6 ms·

Nope. It's actually $33, also in developing countries nobody pays more than $0.01 for a phone on contract.

gambiting 12y ago
I'm from a developed country and I don't know anyone who pays for a phone on top of the contract price. It baffles me how in US people get a $50/month contract + they have to pay $200 for the phone. Crazy.
- roel_v 12y ago
  Huh? What country are you from then? Every country I know a bit about in this regards (which covers a sizable part of Europe) has 'get a cheaper contract but still get a more expensive phone by paying up front for a part of it' options.
  - gambiting 12y ago
    Alright, I wasn't entirely clear - yes, you can get a cheaper contract and pay a bit upfront for the phone - but I don't know literally anyone who does that. At least in the UK since you can get pretty much any phone model for 30-35 pounds a month people just do that rather than get a 20 pounds/month contract and pay anything upfront for the phone.
- jonknee 12y ago
  Because the phones are $600? At $50/mo it would take an entire year to pay for just the phone before any revenue could be used for actual operator business.
  - gambiting 12y ago
    Yeah. That's exactly how it works. Me and all my friends have top-models of different brands, and I don't know a single person who paid anything upfront. HTC One here - 30 pounds a month contract. Iphone 5S - 35 pounds a month contract. LG G3 - 28 pounds a month. All of these prices roughly translate into $50/month - so why would you pay anything upfront?? And just because a phone costs $600 on the retail market don't assume that operators pay anywhere near that.
    - justincormack 12y ago
      Everyone I know just buys phones outright and is on giffgaff at around £12 a month... Different demographics I guess.
    - nimrody 12y ago
      What do you do when you want to break the contract? I.e., after 6 months you decide to switch carrier? Now what?
      - gambiting 12y ago
        On O2 you just pay off the phone, and then break the contract whenever you want. There is no early termination fee.
  - pjc50 12y ago
    Just to drive gambiting's point home, here's EE's phone selection: http://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-phones/pay-monthly/gallery http://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-phones/pay-monthly/gallery The nearest to the $200 upfront is the £150 upfront for the "iPhone 6 plus 128GB", although that's then about $100 a month. For the very latest top-end phone. All the others have tiny or zero upfront fees.
- milankragujevic 12y ago
  They have to pay the smallest possible amount, in my country $0.01 (not in US dollars, of course)
- Istof 12y ago
  they try to milk it (and it appears to work)... there is always pre-paid-no-contract plans BYOD

I'm from a developed country and I don't know anyone who pays for a phone on top of the contract price. It baffles me how in US people get a $50/month contract + they have to pay $200 for the phone. Crazy.

roel_v 12y ago
Huh? What country are you from then? Every country I know a bit about in this regards (which covers a sizable part of Europe) has 'get a cheaper contract but still get a more expensive phone by paying up front for a part of it' options.
- gambiting 12y ago
  Alright, I wasn't entirely clear - yes, you can get a cheaper contract and pay a bit upfront for the phone - but I don't know literally anyone who does that. At least in the UK since you can get pretty much any phone model for 30-35 pounds a month people just do that rather than get a 20 pounds/month contract and pay anything upfront for the phone.
jonknee 12y ago
Because the phones are $600? At $50/mo it would take an entire year to pay for just the phone before any revenue could be used for actual operator business.
- gambiting 12y ago
  Yeah. That's exactly how it works. Me and all my friends have top-models of different brands, and I don't know a single person who paid anything upfront. HTC One here - 30 pounds a month contract. Iphone 5S - 35 pounds a month contract. LG G3 - 28 pounds a month. All of these prices roughly translate into $50/month - so why would you pay anything upfront?? And just because a phone costs $600 on the retail market don't assume that operators pay anywhere near that.
  - justincormack 12y ago
    Everyone I know just buys phones outright and is on giffgaff at around £12 a month... Different demographics I guess.
  - nimrody 12y ago
    What do you do when you want to break the contract? I.e., after 6 months you decide to switch carrier? Now what?
    - gambiting 12y ago
      On O2 you just pay off the phone, and then break the contract whenever you want. There is no early termination fee.
- pjc50 12y ago
  Just to drive gambiting's point home, here's EE's phone selection: http://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-phones/pay-monthly/gallery http://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-phones/pay-monthly/gallery The nearest to the $200 upfront is the £150 upfront for the "iPhone 6 plus 128GB", although that's then about $100 a month. For the very latest top-end phone. All the others have tiny or zero upfront fees.
milankragujevic 12y ago
They have to pay the smallest possible amount, in my country $0.01 (not in US dollars, of course)
Istof 12y ago
they try to milk it (and it appears to work)... there is always pre-paid-no-contract plans BYOD