T-Mobile Launches New Ad Calling AT&T's 'Next' Upgrade Program 'Calculating, Sneaky, and Underhanded'

[imola.zhp]

Who cares? I swear they are just bashing each other to get attention. There is no such thing as bad attention/publicity.

Isn't there something else worth talking about?

 

[solamar]

JUMP as I'm seeing it.

Wait so you have to pay $630 for an iphone 5 AND then you have to trade it in at the end of the year? Seriously? That is absurd

No, this is for those on Payment Plan for your phone.

Complicated View:
iPhone 5 Example: 6 months after getting your phone you decide to trade up. At this point you've paid a down payment($145) for your iPhone 5 and 6 months of payments at $21, $145+($21x6), for a total of $271.00. Plus, you joined the JUMP program for $10/mo to upgrade, so at 6 months it's $60 additional for a total of $331 out of pocket at the 6 month mark.

The remaining 18 months in payments ($21 * 18 = $378) on the phone you're upgrading from are 'forgiven'. You now are starting fresh, no obligation to pay the remaining ($378 in this example) 18 months.

You pay for the new phone as if you just walked in as a new customer and pay whatever downpayment and agree to the new monthly payments; walking out with your newly minted toy.

The Simple View:
Another way to look at it. After 6 months, you hate your phone, walk in, hand your hated phone in, pay a downpayment for a new phone, and walk out, still paying on a payment plan. So out of pocket at time of trade up is down payment on new phone and handing in old phone.

Not saying it's cheep.. but it's a hell of a lot more reasonable than what Verizon and ATT offer.

The Catch:
Simply put, the longer past 6 months you wait, the less worth it the program is.. so if you're an iPhone user who knows they will upgrade in 1 year.. basically .. I woudn't recommend it.. If you're a habitual techie who must have the latest.. not bad considering ..

And by the way:
Keep in mind, this includes/wrapped in with their $8/mo extended smartphone warranty. So if you're someone who always gets that warranty. It's a no-brainer to just pay the extra $2 and have the option of upgrading almost whenever you want AND have a warranty on your phone.

 

[mj1108]

No, this is for those on Payment Plan for your phone.

iPhone 5 Example: 6 months after getting your phone you decide to trade up. At this point you've paid a down payment($145) for your iPhone 5 and 6 months of payments at $21, $145+($21x6), for a total of $271.00. Plus, you joined the JUMP program for $10/mo to upgrade, so at 6 months it's $60 additional for a total of $331 out of pocket at the 6 month mark.

The remaining 18 months in payments ($21 * 18 = $378) on the phone you're upgrading from are 'forgiven'. You now are starting fresh, no obligation to pay the remaining ($378 in this example) 18 months.

You pay for the new phone as if you just walked in as a new customer and pay whatever downpayment and agree to the new monthly payments; walking out with your newly minted toy.

Another way to look at it. After 6 months, you hate your phone, walk in, hand your hated phone in, pay a downpayment for a new phone, and walk out, still paying on a payment plan. So out of pocket at time of trade up is down payment on new phone and handing in old phone.

Not saying it's cheep.. but it's a hell of a lot more reasonable than what Verizon and ATT offer.

That's exactly what it is. What makes T-Mobile's offer even better is that the $10 JUMP payment includes insurance. For those of us on T-Mobile already, we have been paying $8/month for insurance alone. Joining JUMP only increases the cost by $2 a month. AT&T and Verizon's doesn't even include insurance in the cost.

 

[daveup2bat]

Better option than Jump or Next...

I don't know why more people don't consider this, first of all when a customer purchases even a 16B iPhone for $199, they are buying it subsidized, so the real value of the phone in most cases is north of $600, after 1 year, the phone without a contract on eBay easily sells for about $400. I have used this method successfully to upgrade since the 3G...

So in other words even if you did have a early contract penalty, which is typically about $175 or less... plus the cost of the newest iPhone at $199, you essentially break even every time.

