Laughing Man
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2009-11-04
, 04:40
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Posts: 4,556 |
Thanked: 1,624 times |
Joined on Dec 2007
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#11
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The Following User Says Thank You to Laughing Man For This Useful Post: | ||
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2009-11-04
, 04:41
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Posts: 279 |
Thanked: 208 times |
Joined on Aug 2009
@ London
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#12
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2009-11-04
, 04:43
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Posts: 1,067 |
Thanked: 313 times |
Joined on Sep 2009
@ USA
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#13
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2009-11-04
, 05:12
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Posts: 459 |
Thanked: 669 times |
Joined on Sep 2007
@ The DMV
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#14
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2009-11-04
, 05:40
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Posts: 203 |
Thanked: 68 times |
Joined on Oct 2009
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#15
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2009-11-04
, 05:53
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Posts: 224 |
Thanked: 107 times |
Joined on Aug 2009
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#16
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That's not correct. On the Even More plans, the phones are subsidized and you can pay for them on a 20-month plan. On the the Even More Plus plans the phones are not subsidized and you can also get the 20-month payment option. And it's the same selection of phones on both types of plans. [Edit: Looks like CaptainGinyu beat me to the punch. Hope my explanation is also useful.]
That aside, it seems like it would have to be T-Mobile for the N900, given the 1700 3G band. There have been a lot of rumors about T-Mobile releasing the N900 already. Of course, to get the subsidy, you'd have to sign up for a two year contract on an Even More plan, which is $20 more per month for the plans with data. So over the two years you'd pay $480 more in the monthly cost of your plan, plus the presumably $199 up front for the device. That means You'd pay a total of $679 extra, which is $100 more expensive that just buying the N900 outright from Amazon and even more expensive than the worst price you can get buying directly from Nokia ($649). This is the great lie of phone subsidies, they're a bad deal for the consumer and the carriers make money on them in the long run.
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2009-11-04
, 08:29
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Posts: 203 |
Thanked: 68 times |
Joined on Oct 2009
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#17
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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.
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2009-11-04
, 17:48
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Posts: 77 |
Thanked: 63 times |
Joined on Sep 2009
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#18
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2009-11-04
, 18:14
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Posts: 35 |
Thanked: 20 times |
Joined on Sep 2009
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#19
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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
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2009-11-04
, 21:51
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Posts: 224 |
Thanked: 107 times |
Joined on Aug 2009
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#20
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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.