How to Buy an iPhone at the Worst Possible Time

http://designdare.com/how-to-buy-an-iphone-at-the-worst-possible-ti

by shawndumas • 16 years ago

97 72 16 years ago

acconrad• 16 years ago

Yeah, but then you have to have an iPhone.

Or you could just buy an Android phone supported directly by Google, like the Nexus One or Nexus S, get first dibs on OS upgrades, and not be locked into a carrier contract, not pay extra for tethering, and not pay a subsidy tax every month for two years...

FraaJad3• 16 years ago

That's* like the metric system or something. Won't work in the USA.

* Paying full price for your handset, that is.

eli• 16 years ago

It makes perfect sense if your carrier agrees to charge you a lower rate in exchange for not taking the subsidy. Otherwise you're just paying twice.

T-Mobile is the only major US carrier I'm aware of to offer this, (though it's kinda buried on their site): http://www.t-mobile.com/templates/generic.aspx?PAsset=Pro_Pr...

gcheong• 16 years ago

Where in the US can I get an unsubsidized Nexus S that won't cost me a couple hundred over the retail price? Can I just go to Best Buy and say I don't want the contract - just the phone? I find it odd that Google sells dev phones but only the ADP2 and the Nexus One. Why not sell the Nexus S directly to devs as well?

Edit: Thanks for the responses about being able to go to BB and get just the phone at the unsubsidized price. This was the answer I was looking for as it wasn't clear to me that this was an option and I was just more confused that Google wasn't selling it as an option for devs in their marketplace.

luigi• 16 years ago

You can walk into Best Buy and just get the phone. No contract. It's $530 + tax I think.

trotsky• 16 years ago

Unless I'm missing something?

Introducing the Nexus S. Starting at $199.99. Only at Best Buy®. Also available without a 2-year contract for $529.99

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Google+-+Nexus+S+Mobile+Phone+-+...

nuclear_eclipse5• 16 years ago

I bought my Nexus S from Best Buy, no contract or anything to sign except the receipt. I don't even have a plan with T-Mobile; I use a local carrier that runs on T-Mobile's frequencies. I paid retail price ($529+tax), and walked out of the store in less than 10 minutes.

brown9-2• 16 years ago

The options on the Best Buy website seem to imply that you have the option of purchasing the phone for $529 without signing a two-year T-Mobile contract.

The site actually breaks though if I try to proceed further than this, so who knows.

I'm not sure which price you are referring to as "the retail price" here; if you are referring to the $199 subsidized price that comes with signing a two-year contract then by definition any unsubsidized phone will be hundreds of dollars more.

CountSessine3• 16 years ago

Grrrr...

Google could help things by releasing a umts band 5 version of the Nexus S like they did the Nexus One. The current Nexus S isn't an option where I live.

nuclear_eclipse5• 16 years ago

They never released a 5-band phone; they released a second 4-band model that used different frequencies to be compatible with AT&T.

Edit: thank you for the correction

Anechoic• 16 years ago

like the Nexus One or Nexus S

Which doesn't help those of us that actually want to stay with AT&T and still be able to use 3G. (Yes, we do exist).

nuclear_eclipse5• 16 years ago

The Nexus One is available in AT&T compatible 3G frequencies.

wmf3• 16 years ago

Ah, so only 95% of Android users are getting screwed. Carry on then.

jawee• 16 years ago

With iOS, you get one choice of hardware and (for US markets, at least since it´s come out) one choice of carrier. The hardware and software are controlled by the same company and you can get updates.

With Android, this option is also available in the form of the Nexus series... you get Google hardware, T-Mobile, and you can get updates. However, you can also get hundreds of other phones across different carriers and manufacturers and also varying upgrade options.

Stick with the single company option if you don´t want to get ¨screwed¨ as it´s available too.

Tichy• 16 years ago

iPhone is also one special phone, so why compare it with the whole range of Android phones, rather than particular Android phones?

If one maker produces a crappy Android phones, all Android phones are bad?

It is a disadvantage that there ARE bad Android phones, but there are also good ones. You probably have to invest a little bit more research then when you just buy the latest iPhone.

stcredzero2• 16 years ago

I find owning a Canadian iPhone in the US to be a great proposition. I never worry about "on-air updates" one day bricking my phone. I have no mobile contract. I can also resell my phone and expect to recover a lot of the value.

Combined with a Google Voice account it's just awesome!

cb7• 16 years ago

Do you have any mobile voice/data service? Prepaid? Or, just use wifi?

