Slashdot Mirror
The Days of Cheap, Subsidized Phones May Be Numbered
In the U.S., subsidized phones are the norm: for post-paid, long-term contract use, getting a low up-front price on a phone is one of the few upsides. New submitter Apptopia writes "After T Mobile mostly did away with subsidized phone plans, the other major carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint) are paying attention. Carriers lose money with phone subsidies for high-end smartphones (particularly Apple's iPhone). If they do away with the subsidy, you will have to pay full retail price for phones, but your monthly bill will be lower." If people had a better idea what they were paying for, though, manufacturers might fight harder on price. There are lots of well-reviewed, multi-band, unlocked phones on Amazon and DealExtreme from lesser-known companies, and Nokia's new Asha 501 (though limited in many ways, including availability, having just launched in India) shows that the "smartphone" label can apply even to a sub- $100 phone.
It's always been cheaper to buy a phone outright and not have a contract
Well if you are on Verizon or AT&T in the US it doesn't make ANY sense to buy an unlocked phone. You get zero benefit. You don't pay less. You don't get a better plan. Nothing. Only now with T-Mobile does one get a small discount on the monthly rate. I would be happy to pay full price for an unlocked phone to use anywhere I choose and pay a reasonable price for service via pay as you go. That is not offered in the US. Until it is I am already going to be paying the phone subsidy price regardless of where I got my phone so it makes sense to get a new phone every time I am eligible and sign up for a new two year contract. I am going to be paying for it anyway. All this keeping in mind that T-mobile doesn't offer great service where I live.