3 ms·

A win from whose perspective?

by grhino 16y ago

kenjackson 16y ago
The users. I get the carriers to give me $300 for something I plan on doing anyways (using their service for the next two years). It would be like Comcast subsidizing my purchase of a TV if I kept Comcast for two years. I'd jumpt on that deal now (assuming the subsidy was $300+ dollars), because I anticipate keeping Comcast for two years (even with the coming internet TV threats). And certainly for the past 10 years, it would have been an even bigger no brainer.
- bad_user 16y ago
  That's bullshit ... what you get is lock-in for 2 years, a period of time in which they can fuck with you however they want, all for $300 ... which you pay back one way or another, especially when you've got a functional oligopoly: i.e. SMS messages are 4 times more expensive than receiving data from space. Yes I've been with the same carrier for 6 years, but I'm using a pre-paid plan, and I get better deals than customers with contracts. I can also scale down my monthly payments ... i.e. I'm only paying for included 3G traffic when I need it.
  - kenjackson 16y ago
    That's odd. I'm with Sprint. On a legacy plan from 2002. I get unlimited data for $10/month. They've never screwed me over, AFAIK. And, yes all this for $300. The choice you've made is to presumably pay $500 or more for the phone, and then maybe marginally cheaper monthly fees. Although I'd argue that my monthly fees are quite likely cheaper than yours, although its in a plan you can no longer get. But Sprint still grandfathered contracted customers with it. And last time I checked, all of the major cell phone carriers allow you to buy the phone w/o a contract. So feel free to spend the $500 for a phone. No one is stopping you.
    - bad_user 16y ago
      > So feel free to spend the $500 for a phone. No one is stopping you. Actually I'm not spending $500 for a phone who's battery only lasts for a single day and has signal issues ... most smartphones are like that, I know ... unfortunately for all their capabilities, are kind of uncomfortable for making phone calls. I do have an iPhone 3GS, but I consider it a handheld with 3G connectivity that happens to be able to make phone calls. I'm paying 9 euros for a data plan with 1 GB per month / ~ 7.2 Mbps (the actual speed I'm getting, the plan is for ~11 Mbps). Of course, I live in Europe where prepaid plans are much more popular, being an area with lots of competition ... which makes sense since the cost of switching is low.

A win from whose perspective?

by grhino 16y ago

A win from whose perspective?

The users. I get the carriers to give me $300 for something I plan on doing anyways (using their service for the next two years). It would be like Comcast subsidizing my purchase of a TV if I kept Comcast for two years. I'd jumpt on that deal now (assuming the subsidy was $300+ dollars), because I anticipate keeping Comcast for two years (even with the coming internet TV threats). And certainly for the past 10 years, it would have been an even bigger no brainer.

bad_user 16y ago
That's bullshit ... what you get is lock-in for 2 years, a period of time in which they can fuck with you however they want, all for $300 ... which you pay back one way or another, especially when you've got a functional oligopoly: i.e. SMS messages are 4 times more expensive than receiving data from space. Yes I've been with the same carrier for 6 years, but I'm using a pre-paid plan, and I get better deals than customers with contracts. I can also scale down my monthly payments ... i.e. I'm only paying for included 3G traffic when I need it.
- kenjackson 16y ago
  That's odd. I'm with Sprint. On a legacy plan from 2002. I get unlimited data for $10/month. They've never screwed me over, AFAIK. And, yes all this for $300. The choice you've made is to presumably pay $500 or more for the phone, and then maybe marginally cheaper monthly fees. Although I'd argue that my monthly fees are quite likely cheaper than yours, although its in a plan you can no longer get. But Sprint still grandfathered contracted customers with it. And last time I checked, all of the major cell phone carriers allow you to buy the phone w/o a contract. So feel free to spend the $500 for a phone. No one is stopping you.
  - bad_user 16y ago
    > So feel free to spend the $500 for a phone. No one is stopping you. Actually I'm not spending $500 for a phone who's battery only lasts for a single day and has signal issues ... most smartphones are like that, I know ... unfortunately for all their capabilities, are kind of uncomfortable for making phone calls. I do have an iPhone 3GS, but I consider it a handheld with 3G connectivity that happens to be able to make phone calls. I'm paying 9 euros for a data plan with 1 GB per month / ~ 7.2 Mbps (the actual speed I'm getting, the plan is for ~11 Mbps). Of course, I live in Europe where prepaid plans are much more popular, being an area with lots of competition ... which makes sense since the cost of switching is low.