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From att's data plan page (their base 300mb data plan)

Once 300MB is exceeded during your monthly billing period, an additional 300MB is automatically provided at a rate of $20 per additional 300MB

lol
 
You only get it that low if you're comparing unlimited minutes to 450 minutes per month. I'm sure plenty of people are happy with that, but it doesn't change the fact when you compare apples for apples, TM is significantly cheaper. And they allow for much more flexibility in terms of buying and upgrading phones.



Not when you do the math. Even paying $20x4 lines for the installment plan on TM, it's still cheaper.



Paying a subsidy and selling a phone you never used is not "mainstream" (if you have actual reason to believe that it's widespread, let's see the evidence). I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, I'm just saying it isn't common (and if it became common, ATT would just change their policies).




ATT is $80 before taxes for 450 minutes and 300 megs data (with overages). TM is $70 before taxes for unlimited minutes, 500 megs data with throttling instead of overage charges. So yeah, you can get the prices pretty close if you pick ATT plans that don't offer as much, but that doesn't change the fact that TM is cheaper, and more so when you actually compare similar plans.

Hmmm. Look at all those eBay (brand new in box iPhone 5) listing.

I beg to differ that it is mainstream. People use their upgrade and resell immediately.

Mainstream doesn't mean the majority of people are doing it. But mainstream is what's common and acceptable. Could be 5-%-10% of doing it. It's still mainstream.

BMW and Lexus maybe sell 1/10% of what GM/Toyota (yes I know Lexus is part of Toyota).

But BMW and Lexus are still considered mainstream.
 
No,

Let's do the math again.
ATT 450 minutes plus rollover plus any mobile calling to any mobile carrier with unlimited texts $20 plus $30 for 3GB data plan

Vs. T-mobile's $50 plus $10 (2GB). So $60 for T-mobile Vs. $90 for ATT.

So $30 a month is a big difference until you start adding back the $450 subsidy ATT gives you for the $199 subsdized iphone.

$90 X 20 months equals $1800 over 20 months for ATT. I say 20 months since ATT lets you ugprade again at 20 months.

Tmobile is $60 X20 months equals $1200.

So T-mobile is cheaper by $600 over a $20 month period.

However, subtract the $450 subsidy ATT gives you. The savings for T-mobile comes down to $150.

That's no a huge savings. Still a savings over 20 months.

No, it's a $219 savings over 20 months. You can't just declare that the ATT "subsidy" is $450 because then you are valuing the iPhone much higher than what T-Mobile charges for one.

T-Mobile:
$60 x 20 + $580 = $1780

ATT:
$90 x 20 + $199 = $1999
 
Holy crap....I wonder if I can pay these prices with my current iphone 4 starting april 12th....

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3G after 500mb? Am I missing something here because on their site it says "Speeds slowed up to 2G speeds after 500 MB. "

Is this relating to phones that only have 3g capacity? Or is it also including phones with 4g capacity?
 
No, it's a $219 savings over 20 months. You can't just declare that the ATT "subsidy" is $450 because then you are valuing the iPhone much higher than what T-Mobile charges for one.

T-Mobile:
$60 x 20 + $580 = $1780

ATT:
$90 x 20 + $199 = $1999

$210 savings vs $150. Ain't going to make much difference to most people at that point.

That's like $10/month. Not enough for people to switch unless Tmobile offers same coverage for them
 
I got a Galaxy S3 on sale in the days leading up to Xmas. $50 at Best Buy.

Plus a 2 year contract, of course. So I'll be sticking with Verizon for a while.

I've been with Verizon for a long time. I wish they had a phone running straight Android to try out. Or maybe Apple will eventually sell an iPhone with a larger screen, something in the Nexus 4 and Galaxy S3/S4 size range. The iPhone just looks so small now.
 
Any word on the 32GB model ??

T-Mobile says the 16GB iPhone will be available in stores and the 32GB and 64GB versions will be available online. Im sure you could just tell them what you want for a plan and they could do it online for you or you can just do it yourself online.

