Tmobile selling nexus 4 on-contract for $100 in-store!!

[lightyear420]

I read all Tmobile stores now have the nexus 4 in stock, so I went down to try before I buy, and lo and behold I saw this sign glaring back at me. The manager says to the best of his knowledge, there is no end date for the rebate promotion, and $150 is the regular permanent in-store price on-contract. I'll admit. I had a hard time walking away not buying one, to wait out the play store restock, after playing with it.

 

[Hubertsng]

and it sold out in a day or so!

 

[minnemike]

Contract price is over $700 more than bringing your own phone in and paying the value contract price- added up over 2 years. Still way cheaper to buy an inflated price N4 on ebay. Of course, that is the game you play when you don't have the capital to just throw down for a purchase and living check to check.

 

[Mac58]

Why does the thread say $100 if the sign says $150?

 

[lightyear420]

and it sold out in a day or so!

Actually, there are 8 at the store where this pic was taken and 12 in the store across town. They may be sold out online, but this thread is only about in-store purchases.

Why does the thread say $100 if the sign says $150?

because $150 is the price out the door. there is a $50 mail in rebate that comes with it, bringing the price down to $100 It's hard to read it, but it says there's a $50 rebate in the black box under the $150 price. I took this with the N4 display model, btw...you'd think it would be clearer for an 8mp cam

 

[Hubertsng]

LOL? You took the picture with the N4 on display? That's pretty funny . The camera is known to be horrible too but it does have HDR (not really new) and 13MP front facing.

 

[FYourProblems]

A free Nexus 4 wouldn't be worth signing a contract when you can get it for $300 otherwise.

 

[saeufer]

Math time! (maths time for you Brits)

We're going to pretend the prepaid $30 plan that so many of us love doesn't exist because there's no comparable plan.

All plans compared include unlimited voice and SMS/MMS. Contract plans are $10 cheaper if limited to 500 minutes on-peak (still unlimited nights & weekends)
Standard plan (contract, subsidy) is $80 for 2GB, $90 for unlimited data.
Value plan (contract, no subsidy) is $60 for 2GB, $70 for unlimited data.
Monthly 4G plan (prepaid) is likewise $60 for 2GB, $70 for unlimited data. (so all you get from the value plan's contract is data roaming, which is of questionable utility in some parts of the country)

So, the difference between subsidized phones and unsubsidized is $20/mo, or $480 over two years, making the true cost of that phone $580. Ouch. According to the small print, you can 'finance' on the value plan for an additional $20/mo for 20mos, so it's a $500 phone. This is grade 5 math, folks, and your current cellphone has a calculator on it if you need help

People are bad at math. That's why so many people get screwed by the car dealer "oh, you can take this car home for $X a month". Same deal here--it's clearly the better financial decision to pay $350 now vs. $580 over the course of two years, especially when 1% interest on savings is an amazing rate.

Now we'll throw in the prepaid plans we love. The $30 plan vs. the $70 500min/2GB contract plan is a difference of $960 over two years. The Straight Talk $45 plan (with ~2GB) vs the $80 unl/2GB contract plan is a difference of $840 over two years. $840 buys a $350 16GB N4 and still leaves you $490 to spend on beer.

Also, unless they raised it very recently, T-Mobile's ETF is a flat $200, so if you're willing to use T-Mo for a month and hassle with cancelling you can have this phone for $300. Nice.

That picture is not normal; it looks like a motion blur so my guess is that HDR was on. I've gotten some pretty amazing shots out of it, though. It's no iPhone camera but I certainly wouldn't call it terrible. The multiple exposures required to do HDR mean that it'll ruin indoor shots. Set properly, I can read the text on the papers when I take a picture of my desk.

 

[TheLibertarian]

LOL? You took the picture with the N4 on display? That's pretty funny . The camera is known to be horrible too but it does have HDR (not really new) and 13MP front facing.

What on Earth are you even trying to say here?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[Hubertsng]

What on Earth are you even trying to say here?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

words that can be construed into a sentence if one reads it in the correct fashion. Well i'm not sure what you are confused about.

- - - Updated - - -

Math time! (maths time for you Brits)

We're going to pretend the prepaid $30 plan that so many of us love doesn't exist because there's no comparable plan.

