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It's not for serial upgraders, it's for prepaid/regional carrier accounts. I have a friend who bought a Motorola Triumph recently and pays something $30/mo. for

It's not for serial upgraders, it's for prepaid/regional carrier accounts. I have a friend who bought a Motorola Triumph recently and pays something $30/mo. for unlimited voice and data. There are also people who want a smartphone with just a voice plan because they only plan on using data while on wifi.

Steko 15y ago
Virgin Mobile updated their rates this month: "$30/mo" is now "$35/mo" and "unlimited" is now "unlimted with throttling at 2.5 GB". It's great that small carriers are offering some great deals to lure customers and it's great that there are some cracks in the system for the tiny minority that doesn't want a data plan (or whatever) sbut that doesn't change the basic truth that nearly everyone is going to be paying for phone and data every month anyway. These "total cost of ownership is obscene" things are always disingenuous to me. No, that's the price of the phone and phone service and a data plan for 2 years.
- joebadmo 15y ago
  $250 (handset) + $35/mo * 12 mo = $775. Approximately half the cost of ownership. I think this thread is about the cost of ownership of a "free with contact" iPhone 3GS vs. alternatives, targeted at the low end. I think that's a significant difference for this market. You disagree?
  - Steko 15y ago
    Are you saying this Virgin mobile plan is representative of what the average low end Android buyer gets? And can't you get an unlocked iphone and put it on the same sorts of plans? I would guess the median low end Android buyer signs up with Verizon and gets the same data plan choices they would if they have an iphone.
    - joebadmo 15y ago
      Ah, I see where our disagreement is. I agree with you that the current low-end of Android is what you describe, and reading one node higher in the thread, I understand what you're arguing, that the iPhone 3GS is now competing directly with current "free with contract" Android phones. I lost track of that at some point. I guess to me, the way bundling works, referring to the $1500 cost of ownership as the low-end as opposed to the $1700 cost of ownership seems wrong. That's what the carrier's want you to think, of course, that the only choice is between this "free" phone with the expensive plan and this "high-end" phone with the expensive plan. But the real low-end is to get away from the expensive plan. And now that there are Android phones that are $250 off contract that are actually quite good, I think this true low-end becomes a viable option for a lot of people, esp. that portion of the market that hasn't yet converted to smart phones. Could certainly be wrong.
      - clarky07 15y ago
        You could buy one on eBay unlocked for around that much, or breaking contract with ATT is only 325. 75 isn't much difference.

Steko 15y ago

Virgin Mobile updated their rates this month: "$30/mo" is now "$35/mo" and "unlimited" is now "unlimted with throttling at 2.5 GB". It's great that small carriers are offering some great deals to lure customers and it's great that there are some cracks in the system for the tiny minority that doesn't want a data plan (or whatever) sbut that doesn't change the basic truth that nearly everyone is going to be paying for phone and data every month anyway. These "total cost of ownership is obscene" things are always disingenuous to me. No, that's the price of the phone and phone service and a data plan for 2 years.

joebadmo 15y ago
$250 (handset) + $35/mo * 12 mo = $775. Approximately half the cost of ownership. I think this thread is about the cost of ownership of a "free with contact" iPhone 3GS vs. alternatives, targeted at the low end. I think that's a significant difference for this market. You disagree?
- Steko 15y ago
  Are you saying this Virgin mobile plan is representative of what the average low end Android buyer gets? And can't you get an unlocked iphone and put it on the same sorts of plans? I would guess the median low end Android buyer signs up with Verizon and gets the same data plan choices they would if they have an iphone.
  - joebadmo 15y ago
    Ah, I see where our disagreement is. I agree with you that the current low-end of Android is what you describe, and reading one node higher in the thread, I understand what you're arguing, that the iPhone 3GS is now competing directly with current "free with contract" Android phones. I lost track of that at some point. I guess to me, the way bundling works, referring to the $1500 cost of ownership as the low-end as opposed to the $1700 cost of ownership seems wrong. That's what the carrier's want you to think, of course, that the only choice is between this "free" phone with the expensive plan and this "high-end" phone with the expensive plan. But the real low-end is to get away from the expensive plan. And now that there are Android phones that are $250 off contract that are actually quite good, I think this true low-end becomes a viable option for a lot of people, esp. that portion of the market that hasn't yet converted to smart phones. Could certainly be wrong.
    - clarky07 15y ago
      You could buy one on eBay unlocked for around that much, or breaking contract with ATT is only 325. 75 isn't much difference.