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More upset about contracts than 4S

B

BuckDot

macrumors member
Original poster
May 31, 2011
79
0
Los Angeles, CA
I think a lot of the anger is kind of misdirected...

I have an iPhone 4 (Verizon) that I snuck my way into a 1 year contract (traded in my recently purchased Droid X which was on a 1 year contract under the worry free guarantee... think I pulled a fast one)

Anyways, the 4S looks like a great device. Not a redesign obviously, but it has nice specs and features. If there was a 1 year contract available, I'd probably get it, but there's not. The only choice is a 2 year agreement for a non-LTE phone... that's 2 years with obsolete technology.

I really think we're being ripped off with this 2 year contract requirement for a subsidized phone :mad:
 
appleguy123 said:
You could just buy it outright. I don't really sympathize with you. It is a $600 phone Verizon needs to recoup their investment in you somehow.
Click to expand...

You mean they don't do that with the $80 I spend with them every month? I'm not looking for sympathy by the way... verizon's reason for taking away the 1 year contract was because "people didn't use them" (doesn't matter if 1 yr pricing was in tiny print below the 2 yr super deal)
 
Just because a phone isn't the latest model doesn't make it obsolete. I've hung onto my 3GS for 2+ years and Apple still likes it enough to keep selling it.

If you got a Verizon iPhone, you would have known full well that a new iPhone was going to be announced before your contract period was up - the only person you can really cry to about that is yourself.

This is why I buy devices on launch day. I get full use out of them and there's no problem when it's time to upgrade.
 
BuckDot said:
You mean they don't do that with the $80 I spend with them every month? I'm not looking for sympathy by the way... verizon's reason for taking away the 1 year contract was because "people didn't use them" (doesn't matter if 1 yr pricing was in tiny print below the 2 yr super deal)
Click to expand...

It would take 8 months of straight payments to recoup that. And that does not include the money that Verizon needs to invest in its infrastructure.
 
rosemary1 said:
Just because a phone isn't the latest model doesn't make it obsolete. I've hung onto my 3GS for 2+ years and Apple still likes it enough to keep selling it.

If you got a Verizon iPhone, you would have known full well that a new iPhone was going to be announced before your contract period was up - the only person you can really cry to about that is yourself.

This is why I buy devices on launch day. I get full use out of them and there's no problem when it's time to upgrade.
Click to expand...

The phone isn't obsolete, but the current standard for new premium smart phones is currently LTE (or wimax if you're with Sprint). For a new premium smartphone, 3G is obsolete technology right now, even more so 2 years from now.

And I'm eligible for an upgrade this week TYVM... please read OP


----------
appleguy123 said:
It would take 8 months of straight payments to recoup that. And that does not include the money that Verizon needs to invest in its infrastructure.
Click to expand...

And in my original post I said what sucks is the lack of a 12 month commitment... I never said I should be able to buy an unlocked phone for the 2 year price without a commitment.
 
BuckDot said:
The phone isn't obsolete, but the current standard for new premium smart phones is currently LTE (or wimax if you're with Sprint). For a new premium smartphone, 3G is obsolete technology right now, even more so 2 years from now.
Click to expand...

The 3G standard is far from obsolete, especially since you pretty much have to live in a big city to have any chance at access to 4G. If that's what you're after, why would you even bother with the 4S? Stick with your current phone until the next iPhone comes out, or go Android. This situation now has nothing to do with contracts.
 
rosemary1 said:
The 3G standard is far from obsolete, especially since you pretty much have to live in a big city to have any chance at access to 4G. If that's what you're after, why would you even bother with the 4S? Stick with your current phone until the next iPhone comes out, or go Android. This situation now has nothing to do with contracts.
Click to expand...

for a $700 new model phone, yes, 3G is obsolete.
 
appleguy123 said:
You could just buy it outright. I don't really sympathize with you. It is a $600 phone Verizon needs to recoup their investment in you somehow.
Click to expand...

How would you buy it outright? Looking at their website, I see NO option to buy the phone outright - or even any full price(s) listed.

Unless you're talking about getting raped for $1,000 or whatever it'll be on eBay from the guys "flipping" phones.
 
sinsin07 said:
You're not being ripped off. No one has robbed you. It's your choice to go with whatever phone/carrier you choose.



What else could it be.
Click to expand...

Agreement.

You're absolutely right. It is my choice. But carriers have almost uniformly taken away options from customers (such as 1 year contracts) and increased fees.

Why all the "sympathy" for the carriers?

I have seen several threads about people wanting 1 year contracts for iPhones, and also remember a lot of people were upset when Verizon took away the 1 year option. Were you on here berating those people too?
 
BuckDot said:
I really think we're being ripped off with this 2 year contract requirement for a subsidized phone :mad:
Click to expand...

Why would you want a so-called "subsidized" phone?

It's not subsidized, in fact you pay definitely more.

"Subsidized" phones are a ridiculously pathetic scam.
 
BuckDot said:
I have seen several threads about people wanting 1 year contracts for iPhones, and also remember a lot of people were upset when Verizon took away the 1 year option. Were you on here berating those people too?
Click to expand...

Don't know about Verizon, but AT&T does reward some of its loyal customers by bumping up iPhone upgrades yearly.
 
Schweitzer said:
Why would you want a so-called "subsidized" phone?

It's not subsidized, in fact you pay definitely more.

"Subsidized" phones are a ridiculously pathetic scam.
Click to expand...

Completely agree.

This is why I historically always have done 1 year contracts, because you were able to get new technology every year and I thought a $60 premium over the 2 year contract was very fair.

There are obviously people on here that interpret being upset about this no longer being an option as "crying."

This is how things go in an oligopoly. It's very similar to how the airlines implemented the baggage fees... one airline started it and the rest of them followed suit.
 
Schweitzer said:
Why would you want a so-called "subsidized" phone?

It's not subsidized, in fact you pay definitely more.

"Subsidized" phones are a ridiculously pathetic scam.
Click to expand...

Even though that's true, unless you like to jump around switching carriers all the time, I don't see why not get a phone that they offer at a lower price.
Well, unless this certain carrier is giving me a lot of trouble, ie. reception issues...etc., I don't see me switching my carrier every year. But I know that I'm used to the iPhone system, so why not just get the phone for lower price while they offer it. But I guess you have to know which carrier has the best reception in the area you are at most.
 
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