G+_Paul Fidalgo Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Originally shared by Paul Fidalgo "The first mistake people make is believing that the subsidized cost of the hardware (usually $200) is the real cost of the device, when it's far wiser to remember that this small device you're haphazardly tossing around and shoving in your jeans pocket is actually a super-advanced computer that costs roughly $650 or $700." http://nearearthobject.net/nearearthobject/2014/4/24/755tf09j295qomdfelk3meitjge087 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Matthew Zier-Vogel Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 But if you buy the phone outright you still would want a data plan so the calculations are all wrong. You may only save ~10% in your monthly bill without the subsity. So let's look at a version plan $2100 over the 2 years 83% is the voice/data plan that is ~1750 over two years. If you pay for your phone outright you may save about 10%, $175 over the two years. That still means you got your shiny new iPhone at a (700-{200+175}) $325 discount. The problem is the telcos just don't subsidize the plans enough to make buying your phone outright justifiable if you want a top of the line phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Matthew Zier-Vogel SOME carriers... 4 years ago I had an iPhone 3s with ATT. I paid $200 for the phone and had a monthly bill of $100. That means over the course of the 24 month contract I paid a total of $2600. I switched to a full-purchase Samsung SII. The outright purchase price was $600. My monthly dropped to $30. (unlimited data/text +100 minutes) . Over the course of 24 months I paid a total of $1320. That's a HUGE difference, almost half the price of the subsidizes device. More than enough to pay for a total of THREE top-of-the-line devices in the time it would take the subsidized plan to run its course. At first I thought I would be hamstrung by the limitation of 100 minutes... but as it turns out I RARELY use voice... and when I do, it's easy enough to use VoIP services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Paul Fidalgo Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ I think a lot of the distinctions are being erased, subsidized plans are creeping closer to non. Happily, top-tear handsets may be dropping in price, like the affordable Moto X's, Nexus 5's, and now the Oppo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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