All plans compared include unlimited voice and SMS/MMS. Contract plans are $10 cheaper if limited to 500 minutes on-peak (still unlimited nights & weekends)
Standard plan (contract, subsidy) is $80 for 2GB, $90 for unlimited data.
Value plan (contract, no subsidy) is $60 for 2GB, $70 for unlimited data.
Monthly 4G plan (prepaid) is likewise $60 for 2GB, $70 for unlimited data. (so all you get from the value plan's contract is data roaming, which is of questionable utility in some parts of the country)

So, the difference between subsidized phones and unsubsidized is $20/mo, or $480 over two years, making the true cost of that phone $580. Ouch. According to the small print, you can 'finance' on the value plan for an additional $20/mo for 20mos, so it's a $500 phone. This is grade 5 math, folks, and your current cellphone has a calculator on it if you need help

People are bad at math. That's why so many people get screwed by the car dealer "oh, you can take this car home for $X a month". Same deal here--it's clearly the better financial decision to pay $350 now vs. $580 over the course of two years, especially when 1% interest on savings is an amazing rate.

Now we'll throw in the prepaid plans we love. The $30 plan vs. the $70 500min/2GB contract plan is a difference of $960 over two years. The Straight Talk $45 plan (with ~2GB) vs the $80 unl/2GB contract plan is a difference of $840 over two years. $840 buys a $350 16GB N4 and still leaves you $490 to spend on beer.

Also, unless they raised it very recently, T-Mobile's ETF is a flat $200, so if you're willing to use T-Mo for a month and hassle with cancelling you can have this phone for $300. Nice.

That picture is not normal; it looks like a motion blur so my guess is that HDR was on. I've gotten some pretty amazing shots out of it, though. It's no iPhone camera but I certainly wouldn't call it terrible. The multiple exposures required to do HDR mean that it'll ruin indoor shots. Set properly, I can read the text on the papers when I take a picture of my desk.

can't you end your contract early and just pay 200 or so? That's almost 350. kind of. dunno

 

[kelmino]

can't you end your contract early and just pay 200 or so? That's almost 350. kind of. dunno

I was always under the impression that they would charge you the full price of the phone PLUS the 200 ETF fee, so bringing it to 700 (500 for the phone at T Mobile)

 

[Lanhoj]

...
I took this with the N4 display model
...

Classic!

 

[lightyear420]

Math time! (maths time for you Brits)

We're going to pretend the prepaid $30 plan that so many of us love doesn't exist because there's no comparable plan.

All plans compared include unlimited voice and SMS/MMS. Contract plans are $10 cheaper if limited to 500 minutes on-peak (still unlimited nights & weekends)
Standard plan (contract, subsidy) is $80 for 2GB, $90 for unlimited data.
Value plan (contract, no subsidy) is $60 for 2GB, $70 for unlimited data.
Monthly 4G plan (prepaid) is likewise $60 for 2GB, $70 for unlimited data. (so all you get from the value plan's contract is data roaming, which is of questionable utility in some parts of the country)

So, the difference between subsidized phones and unsubsidized is $20/mo, or $480 over two years, making the true cost of that phone $580. Ouch. According to the small print, you can 'finance' on the value plan for an additional $20/mo for 20mos, so it's a $500 phone. This is grade 5 math, folks, and your current cellphone has a calculator on it if you need help

People are bad at math. That's why so many people get screwed by the car dealer "oh, you can take this car home for $X a month". Same deal here--it's clearly the better financial decision to pay $350 now vs. $580 over the course of two years, especially when 1% interest on savings is an amazing rate.

Now we'll throw in the prepaid plans we love. The $30 plan vs. the $70 500min/2GB contract plan is a difference of $960 over two years. The Straight Talk $45 plan (with ~2GB) vs the $80 unl/2GB contract plan is a difference of $840 over two years. $840 buys a $350 16GB N4 and still leaves you $490 to spend on beer.

Also, unless they raised it very recently, T-Mobile's ETF is a flat $200, so if you're willing to use T-Mo for a month and hassle with cancelling you can have this phone for $300. Nice.

That picture is not normal; it looks like a motion blur so my guess is that HDR was on. I've gotten some pretty amazing shots out of it, though. It's no iPhone camera but I certainly wouldn't call it terrible. The multiple exposures required to do HDR mean that it'll ruin indoor shots. Set properly, I can read the text on the papers when I take a picture of my desk.

No one here is contesting the fact that off-contract prices are actually cheaper over the same two year span a contract would entail. My entire point posting this was not to persuade anyone to buy it on contract. It was just to let people know the price. If anyone was on the fence about it, this may be the one positive they needed to pull the trigger.

