Develop Bugs

Sprint sucks, so a few questions

Just a few questions about Sprint.
Now, here is my question:
This phone well is nice.
Anyway, if I go to Sprint, do I HAVE to have a 2 year contract with them? They suck hard, reception in my area is balls(Though good at my house, bad at places where I go, it has at&T like service)
This phone also has the potential to become SEVERELY outdated in 2 years. (Mainly because being tide down to a 2 year contract is stupid, although my Iphone 3g doesn't feel too old even though it's been 2 years)
Not to mention snapdragons at 45nm are coming out at the end of this year.
So what is your input? Do I have to have a 2 year contract?
Also I plan on rooting this phone once the guy at grack releases the exploit.
I hope someone makes a stock Android available for this phone with Froyo.

Your only way out is to sell it to me. I'd be happy to take the phone off your hands and solve all of your problems
Seriously... PM me

Well lets just go through these one at a time...
1) You have a 30 day money back guarantee... USE IT! Take it everywhere you usually go, if the coverage is sub-par, take it back.
2) You do not have to start a 2 year contract - you can go month to month, but the do not offer subsidies on the phones if you do this. The retail cost on the Evo is $449.
3) If you sign a 2 year agreement, after 6 months of paying on time, you become a Premier Member which allows you to update your device at the 2 year price every year - with the addition of another year on your contract - it takes the 1 year and adds 1 more to it every time you do it.
4) The TV out features appear to be VERY limited at this point - videos and gallery only at launch. I'm sure the kind people here will have it rooted and figure out a way to get more through the TV, but for now, that's what we have.
Overall, I switched from Verizon to Sprint in Feburary and couldn't be happier. My service is just as good. Customer service has been wonderful and my bill is half what it was on Verizon.
All I can do is stress that 30 day trial period. Make sure you take the phone everywhere that you go - and then some!

zcarman said:
2) You do not have to start a 2 year contract - you can go month to month, but the do not offer subsidies on the phones if you do this.
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Click to collapse
I hope you did your research OR you have personally gotten month-by-month with Sprint.
Many people on other forums have reported calling Sprint and asking for month-by-month or 1-year contracts. My girlfriend being one of them. However, Sprint has told everyone that all plans must come with a 2-year contract. It seems that Sprint does things differently than T-mobile.
If you are not just speaking hypothetically, we would love to hear more about this "month to month" plan that you mention.

Where are you at with bad Sprint reception, mine just roams on other networks, I always have signal and I live in a small town in the south. As for the iPhone 4g, I thought it had the same internals as the iPad.

pingpongboss said:
I hope you did your research OR you have personally gotten month-by-month with Sprint.
Many people on other forums have reported calling Sprint and asking for month-by-month or 1-year contracts. My girlfriend being one of them. However, Sprint has told everyone that all plans must come with a 2-year contract. It seems that Sprint does things differently than T-mobile.
If you are not just speaking hypothetically, we would love to hear more about this "month to month" plan that you mention.
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Click to collapse
I believe the plan they're referring to isn't really a plan.. but if you've already served your 2 year contract, and remain with sprint, then it becomes month-to-month on whatever plan you had before.

jigglywiggly said:
This phone also has the potential to become SEVERELY outdated in 2 years, the iphone 4g has a lot of speculation.
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Click to collapse
So the EVO will be "SEVERELY outdated in 2 years", but the iphone has a lot of speculation?
lol what do you think that iphone will be like in 2 years? That's right, Apple will have released 2 more models after it.
That point is moot, both phones will be outdated in 2 years. Hell, both of them will be outdated by December of this year. They're phones, that's the nature of the beast.

pingpongboss said:
I hope you did your research OR you have personally gotten month-by-month with Sprint.
Many people on other forums have reported calling Sprint and asking for month-by-month or 1-year contracts. My girlfriend being one of them. However, Sprint has told everyone that all plans must come with a 2-year contract. It seems that Sprint does things differently than T-mobile.
If you are not just speaking hypothetically, we would love to hear more about this "month to month" plan that you mention.
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Click to collapse
As would I. I'm seriously considering paying the ETF on my AT&T contract. But there is ZERO chance I would ever be locked to Sprint for a year let alone two...

