Database Users

Why I Am OK With $530

After reading all the stories, lots of comments on blogs and forums, I have had enough of the BS about how $530 is over priced and way too much and blah blah blah. You guys want the latest and greatest but aren't willing to pay any more than $5 for it.
Every single phone worth money for years has had an unsubsidized price of at least $550 with a few exceptions of course (G1 is only $400, but it is a generation old hardware). An iPhone 3GS 32gb retails for $699 straight up. The HTC HD2 is $899 on Amazon. Good phones aren't cheap as I am sure a lot of you know. So in this respect, $530 is actually a pretty good deal; especially when you compare it to the HD2 which has the same processor and similar hardware. You are getting a next-gen phone with the best screen to ever be on a phone, double the ram of most high end phones, and double the resolution of most high end phones. You expected the best of the best to be cheap? Pfft...
Also, my current T-Mobile plan is superior to what is going to be offered. It will be cheaper and easier in the long run to just buy the phone straight up.
What I am seeing from people is they see $530 and freak the hell out because they have the $180 to compare it against. Sure, there is a big difference there, but you are locked in to a contract for 2 years. $80 * 24 months + $180 = $2100 over 2 years! AND you only have 500 minutes. If you bought the phone straight up and went with Even More Plus for $80/mo, you get unlimited everything. $80 * 24 months + $530 = $2450. Yes, this is more expensive, HOWEVER, how many times will you go over your 500 minutes in the next 2 years? If this is not a problem for you, by all means, go right ahead and get the contract deal since it suits you. But for me, and I suspect most people, 500 minutes is not enough. For the additional $350 over 2 years, or $14.58 and change every month, it is worth having those unlimited minutes.
Does anybody else agree with me on this? All of my phone junkies I talk to agree that $530 is reasonable. Sure, we all would love a less expensive phone, but lets get real here...
Oh, and if this "leak" turns out to be false, than what an awesome waste of time and all of this is moot! LOL

Agree with you on this. My current plan is dirt cheep for unlimited data and no 2 year contract, so I'll shell out the $530 if that's all official after the 5th!

people are trippin over $530 for a phone like this? I paid $550 for my unlocked fuze last year, $800 for unbranded touch pro 2 in April, unlocked motorola droid(milestone) is $800! Al least this phone has some kind of US 3G support, unlike most unbranded phones that come state side. I think I'm a get it day 1, and then get the Bravo when it come out later this year if Sense UI cant be import on the Nexus.

I agree with you guys wholeheartedly. To be honest though, I think it's most telling to compare plans in an apples to apples manner. I'm a dork with a background in finance, so yes, I created a spreadsheet to calculate all the costs incrementally to see where changes in costs were coming from in my comparison.
After running through the numbers and calculating total costs over a 24 month term, for the 500 minute EM and EM+ plans, with the respective phone costs, the total cost over 24 months if I bought the phone unlocked would be $1970. If I purchased it on contract for $180, the total I'd spend over 24 months would be $2100.
There's NO WAY that you'll spend more over the long term with the EM+ plan UNLESS you're eligible for a corporate discount on the EM plan (which I happily am). With my discount, the total for the EM plan comes to $1811, but that doesn't apply to everyone.
The problem here is that most people are spoiled by the subsidized prices of phones. What they're not realizing is that they're paying for that subsidy in the form of more expensive plans...and then some, as my illustration above clearly proves. If T-mobile allows us to finance unsubsidized phones for 20 months on EM+ plans, then this works out to be more manageable for consumers. Either way, though... people need to consider total cost of ownership (TCO)... not just monthly cost and initial cash outlay for the device.

Exactly! Thanks for doing that. People just don't look for future savings and would rather have instant gratification. They are excited by a cheap up front cost and monthly service fee be damned!

I totally agree with you. it is by far the best phone in terms of specifications and price compared to its competitors (iphone 3gs, HD2).
Thanks for explaining this to people.

T-Mo Unlimited Voice/Web/Text $79.99/mo x 24 months = $1,920
Phone: $530.00
====
Total: $2,450.00
IPhone Plan
AT&T Unlimited Voice/Web/Text $149.99/mo for 24 months = $3,600
Phone: $200.00
====
Total: $3,800.00
-No contract for the T-Mobile plan
-No texts? AT&T without any text message plan still comes to $3,320

I was hoping for unlocked-only availability. It would keep certain... um... people... from buying the phone and then flooding the forums with questions, tacky themes, etc.

Dont really care about the price. It's actually not too bad, but if they only offer a 3g for Tmobile version here in the states then why bother selling it from google? Now...if they offer a few versions that can do 3g on several of the networks, or the final device gives us 3g on AT&T and Tmobile (and perhaps they do a verizon version too!)...that would be an awesome sale.

lordmaxx said:
Dont really care about the price. It's actually not too bad, but if they only offer a 3g for Tmobile version here in the states then why bother selling it from google? Now...if they offer a few versions that can do 3g on several of the networks, or the final device gives us 3g on AT&T and Tmobile (and perhaps they do a verizon version too!)...that would be an awesome sale.
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I imagine that Google will be releasing high-end phones for all carriers this year. I think they started with T-mobile for a variety of possible reasons. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that they felt that T-mo should get preference because they were the first carrier to carry the Android torch to market. I also wouldn't be surprised if Google had planned this all along and that T-mobile was promised to get the first "Google phone". Obviously this is all conjecture, but it makes sense from a business perspective.