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It's great for family plan.


here's the cost for a FAMILY PLAN with these usages

line 1: unlimited talk, unlimited text, unlimited data
line 2: unlimited talk, unlimited text, 2.5 GB of data
line 3: unlimited talk, unlimited text, 500MB of data
line 4: unlimited talk, unlimited text, 500MB of data

$80 (first 2 lines) + $10 (3rd line) + $10 (4th line) + $20 (unlimited data for line 1) + $10 (2GB extra for line 2) = $130

$130 / 4 = $32.5


==================================================

cost of a FAMILY PLAN with low data usage / use wifi instead

Line 1: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data
Line 2: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data.
Line 3: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data
Line 4: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data

$80 (line 1 and line 2) + $10 (for line 3) + $10 (for line 4)= $100

$100 / 4 = $25 per line

Unless you pay for all those phones upfront, you have to add $80 to that total($20 for each phone).

Your first example is what i have plus another line for my house phone which they dont have offered any longer. I pay $149 a month so the plans used to be a bit cheaper. Add a lines were $5. And im only paying $20 a month on two of the lines otherwise it would be $189. The 5th one for the house cant have data.
 
Last edited:
This question has been lingering for a while.

Sign up with the payment plan, cancel 1 month later. obviously T-Mobile would expect you to either return the phone, or pay the full unsubsidized value (reduced by the amount already paid) of the device.

Isn't that a "contract" ?

No, split T-Mobile into two:

1) T-Mobile Finance: You've got a hire purchase agreement with them and they've funded your phone.
2) T-Mobile Carrier: You've got an open contract you can terminate at any time without any cancellation fees.

It is the separation of the finance portion from the monthly fee meaning that you can deliver lower monthly fee for those who already have their phone and don't require financing but still provide financing for those who want/need it. In the case of me in New Zealand we have a retailer called Dick Smith that parallel imports phones cheaper than what the carrier sells which means I buy it from them on a 12 month interest free and then get an open contract at a carrier of my choice meaning the two separated thus there is the potential to lower the cost to you as a consumer since you can shop around for the best price for the handset and open contract.
 
I've been with Verizon for a long time. I wish they had a phone running straight Android to try out. Or maybe Apple will eventually sell an iPhone with a larger screen, something in the Nexus 4 and Galaxy S3/S4 size range. The iPhone just looks so small now.

I had been with Verizon since way back when they were Bell Atlantic Mobile. I switched to ATT a few years ago, because I moved to a house where there was poor Verizon signal strength. I think it was because the house was on the side of a hill, and surmise that the Verizon cell tower was on the far side of the hill. We had a nice view, but seemingly it was over a vast swath which had no Verizon cell towers.

I wish that Verizon had a phone with straight Android as well. The S3 came with 3 different versions of many stock types of programs. There was the Android app, and added to that was Samsung app and a Verizon app. I found that annoying.

I'm toying with the idea of switching to cyanogenmod to get rid of the Samsung overlay on top of Android. Maybe I'll do it if Key Lime Pie has interesting advancements, and Samsung/Verizon take too long to release an upgrade. I've never been one to screw too much with the basic OS though.
 
T-Mobile says the 16GB iPhone will be available in stores and the 32GB and 64GB versions will be available online. Im sure you could just tell them what you want for a plan and they could do it online for you or you can just do it yourself online.

----------



Unless you pay for all those phones upfront, you have to add $80 to that total($20 for each phone).

There are some phones that doesn't require $20 x 24 months + upfront fee to get.

For example, Nexus 4 unlocked on Google Play is $299.

$99 upfront with $199 over 24 months = $8.29 per month. IT doesn't have to be $20 per month.

Also, you can bring your own device. And if line 3 and line 4 in the family don't need a smartphone, buying a flip phone is very cheap. There are a lot of people who just need a phone for talking and texting. And T-Mobile provide unlimited for both.



Screen-Shot-2013-03-26-at-1.11.26-PM.png
 
I have to say with all the included minutes, included messages and included unlimited data, the US carriers are much more competitive than they were a few years ago. But it's still expensive.