Qz• 16 years ago

My Droid Incredible got 2.2 pushed out within a few weeks of when I bought it (mid september). Get your Droid from a quality company and expect good results. Get your Droid from some second-rate gadget company and expect to be stuck with 1.6 forever. Seems like a buyer-beware issue, not an Android issue.

masklinn3• 16 years ago

> My Droid Incredible got 2.2 pushed out within a few weeks of when I bought it (mid september).

And what's the status on the official 2.3?

mcantelon• 16 years ago

No mention that Apple's free iOS updates will turn your phone into a sluggish brick.

bradleyland4• 16 years ago

At least Apple gives you the option. Many Android phones either can't be upgraded at all, or aren't on any kind of unified release schedule, so you never know when you're going to be able to upgrade.

The only Android phone analogous to the iPhone is the Nexus line directly from Google, and it's future is far from a sure thing.

cookiecaper4• 16 years ago

If you aren't happy with your release schedule, you can download a custom ROM for your device that implements the new version of Android. I use CyanogenMod 6.1 (Android 2.2) on my G1, which officially is still on 1.6. It's not very bad for me, a bit sluggish but definitely still usable and workable.

lini• 16 years ago

Nice trolling attempt :) Of course anyone that visits HN knows that after buying an Android phone, you just go to xda-developers and get free rom updates from the 4-5 different cooks there. Next phone I'm buying will be determined by the number of people that visit the phone's rom development forum :)

zyb09• 16 years ago

Heh, now that you say it, I actually looked at the topic counts on the device forums over at CyanogenMod recently to help me decide which phone to buy. Was considering the HTC Desire HD, but it seemed to have way too few threads, so I went with the Nexus S. Figured that's a safe bet :)

weego• 16 years ago

The genius of the troll here is that he shows the release cycle of the iPhone, but below he shows the release cycle of every Android manufacturer, thus creating visual clutter which instantly gives a negative impression on the viewer and thus you feel an instant pang of agreement.

FraaJad3• 16 years ago

while I agree with you assessment, isn't the smart phone battle presented as between "iPhone" and "Android" in almost every comparison, including (especially by) Android fans?

Kylekramer• 16 years ago

In overall measures, yes, but most people don't have multiple phones.

jrockway• 16 years ago

No, only by John Gruber.

As an Android fan I don't even know if the iPhone still exists. It can't run any software I need and won't work with the infrastructure I have setup, so its existence is meaningless. Except, perhaps, that it will lower the price of nice 3" screens.

Really, my eye is on the Next Cool Android Phone instead, because I can buy one and I won't have to make any compromises.

GavinB2• 16 years ago

Or you could buy an android phone and have it break with 5 months to go on your contract. You can't get it repaired because the warranty is expired, you can't upgrade without paying full price of $500, and you can't leave the contract.

So you learn to live with 1/4 of your "touch"screen being not touchable at all--move your apps to the left side, get an app that lets you answer the phone without swiping, and forget about playing games or ever pressing the search button--and you hope that the new verizon iphone will create a glut in the used market.

barake• 16 years ago

Is there some reason you can't pay for an out of warranty repair? I don't think products breaking outside the warranty period is Android specific - if you dunk an iPhone a year after purchase you'll be spending dollars on a repair.

GavinB2• 16 years ago

Wasn't offered at Verizon, but it could have been an unhelpful salesperson. If not them I can probably find a 3rd party repair. Don't know why I wasn't considering this, thanks for pointing it out.

I wasn't trying to trash android, just annoyed at the whole lock-in/upgrade scheme.

baby• 16 years ago

troll...

StavrosK• 16 years ago

Who are the 42 people who upvoted this, that's what I'd like to know. This is so obviously trolling that I can't even begin to refute it.

optimusclimb• 16 years ago

Not trolling, really, but - In America, what is the upside to buying an unlocked Nexus? AFAIK, my plan options will be the same price whether I have a contract or not, so really I'm just costing myself an extra $330 dollars. OK, so I get to "choose" carriers, but again, if I choose not to use T-Mobile, won't I be stuck with edge?

orangecat2• 16 years ago

AFAIK, my plan options will be the same price whether I have a contract or not

The "Even More Plus" from T-Mobile are contract-free and $20/month cheaper than their on-contract equivalents. You save $480 over 2 years, well above the difference in purchase price, and have no ETF issues if you need to cancel.

if I choose not to use T-Mobile, won't I be stuck with edge?

Unfortunately yes.

qcassidy• 16 years ago

T-Mobile plans are actually about $20 cheaper without a contract. (They're pretty quiet about this.) Also, there's value in being able to switch carriers without penalty at any time if, say, you decide to get a different phone a year from now.

alex_c• 16 years ago

Canada here, but - here's one scenario.