uansari1 said:
I imagine that Google will be releasing high-end phones for all carriers this year. I think they started with T-mobile for a variety of possible reasons. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that they felt that T-mo should get preference because they were the first carrier to carry the Android torch to market. I also wouldn't be surprised if Google had planned this all along and that T-mobile was promised to get the first "Google phone". Obviously this is all conjecture, but it makes sense from a business perspective.
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But the problem with getting the first of anything is it will be ancient by the time other carriers receive their Android devices

Not necessarily. Given the specs of this phone, I can't see it becoming obsolete as quickly as the G1 did. I could be wrong, but how soon would you think a phone would come out with over 1ghz processor and over 512 ram and rom?

uansari1 said:
Not necessarily. Given the specs of this phone, I can't see it becoming obsolete as quickly as the G1 did. I could be wrong, but how soon would you think a phone would come out with over 1ghz processor and over 512 ram and rom?
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Aren't there already two other snapdragon devices out? What about the rumors of another iphone being released later this year?
I think the g1 may have been just as big when it came out. Times change, so does technology. The N1 may seem like the hottest new device, but it's the Nexus ONE just as the Dream was the Gee ONE. Look at where we are now. With at least half a dozen android capable devices out in about a year and 50+ rumored by 2012.

andythefan said:
Aren't there already two other snapdragon devices out? What about the rumors of another iphone being released later this year?
I think the g1 may have been just as big when it came out. Times change, so does technology. The N1 may seem like the hottest new device, but it's the Nexus ONE just as the Dream was the Gee ONE. Look at where we are now. With at least half a dozen android capable devices out in about a year and 50+ rumored by 2012.
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Your points are well taken. No one's saying that this is THE ultimate phone of all time. It's simply the greatest Android phone to be released yet, and based on its specs, it seems to be a very significant advance forward in hardware as compared to other devices, aside from Droid.

uansari1 said:
Your points are well taken. No one's saying that this is THE ultimate phone of all time. It's simply the greatest Android phone to be released yet, and based on its specs, it seems to be a very significant advance forward in hardware as compared to other devices, aside from Droid.
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Before the Droid all the Android devices were mostly similar (form factor, screen resolution/size, cpu, etc). This is just like the Droid. It was supposed to be the greatest Android device until the next phone showed up a few months later. How do we know a device with similar or better specs won't show up soon? HTC's leaked roadmap has a lot of impressive devices scheduled for this year.
The marketplace is only going to fragment even more Developers aren't happy coding for all these different devices.

IDK if you all are missing the point or if maybe im just redirecting it but here goes
This does not fit into how google normally does things. Correct me if im wrong but the formula usually goes
Take good service/software and make it better + dirt cheap or free+data mining = profit$$
If they aren't subsidizing any of the cost, why should we let them have our data?

esincho said:
people are trippin over $530 for a phone like this? I paid $550 for my unlocked fuze last year, $800 for unbranded touch pro 2 in April, unlocked motorola droid(milestone) is $800! Al least this phone has some kind of US 3G support, unlike most unbranded phones that come state side. I think I'm a get it day 1, and then get the Bravo when it come out later this year if Sense UI cant be import on the Nexus.
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I am fully agree with your statement that at least this phone has some sort of US 3G support which many unlocked phones lacked or manufacturers are too slow to release the US 3G version (read: Nokia N95 NAM edition).
I think this angry attitude is a manifestation of our credit-driven lifestyle. Many people don't realize that paying cheaper price for a phone alongside mandatory 2 years contract (and ETFs if we decided to cancel) is more expensive. Even if they do, the fact that they can OWN the product NOW (regardless whether you can afford the whole price or not) is what makes it desirable in this part of the world.
Regarding the fact that it doesn't support AT&T 3G bands, well suck it up because iPhone didn't support T-Mobile 3G either and I'm sure there are many Tmob subscribers are interested to get that capabilities too. Until US cleared up these 3G band fragmentation (which probably won't happen), we are at the mercy of these manufacturers to step up their game and put in Quad Band UMTS as opposed to cherry picking 3 UMTS bands to be put into their phones.

Only thing making me think twice is when will a keyboard version of the hardware come out.

burton14e7 said:
Only thing making me think twice is when will a keyboard version of the hardware come out.
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The keyboard phone with these specs would be the next G1, most likely to come out just in time for the early G1 adopters to renew their contracts.

uansari1 said:
I agree with you guys wholeheartedly. To be honest though, I think it's most telling to compare plans in an apples to apples manner. I'm a dork with a background in finance, so yes, I created a spreadsheet to calculate all the costs incrementally to see where changes in costs were coming from in my comparison.
After running through the numbers and calculating total costs over a 24 month term, for the 500 minute EM and EM+ plans, with the respective phone costs, the total cost over 24 months if I bought the phone unlocked would be $1970. If I purchased it on contract for $180, the total I'd spend over 24 months would be $2100.
There's NO WAY that you'll spend more over the long term with the EM+ plan UNLESS you're eligible for a corporate discount on the EM plan (which I happily am). With my discount, the total for the EM plan comes to $1811, but that doesn't apply to everyone.
The problem here is that most people are spoiled by the subsidized prices of phones. What they're not realizing is that they're paying for that subsidy in the form of more expensive plans...and then some, as my illustration above clearly proves. If T-mobile allows us to finance unsubsidized phones for 20 months on EM+ plans, then this works out to be more manageable for consumers. Either way, though... people need to consider total cost of ownership (TCO)... not just monthly cost and initial cash outlay for the device.
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Expanding on this and assuming no discounts...
Option A) Buy the phone for $180 subsidized and the 500-minute plan for $80/mo, signing a contract to pay $2100 total over 24 mos.
Option B) Buy the phone for $530 unsubsidized and unlocked and choose the comparable 500-minute plus unlimited text/data Even More Plus plan for $60/mo for a total cost of $1970 over 24 mos with no contract.
So over two years of the phone and contract, you save $130 by going with option B.
But will you really last two years? Let's see what happens if you want to change phones after one year, which is entirely possible given the rate at which mobile technology is moving.
Option A) Early reports indicate a $350 early termination fee imposed by T-Mobile during the first 120 days, but no details have been learned about the fee past that window. Let's assume it reduces linearly to zero over the remaining life of the contract, meaning your fee for leaving early would be $210 at the one year mark. This puts you at $1350 to get out free and clear from the phone and contract.
Option B) You have no ETF, so you'll have paid $1250 at the end of one year.
So, even after just a year you still spend $100 less buying unsubsidized. Further, your phone will already be unlocked and unbranded, ready for quick sale on E-bay.
Pretty simple choice for me. Less money & easy to move on = no-brainer.