I paid full price for my phone here in Thailand - $700. But I have unlimited 3G for $20/month. With more minutes and messages than I ever use, too. And I am not locked in - I can cancel that contract any time. Thanks to number portability I could just switch to a competing offer if I liked to. As you'd imagine, that keeps prices down.

The unbundling of phone financing from cell phone plans would lead to more competition amongst the US carriers - which are not a monopoly, but still a pretty comfortable hegemony - and to lower prices and more choices for consumers.

Is it just me or does this t-mob offer have lower upfront costs and lower monthly costs than the competition? I mean, that's the only thing that matters to the end user, by and large... eh, I guess the above graphic answers that question ;)
 
Family Plan with 5 lines

Line 1: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data
Line 2: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data.
Line 3: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data
Line 4: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data
Line 5: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data

= $80 + $10 + $10 + $10 = $110

$110 / 5 lines = $22 per line


If some of these lines don't need a smartphone (some people just use a phone for talk and text), then even better since flip phones are very inexpensive.
 
I have to say with all the included minutes, included messages and included unlimited data, the US carriers are much more competitive than they were a few years ago. But it's still expensive.

I paid full price for my phone here in Thailand - $700. But I have unlimited 3G for $20/month. With more minutes and messages than I ever use, too. And I am not locked in - I can cancel that contract any time. Thanks to number portability I could just switch to a competing offer if I liked to. As you'd imagine, that keeps prices down.

The unbundling of phone financing from cell phone plans would lead to more competition amongst the US carriers - which are not a monopoly, but still a pretty comfortable hegemony - and to lower prices and more choices for consumers.

Is it just me or does this t-mob offer have lower upfront costs and lower monthly costs than the competition? I mean, that's the only thing that matters to the end user, by and large... eh, I guess the above graphic answers that question ;)

t-mobile is not that much cheaper than AT&T
 
It's simply a loan on the device. Just like a car loan, I don't think you can just stop paying and return the phone. There'll be penalties.

The difference is that the loan terms are plain out in the open for everyone to see. And that they don't keep charging you after 2 years.

That, and you can pay it off anytime you want, if you want or need to.

...
not a big deal to "buy" a free on contract phone every 18-24 months so you don't "waste money"

So, waste technology instead of money. If you have a phone that works and you don't want to upgrade, then by buying a new phone just so you're not wasting money, you are, actually wasting both money and being conspicuously consumptive.

Further, what if you want to upgrade your phone after only a year (or 18 months, etc.)? With AT&T and Verizon, your only option is to pay full price for the new phone, whereas with TMo, you can now simply pay off your old phone and finance a new one.

All around, it seems to me the only people who don't come out ahead with TMo's plan structure are those people who like to upgrade on a completely set schedule, once every two years, exactly.

No, it's a $219 savings over 20 months. You can't just declare that the ATT "subsidy" is $450 because then you are valuing the iPhone much higher than what T-Mobile charges for one.

T-Mobile:
$60 x 20 + $580 = $1780

ATT:
$90 x 20 + $199 = $1999

Also, unless I'm mistaken, because of the way that AT&T charges, you pay telecom taxes on $90 for them, whereas you only pay telecom taxes on $60 per month with TMo.

$210 savings vs $150. Ain't going to make much difference to most people at that point.

That's like $10/month. Not enough for people to switch unless Tmobile offers same coverage for them

Oh, yeah, saving more than 10% never interests anyone... :rolleyes:

Seriously, maybe a few extra dollars doesn't matter that much to you, but most of the people I know would consider a $10 to $30 (if you've already paid off your phone) to be a significant savings.

I've been with Verizon for a long time. I wish they had a phone running straight Android to try out. Or maybe Apple will eventually sell an iPhone with a larger screen, something in the Nexus 4 and Galaxy S3/S4 size range. The iPhone just looks so small now.

