speed Internet) areas. Most Sprint plans include unlimited Internet use, which is a rare perk these days. T-Mobile’s plans cost the least, but the coverage area is the smallest. AT&T’s high-speed Internet networks are faster than anyone else’s.

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, ...