best value plan price

So what does everyone think is the best way to get the Tmo version on the value plan? I've been assuming ebay, but do the tmobile specials that pop up every now and then apply to the value plans too? Are there price reductions for them?

I just bit the bullet and bought from them. Stupidest part is how they extend you contract for 2 years WITHOUT EVEN SUBSIDIZING THE PHONE!
Best bet would be waiting for Amazon to sell the T-Mobile version outright. But I couldn't wait and spent the full $700

PePPaZ said:
I just bit the bullet and bought from them. Stupidest part is how they extend you contract for 2 years WITHOUT EVEN SUBSIDIZING THE PHONE!
Best bet would be waiting for Amazon to sell the T-Mobile version outright. But I couldn't wait and spent the full $700
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They aren't subsidizing the phone, but they are giving an interest free loan. IMHO, that's a pretty good deal. Especially when you consider that the value plan prices are probably the best deal in wireless (even against the pre-paid options). My wife and I can get all the minutes, text, and data we need for $75/month, and that's before my corporate discount.
When the prices are this good, I almost want to sign a contract. Contracts can work for the betterment of both parties. It's just that it has very rarely benefited the consumer in the wireless industry.

Any chance of calling them up for a discount on the phone even though you're on a Value Plan? I saw a lot of people getting $100-$200 credits on the official thread but they didn't say what plan they were on.

A Great Note 8.0 Customer Service Story - AT&T

So last night, I decided to go to an AT&T store to buy an LTE Note 8.0 only to find that the first three of the corporate stores I called didn't have any in stock. Finally, the fourth store I called had two left. So I went over there fully expecting to pay the full unlocked $499 price. To me, it didn't make sense to lock myself in for two years when I'd only save $100 over full retail.
When I walked in, though, I was helped by the store manager. He gets the tablet for me and then goes to look up my account info so he could convert my plan to a MobileShare. He saw that I bought a Galaxy S4 about 40 days ago and, much to my surprise, offered me the smartphone bundle promotion, which meant I could get the tablet on contract for $199. I knew about the promotion but just assumed I wouldn't qualify since I bought the phone before the Note 8.0 even launched.
Needless to say, saving $300 over full retail WAS enough to get me to go contract. There's great customer service and then there's the service I received last night. The manager totally didn't have to do that for me but offered without me even asking. :good:

Awesome! Gratz to hear about your saving. Att never did me wrong, even when they rep accidentally took away my unlimited data, I just call customer service and they just me back on unlimited data.

I had a similar experience. I purchased an S4 but the Note 8 available when I purchased it. When it was to be released by AT&T my AT&T Sales person called me to let me know it would be available on the morrow and they had 5 in the store and further that even though I had purchased my S4 16 days previous AT&T would give me the promo bundle price of $199.00. That is stellar service in my opinion.
Bruce

cataloochee said:
I had a similar experience. I purchased an S4 but the Note 8 available when I purchased it. When it was to be released by AT&T my AT&T Sales person called me to let me know it would be available on the morrow and they had 5 in the store and further that even though I had purchased my S4 16 days previous AT&T would give me the promo bundle price of $199.00. That is stellar service in my opinion.
Bruce
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lol. Dealers do this all the time. They get people into promotions (most which they can find a way to make happen so long as its not too far outside the box).
The dealer did not do it to be helpful, which is the sad thing. Dealers, including managers, make more commission off contracts than they do off devices. So he would have made more commission still with that contract than having you spend money on devices. They do this because the company makes more money having you pay the monthly service cost than by having you buy a full cost phone or tablet.
In essence, it takes a company 18-24 months to make back the subsidized cost of a device. That means that 199 bucks you paid, you will pay back the missing 300 bucks on the plan after typically 18 months. Then they get 6 months of profit. So you do actually pay for the device for full cost anyways.,,,and they just extended out how long between upgrades and by the time you get around to actually being eligible for upgrade they may be extending it out further. The current discussions in the industry are talking about 3 year contracts and 2+ year upgrades.
What you have to consider is the lifetime cost of service and the device. They want you to buy a tablet. It makes you pay for their service, instead of just tethering your phone to the tablet. Tethering is cheaper, not contracts, and you wind up paying A LOT LESS even if you pay full cost for the device.
Truth is that ATT customers typically pay close to 1-2K more than many of the carriers that charge full cost for a device. Basically that 300 bucks you saved cost you at least a grand more in the end, and the manager who was "helping" you basically just weasled you into a contract where you will pay more for a separate plan for the tablet instead of just using cheaper tethering options (considering you still share data regardless) and he just got a good commission out of you.
Sad but true. You just got suckered.
How do I know? Nearly 7 years working in the wireless industry. Some of that time with AT&T and a great deal of that time with retail agents and retail policy.
I'm not trying to be a downer, but I hate AT&T dealers. After working for them for so long, Ive come to find that just about every single dealer if about as underhanded as a used car salesman trying to sell you a lemon and convince you its a ferrari. I used to see the dealers in my home town and my normal reaction to them is equivalent to the thought of "you sick bastard."
I do not know how many "deals" a dealer has done that I have had to fix, but typically even if their promises are kept they still use you and screw you over.
Ive even heard dealer chatter. How they talk about customers and think of customers as no more than a mark to be scammed so they can get their next commission. Ive seen more respect for their "victims" from the criminals on "to catch a predator."