Also, if you walk into a tmobile store you will notice that they don't have very many other devices for $100 on contract, and those they do have are either really old and the price was lowered to that point, or they are a low- to mid-range device and the price reflects the quality. I'd challenge anyone to find a better phone from any carrier for $100 with a 2 year contract. If buying outright just isn't in your budget because that means having all the cash up front and a contract is your only option, this is your deal!! I totally understand if this is the case, by the way. I can only afford it because I'm buying mine with my tax refund....otherwise there's no way in hell I would ever afford to have enough cash all at once to buy something this expensive.

While you are 100% correct about the price across a two year service plan being more it's just not always an option, and I think people need to start respecting that and throwing it in other people's faces when they hear someone is buying a device on contract.

one final note....the total subsidized cost of the phone is $500. It's $100 after the rebate, then $20 for 20 months....dunno where you got 480 from, but that's $400. Now, if you buy the phone off-contract from tmobile it's $550....the normal online price if you don't get it from google directly. So if you consider that in the United States, the only place to buy this phone right now is at a physical tmobile store, then buying it on contract is actually $50 cheaper than buying it off contract since the on contract final price is $500 and off contract it's $550. If you want the phone today and you simply can't wait for google to get fresh stock of them, then this is truly your best bet right now.

 

[TheLibertarian]

words that can be construed into a sentence if one reads it in the correct fashion. Well i'm not sure what you are confused about.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Read in a correct fashion? Let's start with writing in the proper, English fashion first.

 

[Hubertsng]

I was always under the impression that they would charge you the full price of the phone PLUS the 200 ETF fee, so bringing it to 700 (500 for the phone at T Mobile)

oh... well that just sucks lol. I don't know, never tried an ETF

 

[Hubertsng]

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Read in a correct fashion? Let's start with writing in the proper, English fashion first.

if you read the sentence in the correct fashion, you won't read it as that well construed you are if about reads correct can fashion i'm can words not it what in confused.
How about you understand the statement first because there is nothing wrong with it.

 

[bobjohnson201]

if you read the sentence in the correct fashion, you won't read it as that well construed you are if about reads correct can fashion i'm can words not it what in confused.
How about you understand the statement first because there is nothing wrong with it.

...what did we discuss about your grammar earlier? there is absolutely no coherence in your statement.

 

[saeufer]

If buying outright just isn't in your budget because that means having all the cash up front and a contract is your only option, this is your deal!! I totally understand if this is the case, by the way. I can only afford it because I'm buying mine with my tax refund....otherwise there's no way in hell I would ever afford to have enough cash all at once to buy something this expensive.

While you are 100% correct about the price across a two year service plan being more it's just not always an option, and I think people need to start respecting that and throwing it in other people's faces when they hear someone is buying a device on contract.

one final note....the total subsidized cost of the phone is $500. It's $100 after the rebate, then $20 for 20 months....dunno where you got 480 from, but that's $400. Now, if you buy the phone off-contract from tmobile it's $550....the normal online price if you don't get it from google directly. So if you consider that in the United States, the only place to buy this phone right now is at a physical tmobile store, then buying it on contract is actually $50 cheaper than buying it off contract since the on contract final price is $500 and off contract it's $550. If you want the phone today and you simply can't wait for google to get fresh stock of them, then this is truly your best bet right now.

I'm not going to get into personal finance here but to say that if you haven't got $300-350 you can spend on a phone, you shouldn't be buying the N4. End of story. Paying $900 for a $350 phone is a recipe for staying poor, just the same as payday loans and buying cars on credit from buy-here-pay-here lots are financial death sentences. So, no, I'm not going to respect that buying phones outright isn't always an option--first, in some countries (where subsidy locks are banned) it's the only way to go and they manage just fine. Second, there are plenty of less expensive phones out there for people who can't afford the top-of-the-line ones. I'd love to have a BMW 7-series, but a 15-year-old dualsport motorcycle is what fits my budget so that's how I get around.

As for $580/480, read my post. It's quite clear where I got the number--the difference between "value" and "classic" over two years is $480, and the phone is $100 on "classic" plans, which are the subsidized plans.

If you go for "value", you pay 'only' $500/400 for it, but that's not subsidized--that's you financing the phone at $20/mo over 20mos. Again there's some grade 5 math involved: if you cancel a value plan halfway through, you owe the balance of the financed device in addition to the ETF. If you cancel a classic plan halfway through, you do not. T-Mobile's move from subsidized plans to financed devices kicks the can down the road--your road. Glossing over some legal implications, suffice it to say that it's in T-Mobile's best interest to have you making payments on a phone rather than paying the very same amount for service with a subsidized device.

