Apple Now Selling Unlocked iPhone 4 in U.S.

[tasset]

When will Apple/ATT start to unlock out-of-contract iPhones?

Yes I wonder that as well, but WHY should we have to wait until its out-of-contract anyway? The contract gives them what they want: guaranteed revenue stream. And if we leave then they recoup their subsidy with the Early Termination Fee, so the carrier is not out much of anything if at all.
To me, locking the phone is just anti-consumer effectively reducing your phone to a brick if you have the nerve to switch providers. And carriers wonder why they are hated so much...

 

[MacManTexas56]

Where are you going to pick up and leave for? Especially if you just spent $700 on a phone that doesn't work to its full ability on any other carrier? You can still pick up and leave for the ETF which is basically the equivalent of buying the phone outright.

it gives you options if you want to move back and forth between tmobile/AT&T etc. If you want to go prepaid at tmobile etc. Again, there aren't that many options in the US like there are in other countries. I hate being in contract and being fee'd to death though. Prepaid is the way to go.

By charging you the same amount that they charge people who bought a subsidized phone through them.

Say AT&T pays $600 for an iPhone 4, then sells it to you for $200. They can do this because they lock you into a contract for 24 months and charge you enough to make that $400 back from you over that time (I'd say about $17-20 of your monthly bill is actually paying back that $400 "loan").

If you buy an unlocked phone directly from Apple, AT&T didn't have to "loan" you that $400 up front. So that extra $17-20 a month goes straight into their pocket instead of paying off that $400 "loan" they gave you on the phone.

Anyone that buys a phone outright to use on AT&T, Verizon, or most other providers is kind of getting ripped off, because they are actually paying back a subsidy that they never got in the first place.

I know exactly how subsidy works. If you are going to latch on to AT&T or verizon just like you would if you had a subsidized phone, then yes it does not make any sense to pay it outright. But if you want to go prepaid or something that is not the standard then it's a good deal.

 

[tasset]

By charging you the same amount that they charge people who bought a subsidized phone through them.

Say AT&T pays $600 for an iPhone 4, then sells it to you for $200. They can do this because they lock you into a contract for 24 months and charge you enough to make that $400 back from you over that time (I'd say about $17-20 of your monthly bill is actually paying back that $400 "loan").

If you buy an unlocked phone directly from Apple, AT&T didn't have to "loan" you that $400 up front. So that extra $17-20 a month goes straight into their pocket instead of paying off that $400 "loan" they gave you on the phone.

Anyone that buys a phone outright to use on AT&T, Verizon, or most other providers is kind of getting ripped off, because they are actually paying back a subsidy that they never got in the first place.

Exactly. Nice to see so many others backing into the subsidy math. Carriers should be more transparent about the subsidy being recouped in the monthly fee and offer a service discount of $20-$30 for anyone who provides their own equipment.

 

[thatrandomguy]

it gives you options if you want to move back and forth between tmobile/AT&T etc. If you want to go prepaid at tmobile etc. Again, there aren't that many options in the US like there are in other countries. I hate being in contract and being fee'd to death though. Prepaid is the way to go.

From what I've read you'll only get EDGE speeds on T-Mobile unfortunately :|

 

[MacManTexas56]

From what I've read you'll only get EDGE speeds on T-Mobile unfortunately :|

yup if you want data that's correct.

 

[RichardF]

One question: ETF on at&t is $325 - $10 for each month of service you complete with the carrier.

So at the end of the 2 years if you want to terminate your contract, you still owe at&t $325-$240= $85?

Am I getting this wrong?

Here is the link to the at&t page: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-resources/early-term-fees.jsp

 

[MacManTexas56]

Exactly. Nice to see so many others backing into the subsidy math. Carriers should be more transparent about the subsidy being recouped in the monthly fee and offer a service discount of $20-$30 for anyone who provides their own equipment.

that's the problem with carriers in the USA. They want as much money as they can get. Hence locking you into long contracts, forcing data plans on users with smartphones etc.