phoenixbennu said:
lol. Dealers do this all the time. They get people into promotions (most which they can find a way to make happen so long as its not too far outside the box).
The dealer did not do it to be helpful, which is the sad thing. Dealers, including managers, make more commission off contracts than they do off devices. So he would have made more commission still with that contract than having you spend money on devices. They do this because the company makes more money having you pay the monthly service cost than by having you buy a full cost phone or tablet.
In essence, it takes a company 18-24 months to make back the subsidized cost of a device. That means that 199 bucks you paid, you will pay back the missing 300 bucks on the plan after typically 18 months. Then they get 6 months of profit. So you do actually pay for the device for full cost anyways.,,,and they just extended out how long between upgrades and by the time you get around to actually being eligible for upgrade they may be extending it out further. The current discussions in the industry are talking about 3 year contracts and 2+ year upgrades.
What you have to consider is the lifetime cost of service and the device. They want you to buy a tablet. It makes you pay for their service, instead of just tethering your phone to the tablet. Tethering is cheaper, not contracts, and you wind up paying A LOT LESS even if you pay full cost for the device.
Truth is that ATT customers typically pay close to 1-2K more than many of the carriers that charge full cost for a device. Basically that 300 bucks you saved cost you at least a grand more in the end, and the manager who was "helping" you basically just weasled you into a contract where you will pay more for a separate plan for the tablet instead of just using cheaper tethering options (considering you still share data regardless) and he just got a good commission out of you.
Sad but true. You just got suckered.
How do I know? Nearly 7 years working in the wireless industry. Some of that time with AT&T and a great deal of that time with retail agents and retail policy.
I'm not trying to be a downer, but I hate AT&T dealers. After working for them for so long, Ive come to find that just about every single dealer if about as underhanded as a used car salesman trying to sell you a lemon and convince you its a ferrari. I used to see the dealers in my home town and my normal reaction to them is equivalent to the thought of "you sick bastard."
I do not know how many "deals" a dealer has done that I have had to fix, but typically even if their promises are kept they still use you and screw you over.
Ive even heard dealer chatter. How they talk about customers and think of customers as no more than a mark to be scammed so they can get their next commission. Ive seen more respect for their "victims" from the criminals on "to catch a predator."
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Click to collapse
While your statements are true they are not necessarily accurate. The only way a person would have been "suckered" is if he didn't know what you describe. But almost all consumers realize that there is no free lunch and that the choice of purchasing outright or monthly result in the full price of the device being paid. The only difference is when payment accrues and how much the final cost will be. No different than purchasing a vehicle or a home.
In addition, the accuracy of your claim of being suckered depends on whether the purchaser bought because of the lower initial price or because he wanted the device in any case. In my case I had already decided to purchase the Note 8 from AT&T and only awaited the availability of the Note 8 at AT&T as I wanted the LTE data option. Thus, my only decision was whether to pay full price or add a two year contract to my account. Since I would have to have a data plan from AT&T to use the LTE feature in any case I needed to have an additional phone line. So I was able to get the regular discounted price or pay full price plus the new line costs (these I would pay no matter how I purchased the device and would last as long as I wanted to use the device). With the additional bundle price I decided to purchase at $199 instead of $399. Of course I realize I will pay full price over the next 24 months including the premium for purchasing by installment. But I knew that, considered it, and choose to do it. Thus, I made a considered decision and was not "suckered".
And clearly the sales staff is trying to sell devices and services that bring them the greatest commission. That's what they do for a living. The consumer knows that too. Maybe the real "suckers" are those sales people that think that they are being really "sharp".
Bruce

