No longer buying flagship phones...

[akshatp]

I don't see this option on AT&T's website. From articles I've read, AT&T doesn't subsidize the iPhone 6S.

I understand a lot of you don't use smartphones for their actual capacity. Some of us do and would like to have the nicest phone available. However, I don't want to spend $850+ to get it. That's fucking ridiculous. Phones shouldn't be more than $500, ever.

Which articles, if I may ask? Wherever you read them, its false.

I just upgraded both mine and my wife to 6S and 6S Plus respectively, and paid the subsidized price for agreeing to a 2 year contract.

Sure, they will try and sell you on NEXT, which is a total rip off IMO, but just because they arent advertising the 2 year contract with subsidy, does not mean it doesnt exist.

 

[lupi]

Put it this way, when you get a phone for "free" it's not really free, you are paying for it multiple times over through the contract. Just get a Nexus 4 or other cheaper phone and get a lower end plan that wont cost as much per month. You'll save a lot of money in the long run.

and yet non-contract prices haven't really gone down, particularly when considering data rate cost.

 

[TridenT]

and yet non-contract prices haven't really gone down, particularly when considering data rate cost.

This is basically what I am talking about...

 

[Raduque]

and yet non-contract prices haven't really gone down, particularly when considering data rate cost.

I save $25 a line per month by being on the non-contract plan. It's cheaper for me because I have two owned devices and one financed device that I regret getting.

 

[Fire&Blood]

http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/8/9478093/verizon-increasing-unlimited-data-price

Probably applies elsewhere too but US carriers=cunts. The government should seize their assets, and Apple's while I'm at it. I would pay to see top execs of AT&T & Verizon get waterboarded. Especially the ones responsible for devising ways of nickel-and-diming customers.

The subsidy game, trampstamping devices, device exclusivity, anti consumer contract terms dictated to manufacturers, locking bootloaders, avoiding compatibility with other networks, data/bandwidth games, apps that cannot be uninstalled without unlocking bootloaders/voiding warranties, the tethering game, just a few examples of why carriers piss me off. There is no real competition between carriers and the cost of "competing" that goes on is passed onto and paid for dearly by the consumers anyway.

I'm "grandfathered" into a T-Mobile plan and while they are the least evil carrier (for the moment) I have been bringing my own devices to the network, Nexus phones and the OPO which I still use.

Hopefully I live long enough to see the day when my communications get detached from the carrier assigned phone number, I'll be driving in circles around carrier HQ's, honking my horn and waving my middle finger at them, screaming "fuck you, die hungry, greedy cunts".

I feel a lot better now.

 

[OverVolt]

You stole my thing

 

[Fire&Blood]

I could say the same about you :awe:

 

[StrangerGuy]

http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/8/9478093/verizon-increasing-unlimited-data-price

Probably applies elsewhere too but US carriers=cunts. The government should seize their assets, and Apple's while I'm at it. I would pay to see top execs of AT&T & Verizon get waterboarded. Especially the ones responsible for devising ways of nickel-and-diming customers.

The subsidy game, trampstamping devices, device exclusivity, anti consumer contract terms dictated to manufacturers, locking bootloaders, avoiding compatibility with other networks, data/bandwidth games, apps that cannot be uninstalled without unlocking bootloaders/voiding warranties, the tethering game, just a few examples of why carriers piss me off. There is no real competition between carriers and the cost of "competing" that goes on is passed onto and paid for dearly by the consumers anyway.

I'm "grandfathered" into a T-Mobile plan and while they are the least evil carrier (for the moment) I have been bringing my own devices to the network, Nexus phones and the OPO which I still use.

Hopefully I live long enough to see the day when my communications get detached from the carrier assigned phone number, I'll be driving in circles around carrier HQ's, honking my horn and waving my middle finger at them, screaming "fuck you, die hungry, greedy cunts".

I feel a lot better now.

You do realize part of Apple's success is because they got the balls to say no to carriers polluting their software and only agreeing to a hardware carrier lock, while Samsung etc completely bent over their asses to give up all control to the evil carriers to ruin the end user experience.

 

[Naer]

acquired a moto x, dropped it. now I have a Samsung juno1

 

[Fire&Blood]

You do realize part of Apple's success is because they got the balls to say no to carriers polluting their software and only agreeing to a hardware carrier lock, while Samsung etc completely bent over their asses to give up all control to the evil carriers to ruin the end user experience.

It is true that Apple didn't take the bend over stance and they said no to tramp-stamping and carrier apps but the motive behind it was far from consumer rights/interests. That may have been good but there are plenty of other evils Apple lead the industry with.

 

[postmortemIA]

heh what a win for carriers, when
one group believes there is no subsidy for phones *but it used to be*
another that "Next" monthly installments plans are better that old ones
and third that the "Next" plans are rip off

with old 2yr contract, you paid $0-$200 upfront plus $15 to $30 more monthly for data. There you paid for financing of the remaining balance of phone purchase. At $30/mo, in two years you'd pay $720 + $200 for that phone.

With new next monthly installment plan, you pay $0 upfront + $something for activation. You'll pay the exact price of the phone through installments, and also you pay $15-$25 less per month than with 2-yr contract.

So in most cases, monthly installment plan is cheaper than 2yrs contract. Sure it depends of data usage and such.

 

[SeductivePig]

I upgrade every 2 years with apple, and it usually doesn't cost me much at all since I typically get $400+ back for my existing iphone.

SO I don't really mind. A 6S only costs $650 or so anyways, I'm ok with putting $200-300 down every 2 years.