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Nobody in the US wants to buy a $500+ phone at retail when they can buy a $150 Droid or a $50 G1 with a new plan. After all, you're going to have to pay the sam
by there 17y ago
Nobody in the US wants to buy a $500+ phone at retail when they can buy a $150 Droid or a $50 G1 with a new plan. After all, you're going to have to pay the same monthly fee either way.
t-mobile would disagree with you. they just announced new plans a few weeks ago that are contract-free, cost less per month (since you are not paying for the subsidized cost of a phone), and allow you to bring your own phone or buy theirs for the total upfront cost.
i am using an iphone on t-mobile and just switched to one of these plans. i got locked into a 1-year contact by buying the mytouch 3g when it came out, but once the contract is up, i'll be contract-free and paying less per month than i would on their normal plan.
- jsm386 17y agot-mobile, while trying that...i wouldn't say would disagree with you. at this point they are just throwing everything against the wall, hoping something works. They're desperate. They are losing customers, and their (ARPU) average revenue per user (the most important metric in the wireless industry) is dropping.
- eli 17y agoWhat do you gain by paying more upfront for a phone that you can't really take anywhere else anyway? Sure, your iPhone will work on T-Mobile... but not with 3G.
- there 17y agoyou are paying the same amount for the phone regardless. you're either paying for it all upfront or spreading it out by paying an extra $10 every month for the duration of the contract. with the new plans, you can buy their phone upfront and then sell it on ebay/craigslist and move to another provider without worrying about breaking a contract, or you can just bring your own phone.