4 ms·

why couldn't you buy the unlocked phone and get the $60/mo t-mobile unlimited data plan for a TCO over 24mo of 24*60+579 == $2019? http://www.t-mobile.com/shop

why couldn't you buy the unlocked phone and get the $60/mo t-mobile unlimited data plan for a TCO over 24mo of 24*60+579 == $2019? http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/cell-phone-plans-detail.aspx?tp=tb1&rateplan=Even-More-Plus-500-Talk-Text-Web http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/cell-phone-plans-detail.a...

trjordan 17y ago
You can, and if you can front the $600 (month one cost), it absolutely makes sense. Another consideration is that many people buying these aren't going to keep their phone for the full two years, so front-loading doesn't always make sense. In this case, the price difference is drastic enough that the TCO for 12 months is still lower for unlocked ($1250 vs. $1340), but it's not a big a difference. I'm sure some people would be willing to finance $350 over 12 months for $90.
vlad 17y ago
More like $70 a month with tax, which the chart should have guesstimated. Also, the Nexus One is $529, not $579. Also, T-Mobile offers 1000 minutes for a year for $100, with minutes that don't expire as long as you keep refilling in time. Since the phone has WiFi, and there are likely ways around text messaging, the prepaid option is like getting 333 minutes a month for $33.33 a month, 500 minutes a month for $50, or if you rarely use the phone, as affordable as 83 minutes a month for $8.33 a month. You can get a good plan for $529 + $200 = $729 for 24 months, which represents out of pocket costs of $30 a month to have an internet-connected 1Ghz "mini-netbook" with you, that can also make and receive calls. Who needs those clunky, heavy $300-800 netbooks now? I imagine Google Phones will become the new "netbooks", sold for $300-500 at Costco stores alongside actual netbooks, next Christmas.
- kylec 17y ago
  Will T-Mobile let you do prepaid + $30/month for unlimited data? If so, that's an extremely compelling reason to switch.
  - joezydeco 17y ago
    If you can use the Sidekick data option ($1 per day of activation), then it might be doable. iPhone users can't use this option at the moment, I'm guessing Android phones are out as well.
eli 17y ago
Which has the added bonus of not tying you down to a contract. That's basically what I'm doing. Right now I've got a family plan with 2 phones and unlimited internet on each for $100. Doesn't make sense to do anything else. Of course they made it easy, but not really giving me an option. You can't buy the discounted phone on a family plan, ONLY that one individual plan. And you only get the full discount as a new subscriber. Odd.

trjordan 17y ago

You can, and if you can front the $600 (month one cost), it absolutely makes sense. Another consideration is that many people buying these aren't going to keep their phone for the full two years, so front-loading doesn't always make sense. In this case, the price difference is drastic enough that the TCO for 12 months is still lower for unlocked ($1250 vs. $1340), but it's not a big a difference. I'm sure some people would be willing to finance $350 over 12 months for $90.

vlad 17y ago

More like $70 a month with tax, which the chart should have guesstimated. Also, the Nexus One is $529, not $579. Also, T-Mobile offers 1000 minutes for a year for $100, with minutes that don't expire as long as you keep refilling in time. Since the phone has WiFi, and there are likely ways around text messaging, the prepaid option is like getting 333 minutes a month for $33.33 a month, 500 minutes a month for $50, or if you rarely use the phone, as affordable as 83 minutes a month for $8.33 a month. You can get a good plan for $529 + $200 = $729 for 24 months, which represents out of pocket costs of $30 a month to have an internet-connected 1Ghz "mini-netbook" with you, that can also make and receive calls. Who needs those clunky, heavy $300-800 netbooks now? I imagine Google Phones will become the new "netbooks", sold for $300-500 at Costco stores alongside actual netbooks, next Christmas.

kylec 17y ago
Will T-Mobile let you do prepaid + $30/month for unlimited data? If so, that's an extremely compelling reason to switch.
- joezydeco 17y ago
  If you can use the Sidekick data option ($1 per day of activation), then it might be doable. iPhone users can't use this option at the moment, I'm guessing Android phones are out as well.

eli 17y ago

Which has the added bonus of not tying you down to a contract. That's basically what I'm doing. Right now I've got a family plan with 2 phones and unlimited internet on each for $100. Doesn't make sense to do anything else. Of course they made it easy, but not really giving me an option. You can't buy the discounted phone on a family plan, ONLY that one individual plan. And you only get the full discount as a new subscriber. Odd.