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Originally Posted by ilovejedd
Sorry but I don't agree with a lot of what you've posted. The reason postpaid plans are so expensive is because the rates have phone subsidies built-in. I'd gladly pay the full upfront cost for my smartphone (and I do buy factory unlocked smartphones quite often) in exchange for more reasonable rates and plan options. Why should people who never upgrade their phones be forced to pay the same rates as those who upgrade every 18 months? They're essentially subsidizing the frequent upgraders.
I agree, $30 for unlimited everything is likely not sustainable but neither are current postpaid options what I consider fair.
I don't think Apple's going to specifically create a new low-cost iPhone, though. More likely than not, they'd just keep manufacturing older models and sell those at a lower price. The iPhone 4 sells for $450 unlocked while the 4S sells for $550. I reckon the 4S will drop to $450 when the new iPhone is released later this year. I do wonder whether Apple will keep the iPhone 4 and just drop it to $350.
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You can do this now, and you don't even need an unlocked phone. I paid $350 for my iPhone 4s from eBay last September and put it on PagePlus standard plan, which now costs me $10 every 120 days. I mostly use my phone as a PDA, use WiFi instead of data, and only make a handful of calls and texts a month, but they have other plans for people who need more. You can also do the same and go on Talkforgood, which are a little more open about supporting iPhones. (It wasn't available when I did PagePlus.) I have several articles about it on my blog for anyone interested.