> I wonder, do phone users in the USA really fall for this trick of hiding most of the price of handset into recurring payments? But that's not what happens he

> I wonder, do phone users in the USA really fall for this trick of hiding most of the price of handset into recurring payments? But that's not what happens here. There's no hiding of fees when I will pay the same base price regardless of phone (smartphone or otherwise) and will pay the same data charges regardless of which smartphone or whether I brought the phone with me or got it subsidized. You are just throwing money away if you don't take the subsidy. Early termination fees decrease over the contract and are less than the subsidy to begin with. Most people will stay with their provider and you're better off paying the termination fees even if you think you might not. The reality here really is $199. Basically this translates into not being able to get a really cheap plan for minimal usage short of going the pre-paid route. While not much to be happy about as a consumer, at least rates to mobile phones are reasonable here; look at VoIP rates to mobiles around the world (usually 5-10x higher).