iphone = LOL please
yea if you enjoy a closed off OS

I have been with sprint for over 10years and really they have been one of the better for me..... I also had at&t and tmo through this same time and hated both of them more than sprint.....
AT&T are crooks and tmo just stinks, iphone is cool if your a fanboy but really it is quite bland to me.
I have had many phones with sprint and the only way I ever have a new commitment is if I get the phone at a discounted price.......I bought my hero from and individual and it did not reset my commitment, but that doesnt mean they do not require a commitment on the Google IO phones. They shouldnt imo, because they did not subsidize it, althought this could be required for a new customer.
i have never seen the contract be associated with the plan just the device and number.
One more point: The etf with sprint is still one of the lower as I have not heard they have raised it like ATT and tmo, so in all fairness even if you terminate early you should easily recomp that by selling the EVO if you dont like the service.
I too hate ETF but its a small cost considering monthy recurring charges on a smartphone, even though sprint is about half of the other guys. I have 4 lines all smartphones with sprint and I pay just over what my iphone bill was with AT&T so this imo opinion that is worth a lot!

jigglywiggly said:
This phone also has the potential to become SEVERELY outdated in 2 years, the iphone 4g has a lot of speculation.
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Click to collapse
Pppplease.. This phone has the most features than any phone to date, not to mention what we already know form iPhone HD leak. I say this phone will be kicking ass for more than 2 yrs!
The solve your worries, just sell the phone, and get whatever phone is out for your carrier, that you think has the best coverage in your area..

I never understood why people bash Sprint so much. I never have problems with dropped calls or lack of signal. It seems reliable to me. The biggest problem with Sprint for me has always been their selection of phones doesn't match the other carriers, and the Evo should change that.

Guy says he can't get a signal in whatever cave he lives in so "Sprint Sucks" please go to AT&T. Bye...
I'm actually surprised that the first few posters were as kind as they were.

If you have the phone already just use it month to month, the 2 year contract is only for the discounts on a new phone.

myth_mn said:
If you have the phone already just use it month to month, the 2 year contract is only for the discounts on a new phone.
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We've heard that but I for one cannot find any printed data from Sprint that says I can bring in my phone and start a month to month deal with them. Would you have any information or a link to such?
Thanks

iPhone... ewww. Even if it does come to sprint, I won't be hopping on that bandwagon anytime soon, or ever.

misticjeff said:
We've heard that but I for one cannot find any printed data from Sprint that says I can bring in my phone and start a month to month deal with them. Would you have any information or a link to such?
Thanks
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Click to collapse
When you add a line, upgrade, or purchase new service you have to option to purchase the phone at a discounted price but with a contract. If you have a phone already, or buy it without the discount a contract is not required.
I've moved back to Sprint in the pass using an old phone without any contracts.

Does ANYONE keep their same phones for the entire two-year contract period? Phones from two years ago are ancient. The longest I've had a phone since my Treo is like 8 months with my Centro and a year with my BlackBerry Curve 8330.

TheBiles said:
Does ANYONE keep their same phones for the entire two-year contract period? Phones from two years ago are ancient. The longest I've had a phone since my Treo is like 8 months with my Centro and a year with my BlackBerry Curve 8330.
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OFF TOPIC
You mean does anyone ON HERE keep their phones for 2 years. Several people at my job still carry razors. DOH!!!
Funny thing is..they get better signals in our lab area than any other phone.
ON TOPIC:
I got nothin...

myth_mn said:
When you add a line, upgrade, or purchase new service you have to option to purchase the phone at a discounted price but with a contract. If you have a phone already, or buy it without the discount a contract is not required.
I've moved back to Sprint in the pass using an old phone without any contracts.
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Click to collapse
This goes against everything I've read in other forums:
http://howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1647582
And several Sprint CSR's have said a new customer needs to sign up with a 2 year contract.