In my case, I do it one better, I keep my wife on the version behind like the 4S, where I have the 5. When the 5S comes out, I simply pass her the 5 and sell the 4S on eBay. This way I avoid all contract penalties all together because after 2 years, my wife's phone's contract is completed. So in other words, I actually profit from my upgrades.. When the 5S is released in the fall, I will sell her 4S 64GB for approx. $400 again, give her my 5(32gb) and buy my 5S 32gb for $299 and make a $100 profit. I typically don't ever buy Applecare on my phones, in case you were thinking there is another $99 charge, but even then it's still a case of breaking even.

 

[2298754]

I just think its ironic how worked up TMobile gets over AT&T.

Instead of talking **** about the competition, maybe they should get off their ass and improve their network. It's all BS at this point, until they can prove that they have a good network too. AT&T (and VZW) have more LTE than TMobile has HSPA these days. Pathetic when TMobile has been deploying 3G for about 5 years.

 

[Giuly]

Given that Deutsche Telekom (aka the original T-Mobile) had copied AT&T's business model in their native market, you can actually make jokes about this.

 

[JayCee842]

Because attacking your competition in the media looks really good to consumers.

I'd shy away from them just because of their ad stance.

Ummmm it's actually making consumers think twice about AT&T.

 

[macs4nw]

.....drop bandwidth-based data plans and go with unlimited data with priority-based throttling. Based on your amount of usage, the system could throttle your bandwidth on as as-needed basis during peak times, while giving you essentially unlimited unthrottled use during non-peak times. I mean, why should data transmitted over a virtually empty network at, say 4am be treated the same as heavy usage time during the middle of the day?

With such a scheme, those who make the heaviest use during peak times would see their speeds throttled accordingly to give other folks a chance, but be perfectly free to go with heavy use in light periods. True power users could pay for a premium level of service that increases their base priority or limits the amount of throttling they can be subject to.....

An idea that I believe has merit, and deserves being looked into.

.....A comparison of the two plans reveals that a T-Mobile customer using Jump would pay $518 for a 16 GB iPhone 5 over the course of a year while a customer using Next would pay $630, a premium of $112. With both plans, customers have to trade in existing devices and pay the monthly fees in order to obtain an upgrade.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere has been vocal about AT&T Next since its debut, releasing a number of tweets condemning the program. The company's newest ad includes a quote from The Verge that Legere highlighted last week: "AT&T's reaction to T-Mobile's transparency is to be more deceptive than ever."

"There are real and material differences between what we are doing and the so-called upgrade programs that AT&T and Verizon are doing," he said.....

Article Link: T-Mobile Launches New Ad Calling AT&T's 'Next' Upgrade Program 'Calculating, Sneaky, and Underhanded'

You've gotta hand it to those T-Mob underdogs; while there's no denying their approach is somewhat confrontational, they're doing what they have to do, to increase their marketshare, and in the process shake up the VERIZON and AT&T market leaders a bit. Now if only T-Mobile's coverage was a bit more consistent, I bet those two front runners would sweat quite a bit more.

 

[MacAddict1978]

Here's my experience with T-Mobile:

• Tried their service for 8 days. I live in the Washington, DC area. They have great coverage outdoors, but just about every building I walked into, I would get EDGE or No Service on my iPhone.
• A few weeks later, I receive a bill for the ENTIRE month of service. Not 8 days, but the FULL MONTH. I called TMO Customer Care, and they claim that this is part of their terms & conditions that I signed when I got the phone. Spoke with many supervisors, went back to the store, etc. Couldn't get it changed - I had to pay for a full month. That's how they work.

AT&T may be greedy, but I don't think T-Mobile is any better as a company. Give me better coverage with Verizon or AT&T anyday.

I'm sure they also explained to you (repeatedly) that you are pre-paying the month, not post paying.

So no, you didn't pay a month for 8 days of service. That 8 days is part of your first month which was technically due at the time of activation, but they billed you for it.

----------

I don't know why more people don't consider this, first of all when a customer purchases even a 16B iPhone for $199, they are buying it subsidized, so the real value of the phone in most cases is north of $600, after 1 year, the phone without a contract on eBay easily sells for about $400. I have used this method successfully to upgrade since the 3G...

