I never pay more. I just extend the plan I have and get a phone at the discounted price. I like my service and I am not going anywhere.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums
I'd wager you're paying more monthly than someone who buys their phone unsubsidized. The caveat would be if you're grandfathered into a plan that's better than anything currently being offered.
Currently, if a person buys a subsidized phone from tmobile, then they'd be paying $20 more per month. . The cost of a comparable subsidized phone is at least $200. Over the course of a year, the person with a subsidized phone would be paying an additional $240 into their plan. That comes out to $440 (price of a gnex after tax and shipping). So either route is about even after a year (although that doesn't include the tax paid on subsidized phone). The 2nd year, the person with the subsidized phone has to pay another $240 extra in the plan and is now that much farther behind in the price comparison.
So over a 2 year period, the person with the subsidized phone would pay approximately $255 more than the person with the unsubsidized phone based on current plans.
Carriers love subsidized phones for a reason and it's not for saving the customer money. It's akin to a loan with high interest. Less up front but they get theirs in the long run.
As for the GNex, I haven't seen any issues with my screen. Either there are a few duds or people are exaggerating.