I will say this, To Me, it certainly blurs the real pricing advantage of Metro when you lay out 5 large for a phone. If you amortize the out of pocket $500 (against the say $200 cost of the same phone at a company subsidized store,) that raises the Metro per month (TOTAL-phone "subsidy" and plan) to closer to that of the Big Boys. Why not then for near the same TOTAL price stay/go to where there's genuinely wider coverage?
This is (IMO again) where the LG Motion really shines. You can get it brand spanking new for $140 shipped to your door. Spread out on an imaginary 2 year contract works out to $5.83 a month. Negligible. It also basically negates the need to carry approximately $70 of insurance a year, another say $7 a month. If you can buy a brand new phone for $140, spending 50% of that amount per year on insurance in non-sensical.
I understand the desire for a real nice phone like the G3 but to me anyway, laying out that amount in cash up front limits the pricing advantage I otherwise see in having Metro.
Bruce in Ocala, FL
