
Free iPhone pits premium brand against Android - evo_9
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/04/BUNT1LQA37.DTL&type=tech
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jeza
It's not free at all if you have to sign a contract. When obtaining a phone
under contract I always consider the total cost of ownership (which is
conveniently written into the contract where I live at least). So if you're
paying $50[1] a month over 24 months then the total cost is really $1,200.
Then I consider if it's really worth skimping on $300 (25% in this case)
upfront then not having a better phone. Or I might compare it to the cost of
buying a phone outright and how much I'm likely to spend over the next 24
months on a non-contract plan.

[1] Prices are not actual, but are close to what I recall when I last signed
up on a contract.

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untog
Yes and no. Often (almost always?) the price per month would be $50 whether
you take a free phone or use your old one. Cash grab by the networks of
course, but still. The different is contract length- if you want a phone it's
two years or more. But if you intend on having cell service for the next two
years (and who doesn't?) it doesn't seem like such a big factor.

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nodata
Rubbish. Most networks have a special contract specifically for iphone users
who get a phone. It costs a small fortune more than the contract for other
phones. You can also buy a simcard only contract that includes no phone -
again, cheaper.

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jeza
I just looked at Telstra's plans for iPhone in Australia and you can get the
base model iPhone 4S for $63 a month or the 64GB model for $72 a month. An
Android phone will cost you at least $59 a month on a contract but there are
also handset repayments involved. Granted this is our more expensive carrier
but the only one you can really rely on for coverage outside the main cities.

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cageface
I guess people aren't able to do enough arithmetic to figure out that the
monthly bill over the lifetime of a two-year contract swamps the $200 you have
to pay upfront for a far more capable device. Caveat emptor.

As an iOS dev I'm a little sad that I'm going to have to keep that low a
common denominator in mind for the next few years though.

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arn
That's not necessarily the case. $200 is still $200. They pay the contract
regardless. The same argument could be made about only getting the high end
64GB iPhone since $399 is a drop in the bucket compared to your contract.

Or cable boxes. I assume that you have a top of the line TiVO rather than
using what the cable company offers? Cause the upfront cost of the TiVo box is
dwarfed by your long term cable bill.

Some people just have different priorities.

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cageface
It looks like the absolute minimum you're going to spend on a 2 year contract
is about $1300. You get tremendous bang for your buck for the extra 15% (or
much less) a new iPhone 4S will cost you.

I've never thought cable was worth the money so I can't say if a similar logic
applies there.

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archangel_one
These have been around in England as well for at least the last month or so -
"free iphone 3GS for just $15/month". I find it incredibly oxymoronic and
hence annoying, and I'd really like to see them told to change their language.
"Free iphone with a $15/month 2-year contract" would be a lot less
misleading...

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k33l0r
In Finland the carriers are forced, by law, to tell you what to the total cost
for the contract will be over it's lifespan. They also have to tell you how
much of that total cost is for the phone.

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Synaesthesia
Here in South Africa, all phones are "free" on a contract. The important bit
is how much you pay per month for the contract.

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shareme
Follow this logic:

1\. for over 12 months big US carriers have been offering free androids with 2
years contract signon.

2\. Samsung has the top selling smartphone in the US despite 4s numbers..

3\. iphone release and Jobs dies.

The article is lacking in logic and few other points

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StavrosK
Given how fashion-driven Apple products are, who'd want an iPhone 3GS?

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glhaynes
When I hear people talk about wanting an iPhone, I hear them talk about how
they'll use it, not about the fashion aspect. I mean, no doubt some people
want it as a status symbol, but it's not at all clear to me that that's "why
people want an iPhone".

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StavrosK
Most of the people I know who had an iPhone 4 sold it for a 4S. I don't think
it was so much a Siri thing (it doesn't work very well in Greece).

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glhaynes
This seems to prove my point, since they look identical. :)