One of the local carriers, Wind Mobile, added a plan in December that includes a lot of goodies - unlimited calling in home areas, unlimited text, unlimited data, etc. - for $40/mo.

http://shop.windmobile.ca/ProductCatalog/VoicePlans/PlanDeta...

This is miles ahead of the competition - the catch is that Wind coverage isn't great, but not an issue if you rarely leave the metro area.

At least 3 of my friends have told me they would love to switch, but don't want to pay the cancellation fees for their current providers.

That alone is reason enough for me to avoid multi-year contracts - even if I don't end up ahead financially by switching to better deals, I have almost a philosophical objection to this kind of coercion.

bryanlarsen2• 16 years ago

Which is a direct copy of the Christmas plan offered by Mobilicity. Boy, it's nice to have competition in Canada again.

bryanlarsen2• 16 years ago

To relate back to the original post, the salesman at Wind told me that they have no plans to update any of their phones. Which is why I'm on Mobilicity which offers a Google phone.

masklinn3• 16 years ago

> Not trolling, really, but - In America, what is the upside to buying an unlocked Nexus? AFAIK, my plan options will be the same price whether I have a contract or not

I haven't seen anything else yet (though I might just have missed it) in western Europe. There are even countries (e.g. Belgium) where you don't get pack-ins (so the phone is full price) and the contract price's as expensive as in subsidized countries.

On the other hand, buying your own phone means you're not forced to remain with your carriers for the standard 24 months (that probably is more of an advantage in europe, where all carriers are on the same GSM bands, so the pain of switching amounts to getting a new SIM and telling your old carrier to shut down your account)

Samuel_Michon• 16 years ago

"I haven't seen anything else yet (though I might just have missed it) in western Europe."

Actually, it's very common in Europe. They're called "SIM only" plans. They don't include a phone, but are way cheaper.

Example: http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/sim-only-plans/all-sim-plans

"There are even countries (e.g. Belgium) where you don't get pack-ins (so the phone is full price) and the contract price's as expensive as in subsidized countries."

In Belgium, operators are prohibited from selling subsidized phones. Instead, consumers buy their phones full price and sign up for a SIM-only plan.

Example: An iPhone 4 16GB costs Euro 640 ($850) at Mobistar Belgium. Their iPhone plan costs Euro 45 a month ($60). The plan includes 6 hours of outgoing calls (incoming calls are free), 600 text messages and 500MB 3G data. Spread over 2 years, that would be the same as paying $95 a month for a plan with a subsidized phone. That's about the same as it would cost in Belgium's neighboring country, The Netherlands, where phone subsidies are allowed.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&tl...

code_duck• 16 years ago

This reminds me of an analysis I heard on the radio yesterday.

The synopsis is that it's better to offer people less choices, because given more choices, people are more likely to be unhappy with the one they choose. Apple does a really good job of handling that.

If you were to only single out one manufacturer and line, say Motorola Droids, the chart would look exactly the same. But since there are 5-6 manufacturers offering good Android phones, it seems disappointing that there are new ones coming out right after yours. Really, it's a good thing.

I felt regret at buying the Android phone I did, as the Nexus S came out 3 months later. But you have to buy one sometime!

jarek4• 16 years ago

This is also why America has only two large political parties.

grayrest• 16 years ago

That's widely considered a side effect of the system:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plurality_voting_system#Effect_...

orangecat2• 16 years ago

Alternative interpretation: I can buy an Android phone at any time and be sure I'm getting something reasonably current, whereas I have to track iPhone release schedule rumors to avoid paying full price for a year-old model. Trolling is fun!

hc5• 16 years ago

iOS 3 update wasn't free - $5 or $10 IIRC.

mortenjorck• 16 years ago

Only for iPod Touches, not for iPhones.

aidenn0• 16 years ago

He really needs the WebOS chart where the next phone comes out exclusively on a different carrier.

dlevine• 16 years ago

Android device support really depends on your carrier. Some carriers are MUCH better than others at releasing updates.

If you're willing to go the unsupported route, most popular phones seem to have unofficial ROMs available. You can definitely get Froyo on your G1, and you might even be able to have Gingerbread.

I think that the trick with Android is to get a phone that seems like it will be pretty popular. Don't get a cool but oddball device (I have a Droid Pro, which fits into that category, and a Droid2, which seems to be pretty well supported by the ROM community).

How to Buy an iPhone at the Worst Possible Time

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