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Who's willing to buy the unsubsidized iPhone 5
- Thread starter maflynn
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well here is a bench mark for you, I payed 816$ for my 3GS (in Canada at a Rogers store) so I imagine that the Iphone4 will be close to the same price, or rather the supposed Iphone 5
I'm waiting to see what the new one brings, and then I'll assess my options. There's always the chance that AT&T will cut down contracts again, but I doubt that since last time I'm pretty sure they were pre-empting the Verizon iPhone 4. If that's not the case I still have a few options to go with. My mom uses a 3GS she bought in December of 09, and she's already available for an upgrade, but she's totally happy with her 3GS. I may buy the latest iPhone on her line at the subsidized price, and then give her my 1 year old iPhone 4 so she can upgrade. This way we both win - she upgrades for free, and I get an extra subsidy.
If you believe all of the rumors about the iP5, even at the unsubsidized price, it will pay for itself in no time 
Really? Because every iPhone update has been huge so far. I'm sure this will be too. Apple has to attract people who already have the iPhone 4's to upgrade.
with the iPad 2 being announced in a week, it would be stupid to buy an iPhone 4. You can expect the iPhone 5 in this year's WWDC, along with Mac OS X Lion, and iOS 5. Only 3 more months to go!
I bought the iPhone 4 full price at launch because i was grand-fathered into a £15/month unlimited data (proper unlimited) tarrif .... so the £20/month i saved on the contract i would have had to take to get a decent subsidy + the 1gb data cap made it a simple choice ...
I'd save £240 / year on contract savings which is the amount i get off the upfront and i'm free to do it again in 12 months rather than being stuck for 2 years
Should term cost = long term gain
Too many ppl look at the up-front costs and don't factor in the benefits of dropping to MUCH cheaper deals after that initial period is up
FYI My £15/month gives me 300 minutes / 500 texts / unlimited data .... so i'll be buying the iPhone5 i assume in june for full price and sticking to my £15 / month
Also the handset is an Apple factory unlocked handset so no need to worry about that either!
I'd save £240 / year on contract savings which is the amount i get off the upfront and i'm free to do it again in 12 months rather than being stuck for 2 years
Should term cost = long term gain
Too many ppl look at the up-front costs and don't factor in the benefits of dropping to MUCH cheaper deals after that initial period is up
FYI My £15/month gives me 300 minutes / 500 texts / unlimited data .... so i'll be buying the iPhone5 i assume in june for full price and sticking to my £15 / month
Also the handset is an Apple factory unlocked handset so no need to worry about that either!
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Definitely cheaper in the long run to buy the device without contract. You get much better tariffs, too.
Definitely cheaper in the long run to buy the device without contract. You get much better tariffs, too.
No, I'm in the UK and save around 42% on my monthly cost by having a contract that doesn't include a subsidised phone
I also have the benefit of higher resale value as my phones are factory unlocked and the flexibility of changing when I want to
As a Brit I'm genuinely surprised at that one. Are there no SIM-only plans available over there?
To go back to the original question, I always buy my phones outright. Not only because they are cheaper to run then (especially if you need to use them abroad!) but also because of the flexibility to upgrade when I want. But I think what finally pushed me to do it was when I got a phone with the carrier's name printed on - it just looked ugly!
I purchased a few last year unsubsidized and unlocked on launch day at the Apple store in Canada. I'll do it again this year. Of course though any lines I have on contract that are eligible for a phone upgrade I've done an upgrade to an iPhone 4, kept it sealed and sold it for 90% the retail price of an unlocked one.
I'd forgotten about that one - it was actually what started me buying non-subsidised phones. Not just because of the branding, but because carriers tend to load up their (non-iPhone) subsidised phones with junk and modified firmware that removes functionality.
I remember buying a Window Mobile subsidised phone on Orange (years ago!) and they had removed MSN messenger from their custom rom because they wanted people to use SMS instead so they could make money off them.
It's not so much of an issue on iPhones because Apple won't allow any custom branding or custom Roms, but there are still benefits to buying unsubsidised if you have the option.
Agreed, I hate locked phones, I get a feeling that it's not mine but some network's it's locked to.
I always buy unsubsidized.
Why do you say that? Perhaps you're not in the US, but my payments with AT&T or Verizon will be the exact same whether I purchase the subsided phone or the iphone at full price.
That's why I asked in this thread, what benefit is there to the carrier or the customer for offering a subsidized phone (other then locking me in for 2 years).
Here's my point, I'm paying 85 bucks a month give or take with my wife's iPhone. She opts to buy the iPhone 5 in the summer, she'll be paying 85 bucks a month give or take. The only difference - her contract expiration remains the same.
I just recently bought the iPhone 4 on Verizon and I'm very happy with that purchase. The only way that I will buy the iPhone 5 is if it has some ground breaking new feature that I HAVE to have. 
I really want out of my iPhone 4, so normally I'd be happy to pay full price.
But there are two reasons why I won't.
1) I'm in disagreement with Apples antics of recent times.
2) My fabulous new Android: HTC Inspire from AT&T
So I will suffer with my iPhone 4 for eight months when my eligibility kicks in for an iPhone 5.
But there are two reasons why I won't.
1) I'm in disagreement with Apples antics of recent times.
2) My fabulous new Android: HTC Inspire from AT&T
So I will suffer with my iPhone 4 for eight months when my eligibility kicks in for an iPhone 5.
I'm on pay as you go in the UK as I don't use the phone enough to warrant a contract, but I still get the phone cheaper by buying it on a particular network. Not a lot cheaper then the RRP but a bit.
I can actually most likely sell my iPhone 4 to cover nearly half the cost of an iPhone 5. Well depending on how much it is....
I can actually most likely sell my iPhone 4 to cover nearly half the cost of an iPhone 5. Well depending on how much it is....
Sure. Why not? It's factory unlocked in Canada. But if given the opportunity to upgrade by my carrier at subsidized pricing, I'll upgrade and take a locked phone.
If I get the 5 (I have a 4S) then I'll probably get unsub this time. Then when my contract runs out next year I can make a choice. I have a grandfathered ATT unlimited plan. That keeps me engaged. But the 5 isn't totally compelling to me. So I'm not sure. But if I get one, it'll be unsubbed.