So in other words even if you did have a early contract penalty, which is typically about $175 or less... plus the cost of the newest iPhone at $199, you essentially break even every time.

In my case, I do it one better, I keep my wife on the version behind like the 4S, where I have the 5. When the 5S comes out, I simply pass her the 5 and sell the 4S on eBay. This way I avoid all contract penalties all together because after 2 years, my wife's phone's contract is completed. So in other words, I actually profit from my upgrades.. When the 5S is released in the fall, I will sell her 4S 64GB for approx. $400 again, give her my 5(32gb) and buy my 5S 32gb for $299 and make a $100 profit. I typically don't ever buy Applecare on my phones, in case you were thinking there is another $99 charge, but even then it's still a case of breaking even.

ANd your wife takes that new (hand me down phone) and says "my cheap ass husband did it again...."

 

[Codyak]

I am loving what T-Mobile has been doing lately.

 

[spinedoc77]

Wait a minute, I just want to make sure I read this correctly, someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Once per year you could upgrade to, for example, a 16gb iphone for:
$518 on Tmobile
$565 on Verizon
$630 on ATT

And Tmobile is making a big deal of this in its advertising. Seems to me like it's not that big of a deal.

$43/month on Tmobile
$47/month on Verizon
$52/month on ATT

So basically it boils down to $9 per month that Tmobile is crowing about. I don't know about others, but I'd definitely pay the $9 for the MUCH better coverage with ATT, or heck at least pay the $4 for Verizon. I don't see what Tmobile really has to brag about here, unless I'm missing some other fee or charge that Verizon/ATT charge when trading your phone in.

The other thing I'd be curious about is I believe the ATT plan includes handset insurance, does the Tmobile one include that also, or does that change the price as well?

Of course I'd never choose any of those plans, but I'm just outlining them for arguments sake and for consumers who might choose these plans.

 

[excommie]

All these plans are just confusing.
My next phone will have to be paid for up front; I'll look for a reasonably priced smart phone (Nexus 4, cheap iPhone if it materializes, etc..) with no contract.
I hope the subsidized phone purchases will be a thing of the past. Can't afford the up-front premium for an expensive phone - get a cheaper device.

 

[thefourthpope]

No doubt, ATT is unenjoyable to do business with. Exorbitant prices, terrible customer service, and impressively poor service.
I'm excited to move to an area with better coverage from competitors.

 

[elev8d]

AT&T has really been horrible recently for me,

Noticeably slower, crappy support, all while being with them for years!

Same here, I don't get it. My reception has been decent for years, but the last few months, they seem to be dropping call much more often.

 

[elev8d]

I'm not a big fan of government regulations but this is one time when this price fixing needs to stop. Something is going on with Verizon and AT&T.

Sorry to say, but this oligopoly was completely allowed by our government. The amount of merger and buyouts that should have not been allowed in the the past 20 years, but has passed anyway just has to do with how much lobbying this industry does.

 

[JAT]

It is no longer $100 up-front. Go to the T-Mobile website; it is now $145.99 with $21/mo payments. It equals $649.99. The pricing structure you mentioned was promotional for the first 30 days; this is now the permanent price.

Your second point: yes, it is an interest-free loan but let's compare it two ways:

1) The point I intended to make was that the subsidies you receive from AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon on a 2-year contract ($199 vs $145 + $21/mo payments) are THE SAME THING. If you buy an iPhone with another carrier for $199, pay a flat fee over 2 years...and if you an iPhone with TMO for $145.99 with $21/mo...it equals the same difference. Sure, the rate plans are lower, but the device payments are the same. If you cancel within your 2-year period, you are charged an ETF on the other carriers while you are charged the "full balance" from T-Mobile.

The only way you benefit using T-Mobile is if you keep your phone MORE THAN 24 months. Then the device subsidy goes away, and your monthly payment is lowered. However, for many of us on these forums, we upgrade every 2 years or sooner. That's the point I was trying to make - it's no different. People are making it out to be revolutionary...it's not. Prepaid has been separating the cost of devices and plans for years; they haven't offered interest-free loans on big smartphones like TMO has.