cataloochee said:
While your statements are true they are not necessarily accurate. The only way a person would have been "suckered" is if he didn't know what you describe. But almost all consumers realize that there is no free lunch and that the choice of purchasing outright or monthly result in the full price of the device being paid. The only difference is when payment accrues and how much the final cost will be. No different than purchasing a vehicle or a home.
In addition, the accuracy of your claim of being suckered depends on whether the purchaser bought because of the lower initial price or because he wanted the device in any case. In my case I had already decided to purchase the Note 8 from AT&T and only awaited the availability of the Note 8 at AT&T as I wanted the LTE data option. Thus, my only decision was whether to pay full price or add a two year contract to my account. Since I would have to have a data plan from AT&T to use the LTE feature in any case I needed to have an additional phone line. So I was able to get the regular discounted price or pay full price plus the new line costs (these I would pay no matter how I purchased the device and would last as long as I wanted to use the device). With the additional bundle price I decided to purchase at $199 instead of $399. Of course I realize I will pay full price over the next 24 months including the premium for purchasing by installment. But I knew that, considered it, and choose to do it. Thus, I made a considered decision and was not "suckered".
And clearly the sales staff is trying to sell devices and services that bring them the greatest commission. That's what they do for a living. The consumer knows that too. Maybe the real "suckers" are those sales people that think that they are being really "sharp".
Bruce
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Same here. I don't feel suckered. I walked into the AT&T store fully planning on paying $499 full retail for the tablet. The contract price was $399 and it wasn't worth it to me to lock myself in for 2 years purely to save $100 off retail. However, when I was offered $199 for the tablet, now we're talking about saving $300 over retail up front and that WAS worth it to me as far as locking myself in for two years. I was able to put the $300 toward something else and I love having an LTE tablet. Win-win. It's only being "suckered" if you're led to believe one thing and something different actually happens. I knew what I was getting into.

oldblue910 said:
Same here. I don't feel suckered. I walked into the AT&T store fully planning on paying $499 full retail for the tablet. The contract price was $399 and it wasn't worth it to me to lock myself in for 2 years purely to save $100 off retail. However, when I was offered $199 for the tablet, now we're talking about saving $300 over retail up front and that WAS worth it to me as far as locking myself in for two years. I was able to put the $300 toward something else and I love having an LTE tablet. Win-win. It's only being "suckered" if you're led to believe one thing and something different actually happens. I knew what I was getting into.
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"You can lead them to the water but you can't make them drink" Of course you know they will, because they're thirsty!!

Nice that's great that they took care of you.. In reality I think you came out on top because if they switched you to mobile share you are only payin $10 a month for that line being locked in for the next 2 years would be $240 so by being in contract you actually get the device for $60 less than full retail.. Great stuff had a similar experience and that's what pushed me over the edge to get it

[Q] Expected Price Drop?

I really want to get the Note 4 but the price is too high for me at the moment, the current price is $299.99 pretty much everywhere. Best Buy has been dropping it to $249.99 but I still find it a bit high. I'm with AT&T and they usually are slow with deals. How long do you think the wait will be for a set price of $249.99? Not that I want to pay that, but I'd expect some store to go to $199.99 for at least a few days. It's not that I don't have the money to pay for the phone, it's just that I don't want to pay that much for it.
I'll be keeping my phone for 2 years, so I want to buy it at a reasonable price for me not to feel bad of when I purchased it... I bought the Galaxy S3 two years ago and about a month later the S4 was announced and the S3 price was dropped and I could have gotten the S4.
Any input?

299.99$ and you're still complaining? It's two and a half times cheaper than in Europe!!!

$299.99 for a 2 year contract, I think you're talking about the phone unlocked.

That's right. But in your OP there's no single word about contract.

youre going to spend $1400 over the life of the contract for the phone and youre cribbing about $50 ? really ?
Just buy it for $900 like the rest of us and save yourself $500.

zurkx said:
youre going to spend $1400 over the life of the contract for the phone and youre cribbing about $50 ? really ?
Just buy it for $900 like the rest of us and save yourself $500.
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What?
bat0nas said:
That's right. But in your OP there's no single word about contract.
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Then again, there is no way I'd find an unlocked phone for $299.99...
Not a hard one, but you're out of country so you might of not known about the options.

you do understamd they charge a huge markup on the contract phone price, right ?
Your $200 note is actually $1400 or more on a 2 year contract or $900 unlocked today.

lol
I bought one 2 days ago on kijiji for 460$ Canadian use for 1 day, reason i got it so low is i managed to convince the guy that root voids the warranty and so i got it at that price with no contract

CrazyMav said:
Not a hard one, but you're out of country so you might of not known about the options.
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You are out of country. Not me

zurkx said:
you do understamd they charge a huge markup on the contract phone price, right ?
Your $200 note is actually $1400 or more on a 2 year contract or $900 unlocked today.
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What are you talking about.
I pay the $299.99 and taxes and that's it. Not hard to figure out. When I got my S3 I only spent the $199.99 plus tax and that was it. I didn't spend more on it...

what about the extra you pay every month during the 2 year contract ?

CrazyMav said:
What are you talking about.
I pay the $299.99 and taxes and that's it. Not hard to figure out. When I got my S3 I only spent the $199.99 plus tax and that was it. I didn't spend more on it...
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He's talking about the price of your contracted plan per month compared to what other providers might have. Let's assume you are paying $80 for your service....while same service can be had for $50 elsewhere... you are paying $30 more a month x 24 = $720 + the $300 you spend initially + tax.
It's theoretical... no one knows what you're paying monthly on contract.
I was paying $250 for 6 lines on AT&T... that was my contract price... I could upgrade all 6 lines on contract and get phones etc.
I switched to T-mobile and pay $120 a month. The savings was substantial and not every line need a smartphone or an upgrade. I can get new phones on installment and pay $0 down. and still cost would be less than AT&T.
It's different for everyone. You might have a cheap grandfathered plan..who knows.