How to Get a Vibrant for $350: The Hard Way

Hello everyone,
I have one hell of a story to tell about one boy, two phones (the htc hd2 and the samsung vibrant), and one freakin' committed customer service team (T-Mobile's). OK, so I'll begin my story of how I ended up with a brand-new Vibrant for essentially 350 bucks. Bear with me here, it's a bit long. So, I originally purchased an htc hd2 way back in mid-June for 300 bucks on Craigslist. The phone ended up being defective because of a hardware issue, and because it happened to be under the "buyer's remorse" period, at least the way T-Mobile saw it, I was able to return it by mail for a brand new one for free. I was surprised when I called to learn that T-Mobile didn't require a single piece of information to verify that I was the original owner of the phone, all they saw was that an htc hd2 had magically been activated on such and such a date. So, I returned that hd2 and recieved a new one in a couple of days, which ended up being just as buggy as the last one, so I decided to abandon the hd2 altogether in exchange for the Samsung Vibrant. I called T-Mobile customer service today to setup the exchange for the vibrant, which would cost me 50 bucks since the hd2 cost 450 and the vibrant costs 500, and I was FINALLY told that they had no record of me ever buying an hd2 (I wonder why, lol). I then explained to them that I wasn't the original owner of the phone and that I had bought it from the original owner, but that the phone had been purchased only a few days before they sold it to me. They told me at first that I would have contact the original owner and get the 450 bucks credited back to there account. The only problem was that I had no way of contacting the original owner, and that they had switched carriers almost immediately after purchasing the hd2. After about four hours, and many many phone calls later, I called t-mobile one last time to explain my situation, keep in mind that I was totally honest the entire time, I reached a very nice customer service rep, and after explaining what had happened to me, and after speaking to her supervisor for over ten minutes, she told me that even though they almost never do this, that they would "take my word for it" and send the vibrant, no questions asked, for basically 50 bucks. I was over the moon considering that less than 5 minutes ago I had thought that I had thrown away 300 dollars. I would like to give some major props to T-Mobile's customer support, never in a million years would I have expected a customer service team work so hard to keep a a customer happy. Talk about going the distance. Well, that's my story. Tell me what you think, and what your experiences with them have been like.
Peace, bobofosho12

I got mine for $164 and i wasnt even due for a full upgrade. Got my phone around august. Even my sister which is due for a full upgrade has to pay more. So i think im super lucky except for the tax and all that

Alex530 said:
I got mine for $164 and i wasnt even due for a full upgrade. Got my phone around august. Even my sister which is due for a full upgrade has to pay more. So i think im super lucky except for the tax and all that
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Yeah, its an online Special. However i Would Suggest your sister to call T-mobile and ask to be transfered to the Loyalty Department to get hers. because she will get a good deal as her contract is up...... They will give it to her at full Discount and provide her with a data plan of $24.99 a month. instead of $30.00 like you got... and she wont have to pay no upgrade fee's whatsoever.

Alex530 said:
I got mine for $164 and i wasnt even due for a full upgrade. Got my phone around august. Even my sister which is due for a full upgrade has to pay more. So i think im super lucky except for the tax and all that
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Click to collapse
Same here. I renewed my contract last year, so did my GF. We both are eligible for full discount so I jump on it right away.