Most people still don't understand how the subsidy works anyways. Everyone is so used to how the carriers in the USA operate that they go along with it. Why has it become the standard that the average cell phone bill is $100/month? that's crazy.

 

[thatrandomguy]

Exactly. Nice to see so many others backing into the subsidy math. Carriers should be more transparent about the subsidy being recouped in the monthly fee and offer a service discount of $20-$30 for anyone who provides their own equipment.

Agreed. I think the current contract system sucks in the US. The transparency of phone pricing is awful and with no service discounts there's little incentive to buy an unlocked phone at full price.

 

[Beerstalker]

From what I've read you'll only get EDGE speeds on T-Mobile unfortunately :|

For now, yes. With the iPhone4s/5 they could change it to where it could work on either AT&T or T-mobile for 3G (probably even HSPDA+ on both). Assuming they sell the 4s/5 unlocked.

 

[Zyaama]

I should have clarified and used US state population since the EU is a growing membership of countries. My point is that it's not a valid comparison in surveys using the statistical term "average." I love how Europeans use the entire EU membership as a group to criticize one sole country, USA.

Actually, we just use it to compare, not to criticize, since that brings us to slightly more similar numbers in population size, and the economic legislation for most of the European countries by now follows the same rules. If you prefer to use any of the larger member states alone for comparison, I'm sure nobody will mind. I'm afraid though, that if you do that, you will feel even more criticized, but there's nothing we can do about that...

 

[zin]

not like the VAT and high taxes have anything to do with this

if i was in england i would be glad to pay this since it pays for the royal socialized medicine

Sorry, the tax doesn’t have anything to do with it. A previous poster already compared the prices without tax. However, this is another argument for another thread.

Does this mean you US customers can use your iPhone 4's on any network other than AT&T and Verizon?

 

[thatrandomguy]

One question: ETF on at&t is $325 - $10 for each month of service you complete with the carrier.

So at the end of the 2 years if you want to terminate your contract, you still owe at&t $325-$240= $85?

Am I getting this wrong?

Here is the link to the at&t page: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-resources/early-term-fees.jsp

No, the ETF dies two years after signing the contract. It's just right up until then (1 yr + 364 days), you would calculate your ETF using that formula.

 

[ChrisA]

Geez, do unlocked phones usually cost this much?

"Locked" phones cost even more but you don't notice because the loan payments are folded into the monthly bill.

 

[MacManTexas56]

One question: ETF on at&t is $325 - $10 for each month of service you complete with the carrier.

So at the end of the 2 years if you want to terminate your contract, you still owe at&t $325-$240= $85?

Am I getting this wrong?

Here is the link to the at&t page: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-resources/early-term-fees.jsp

once your contract is over they can't charge you anything. It's for if you cancel it with like 1 month left they can still charge a hefty fee.

 

[notjustjay]

If you buy an unlocked phone directly from Apple, AT&T didn't have to "loan" you that $400 up front. So that extra $17-20 a month goes straight into their pocket instead of paying off that $400 "loan" they gave you on the phone.

Anyone that buys a phone outright to use on AT&T, Verizon, or most other providers is kind of getting ripped off, because they are actually paying back a subsidy that they never got in the first place.

Exactly. Nice to see so many others backing into the subsidy math. Carriers should be more transparent about the subsidy being recouped in the monthly fee and offer a service discount of $20-$30 for anyone who provides their own equipment.

It took me a long time to realize this, and once I did, I finally got my iPhone, something I was waffling about for years (!) because I was hesitant about signing contracts. I didn't like the idea of being locked in for 3 years, or paying cancellation fees if I changed my mind. I thought seriously about buying the unlocked iPhone (which has always been available in Canada).

Then I realized what you guys have stated above -- that whether I get an unlocked phone or not, my monthly fee is the same. And while I hate the idea of being "locked in", the reality is I've been voluntarily staying with Fido since 1999 anyway. So why not get the cheaper phone?

