> That $199 iPhone? It really costs $650!<p>It's been really nice to see unsubsidized wireless become more of a thing in the US. I can't even begin to describe the confusion my family members have when I tell them that their iPhone actually cost $600-700. Their response is, "oh, no, it was only $200." It's astonishing how misunderstood this is... like saying you financed a car purchase and it only cost you the downpayment.
Article doesn't mention that T-Mobile will let you buy that $650 phone in installments if your credit is good.<p>So you can still get that new handset and pay for it in your monthly bill, but now you have the option to pay the remainder off at any time and switch it out/sell it/change carriers/etc.
Sad to see that Ting was left out of their list of MVNOs. Ting just added GSM service, too, so they offer service on both the Sprint and T-Mobile networks. Sprint roams on Verizon, so there's no loss in voice/SMS coverage by switching.<p>There's a thriving used market in phones at Glyde, and Ting's refurbished phones have been great.<p>I've heard good things about the other MVNOs too, but haven't tried them. Decoupling from Verizon was a great financial move; as a bonus, I'm actually happy about my phone company.<p>(Disclaimer: I'm both a happy Ting customer and happily own a few shares in Tucows)
I can't praise Republic Wireless enough - it's a wifi/cellular hybrid Motorola phone. My phone bill is $25 a month for unlimited 3G data. Was able to make/ receive calls to / from the US in Russia last summer with no issues. Paying $100 for a contract phone is insane.
One benefit of an unlocked phone is being able to use a local SIM card when you travel internationally. This could be a big savings over paying roaming charges.
In the UK, mobile operators introduced 'SIM only' contracts a few years ago, where you got a rolling monthly contract (you weren't tied in for more than a month at a time), effectively giving you the flexibility of 'Pay As You Go' but without having to bother with top-ups.<p>Initially, these were much cheaper than the year-long contracts, if you already had a phone. Now, however, they have little advantage over a 'standard' 2 year contract, as they've made them much more expensive (if you want a decent amount of data, which people who own smartphones do) and much less value for money on a monthly contract than a yearly contract.<p>Now if you 'bring your own phone' - and it's a smartphone, so you want some data, a 'SIM only' contract allows you to choose between not really saving any money, but being on a rolling monthly contract - a bit pointless unless you plan on switching providers very soon or giving up mobile phones forever - or saving having to buy a phone you don't need over 2 years, but still being locked in for a year.<p>All this said, I've managed to get a year's service with Vodafone UK (unlimited calls/texts, 6GB data) for £9/month effectively, due to cashback and offsetting my Spotify premium that I was paying for.<p>My phone (that I bought from O2 and had them unlock) is a Nokia Lumia 635, which is around £70 and is, well, 'functional'.
Really excited to see the MVNOs getting better service by licensing multiple Tier 1 networks. I'm still using AT&T on a family plan, but only because they've followed T-Mobile's strategy almost verbatim for the last year.<p>I grew up in Alaska (now in Colorado), and my parents in Anchorage don't have home internet. Even in Anchorage, a city with 300,000 people, $60/mo will only buy you 10Mbps of download speed with capped bandwidth, through the only cable internet service in town. Now, with AT&T's rollover data I get about 45GB of cellular data usage per month. I'm on the 30GB/mo plan, but most months we only use 15GB, so the other half rolls over. Now, when I travel to visit my folks, I can tether without any concerns. It's actually worth paying the AT&T premium to be able to tether hassle-free. AND, in Alaska the LTE is way faster than the entry-tier cable internet plans. For many people with cellular service, it might actually be cheaper to use your phone as a hotspot in Alaska than to have cable internet.<p>Glad to hear so many of you are having good experiences with T-Mobile and MVNOs though. I'm so psyched for the future of data access!
I had never concerned myself with cell phones since the whole "get a 'free' phone with a contract!" seemed like a total scam, and I didn't need a personal cell phone, so I let my SO "do the needful". Recently I lost my corporate iPhone, and was referred by a colleague to Cricket, which is a subsidiary of AT&T. $35/month unlimited domestic calls/texts + 1GB LTE data (with throttling, not cutoff, if the data alloc is exceeded) seemed like a great deal compared to my SO's Verizon contract deal. I can use any AT&T compat phone. Then I was informed by the Cricket salesman that a $100/month for 5 phones deal was available; we ditched the Verizon contract (paid a small penalty for doing so): 2 kids now have phones, I have 2 (1 work, 1 personal); all MotoG's ($25 ea after rebate). Recently Cricket bumped the monthly data alloc from 1GB to 2.5GB (per phone per month, same price). There may be somewhat better deals, but I'm quite pleased with the current deal, and NO CONTRACT!!! Things can only get better...
