Hello Kay and others, I am only an occasional visitor to the United States from Canada, but as far as I know there is no reason why you shouldn't shop around once your contract is done and you want to keep your phone for another year or 2. You might even want to check with T-Mobile since they have some very attractively priced plans. Here is my thought on getting a subsidized phone:
Facts/assumptions: 1. AT&T charges $199, $299 and $399 for the iPhone 16, 32 and 64 Gb, respectively, if you buy it on a 2-year plan. 2. These phones at full price are $650, $750 and $850 respectively at full price, so regardless which phone you buy, you get a $450 discount on your phone. 3. Over the duration of a 2-year contract, this $450 saving translates into $18.75 per month. Conclusion: If you can find a plan where if you bring a non-contract, unlocked phone to the table, you pay at least $20 a month less than what AT&T offers you at the time you get the subsidized phone and if you can afford to spend the extra $450 up front, then in my opinion anybody is better off to just buy the phone and go with the cheaper plan. Paying $20 a month less means over 2 years you save $480 which means your save your additional $450 investment + $30. This way you have full control over your phone, maybe a year down the road you find an even cheaper plan and if you own your phone and are on a month-to-month contract you can switch plans or go to a different provider at any time. Lastly, if you want to sell your phone it is already unlocked which makes it more valueable and easier to sell. AT&T will unlock the phone after your contract is over, but it's one less thing you have to do and maybe in a year the next iPhone is so super cool that you really want to get it, but you can't because you are stuck in a contract, no problem if you own your phone. Regards, Sieghard -----Original Message----- From: viphone@googlegroups.com [mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Kay Malmquist Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 8:37 AM To: viphone@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: The future of my iPhone 4 Here in the US, AT&T has a to go plan that is $60 a month and has two gigs of data unlimited talk blah blah blah. So why would anybody want to go with a contract plan that is minimum $80 a month, and then you only have one gig of data. Anybody have any reason why when my contract runs out I shouldn't go this route? Sent from my iPhone On Aug 9, 2013, at 10:34 AM, Christopher Chaltain <chalt...@gmail.com> wrote: > I'm sure people have, and people definitely should, but have you checked out some of those convoluted plans lately and the almost inaccessible web pages you need to navigate to read up on them? It's also a good idea to know what your options are before talking to someone from your local store, who may be pushing some particular option or plan. > > For me, I'm OK with people talking about different plan options on list. I just use the delete key if I'm not interested. > > On 08/09/2013 10:16 AM, Harmony Neil wrote: >> Has no one heard of going to their local mobile phone store? Or go one better and look online? > > -- > Christopher (CJ) > chaltain at Gmail > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. > > Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. > > Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. > > Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. > > Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > > More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. > --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VIPhone" Google Group. Post a new message to VIPhone by emailing viphone@googlegroups.com. Search and view the VIPhone archives by visiting http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. Reach the VIPhone owner and moderators by emailing viphone+ow...@googlegroups.com. Unsubscribe and leave VIPhone by emailing viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. More VIPhone group options can be found by visiting http://groups.google.com/group/viphone?hl=en. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
