On contract vs. off contract

[happy0506]

i'm a little confused as to why someone would buy a phone off contract unless they have not completed a previous contract. i understand that you would not be whacked by a $2-300 breaking of contract fee if you switched carriers. however, if the typical smartphone is $5-600 with no contract and the discounted, 2 year contract price is $2-300, it is usually a wash if you wound up cancelling the contract later on down the road.

am i missing something? are their plans on certain carriers that are cheaper if you have an off contract phone? are all the people who say they are buying a phone off contract just people who are still under a previous contract? or, is it a principle thing for some folks?

 

[B2L]

i'm a little confused as to why someone would buy a phone off contract unless they have not completed a previous contract. i understand that you would not be whacked by a $2-300 breaking of contract fee if you switched carriers. however, if the typical smartphone is $5-600 with no contract and the discounted, 2 year contract price is $2-300, it is usually a wash if you wound up cancelling the contract later on down the road.

am i missing something? are their plans on certain carriers that are cheaper if you have an off contract phone? are all the people who say they are buying a phone off contract just people who are still under a previous contract? or, is it a principle thing for some folks?

Honestly, the reason I buy all of my devices unsubsidized and off contract is it saves me money.

For example:
Originally I was on T-Mobile on contract, I was paying $180 a month for two lines on a family plan with unlimited data, and text. After my contract was up I switched to Simple Mobile, which is a prepaid carrier that will work with any GSM device. (3G only with T-mobile frequencies.)

I am currently paying $120 a month for both lines with unlimited everything, sure there is a data cap but the only place without one is Sprint.

So that alone is saving me $60 a month.

60 x 12 = $720

I paid $560 for my device after tax, if you subtract the $200 I would have paid for the device under contract that's only $360 more.

720 - 360 = $360

Therefore, I'm saving $360 a year which is a pretty big savings. Most of the time prepaid plans are much cheaper than contract plans. Which means I can buy a new device every year and still save around $360 every year I don't sign a contract.

 

[Bob Maxey]

i'm a little confused as to why someone would buy a phone off contract unless they have not completed a previous contract. i understand that you would not be whacked by a $2-300 breaking of contract fee if you switched carriers. however, if the typical smartphone is $5-600 with no contract and the discounted, 2 year contract price is $2-300, it is usually a wash if you wound up cancelling the contract later on down the road.

am i missing something? are their plans on certain carriers that are cheaper if you have an off contract phone? are all the people who say they are buying a phone off contract just people who are still under a previous contract? or, is it a principle thing for some folks?

I do it because I do not want to be tied to one company for years and be forced to pay a fee to drop service. I like that my costs are fixed and no matter what I do with my phone, the bill is exactly the same from month to month.

I pay $35.00 and that is it. If something better comes along, I simply do not pay the bill and our relationship is over, with no early termination fees.

Android arrived at Cricket in the form of the Zio and VM now offers the Triumph, a fast phone with lots of memory, a much faster processor, and a huge screen.

Fans of no contract phones are seeing better phones compared to a few years ago when all we had to choose from were simple dumb phones.

 

[Alien12]

I enjoy buying off-contract phones because I do not text or call all day, but I still enjoy regular use of other features on the phone.

 

[chanchan05]

For one thing, there's less bloatware to worry about removing. Second, it helps save money, as I only pay for the services I use.

 

[Bob Maxey]

For one thing, there's less bloatware to worry about removing. Second, it helps save money, as I only pay for the services I use.

I wonder just how much bloatware costs us in terms of the amount of data we are forced to use. Just asking, Bob likes data. Bloatware as you call it might be welcomed by some users, by the way. Do not forget that you might not be able to remove it without violating your contract.

Anyone know the true costs of bloatware?

 

[chanchan05]

I wonder just how much bloatware costs us in terms of the amount of data we are forced to use. Just asking, Bob likes data. Bloatware as you call it might be welcomed by some users, by the way. Do not forget that you might not be able to remove it without violating your contract.

Anyone know the true costs of bloatware?

Thats the point, I dont need to root to remove those. Buying an off contract phone has no bloatware, and in my case with the carriers in my country, cheaper in the long run.