Your right they do. But its not the same as a loan which you automatically stop paying for the phone + sim only deal like this. Your also right I could have rung up and got a sim only but I didn't because I expected to upgrade soon after. This type of deal would have saved me £180 or so over the extra year I had it (Iphone was £35 / month so assuming £20 for the sim only). Obviously if i had been disciplined enough I could achieve the same effect by just upgrading or switching to sim only but I suspect like me most people drift over.
Tomorrow's T-Mobile 'Uncarrier' Event to Include iPhone Announcement
- Thread starter MacRumors
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M-O
macrumors 6502a
they put a different typo every time they send an internal copy to an individual. when it leaks, they can easily tell who is responsible based on which typo is present.
akuma13
macrumors 6502a
They rolled out LTE last night in the DC area. I suddenly got LTE speeds on my ride home on the metro.
One cool thing I experienced is that at my apartment I get a 4G LTE indicator on my phone with just one bar (my apartment complex is made of brick). The signal however is always steady never going out. I get anywhere from 4mbps to 12mbps with just one signal bar. Before LTE was turned on I got only edge speeds and my signal constantly dropped.
malexandria
Suspended
Nope
Personally I'd rather spend $299 on an iPod touch and then just get a cheap prepaid dumb phone to you know, make calls on.
Americans would not like paying $649 (Full price) for the iPhone
Let us see how t-mobile plans succeeds!!
Personally I'd rather spend $299 on an iPod touch and then just get a cheap prepaid dumb phone to you know, make calls on.
I'm still waiting for Apple or Google to start there own carrier. All they would need to focus on is data services. One of them should just start a carrier under a different name so they can learn and grow slowly at first then once they have the technology figured out. Start buying the bigger carriers for spectrum and towers.
RolyPolyBird
macrumors regular
Most likely the proofreading was done by an unpaid intern. Welcome to 2013.
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Not going to happen. Both companies are already rubbing up against the competition law fence.
I'm hoping the free hotspots grow so much that this will one day be an option. I'll use an old Android phone and use SipDroid to make calls over wifi and pay $0/month!
I really don't get how T-Mobile is changing- if they're non-contract and they're going to spread out your smartphone charge over 20 months, doesn't it all just net out to the same thing? I don't really get what the point is. Does this affect their current (awesomely priced) pre-paid plans?
malexandria
Suspended
Not True
As someone who tested T-Mobile's LTE service betwen NYC and DC for a few months, I can tell you it is far superior to ATT's. It was rock solid and stable most of the times. Delivering an avg of 15 - 20 up and 12 down. While I rarely even got ATT LTE and when I did it never went above 9 up and 4 down. I love ATT's fake "4G" because that's pretty stable. But their LTE is just a joke.
It's just too bad T-Mobile only has 3 towers and they are still leasing Sputnik from the Russians.
As someone who tested T-Mobile's LTE service betwen NYC and DC for a few months, I can tell you it is far superior to ATT's. It was rock solid and stable most of the times. Delivering an avg of 15 - 20 up and 12 down. While I rarely even got ATT LTE and when I did it never went above 9 up and 4 down. I love ATT's fake "4G" because that's pretty stable. But their LTE is just a joke.
atomwork
macrumors 6502
Americans would not like paying $649 (Full price) for the iPhone
Let us see how t-mobile plans succeeds!!
I think you misunderstand their concept.
"...Instead of offering its customers a phone with a two-year contract, T-Mobile will offer it for a fixed upfront price plus a monthly fee for unlimited calls and data. That second fee will include the cost of the phone, and when the phone is paid off (typically after two years) the fee will be reduced, in contrast with traditional two-year contracts where monthly payments typically stay the same after two years.
AT&T gives me an upgrade after 18 months
michelepri
macrumors 6502a
T-Mobile is German, they're all nice in the US but in Germany mobile phone customers are still treated horribly from all companies
Krazy Bill
macrumors 68030
That's fine for you folks in the East. Us mid-westerners though aren't so fortunate. We still have black-out areas here.
I drive across states and T-Mobile isn't exactly as "Mobile" as they'd like you to think.I agree. Really didn't know what true LTE was until I used it with Verizon.
atomwork
macrumors 6502
Yes agreed. However I must say that with the iphone 4s i don't feel the need to upgrade now. Would be sweet to pay 30 bucks less. AT&T doesn't offer this currently for me and I also feel that cheaper monthly phone bills are key.
I pay for 3 people in the family. Easily 350 bucks per month for ATT flat fees. I think this is too much. 4k a year for just having a phone????
Dimwhit
macrumors 68020
If I have to pay the full price for the iPhone it's not worth it because I would have to buy three for my family which comes to a lot of money that I don't have!!!
Exactly. The only reason I have an iPhone is because AT&T subsidizes it. Unless they drop all their plans $20-$30 per month, the 'no contract' appeal means you get to pay an obscene amount for a phone, and all you get in return is the ability to leave at any time. Who cares?? I've been with AT&T for close to 10 years. No contract plans are meaningless to me.
Wicked1
macrumors 68040
T-Mobile has very little LTE and spotty at best, so I am not sure it is a great match for all the LTE capable phones, however I can see where some folks would switch just for the low price. I myself will not switch from AT&T as T's coverage is not close to AT&T, or VZ for that matter. If I do move to Florida as planned in the next 1-2 years though, they do have really good coverage there, just that there is not much of a difference with three phones than my plan with AT&T. T's price would be $150-$170 and I pay $178 on AT&T for 3 lines with a large chunk of data, which we never use each month.
