Does nobody want this??

[TBolt]

I'm not willing to shut myself out of whatever advantages they end up bringing to the table over the contract period.

VZW is charging less $ for phones without contracts. This is how I intend to purchase all my new phones now that the 1-yr contract option is gone - pay full price and upgrade whenever the hell I want to. hehe

Verizon Continues with Lowered Full Retail Pricing, DROID Incredible 2 at just $439 - Droid Life: A Droid Community Blog

 

[purplehaze67]

VZW is charging less $ for phones without contracts. This is how I intend to purchase all my new phones now that the 1-yr contract option is gone - pay full price and upgrade whenever the hell I want to. hehe

Verizon Continues with Lowered Full Retail Pricing, DROID Incredible 2 at just $439 - Droid Life: A Droid Community Blog

Thanks! Maybe not a bad option to consider, but even still $439 is a decent chunk of change for what I'd be using as a stop-gap. And as far as I know (and I could easily be wrong) Verizon doesn't offer any discount on the phone plan if you are not getting a subsidized phone. That seems like a bad deal to me. If I am not taking the phone discount, why am I not gaining somewhere else?

 

[TBolt]

And as far as I know (and I could easily be wrong) Verizon doesn't offer any discount on the phone plan if you are not getting a subsidized phone.

What plan discounts would they give you if you purchased a subsidized phone? Are you talking about a corporate discount?

Aside from the % discount I get from my employer, I know of no other discounts that would benefit regular consumers. Your explanation is appreciated.

 

[purplehaze67]

What plan discounts would they give you if you purchased a subsidized phone? Are you talking about a corporate discount?

Aside from the % discount I get from my employer, I know of no other discounts that would benefit regular consumers. Your explanation is appreciated.

I guess I did a poor job of getting my thoughts out there...

If I walk in today and sign up on a new, 2-year plan, I get a substantial price break on the phone. However, if I choose to pay full retail on the phone, I am still subject to the same plan costs, just as if I had taken the phone subsidy.

IMO, part of the plan cost is going toward making up the discounted cost of the phone. But at a full retail phone purchase, there is no subsidy to make up for. Therefore, it would make sense to me to offer a plan discount for those who do not use the new-contract pricing to get a cheaper phone.

Or am I way off in left-field on this line of thinking?

 

[tack]

I guess I did a poor job of getting my thoughts out there...

If I walk in today and sign up on a new, 2-year plan, I get a substantial price break on the phone. However, if I choose to pay full retail on the phone, I am still subject to the same plan costs, just as if I had taken the phone subsidy.

IMO, part of the plan cost is going toward making up the discounted cost of the phone. But at a full retail phone purchase, there is no subsidy to make up for. Therefore, it would make sense to me to offer a plan discount for those who do not use the new-contract pricing to get a cheaper phone.

Or am I way off in left-field on this line of thinking?

I think you are correct, but the subsidy might be more linked to securing you for another two years. If you buy the phone at full retail you don't extend your contract at all. That puts the carrier a risk you might jump ship to another company.

 

[purplehaze67]

I think you are correct, but the subsidy might be more linked to securing you for another two years. If you buy the phone at full retail you don't extend your contract at all. That puts the carrier a risk you might jump ship to another company.

True, but what does that actually cost the carrier? I paid full retail for the phone and paid my monthly bill for whatever period of time I used the service, before jumping off. They made money on the phone and on each bill, up to the time I left.

 

[TBolt]

I see what you mean. In a perfect world, we'd pay less for airtime after buying the phone at full retail cost. We're just not that lucky, though.

Considering that significant upgrades will likely come in every 12 months, though, I'm willing to pay full retail - especially at reduced prices - just for the convenience of being able to upgrade whenever I want to. The 2-yr lock has always felt a bit too long at the typical pace of innovation.

 

[purplehaze67]

I see what you mean. In a perfect world, we'd pay less for airtime after buying the phone at full retail cost. We're just not that lucky, though.

Considering that significant upgrades will likely come in every 12 months, though, I'm willing to pay full retail - especially at reduced prices - just for the convenience of being able to upgrade whenever I want to. The 2-yr lock has always felt a bit too long at the typical pace of innovation.

Yep, especially in the last 6-ish months, things are changing fast. I'm not one who has to have the cutting-edge, latest and greatest device, especially if that's going to run me around $400 a year just for the phone.

I do want my next phone to be 4G for sure, and probably dual-core but I haven't done my research as to all the possible advantages, to decide if it's a nice-to-have or a must. If it's just a matter of being faster, I don't need to have it but if there are eventually apps or services that only work on dual-core equipment, I'll most likely be needing it.

 

[TBolt]

decide if it's a nice-to-have or a must. If it's just a matter of being faster, I don't need to have it but if there are eventually apps or services that only work on dual-core equipment, I'll most likely be needing it.

Sounds like a reasonable approach. We'll see how resource intensive the apps become. If battery performance would ever evolve already (dammit!), I'm sure we'd see some cool apps (and cars).

 

[Regulator]

My mistake. I was talking about them unlocking to use internationally while still on Vzw not so that you can use on a different carrier. I just used the international plan through Vzw which was 65 a month prorated for how many days you actually do it. I hadn't read some of the previous posts that talked about using a different carrier while overseas