As for the 'best bet right now', I don't get it. The Nexus 4 is sweet. I love it. But one of the things that makes it sweet is that my 8GB cost $300. If I were somehow unable to wait (say, broken phone and need something better than a $50 eBay special), I'd just get something else. It's just a smartphone; there will be better ones in mere months. Plus, at $500 you're into GS3 territory--and there's no shortage of those out there. (for the record, T-Mobile will sell you a GS3 for $550. I'm sure better deals are out there.)

 

[TheLibertarian]

if you read the sentence in the correct fashion, you won't read it as that well construed you are if about reads correct can fashion i'm can words not it what in confused.
How about you understand the statement first because there is nothing wrong with it.

LOL? You took the picture with the N4 on display? That's pretty funny . The camera is known to be horrible too but it does have HDR (not really new) and 13MP front facing.

1) Why did you mention HDR? It was irrelevant to any part of the discussion. 2) A 13MP front camera? Kid, you do not make sense. I apologize if English is not your first language, though that would at least explain the words you're attempting to pass off as coherent sentences.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[lightyear420]

I'm not going to get into personal finance here but to say that if you haven't got $300-350 you can spend on a phone, you shouldn't be buying the N4. End of story. Paying $900 for a $350 phone is a recipe for staying poor, just the same as payday loans and buying cars on credit from buy-here-pay-here lots are financial death sentences. So, no, I'm not going to respect that buying phones outright isn't always an option--first, in some countries (where subsidy locks are banned) it's the only way to go and they manage just fine. Second, there are plenty of less expensive phones out there for people who can't afford the top-of-the-line ones. I'd love to have a BMW 7-series, but a 15-year-old dualsport motorcycle is what fits my budget so that's how I get around.

As for $580/480, read my post. It's quite clear where I got the number--the difference between "value" and "classic" over two years is $480, and the phone is $100 on "classic" plans, which are the subsidized plans.

If you go for "value", you pay 'only' $500/400 for it, but that's not subsidized--that's you financing the phone at $20/mo over 20mos. Again there's some grade 5 math involved: if you cancel a value plan halfway through, you owe the balance of the financed device in addition to the ETF. If you cancel a classic plan halfway through, you do not. T-Mobile's move from subsidized plans to financed devices kicks the can down the road--your road. Glossing over some legal implications, suffice it to say that it's in T-Mobile's best interest to have you making payments on a phone rather than paying the very same amount for service with a subsidized device.

As for the 'best bet right now', I don't get it. The Nexus 4 is sweet. I love it. But one of the things that makes it sweet is that my 8GB cost $300. If I were somehow unable to wait (say, broken phone and need something better than a $50 eBay special), I'd just get something else. It's just a smartphone; there will be better ones in mere months. Plus, at $500 you're into GS3 territory--and there's no shortage of those out there. (for the record, T-Mobile will sell you a GS3 for $550. I'm sure better deals are out there.)

Ok, you're really doing a good job at pushing my buttons!! You have absolutely NO RIGHT to tell me what to do with my money!!! Fo your information, I currently own a nexus s 4g that costs me $80 a month, which I have to scrape together just to afford. If I buy a n4 it may cost an arm and a leg to me, but I then save $50/month which pays for the phone in the first 6 months of service, when compared to my current contract plan. So in reality, I'm setting myself up to be more financially stable by buying this device.

second....THERE IS NO 2 YEAR PAYMENT PLAN!!!!!! 24 MONTHS IS NOT EVEN IN THIS CONVERSATION!!!!! The payments are for 20 months. 20x20=400......now if it were 24 months of $20 payments it would be $480, BUT IT IS NOT!!!! So stop insulting my math abilities! I'm just not that stupid. The final cost of this phone could be one of two prices: $550 to buy off-contract, or $500 on contract in $20 payments after the first $100 down. THERE IS NO THIRD PRICE SO GET THAT OUT OF YOUR HEAD!!

Why on earth would anyone put a GS3 in the same clas with a nexus 4? That just shows me you have NO CLUE what you're talking about. GS3 has a 2x exynos cpu. Nexus 4 has a 4x snapdragon pro. If you're looking to buy a nexus 4 why one earth would anyone settle for a device that's got a cpu with half the speed? The N4's chip blows the hell out of the exynos....making the exynos is a lower class because of the almost 2011-grade specs. Yeah....let me jump right on that, since they are the same price as the better one which is the device I really want, right?

Now that you've officially been owned you can feel free to stop trolling my thread!