Keep in mind though that none of the phones you linked to support TMobile's AWS HSPA+ network. They should work in refarmed PCS areas though.
Regardless of t-Mobile's current coverage, I am ecstatic that AT&T was denied the acquisition as we need more national carriers in the U.S. If At&T and t-Mobile/Deutsche Telekom USA merged, that would make AT&T the only GSM/LTE carrier in the U.S., with VZW and Sprint as competitors. Not sehr gut.
I would love to do that, IF Touch hardware kept up. But it doesn't.
neuropsychguy
macrumors 68040
AT&T doesn't give you anything you don't pay for. Here's a complicated (and hopefully accurate comparison of costs with the new family/shared T-Mobile plans). I wrote this for people with little tech experience or interest so hopefully it's not too inane.
T-Mobile: Unlimited talk/text + 500 MB / month of high speed data for $50 for an individual plan.
However, under a family plan, you can have 2 lines for $80 / month, 3 for $90, 4 for $100, and 5 for $110.
This means that with 4 lines on a plan, cost is $25 per month + taxes/fees (probably about $3.75 per line). If you need more than 500 MB of data it's $10 / line extra for 2 GB more (added per line so it can be added to just 1 or all of the lines separately). Frankly, most people will not use more data than this especially if around WiFi much of the time (if you do use more data, pay extra for more).
Options - Buy a used phone compatible with T-Mobile (e.g., iPhone). One of the best options (non-iPhone) is the Google Nexus 4 for $300 or $350.
For a higher upfront cost, with 4 lines on a plan, you are only spending $300 a year on the cell plan compared to the $750 you would spend on a comparable Verizon plan (shared family plan with 4 lines) - plus you are locked into a contract with Verizon or AT&T. With those providers you can get a free phone (although most of the phones worth getting cost at least $100) but even so, on T-Mobile (4 line plan) with a $300 phone + $300 a year, you've spent $600 compared to $750 (free phone) - $950+ (e.g., purchasing iPhone 5).
Over a 2 year plan, 1 line (on a 4 line family plan) is $1500 (assuming you opted for a free phone) or $1700 with an iPhone 5. Compare this to the 2 year cost on T-Mobile of $900. So you've "saved" $600 - $800 over the 2 year period (plus you get the freedom to cancel whenever you want to with T-Mobile should you need to cancel for some reason). This money could be saved or even used to upgrade your phone in 2 years (and have money to spare).
Granted, Verizon or AT&T (comparable 4 line plan cost is $57.50 / month) have better coverage than T-Mobile but is it worth an extra $600 over 2 years?
As an addendum, many corporations or universities offer discounts for employees (at least for Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T). So here are the numbers with the discounts on both AT&T and Verizon:
AT&T with typical 15% corporate (university/hospital) discount = $49 / month
Verizon with typical 15% corporate discount = $53 / month
You still save $25 per month, which covers the cost of a good phone in as little as 4 months (when getting a $200 phone like the iPhone with an AT&T or Verizon plan) or as long as 12 months (with a free phone that might be worth "free"). But this means that you are still locked in for a 2nd year and so after that 2nd year you are "down" $300 (again this is factoring in corporate discounts). Maybe a particular phone is worth that to you. For example, if you want the iPhone 5 and can get a corporate discount, it can be better to sign up for a plan from AT&T or Verizon assuming you value the speed and extent of AT&T or Verizon networks over T-Mobile (depends on location) - here's the math. On a 4 line shared plan with a 15% corporate discount, AT&T + iPhone 5 costs $1376 + taxes/fees {typically 15%} over 24 months. To do the same on T-Mobile, you spend $650 for the unlocked iPhone 5 + $600 for 24 months of service, for a total of $1250. So, if AT&T's network coverage and speed is worth an extra $5.25 / month, it can be as good or better to go with AT&T. But what this means is you can buy an iPhone 5 from Apple outright and still come out ahead on T-Mobile.
Things are even better with T-Mobile if you have 5 lines on a family/shared plan ($22 / month per line).
stockscalper
macrumors 6502a
The iPhone is finally coming to the nation's largest EDGE network. What a perfect marriage - an outdated phone on an outdated mobile network.
$100 for 4 lines is pre tax
if its like AT&T figure $8 to $10 per month per line for taxes
then $20 per month per line for phone subsidy
that's almost $220 per month right there
compared to $266 i pay AT&T for a 4 line family plan with 10GB of data for everyone
no savings
if its like AT&T figure $8 to $10 per month per line for taxes
then $20 per month per line for phone subsidy
that's almost $220 per month right there
compared to $266 i pay AT&T for a 4 line family plan with 10GB of data for everyone
no savings
Quote:
Before you criticize others fur criticizing others, start proof reading what YOU type (their)
P.S. Find my mistype just to see how long we can drag this out.
-Frd
Originally Posted by Zudeo
Yea.. I don't understand how that was even green lit. It was the first thing I noticed. lol.
before you criticize there ad start proof-reading what you type... Green lit
Before you criticize others fur criticizing others, start proof reading what YOU type
(their)P.S. Find my mistype just to see how long we can drag this out.
-Frd
What a joke. TMobile is still EDGE outside of any major city, whereas AT&T/VZW have been pushing LTE for a while now. From NYC to DC straight, AT&T has LTE everywhere. With T-Mobile, you still hit areas with EDGE.
And no, not every TMobile tower has LTE in NYC or DC, so I doubt service is superior. Even looking at their refarmed network, it is super spotty. Whereever they're refarming is where LTE is probably gonna be.
i checked out T-Mo's coverage map and they are still EDGE in half of NYC. Manhattan is not the only part of NYC.