Originally Posted by thommy

The idea of an unlocked, unbranded version is tempting, however, it's more cost effective to enter contract with a subsidized phone. These carriers recoup the cost of the phone in our monthly payments over the contract period, however, once your contract is up and you've essentially paid for your phone, the cost of the plan stays the same. And if you don't enter a contract and pay for the phone outright, you still pay the same amount for a plan as you would have with a subsidized phone. So, if they were fair, these carriers would reduce our monthly bills once our contracts were completed because they've fully recouped the phone's cost. But they don't. So if you don't take advantage and sign a new contract with a newly subsidized phone, you continue paying the same monthly bill and the carriers love it. So by buying the phone outright and not entering contract, you essentially are in the same boat where you are paying the same monthly costs as the person whose bill includes the subsidized phone costs yet you also paid for the phone. Sorry this is so long-winded -- I'm stoned.