Start saving the pennies now.
Apple yesterday took the wraps off its hotly anticipated new iPhone, the iPhone 5. Last night, Everything Everywhere, parent company of T-Mobile, Orange, and EE, confirmed that both T-Mobile and Orange would be carrying the device from September 21. So, you know where you can get it and when you can get it, but how much will it cost?
Though full price details are not yet available, Apple's UK website has the starting price for the iPhone 5 listed online. As you may already be aware, pre-orders for the iPhone 5 are opening up tomorrow, September 14. When they do, you'll be paying from £529 for the phones. Obviously, this is the price for the unlocked phone and you could get it much cheaper if you're willing to enter into a contract with a carrier. If that's the case, subsidies will likely bring the price down to £199 or cheaper. Still, if you're looking for an unlocked iPhone, you'll be paying at least £529 for the privilege. Though Apple doesn't specify, we assume this £529 price tag is for the lowest capacity 16GB model. The company also has a 32GB and 64GB iPhone 5 that will cost significantly more.
Specswise, in case you missed the announcement earlier, the iPhone 5 features a 4-inch 326 ppi, 1136 x 640 resolution display, a new Apple A6 SoC, an 8MP camera, improved battery life, 4G LTE, FaceTime over mobile networks, and iOS 6.
And honestly, I am really not trolling here. I was just uber surprised they would charge that much given all the competition currently available. I prefer Android myself, but that's me.
The parent company of T-Mobile is Germany's "Deutsche Telekom" (100%)
"Everything Everywhere" is owned by Deutsche Telekom and France Télécom (50/50)
And honestly, I am really not trolling here. I was just uber surprised they would charge that much given all the competition currently available. I prefer Android myself, but that's me.
It's not cheaper, it's a lot more expensive. You simply pay less up front and far more over the contract's duration.
I would prefer Apple, Samsung and all others fix their prices of new phones at $200-$500 and compete for costumers with more and better features. And I am glad that seems to be the trend.
So you buy the phone yourself from somewhere else (places such as Best Buy often have phones for 20-50% less than buying directly from a carrier's store, just ignore what the employees say about almost everything) and then go to a carrier to get the service.
I bought my phone from bestbuy and had them activate it. I still signed a contract with sprint in the process. I got the phone discounted because I signed a contract not because I went to bestbuy, I could have done the same a sprint store. So it really didn't matter either way where I bought it.
I pay 100 bucks a month for two phones with unlimited internet. So, $100 for phones + contract = $100/month..... My other option was, $600 for phones w/no contract = $100/month. Sprint doesn't charge different amounts. They do however, charge for termination.
I didn't say anything about a discount. Best Buy sells the phones cheaper than the carrier stores sell them for. If I buy a phone from best buy, Newegg, or another such store instead of buying it from a carrier (not counting any contract plan, just outright buying it and then getting service for it) is cheaper. For example, Sprint wanted me to pay something like $250 for a phone (low end Android, buying it outright without contract) and I got the same phone for under $150 at best buy and then brought it to sprint to get service for it.
Well, not in the UK or most of Europe for that matter. Only the Benelux countries currently offer 4G LTE on any LTE bands the iphone 5 supports. Some other countries will follow eventually but they are a minority as most European countries have reserved LTE band 7 for 4G LTE which the iphone 5 does not support.
In fact all the major countries in Europe except Germany will not have 4G LTE on any LTE band the iphone 5 supports. Ever. So Europeans looking for 4G LTE will either have to turn to one of Apple rivals, or hope the iphone 5 gets more complete 4G LTE support next year when the iphone 5S will be released (perhaps).
How does the monthly subscription cost of a smartphone in a 2 year contract compare to the subscription cost of a smartphone without contract?
Here in US let say in AT&T it cost exactly the same. So it makes more sense to buy whatever smartphone with a 2 year contract since there is no difference in the monthly cost.
Only if they unlock it at the end of the contract!
At least from what I've seen, the contracts are more expensive over that two year period than buying the phone up-front, so it's usually a moot point.
in AT&T if i buy a smartphone lets say ill pay $200 + $90 a month for 2 years that is a total of $2,360
if i buy it without a contract ill pay $500 + $90 a month no contract but in a period of 2 years that is $2660
the service cost the same regardless the status of the phone. if you stay for 2 years in the same company you end up paying more when you don't sign for a contract.
Subsidizing always end up shorter end of stick since I am using unsubsidized regional carrier and its rate is 1/2 the price double the feature ($30 per month, unlimited everything including data, versus $60 quota'd plan where $20 or more is considered installment pay), half way through this subsidized phone is "so yesteryear" anyway, it is still good in a technical sense but it is ho-hum already.
got it
well in America there are some companies like that and even that they offer unlimited internet, data and texting, their coverage can't be compare to the bigger companies and in average the unlimited internet is very slow compare to the big companies. so its not that you are getting the service cheaper is more like you are getting a cheaper service(less quality-less money)
ie sprint offers unlimited internet for a much cheaper price in but the internet speed is around 1mbps and im getting over 7mbps with AT&T on HSPA+