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Google Reduces Its Nexus One Termination Fee
CWmike writes "The only smartphone Linus Torvalds doesn't hate is that much less unlikable now that Google has quietly chopped $200 off its early termination fee on the Nexus One. Customers who cancel the service had been on the hook for $550, including a $350 Google cancellation charge. Google has reduced their fee to $150 — but users are still liable for a $200 ETF from T-Mobile. Users have a 14-day grace period during which they do not have to pay either charge, although they may be hit with a restocking fee. The $350 total fee matches one of the highest in the industry, charged by Verizon. Google did not announce the change but simply altered its online terms-of-service document." The price cut could add momentum to a phone that, by one reckoning, costs only $49 unlocked.
Linking to an article mentioning Linus and an older advertisement, with a tiny bit of new information (a 200$ cut because of an about-to-be ruling by the FCC), that overall shows Google in a positive light. With clumsy maths at the end.
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First post!
I find it hard to believe the population of the US puts up with this utter crap called early termination fees. In much of the rest of the civilized world, this is likely illegal. Here in Finland, such fees would have to be clearly indicated to the consumer in the final price of the device, and cannot be hidden deep in contract terms.
Once again, US consumers are getting screwed over by their corporate overlords while the government sits by and does nothing.
Nexuses are retired, not terminated.
Just saying...
-- Roy Batty
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Is this a new form of slashvertisement?
The price cut could add momentum to a phone that, by one reckoning, costs only $49 unlocked.
And, by another reckoning, it actually saves you $5,000 and rescues your cat from a tree. Incidentally, both reckonings are fallacious.
That (1) makes you look stupid, and (2) repeats advertising.
Of course, this is pretty much the default with kdawson.
Evil? Well with these fees maybe just a little bit evil. But seriously this is google, how much more money do they need?
Personally, I am waiting for the phone that is subsidized by non-obtrusive, relevant advertising.
There are two kinds of fool. One says, This is old, and therefore good. And one says, This is new, and therefore better.
When they screw us they use lube!
I was trying to teach that cat a lesson. How will he learn if the phone keeps rescuing him?
meep
So I just upgraded my phone on Verizon over the weekend, and though everyone is making a big deal about having 2 ETFs with the N1 (one on from Google, the other from T-Mobile), I believe the same thing is in place for ATT & VZW. See, you can upgrade your phones through a few 3rd party services (one being Amazon). In the fine print you have 6 months that you cannot change which plan a phone is on. If you do, Amazon will charge you the full device price for the phone. This is Amazon now, not VZW. If you also canceled your contract, VZW would also charge you an ETF, even though you paid Amazon for your phone. There you go, 2 ETFs. ATT, Sprint, and even TMobile all say the same thing when you upgrade through 3rd parties (of which Google would be one)
It's one thing to have a story/advertisement, it's another to blatantly lie in it.
The bullshit statistic of the $49 dollar unlocked version was ably debunked in the comments of the last story where this was claimed.
Please stop doing it. When you're caught in a blatant lie, you don't repeat it unless you are also an idiot.
sorry
my bad
The Nokia N900 is better. It's got penguins. With laser beams.
Initial ETF for iPhone 3G in my country (Latvia) is what would be around $570
Looking at the Google site, the phone costs $179 if you sign up with a T-Mobile plan. So if you cancel, you're out the $179 + $150 from Google, + $200 from T-Mobile... which brings the price to $529, which coincidentally, is the unlocked price of the phone. You are at a loss, however, of how many months you had the service before canceling (with T-Mobile's current discount for not subsidizing the device).
In November we got a bunch of G1s and then decided at the last minute we wanted to get the Droid instead. The restocking fee from T-Mobile was quite reasonable, I think around $10/phone. Then a few months later we got a bill for $50/line for the activation fee. I'm not really unhappy with the cost of canceling the service, we like the Droid much better than the G1 (it's just a much newer phone). It was just kind of surprising to get another $350 bill after I thought it was all taken care of.
Sean
If Google/HTC really wanted to 'add momentum' to the sales of this phone, they should make it available outside the restricted area they sell it at the moment (and for a reasonable exchange rate). As it stands, the Milestone/Droid is currently the only Android 2.x phone available in continental europe (ok, taking aside shady imports at exorbitant prices).
I apologise in advance if this has already been discussed in previous stories: An early termination fee is for the early termination of a contract. Now I only skim the contract that I signed when I just bought my smart phone (HTC Eris) with Verizon a few months ago but I don't recall a contract with google or HTC. Only Verizon. How can Google charge an ETF when I don't have a contract with them?
Just buy a lot of Nexi Ones for 49$, and sell them for material price! I am going to be rich!
I didn't expect google of all companies to be braindead enough to subsidize unlocked phones...
You go into a T-Mobile store, you soak up half an hour of their employees time and then turn around and want ~all~ of your money back five days later, where you will then soak up another thirty minutes of their time. Not to mention paper, a device that now has to be cleared out, contacting headquarters so someone can cutoff your stuff, etc. And you want them to do this for "free?" This isn't Walmart, stop being selfish. If you cancel your service, you should owe them something, at least to cover their time and operating costs.
"Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad." [Ecclesiastes 7:3]
And why does he keep posting nonsense (like the $49 cost for the Nexus, seems kdawson uses the same accounting methods as wall-street) and gets approved for posting (two time in two days about the same nonsense)??? I know of lots of people (inc. myself) who proposed stories that were much less non-sensical than to claim that the phone costs $49 and these stories were not posted. Who is reviewing these stories? Is kdawson a slashdot insider? Hell, if nonsense stories get approved like this, please cancel my "subscription" to slashdot!!!!!!
It'd be nice if the summary told us who Linus Torvalds is, rather than just assuming we know everyone in the tech world.
iphone: $199 + $79 * 24 = $2095 (AT&T, subsidized iphone)
n1: $530 + $59 * 24 = $1946 (T-mo, no contract)
nexus one savings over 2 years: $2095 - $1946 = $149
not having a contract is a big plus, but i don't see where the nexus one is much cheaper.
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when the words 'termination fee' appear
beware he who denies you access to information for in his mind, he already deems himself to be your master (SMAC-ish)
Not to appealing to get a contract, that is still quite a lot of money for early termination. The unlocked version seems like the monkey to go for as it looks a better deal. (Or have I missed something here?).