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Originally Posted by Andrew H.
To some extent, sure. The difference is that Apple doesn't allow the carriers to put their own non-removable apps on the phone, and that updates come directly from Apple and don't have to be filtered through the carrier.
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All the phones I bought back when I lived in Asia don't come with that crap. Color me surprised when I moved to the US and now had to deal with all the restrictions from carriers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew H.
But the prices *aren't* overpriced if you use the subsidy, which is $450. (Or aren't overpriced compared to pay-as-you-go plans, which is, of course, a different matter). And again, the $55/month AT&T smartphone plan (450 minutes/200 MB data) doesn't strike me as being particularly worse than paying $100/month for 1000 minutes prepaid. Particularly with the subsidy.
Prepaid data packages are roughly 2-4x as expensive for prepaid - i.e., $15/month gives you 100MB prepaid vs. 200MB on contract; $25/month gives you 500MB prepaid vs. 2GB on contract.
So I don't think that you can universally state that PAYG is the better option; it really depends on how much you use your phone. If you use your phone a lot, I don't think it's a better deal; if you use it very infrequently (especially without data), I think it clearly is a better deal.
I'm not really convinced that we have an oligopoly, either. In my market, I can choose from 4 major carriers (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile), and I've had contracts with all but Sprint. I think that's a decent amount of competition (much better than cable), particularly given number portability, and I don't think it would change much if we had 6 competitors. Or 10. I suppose things might change if we had some sort of different regulatory scheme.
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The subsidy isn't $450. From one of Samsung's comments, it appears industry standard is just $200 or so for all manufacturers
except Apple. Phone prices also get artificially inflated to make it appear as if getting the 2-year contract is a good deal. It's not the number of competitors that make it an oligopoly. It's the fact that most of them seem to have decided that keeping inflated pricing is a good idea. Another thing, what if you're not the type to change phones every 2 years or so or what if you don't need the most high-end smartphone? Most carriers aren't going to lower your monthly rate once you've paid off the phone subsidy and the monthly rate you pay is the same regardless of whether you got an LG Phoenix or a Samsung Stratosphere for $0.01.
I never said pay as you go is always a better option over postpaid. I was just saying I liked AT&T PAYG over T-Mobile PAYG. Indeed, if you tend to use your phone a lot, pay as you go is certainly more expensive.
I'd like to point to my earlier post:
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Originally Posted by ilovejedd
T-Mobile actually has two types of postpaid plans - Classic and Value. With the Classic Plan, you get subsidized equipment. With the Value Plan, you bring your own device but you pay a much lower monthly fee.
Classic Plan Family
1000 Minutes $60
Unlimited Text $20
Line 1 Unlimited Plus (2GB) $20
Line 2 Unlimited Plus (2GB) $20
Line 3 Add-A-Line Fee $10
Line 3 Unlimited Plus (2GB) $20
Line 4 Add-A-Line Fee $10
Line 4 Unlimited Plus (2GB) $20
Monthly Total (before taxes): $180
2-year Total: $4,320
Value Plan Family
1000 Minutes $50
Unlimited Text $10
Line 1 Unlimited Plus (2GB) $10
Line 2 Unlimited Plus (2GB) $10
Line 3 Add-A-Line Fee $5
Line 3 Unlimited Plus (2GB) $10
Line 4 Add-A-Line Fee $5
Line 4 Unlimited Plus (2GB) $10
Monthly Total (before taxes): $110
2-year Total: $2,640
That's a difference of $1,680 - enough to buy 4 mid-range (or last year's high-end) smartphones. Another thing, data plans are optional on T-Mobile if you bring your own device and their pay per use data plans are probably one of the fairest in the market.
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