n19htmare said:
He's talking about the price of your contracted plan per month compared to what other providers might have. Let's assume you are paying $80 for your service....while same service can be had for $50 elsewhere... you are paying $30 more a month x 24 = $720 + the $300 you spend initially + tax.
It's theoretical... no one knows what you're paying monthly on contract.
I was paying $250 for 6 lines on AT&T... that was my contract price... I could upgrade all 6 lines on contract and get phones etc.
I switched to T-mobile and pay $120 a month. The savings was substantial and not every line need a smartphone or an upgrade. I can get new phones on installment and pay $0 down. and still cost would be less than AT&T.
It's different for everyone. You might have a cheap grandfathered plan..who knows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He mentioned a "huge markup" on the phone. That was what I read and he said. Of course we have to pay for our service, for me, I am in a family plan with no actual contract for our service.
I was simply wondering about the price of a 2 year contract on the Note 4, I figured the $299.99 price would be more than a hint that I am interested in contract prices.
Now I have no choice though. Just this morning I was in the restroom and as soon as I was about to do #1, I got a notification and picked up my phone and dropped it in the bowl, luckily it was "clean" water but now I have no sound on my phone, can't watch Youtube videos, can't use the camera and there is a red light that literally doesn't go away, even if the phone is off... Trying the rice method but don't think it'll work.
Note 4 here I come I guess.

do you seriously think youre going to get a $900 phone for $300 without getting into a plan with substantial markup over 2 years ?
they are going to loan you the $600 at 50% interest for 2 years. then youre going to pay for the voice/data/network access on top of that.

zurkx said:
do you seriously think youre going to get a $900 phone for $300 without getting into a plan with substantial markup over 2 years ?
they are going to loan you the $600 at 50% interest for 2 years. then youre going to pay for the voice/data/network access on top of that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm done. I don't believe you understand how it works here or you might not get what I am saying.
I found out that Best Buy has a price adjustment policy so I'll take advantage of that, I'll be getting it next week and hopefully the price drops for a day or so, if not, oh well.
$299.99 plus tax, that's it, for the phone.

its simple arithmetic. they arent going to sell you a $900 phone for $300.
you pay every month for the cost of the phone with markup and you pay for the plan on top of that. not sure what else is there to understand. at&t is a business like any other carrier. they arent in it for charity. just because they bake it into other places on your bill like access charges doesnt mean the phone only costs $300.

I guess it'll work just like it does here. You simply pay the cost of the phone (£0.00 in the UK), then you pay the rest with your monthly payment to the carrier (The actual minutes /texts /data are irrelevant as they have to provide them and 99% of companies offer unlimited everything now anyway barring data).

No
zurkx said:
its simple arithmetic. they arent going to sell you a $900 phone for $300.
you pay every month for the cost of the phone with markup and you pay for the plan on top of that. not sure what else is there to understand. at&t is a business like any other carrier. they arent in it for charity. just because they bake it into other places on your bill like access charges doesnt mean the phone only costs $300.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the US, regardless of whether your phone is unlocked or on contract, the amount you pay for a phone/text/data plan is the same.
Plans have just been recently introduced (AT&T Next, Verizon Edge, etc) where you owe nothing up front for the device and pay extra on your monthly payment to pay for the phone, but you wind up paying more in the long run than you would have if you'd just shelled out the cash up front for a 2-year plan.
Cell phones are subsidized here if you lock into a 2-year mobile contract and pay anywhere from $50-$400 up front depending on the phone.

OP, along with me, just cares about when the expected price drop will be. Was anyone around or paying attention when, approximately, the Note 3 dropped in price for those in contract? Instead of talking about how awesome off-contract is or correcting the poor fella, a proper response would be, "Yeah, man, I recall after the Mobile World Congress last year, the Note 3 dropped to $200 on-contract." Or, "The Note 3 is still $300, give it up, it will never go down."
I'm an unhappy AT&T S5 (grandfathered "unlimited" data plan) owner and am going off-contract once this one is up. My girlfriend wants the Note 4 and her grandma pays her cell phone bill so all we care about is the up-front cost. She is eligible to get a new phone in a month and we'd like to plan around that. Many of you fine folks are ridiculously resourceful and your prior experience can help us plan around that.

How many of you will root your AT&T while youre on a Next plan?

I still owe like $400 on my LG G4, so I guess technically I dont even own my phone.
How many of you will be rooting and flashing even though youre on a next plan?
What happens when youre on an AT&T Next 12 plan and you go to hand your phone in 12 months from now?

This is when you restore the device back to factory and they are non-the-wiser about any of it.
.....They really do not go out of their way to discover if you rooted or not (at least around here they don't).

Z3ldaFan88 said:
This is when you restore the device back to factory and they are non-the-wiser about any of it.
.....They really do not go out of their way to discover if you rooted or not (at least around here they don't).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see that there is a KDZ from porto rico for the ATT, and there is not yet a TOT. What is the difference between KDZ and TOT, will they remove your custom TWRP recovery partition?