2) To answer your question: What happens if I cancel an automobile loan? Same thing that happens on all loans: the entire balance comes due. That Toyota Prius I bought for $25K...guess what? It's worth $20K now. That iPhone 5 I bought from T-Mobile for $650 3 weeks ago and can't return? It's now worth $500. What's the point you were trying to make? That somehow you get a deal with T-Mobile?

1) Ok, I hadn't caught the price change. But the rest is apparently that you didn't like some adjective someone used? Ok, no more comment.
2) If you understand this, why the complaint?

There is a clear difference between Tmob's current pricing structures and ATT or VZW. And the difference is that ATT/VZW are including phone subsidies in their plan price, so this Next/Jump-style piece is double-dipping. Tmob's is not. I can see their ire.

----------

Wait a minute, I just want to make sure I read this correctly, someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Once per year you could upgrade to, for example, a 16gb iphone for:
$518 on Tmobile
$565 on Verizon
$630 on ATT

And Tmobile is making a big deal of this in its advertising. Seems to me like it's not that big of a deal.

$43/month on Tmobile
$47/month on Verizon
$52/month on ATT

So basically it boils down to $9 per month that Tmobile is crowing about. I don't know about others, but I'd definitely pay the $9 for the MUCH better coverage with ATT, or heck at least pay the $4 for Verizon. I don't see what Tmobile really has to brag about here, unless I'm missing some other fee or charge that Verizon/ATT charge when trading your phone in.

The other thing I'd be curious about is I believe the ATT plan includes handset insurance, does the Tmobile one include that also, or does that change the price as well?

Of course I'd never choose any of those plans, but I'm just outlining them for arguments sake and for consumers who might choose these plans.

ATT and VZW have already built phone pricing into their plans, Tmob removed it. So, your plan already pays for the phone, and now you are paying the ~$50/month extra just to be allowed to upgrade more often. There is slight value to the customer in Tmob's plan, zero in the other 2. Just buy the phone outright instead of these, get it on an interest free setup from Apple or BillMeLater to spread payments out if necessary.

For the record, I currently use VZW, but on an old plan. This crap I would not pay for.

 

[djpuma]

Here is what pisses me off about ATT/Verizon

After your two year contract is up, you're still paying the same rates for the phone bill.
So, those who buy their phones outright and pay the same monthly fee don't make sense to me, same as those who go with a two year contract, but use the same phone for 3 or 4 years.
At least with T-Mobile you see that $20 will fall off when phone is paid for or if you go in with a full paid for phone.

They all padded the phone fee into their plans, t-mobile was the first to call it as it is.
I'm on ATT btw.

 

[Autosaver]

Here is what pisses me off about ATT/Verizon

After your two year contract is up, you're still paying the same rates for the phone bill.
So, those who buy their phones outright and pay the same monthly fee don't make sense to me, same as those who go with a two year contract, but use the same phone for 3 or 4 years.
At least with T-Mobile you see that $20 will fall off when phone is paid for or if you go in with a full paid for phone.

They all padded the phone fee into their plans, t-mobile was the first to call it as it is.
I'm on ATT btw.

Couldn't you just order an upgrade and then sell that? It would help off set the cost if you're using the same phone.

 

[djpuma]

Couldn't you just order an upgrade and then sell that? It would help off set the cost if you're using the same phone.

I guess so, but if you're average user doesn't do that, they're losing out. Probably why I always upgrade every two years and sell old phone for the $200 cost of the new one subsidized.

 

[i4m]

Wait so you have to pay $630 for an iphone 5 AND then you have to trade it in at the end of the year? Seriously? That is absurd

yeah all those deals are absurd, T-Mobile's, AT&T's and Verizon's too

----------

Really? Like the whole mac vs pc commercials?

Yup, i guess he's a Linux user now.

 

[beaniemyman]

i really like the new and aggressive t-mobile, they know how to do business.

 

[asthamapheo]

hahahaha....i love these carrier wars, but the fact is that VZ is the est carrier available right now.