Hello everyone
Just another long-time lurker here >.>
I wanted to start off by thanking each and every one of you that has contributed to this thread - you've provided a lot of great information for people diving into the android world for the first time. I am very much appreciative.
I have two questions if anyone can chime in and give their two cents.
First, slashgear just reported (not sure how breaking the news is) that the costco deal looks to be ten bucks off ($290) and a “Member Bonus Accessory Pack.”
I have a $50 loyalty discount at verizon wireless that will drop cost to $250 buying straight from vzw. Do you guys believe the accessory pack will be worth the $40 bucks? Any guesses as to what it will include? I am very much interested in the car mount, not sure what else I'll be interested in.
Secondly, I'm not sure whether or not to buy and immediately pay ETF. January 5th I leave on a study abroad program to Spain, and I get back to the US, earliest July 5th, latest August 5th. I'll be disabling the phone save for wifi for those six months. I'm paying $40 a month on a family plan, so that's $240 to $280 I'll pay Verizon for nothing in those months.
My other option is to pay the ETF ($350?), port my phone number to google voice ($20?), and cancel my verizon service (save $240 to $280). As I will be out of my contract when I get back to the states in August and hop back in on my family plan, that would allow me to get the promotional 2-year contract price on a phone whenever I want from then on. But I seem to lose a little money and porting to google voice when I go international (to not lose my number) and porting back to verizon when I'm back seems to be a hassle. Your thoughts?