Wing_Zero_Custom said:
I still owe like $400 on my LG G4, so I guess technically I dont even own my phone.
How many of you will be rooting and flashing even though youre on a next plan?
What happens when youre on an AT&T Next 12 plan and you go to hand your phone in 12 months from now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You guys really need to look into second hand devices. I bought my Verizon G4 (unlocked and can be used on AT&T) off Swappa for $360. It's like new and came with the original box, accessories, and a case.
If you don't have the cash up front, set up a credit card with your PayPal account and make the same monthly payments that you would be paying to the phone carrier. Only difference is now you're paying about half of the price you would be originally and you OWN the phone. Something new comes out..... Pick it up off Swappa (or CL, celltraderonline.com, eBay, Amazon, etc) and sell your old one on a similar outlet. There's even Facebook pages devoted to buying/selling phones.
I haven't been under contract with Verizon (mainly because of my grandfathered unlimited data) for years. I own/use every new device that comes out and most of the time I make a few bucks when I sell the old one. I can't understand why people pay full price for a phone, or finance it just to trade in on another one. We pay high cell phone rates in the U.S. because carriers subsidize phones. If we're paying the high rates AND paying full price for phones, that's a win-win for them.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Josh_Walker said:
You guys really need to look into second hand devices. I bought my Verizon G4 (unlocked and can be used on AT&T) off Swappa for $360. It's like new and came with the original box, accessories, and a case.
If you don't have the cash up front, set up a credit card with your PayPal account and make the same monthly payments that you would be paying to the phone carrier. Only difference is now you're paying about half of the price you would be originally and you OWN the phone. Something new comes out..... Pick it up off Swappa (or CL, celltraderonline.com, eBay, Amazon, etc) and sell your old one on a similar outlet. There's even Facebook pages devoted to buying/selling phones.
I haven't been under contract with Verizon (mainly because of my grandfathered unlimited data) for years. I own/use every new device that comes out and most of the time I make a few bucks when I sell the old one. I can't understand why people pay full price for a phone, or finance it just to trade in on another one. We pay high cell phone rates in the U.S. because carriers subsidize phones. If we're paying the high rates AND paying full price for phones, that's a win-win for them.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah for the record I really regret doing their plan. I way overpaid for my device.
If I sell it and pay the phone off ill be out an extra couple hundred bucks. The best I can do now is pay it off early and own it. Either that or just keep paying the minimum payment and then hand it over after 12 months for a brand new flagship but then be back in the same exact spot as before.
The key here I learned is patience. Let the flagship come out, wait 2 months and then hit Swappa.
I think ill pay off the device early in a few months and then go crazy with flashing and the like.

If anyone is interested on how hard I was bent over:
LG H810
Equipment Price:$669.99
Down Payment:$201.00
Amount Financed:$468.99
Installment 1 of 28 06/04 $16.75
Balance Remaining after Current Installment: $452.24

Josh_Walker said:
You guys really need to look into second hand devices. I bought my Verizon G4 (unlocked and can be used on AT&T) off Swappa for $360. It's like new and came with the original box, accessories, and a case.
If you don't have the cash up front, set up a credit card with your PayPal account and make the same monthly payments that you would be paying to the phone carrier. Only difference is now you're paying about half of the price you would be originally and you OWN the phone. Something new comes out..... Pick it up off Swappa (or CL, celltraderonline.com, eBay, Amazon, etc) and sell your old one on a similar outlet. There's even Facebook pages devoted to buying/selling phones.
I haven't been under contract with Verizon (mainly because of my grandfathered unlimited data) for years. I own/use every new device that comes out and most of the time I make a few bucks when I sell the old one. I can't understand why people pay full price for a phone, or finance it just to trade in on another one. We pay high cell phone rates in the U.S. because carriers subsidize phones. If we're paying the high rates AND paying full price for phones, that's a win-win for them.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this MUCH cheaper. Even though I went through the next program to get my iPhone 6 several months ago, I just paid it off the next day onto my credit card (Got $200 cash back from it lol) SO I had $200 off ON TOP of I got AT&T to pay my phone bill for a month which was another $174. Because of paying it off early, credit card etc. After it was said and done I have about $250 in a brand new iPhone 6.
But anyway even I were to follow the next program it would rip me off by the time that 12 months came, I wouldnt get half of what I could sell it online for.

hyelton said:
I agree with this MUCH cheaper. Even though I went through the next program to get my iPhone 6 several months ago, I just paid it off the next day onto my credit card (Got $200 cash back from it lol) SO I had $200 off ON TOP of I got AT&T to pay my phone bill for a month which was another $174. Because of paying it off early, credit card etc. After it was said and done I have about $250 in a brand new iPhone 6.
But anyway even I were to follow the next program it would rip me off by the time that 12 months came, I wouldnt get half of what I could sell it online for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure where youre getting like 30% cash back from, thats insane, also I havent heard of AT&T paying peoples phone bills for early payoffs.
Yeah the used device average sold price on Swappa has already plummeted down to $450, the more I think about my plan of action, ill try and pay off the phone in the next few months so I at least own the damn thing.

How many of you will root your AT&T while youre on a Next plan?
Wing_Zero_Custom said:
Not sure where youre getting like 30% cash back from, thats insane, also I havent heard of AT&T paying peoples phone bills for early payoffs.
Yeah the used device average sold price on Swappa has already plummeted down to $450, the more I think about my plan of action, ill try and pay off the phone in the next few months so I at least own the damn thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
each time I make a large purchase I look for a credit card which gives you so much back for spending a certain amount.
AT&T has a credit card if you spend $2k in 3 months you get up to $650 credit on a phone. So pretty much a free phone.
Also the paying my bill was part of me being able to help me afford the phone. If I didn't buy the phone they wouldn't had credited me it as they couldn't give a discount on the iPhone it's self.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