Well, while I certainly respect your right to have your own opinion, I couldn't agree with you. I hate how big phones are getting these days. Frankly, I am not overly fond of how big the iPhone is.

t-mobile is not that much cheaper than AT&T

Alas, saying it doesn't make it so. My wife and I just recently switched to TMo (and we're looking forward to getting new iPhones in the coming months), and our phone bill dropped by nearly 1/3. Now, some of that will be lost when we add new phones in, but even then our bill will be about 12% lower. So, I guess I would argue that TMo is that much cheaper than AT&T.

As an interesting aside, I've heard a lot about the question of coverage, including some people who live in my area saying that TMo has lousy coverage compared to AT&T. Well, from my experience, it depends on what measure I use. If I base my observations on the number of bars that my phone displays, then AT&T has the better network. If, on the other hand, I base my observations on the quality of phone calls, etc., then TMo has the better network. There were times when my phone showed full bars with AT&T and I couldn't get a call to go through, or I'd get drop-out on the voice when it did go through. Whereas, in similar areas, TMo would show me having only one bar (indeed, sometimes even dropping to no bars but still showing the connected icon), and call go through just fine with little or no voice drop-out. Makes me wonder if AT&T has some way of making the phone show more bars just for the PR aspect of it...
 
The $30 plan is still there for people who don't use a lot of minutes

$30 get you 100 minutes, unlimited text and 5GB of 4G data.
 
BestBuy Still has subsidies

Bestbuy still has Subsidies for T-mobile!! I was just wondering if the iPhone for T-mobile can be purchased from Bestbuy on April 12??? That would make my life 100% easier and my bill 100% cheaper. (Im not too big on this un-carrier plan from T-mobile because I have 5 lines in my family and really can't afford $20 per phone per month for 24 months) :(
 
Bestbuy still has Subsidies for T-mobile!! I was just wondering if the iPhone for T-mobile can be purchased from Bestbuy on April 12??? That would make my life 100% easier and my bill 100% cheaper. (Im not too big on this un-carrier plan from T-mobile because I have 5 lines in my family and really can't afford $20 per phone per month for 24 months) :(

You are only paying $20/mo/phone if you are buying a new phone, in the case, an iPhone 5. If you can afford to buy the phones outright, you can afford the $20/mo/phone as well, and they give you the option to choose which path you are planning to take.

Depending on your location, Best Buy typically gets very limited stock of just about any launch day phone (for all intents and purposes this is a launch day item). Your best bet would be calling your local Best Buy a day or two before launch. They will have the phones in stock by then and be able to tell you more. If you do choose to buy the phone outright though, the price will likely be higher. Best Buy often sells their phones for more outright than do the carriers. If that is the case, opt for the $20 a month and cut a check to your carrier for the full amount along with your first month's bill.

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The $30 plan is still there for people who don't use a lot of minutes

$30 get you 100 minutes, unlimited text and 5GB of 4G data.

The question is, will they allow you to do the $100 down and $20/mo for an iPhone 5 still AND use this plan?
 
This question has been lingering for a while.

Sign up with the payment plan, cancel 1 month later. obviously T-Mobile would expect you to either return the phone, or pay the full unsubsidized value (reduced by the amount already paid) of the device.

Isn't that a "contract" ?

It's the same as any other payment plan. You just keep paying the $20 per month.
 
bestbuy still has subsidies for t-mobile!! I was just wondering if the iphone for t-mobile can be purchased from bestbuy on april 12??? That would make my life 100% easier and my bill 100% cheaper. (im not too big on this un-carrier plan from t-mobile because i have 5 lines in my family and really can't afford $20 per phone per month for 24 months) :(

Best Buy where i live doesn't have T-Mobile inside its store. Just a couple pay as you go phones.
 
http://gigaom.com/2013/03/28/t-mobi...s-only-but-it-will-still-sell-you-the-device/

T-Mobile’s iPhone discounts are for customers only, but it will still sell you the device

SUMMARY:
Sorry, you can’t buy a $580 iPhone 5 from T-Mobile and then sign up with another carrier — you have to give T-Mo at least once month of service.


T-Mobile should market its Family Plan as this:

Line 1: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data
Line 2: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data.
Line 3: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data
Line 4: unlimited talk, unlimited text and 500MB of data

For just $25 a month per line. The best Value in America.
 
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