{"id":31637,"date":"2012-12-06T15:20:53","date_gmt":"2012-12-06T22:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/06\/the-cost-trade-off-in-mobile-phones-vs-mobile-plans.html"},"modified":"2012-12-06T15:20:53","modified_gmt":"2012-12-06T22:20:53","slug":"the-cost-trade-off-in-mobile-phones-vs-mobile-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/12\/06\/the-cost-trade-off-in-mobile-phones-vs-mobile-plans.html","title":{"rendered":"The cost trade-off in mobile phones vs mobile plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the US, the traditional way to get a mobile phone is through a big provider. They cut you a sweet discount for the phone (and let you know they are doing so) and, in return, charge you extra for the plan for a two year contract.<\/p>\n

Some folks have argued that it's a better deal\u00a0to buy your own phone "full price" and then get a cheaper plan to use on it — but Americans seem to like their discounted phones and the convenience of using them.<\/p>\n

Now T-Mobile is dropping those subsidized phones, in exchange for significantly cheaper plans. Will other carriers follow suit?<\/p>\n

Reshared post from +Terrence Lui<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Will US Consumers Give Up Their Subsidy?<\/b><\/p>\n

T-mobile announced today that they are going to completely get rid of any phone subsidy in 2013. \u00a0You read that right. \u00a0Basically, anyone who signs up with T-Mobile now will have to pay full price for any phone they want (they can always bring their own from another carrier) and in exchange they will get a much lower, unsubsidized, rate plan. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Many of you who follow me regularly know I have written about this often. \u00a0You can actually save a lot of money by buying your phone upfront and finding one of the prepaid unlimited deals that are out there that range between $30 and $45 a month. \u00a0This is even more true now that you can get a great phone like the Nexus 4 for only $299. \u00a0(That is when it's available) \u00a0But none of the major carriers have been bold enough to break away from the crowd and actually go with it as their full strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I love that T-mobile is trying. \u00a0I'm not sure it will work; I think US customers have a death grip on their phone subsidies even if it isn't the right thing for them in the long run. \u00a0But sometimes if you want to succeed in life, you have to take bold risks. \u00a0It will be interesting to see if T-mobile can get the message across.<\/p>\n

What do you think, is there any chance that T-mobile's strategy will succeed or will US customers hold on to their phone subsidy to their dying breath?<\/p>\n

http:\/\/gigaom.com\/mobile\/t-mobile-ceo-confirms-the-iphone-and-the-death-of-phone-subsidies\/<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Embedded Link<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tT-Mobile CEO confirms the iPhone and the death of phone subsidies<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAt Deutsche Telekom’s analyst conference, T-Mobile CEO John Legere revealed that T-Mo’s deal with Apple will include the iPhone, but it will also coincide with a radical change in its pricing. It’s el…\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Google+:<\/strong> View post on Google+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the US, the traditional way to get a mobile phone is through a big provider. They cut you a sweet discount for the phone (and let you know they are doing so) and, in return, charge you extra for the plan for a two year contract. Some folks have argued that it's a better … Continue reading “The cost trade-off in mobile phones vs mobile plans”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":134019,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/08\/02\/because-why-do-the-poor-need-mobile-phones-or-internet-connections.html","url_meta":{"origin":31637,"position":0},"title":"Because why do the poor need mobile phones or Internet connections?","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 2-Aug-17 7:52am","format":false,"excerpt":"I mean, it's not like such things are, I don't know, useful to get a job, pay bills, stay in contact with family, call 911, get access to remote education, or enjoy various services that we Normal People Who Don't Have the Gall to Be Poor take for granted.Thus, GOP\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2891,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/09\/09\/a_hard_cell.html","url_meta":{"origin":31637,"position":1},"title":"A hard cell","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 9-Sep-02 7:58am","format":false,"excerpt":"US businesses are having to rethink their mobile commerce plans. Seems folks in the US really aren't that interested in web browsing with their cell phones to see what their...","rel":"","context":"In "Hi-Tech"","block_context":{"text":"Hi-Tech","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/hi-tech"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":137393,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/10\/24\/mobile-phones-are-really-inconvenient-for-writers.html","url_meta":{"origin":31637,"position":2},"title":"Mobile phones are really inconvenient … for writers","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 24-Oct-18 9:17pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Not just for horror movies. Being unable to reach another person, or to be reached, or not being sure where you are or where an address is, not being able to find information ... these were great tools for ratcheting up tension or creating obstacles in everything from mysteries to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":135544,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/12\/05\/musings-history-area-codes.html","url_meta":{"origin":31637,"position":3},"title":"Musings on the History of Area Codes","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 5-Dec-17 10:40am","format":false,"excerpt":"The Area Code was well established by the time I was starting to learn phone numbers. I do remember having an area code change on me as a kid in Southern California, and remember when, after moving to Denver, we went through the \"trauma\" of overlaying the new 720 on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/telephone-old.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":131533,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/09\/14\/beginning-to-look-at-my-next-mobile-phone.html","url_meta":{"origin":31637,"position":4},"title":"Beginning to look at my next mobile phone","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 14-Sep-16 9:22am","format":false,"excerpt":"My original generation Moto X is beginning to get a little long in the tooth, so I'm starting to look at new model phones coming out. The new Google Nexus Pixel phones are a real possibility, even if they use USB-C (which means yet more cable purchasing, though there are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10421,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/01\/20\/um_no_thanks_ill_just_use.html","url_meta":{"origin":31637,"position":5},"title":"Um … no thanks … I’ll just use this nice clean pay phone over here …","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 20-Jan-07 12:24pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Cell phones are, um, a scosh filthy. Mobile phone retailer Dial-a-Phone conducted the study taking swabs from everyday objects and analyzing the bacteria found on them. 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