hyelton said:
each time I make a large purchase I look for a credit card which gives you so much back for spending a certain amount.
AT&T has a credit card if you spend $2k in 3 months you get up to $650 credit on a phone. So pretty much a free phone.
Also the paying my bill was part of me being able to help me afford the phone. If I didn't buy the phone they wouldn't had credited me it as they couldn't give a discount on the iPhone it's self.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So are you opening and closing credit cards every time you make a large purchase? My Amex only gives me 1-3% cash back on purchases and we use it for almost everything. It seems like they have me $150 the first 3 months for spending a couple grand.
At some point, credit card companies would no longer give you the promos and it would wreck your credit opening and closing cards.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Josh_Walker said:
If you don't have the cash up front, set up a credit card with your PayPal account and make the same monthly payments that you would be paying to the phone carrier. Only difference is now you're paying about half of the price you would be originally and you OWN the phone. Something new comes out..... Pick it up off Swappa (or CL, celltraderonline.com, eBay, Amazon, etc) and sell your old one on a similar outlet. There's even Facebook pages devoted to buying/selling phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I agree in the idea of buying second hand devices. I can't speak for other carriers but on AT&Ts Next plan the person outright owns the phone on a 0% finance plan. Yes there are trade in months and such but that's just it, trade in the phone and they recover the cost from a resale. They give you the full financing disclosure showing the 0% Apr and other such disclosures.
Edit: Back on topic. I have Next and I will be rooting tonight.
Also why would someone want to pay off something that is an at cost price of a brand new device financed with 0% with a credit card that will charge financing. Suddenly the device now costs more because of the fact the credit card is likely not 0% Apr.
The only advantage to credit card financing is the ability to trade up whenever you want like you state.

Wing_Zero_Custom said:
If anyone is interested on how hard I was bent over:
LG H810
Equipment Price:$669.99
Down Payment:$201.00
Amount Financed:$468.99
Installment 1 of 28 06/04 $16.75
Balance Remaining after Current Installment: $452.24
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A good ol' prison style raping!

How many of you will root your AT&T while youre on a Next plan?
Josh_Walker said:
So are you opening and closing credit cards every time you make a large purchase? My Amex only gives me 1-3% cash back on purchases and we use it for almost everything. It seems like they have me $150 the first 3 months for spending a couple grand.
At some point, credit card companies would no longer give you the promos and it would wreck your credit opening and closing cards.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't close them. I keep open. I do need to close some old accounts though that are old
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joshw0000 said:
A good ol' prison style raping!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How? The balance dropped by $16.75 indicating no extra charges meaning 0%apr

CAG-man said:
While I agree in the idea of buying second hand devices. I can't speak for other carriers but on AT&Ts Next plan the person outright owns the phone on a 0% finance plan. Yes there are trade in months and such but that's just it, trade in the phone and they recover the cost from a resale. They give you the full financing disclosure showing the 0% Apr and other such disclosures.
Also why would someone want to pay off something that is an at cost price of a brand new device financed with 0% with a credit card that will charge financing. Suddenly the device now costs more because of the fact the credit card is likely not 0% Apr.
The only advantage to credit card financing is the ability to trade up whenever you want like you state.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because buying 2nd hand is typically half the price of buying new. So get a 0% card for 12 months or even one that charges 30% interest. No matter how you look at it, you'll pay less than full retail when it's paid off.
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CAG-man said:
How? The balance dropped by $16.75 indicating no extra charges meaning 0%apr
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well its true, I am not being charged any interest and I have more spending power right now because of that. I can just hand them $17 a month and use the rest of my paycheck on whatever I want.
But I also overpaid for my device by at least $200 to be able to have that luxury. So technically I paid that interest, just up front.

CAG-man said:
How? The balance dropped by $16.75 indicating no extra charges meaning 0%apr
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Full price @ 0% is still a bad deal IMHO. I sorta look at phones like cars. The MSRP price is the starting price for negotiations. It's the price that no one pays that gives salesmen the ability to say "but this is how much it's really worth, you're getting a great deal".
Overseas carriers don't subsidize plans so their monthly rates are much lower than ours. I can justify full price for those guys, but not in the U.S.
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Wing_Zero_Custom said:
Well its true, I am not being charged any interest and I have more spending power right now because of that. I can just hand them $17 a month and use the rest of my paycheck on whatever I want.
But I also overpaid for my device by at least $200 to be able to have that luxury. So technically I paid that interest, just up front.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I'm just a village idiot here, but what is a cheaper price? Lol My Next plan financed this at $650ish on June 5th release day.(i don't have the exact about in front of me) That was the purchase it now price that day. I saw it priced higher on Amazon that day. I don't count eBay or swappa and such.

Josh_Walker said:
Full price @ 0% is still a bad deal IMHO. I sorta look at phones like cars. The MSRP price is the starting price for negotiations. It's the price that no one pays that gives salesmen the ability to say "but this is how much it's really worth, you're getting a great deal".
Overseas carriers don't subsidize plans so their monthly rates are much lower than ours. I can justify full price for those guys, but not in the U.S.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its the same with when I bought my car, I had a ton in savings and was only going to finance a very very small part.
So he was pushing low payments on me, saying we can get you this % and this low of a payment, and i straight up told him he could make my payments $600 a month and i wouldnt care because I intended on paying it off very quickly, all I cared about was bottom dollar.
If only I bought my phones with the same mindset!

Wing_Zero_Custom said:
Its the same with when I bought my car, I had a ton in savings and was only going to finance a very very small part.
So he was pushing low payments on me, saying we can get you this % and this low of a payment, and i straight up told him he could make my payments $600 a month and i wouldnt care because I intended on paying it off very quickly, all I cared about was bottom dollar.
If only I bought my phones with the same mindset!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sort of same here, A lot just look at the monthly payments, when sometimes they could prob be paying high interest on them.
I was sort of the opposite with my car purchases but I first worked on getting the actual price down, then work out that monthly payment, etc.
The only reason I would use next is if I got a deal OR I must really want a device without waiting for it (Then regret it later) lol.