I don't really understand the reasoning here: because I sign up to a long contract I expect big <i>discounts</i> on calls/data (more so than I could hope to find while shopping around different carriers with a phone I own). If calls/data are the same cost as it would be without signing a long contract then I expect the phone to be discounted instead!<p>If I could buy the phone and still get the same total cost (or even cheaper) without locking myself to a carrier for 24 months then of course I'd do that?<p>Not sure if it's a local/EU law or something, but total cost is always listed, and the option to buy the phone without contract is always given.
I have the "excellent" oneplus mentioned and while it is a great phone I should mention that I've had audio issues.<p>The issue I'm hitting up against is that even though the support is relatively good, it's all through email and appears to be from China. Days can go by before I get a response.<p>Now it looks like I will have to RMA, and it's taken a few weeks to get to this point. This also means I will have no phone while they wait for my return before sending out the replacement.<p>All in all, happy with this phone. But there's a caveat when buying from a non traditional supplier - 'virtual' support.
> Sadly, Apple doesn’t offer that sort of affordable pricing on iPhones, though you can save about $100 if you look for used models ...<p>Not true. Last year, I lost my iPhone in July, but wanted to wait for the iPhone6. Verizon had a deal: a refurbed iPhone 4s, unlocked, for $150. I bought that, and moved to a prepaid plan on VZW. $40/month, all in.<p>When the 6 came out, I turned the 4s in for a $200 rebate (and bought the 6 outright), thus coming out ahead.<p>One advantage of CDMA phones (like VZW) is that they also work on GSM! So you have the flexibility of using any network, with the right SIM.
I think I understand that people want to have the option to switch, but I never, myself, had any reason to do so. I mean the differences between the services different providers provide is not that much (for me) to justify the switch. Maybe that is because I am on a grandfathered unlimited plan. Over the years I have periodically (with every new iphone), reviewed other options and never found the switch compelling.
Anybody knows any reason other than "just having the option" ?
Buying a $600+ phone is a little crazy. It shouldn't be a commonplace thing. I don't want a phone I will regret landing on top of while skiing or biking or just bumping into things. It's a triumph of marketing but it makes little sense when you can get, e.g., a new moto E with LTE for $150. That's what a good smartphone, with no glaring deficiencies, should cost.<p>$600+ for a tablet that you keep protected in your bag is a whole other thing.
I've been using Virgin Mobile happily for coming on two years. $35/month for LTE on my iPhone 5s is pretty much impossible to beat. Plus, I can get tethering for $5/day if I need it while traveling.<p>Yes, it's Sprint, and their network isn't the best, but since I don't live in San Francisco I've rarely had problems.
I always wonder when I read about TMobile from a US-PointOfView. In Germany, TMobile is the "Verizon". I pretty much think they raise rates here in order to have money for competitive rates in new markets, but as soon as they achieve a certain marketshare they will raise their prices as well, happend in Austria recently.
Wow, what a news!
It's a mystery for me how people can come to conclusions like that this late. I haven't bought any subsidized phone for like ten years. I understand that with CDMA careers it might be hard, but with GSM? There's no excuse.
I'll say again: I really like T-Mobile's $30/month prepaid unlimited data plan. Combine with Hangouts for voice and Voice for text (who names these?) and it's about the cheapest you can get for a smartphone.<p>(Tradeoff? Poor service outside cities.)
I'm very happy paying $10 per month with Republic Wireless. I got the MotoX for $300 up front. It's not exactly unlocked because they have custom software for wifi calls and handoff. But I get "unlimited data" via wifi and if I really want reliable data on the go there is a $25 plan, plus you can switch plans with their app up to twice a month and have it prorated. Think you need cellular data for maps? Get OSMAND and download the maps you need to your phone.