On: The end of the road for the Nexus One

[stanleydrew]

>Why would I not choose the subsidized phone?

Because there is an implicit cost to being in a contract. It restricts your choices. I know you plan on being with Verizon for the forseeable future, but things change quickly in the world of mobile devices. Also, people move for jobs, school, family reasons, etc, and service quality isn't consistent even on Verizon.

For some people it's worth $400 to avoid having their decisions restricted by a contract.

[glhaynes → stanleydrew]

But that's $400 of guaranteed cost vs. an early termination fee (usually around $300, I think?) that you very likely won't have to pay.

[detst → glhaynes]

A termination fee that decreases with time. It makes no sense to pay full-price for a phone in the USA.

[jemfinch → stanleydrew]

> Because there is an implicit cost to being in a contract. It restricts your choices.

Given the balkanization of cell phone hardware in the US (i.e., most phones only work on one carrier) is this really a factor?