Re: N900 Subsidized in US, but by who..?
 

oops thanks for the correction guys

Re: N900 Subsidized in US, but by who..?
 

If i was to guess, i would say Q1 2010 for the N900 on Tmobile US.

Re: N900 Subsidized in US, but by who..?
 

it is expected to be 299.99 with 2-year commitment.

tmo is offering both susidized and non-subsidized services and the 20-month payment plans too.

Re: N900 Subsidized in US, but by who..?
 

That article was in reference to the NYC n900 meetup last friday (I blanked on Mr Agarwal's name and position in the other thread). There were probably more journalists and tech bloggers there than 'regular' tablet enthusiasts.

Re: N900 Subsidized in US, but by who..?
 

Wow, that would be a really bad deal. If it's $299, you'd end up paying a total of $779, once you add in the extra cost of the Even More plan over the course of a two-year contract. I wonder what the unsubidized price through T-Mobile will be on the Even More Plus plans?

Re: N900 Subsidized in US, but by who..?
 

Edit: Turns out I'm off on this, please see discussion below

Your math is off here. The Even More plan is only $10/mo more than the Even More Plus (contract free/no subsidy) plan. Between the two of them, yes, it would be $20 more per month, but the price of the phones (indirect from Amazon even) would be $1100, so assuming they would be happy with Tmobile for two years, they get a better deal with the subsidy.

I still say the best option is making your own subsidy: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=33447 , you can even switch to the cheaper plan for $35 - http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=33760

Re: N900 Subsidized in US, but by who..?
 

That's not correct. If you get the plans with data, it's $20 more. If you get the plans with just voice or just voice and text, it's $10 more. You can see in my post that you quote I specified that I was talking about the plans with data, when I said $20 more. I was assuming that anyone who got the N900 would want the data connection. [Edit: Also, I'm pretty sure that T-Mobile will not let you buy an N900 from them and not get a data plan. This is what they do with the G1 right now and the Touch Pro 2. I don't see why they would treat the N900 differently.]

T-Mobile's website is pretty confusing, but you can see the plans laid out in a more straightforward manner here (although if you price it out on the website you will get the same results):

http://www.tmonews.com/2009/10/unlim...lan-breakdown/
http://www.tmonews.com/2009/10/project-dark-pricing/

To be precise, it's $20 more for the unlimited talk+text+web plan on Even More ($99) versus Even More Plus ($79). Although actually, as I look more closely, if you get one of the plans that doesn't include data, Even More is $10 more and then adding smartphone data is $30/month (versus $25/month on Even More Plus). So in that case, you'd pay $15 more per month on Even More versus Even More Plus.

So, assuming you want a data plan with your N900 [and in fact assuming T-Mobile won't let you get the N900 without a data plan], the Even More plan is $15-$20 more per month, which makes the subsidy a ripoff. If you buy the N900 from Amazon right now, you pay $582. If you get it subsidized from T-Mobile for $299 (assuming ceroberts75 is correct on this price), you also pay $360- $480 more over two years for the more expensive Even More plan (assuming you want the data plan [and you probably will have no choice anyway]). So you pay $659-$779 "subsidized" versus $582 on Amazon.

I know, these plans are super confusing. People are pulling their hair out right now. Even the T-Mobile customer service people are confused and quoting all kinds of wrong prices on the phone.

But trust me. You're fooling yourself if you think the subsidy is a good deal. It's always been a money maker for the phone companies. It's just a way to trick people who can't or don't bother to do the math.

Re: N900 Subsidized in US, but by who..?
 

What is the best T-mobile plan in the US for the following:
- two phones, one an N900, the other the simplest voice-only phone
- minimal voice use (about 200 minutes per month combined between
both phones)
- no text/sms on either phone
- unlimited data on the N900 (must support ssh and tethering; ideally
really unlimited but I will live with anything at least as large as
2G/month so long as they only shut down data and don't charge
exhorbitant fees for going over)
- i don't need a subsidy for the N900, i don't need 20-month payment
either
- subsidy or 20-month payment for the other voice-only phone would be
nice but not necessary
- prefer no contract, but a 2-yr contract is ok

Re: N900 Subsidized in US, but by who..?
 

At the moment, since T-Mob does not subsdize the N900, the best plan is Even More + 750 minute talk family plan, $50/month, plus the additional smartphone data, at $25/month, for a total of $75.

But if you are not a current T-Mobile subscriber, be sure that you have decent coverage in places you care about. Here's one way to check: buy a prepaid T-Mobile phone and use it for a few days.

If you have coverage where you need it, you can use the phone for the 2nd line on your plan.

If the coverage is poor, you can return it for a refund within a few days.

I did that and was surprised at how poor T-Mobile coverage is in my area. I'm returning the phone today and getting a Droid, even though I'd prefer a N900.

Re: N900 Subsidized in US, but by who..?
 

I just checked and I appologize because I was off on my pricing. Apparently the smartphone dataplan costs have gone up from $25 before project black to $30 on Even More plans although they are still $25 on EMP plans, and particularly with family plans, that might frustrate some of the numbers I was citing. Ultimately, it all comes down to the numbers, and unless you can save $15*24=$360 with a subsidy, it's not worth it. I guess I only got in at exactly the right time.

One annoying thing on the T-mobile site is that they make it look like you're forced to pay the whole $30 for unlimited web+texting if you select a smartphone first, but I found that if you select the plan first then add a phone, you can get data only for $5 less. Since I can send texts just fine with Google, this is for me.