Cricket Gets the iPhone

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iven the state of the economy for the last decade, it’s no surprise that many people don’t have a credit rating high enough to get approved for a cell phone contract with AT&T or Verizon. But many of those people still want their iPhones, and who can blame them? The smart phones currently offered by Go Phone and other pay-as-you-go cell phone companies leave quite a bit to be desired, and they aren’t cheap, either.

Soon credit-poor iPhone coveters will be able to have their iPhone and refill it too. Regional prepaid cell company Cricket will begin offering iPhones on June 22. Of course, as anyone who bought an iPhone with the intention of using a carrier other than AT&T or Verizon knows, buying a no-contract iPhone carries a hefty price tag.

The 8GB iPhone 4 will cost Cricketers $400, while the 16GB version will set them back $500.

This begs the question; if you can afford a $500 phone, why not just use the extra couple hundred dollars you’d pay for a no-contract phone and use it to pay the security deposit that AT&T and Verizon charge people with low credit scores?

Better yet, find a used AT&T iPhone on Craigslist and buy the cheapest Go Phone you can find, throw the phone away, and use the SIM card in your iPhone. AT&T iPhones work as Go Phones without even having to jailbreak them, so paying a premium for a Cricket iPhone seems silly, especially given Cricket’s less-than-stellar coverage.

Still, it’s a savvy move for Apple, who obviously wants its phones in as many people’s hands as possible.