 

[tigerphin]

has anyone tried to buy the $147 phone from Walmart?

 

[tasset]

One question: ETF on at&t is $325 - $10 for each month of service you complete with the carrier.

So at the end of the 2 years if you want to terminate your contract, you still owe at&t $325-$240= $85?

Am I getting this wrong?

Here is the link to the at&t page: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-resources/early-term-fees.jsp

That's carrier math for you. No after 2 years you are free to walk without penalty. But they reduce the ETF in such a way so that if you cancel in the last few months you effectively pay a higher ETF than you should have to, in hopes they can offer you another subsidized phone and continue the crack cocaine addiction under contract.

 

[MacManTexas56]

why not just buy the $199 phone, pay early termination and jailbreak?

you don't just pay $199+$325. You have to pay that one months service also. so it ends up about the same price.

 

[BruiserB]

One question: ETF on at&t is $325 - $10 for each month of service you complete with the carrier.

So at the end of the 2 years if you want to terminate your contract, you still owe at&t $325-$240= $85?

Am I getting this wrong?

Here is the link to the at&t page: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-resources/early-term-fees.jsp

I think it's that until you meet your "service committment". So at 23 months it would be $95, but at 24 months it's zero. But who knows since little the phone companies do makes sense!

 

[dacapo]

One question: ETF on at&t is $325 - $10 for each month of service you complete with the carrier.

So at the end of the 2 years if you want to terminate your contract, you still owe at&t $325-$240= $85?

Am I getting this wrong?

Here is the link to the at&t page: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-resources/early-term-fees.jsp

I believe you are getting this wrong.

ETF is in effect when you are within 24 months.
Once your contract is up, ETF no longer applies.

So, if your contract ran out on June 30, and you terminate at June 29, then you'd owe something close to whatever your math points to.

But if you terminate on July 1 (June 30? not sure exactly), then you are no longer bound to pay an ETF at all.

EDIT: Actually "terminate" may not even be the right word once the 24 month contract has expired.

 

[Zyaama]

Nope, unfortunately. AT&T's pay as you go service is not supported on the iPhone.

Are you sure about that? I saw that At&T now offers data packages with their GoPhone Pay As You Go and assumed that this is targeted at, e.g., foreign iPhone users. That would be slightly annoying, since I have already purchased a card for my next holiday.

 

[MacManTexas56]

Are you sure about that? I saw that At&T now offers data packages with their GoPhone Pay As You Go and assumed that this is targeted at, e.g., foreign iPhone users. That would be slightly annoying, since I have already purchased a card for my next holiday.

it's not officially supported, but since it uses a sim card it is. you just have to cut a gophone regular size sim to microsim size and put in your iphone 4.

 

[dacapo]

you don't just pay $199+$325. You have to pay that one months service also. so it ends up about the same price.

Not only that, but jailbreaking does not equal unlocking.

 

[YMark]

Careful what you wish for, ATT already said it was going to migrate TMO customers to their network and use the AWS spectrum of TMO's for LTE. The actual word was that if the merger goes through, existing T-Mobile customers would have access to the iPhone that ATT currently has.

Source???

 

[rols]

that's the problem with carriers in the USA. They want as much money as they can get. Hence locking you into long contracts, forcing data plans on users with smartphones etc.

Most people still don't understand how the subsidy works anyways. Everyone is so used to how the carriers in the USA operate that they go along with it. Why has it become the standard that the average cell phone bill is $100/month? that's crazy.

Exactly. Here in Singapore my monthly phone bill is about 30 S$, or about $25, that includes all the calls I really make and more data than I know what to do with including tethering .. oh and I got my phone subsidized too, wasn't free, but it had a decent discount.

I do not understand US mobile phone pricing.

However until they start offering discounts for your-own-phone there's no reason to buy one unlocked. Now unlocked is available however .. I hope that the games begin.