I hate buying ANYTHING with a contract, I know that even though I might pay through the nose up front, i'm saving tons more than I would if I had a contract for two years. I just generally buy an "almost" brand new phone on someplace like Craigslist and then I return it to T-mobile and get a brand new one for free, hence what I did with the hd2. Just my strategy though.

minogue said:
Yeah, its an online Special. However i Would Suggest your sister to call T-mobile and ask to be transfered to the Loyalty Department to get hers. because she will get a good deal as her contract is up...... They will give it to her at full Discount and provide her with a data plan of $24.99 a month. instead of $30.00 like you got... and she wont have to pay no upgrade fee's whatsoever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the 24.99 data plan and i will thanks for the info

my story on getting the vibrant new WITHOUT a contract for $133. Please note, this cannot be duplicated anymore as the "loop hole" has been caught and closed. I noticed this post on slickdeals.net the 2nd day it had been posted:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2132124
So basically costco has the cell phone kiosk's which sell tmobile and a few other carriers. as we know, T-mobile offers and "even more plus" program with is NO contract. also as we know that if we went to tmobile and got a vibrant with this even more plus program is $500.
BUT for the first 3 or 4 days that costco sold the vibrant they were selling it for $250 with the "even more plus" plan or $99 with contract. EDIT( this $250 price was a wholesale price they were offering)
so went there and bought 2 samsung vibrants for 250$ each plus tax. ended up being about $540 by opening 2 new lines on the "even more plus" plan. note that this is different then the "even more" plan which is a contract. Even though "even more plus" is not a contract, costco would not sell the phone without an actual plan but thats ok because this "even more plus plan is no contract because normally you pay full price for the phone.
so then because the "even more plus" plan is not a contract, I called t mobile and told them that I want to cancel the even more plus plan and that I paid full price for the phone. (which i did pay costco's full price). they canceled the plans over the phone on the first try without any hassel (some people had a little trouble canceling)
So then i sold 1 on ebay for $485 including shipping and kept one for myself. After paying shipping, ebay listing fees, selling fees, and paypal fees. I came out basically paying the difference which is only about $130 for my new, NON contract vibrant
keep in mind I already have a tmobile contract from my mytouch, so i just put the sim card in the new vibrant and was good to go.
Costco and Tmobile both caught on to this within days, and now it went from 250 to 479 the day after i got mine.
so i basically ended up paying $130 for a New Vibrant, not subsidized, and non contract even less then if I had signed a new 2 year contract.
If so many people had not ONLY gotten this deal just to sell all the phones on ebay and craigslist, the deal probably would have lasted a little longer. (i just sold 1 to offset the cost of buying one for myself)
so keep in mind, this deal is now dead, and no one has had success trying to replicate it since the price change because costco and tmobile had caught on quickly.
Im still under contract with tmobile for another year because i bought mytouch last year. Wife's phone is still eligible for an upgrade I can use later this year

I got mine for $100 after $50 mail in rebate. I bought mine at Costco warehouse . It included the car charger, a carrying case and a Bluetooth headset.

still cant beleive you guys didnt just spam these forums spreading the good news on the price. so sad.
well thankfully, i got mine on bing cashback and so the phone might end up being $350 for me.
oh what i could have done with $100 extra, sigh
by the way did you need to be a costco member to get that price or could anyone get it?

I actually got mine for free, but in an extremely roundabout and lucky sort of way.
Got a Samsung Behold II with a new contract at the beginning of June for free from Letstalk.com. I won't rehash all the ridiculous problems I had with the phone, as it's fairly legendary at this point.
Had even more problems after the now infamous 1.6 OTA update, took my problems to T-Mobile corporate, and after 2 weeks worth of emails and phonecalls with their director of customer relations they basically convinced Samsung to toss me a Vibrant to make me happy enough to go away and leave them alone.
I sort of rode out the "perfect storm" here and was just in the right place at the right time. Still, this is the best free phone I've ever had!

Got mine for the same price as Alex.

i got mine for $534 after tax!

Really Verizon, $300???

I apologize up front for the quasi rant but I was all for switching carriers, paying an early termination fee and paying more for service (by a decent amount) but Verizon is going to far charging $300 up front. As long as the gold standard is the iphone and they're at $200...everyone has to compete.
Maybe I should tweet this directly to Verizon and not post here. Just wondering if others are feeling the same way.

Yup Verizon charges waaay too much for phones
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

I remember talking my wife into a smartphone, we went to radio shack, as she was on sprint, thought we were gonna get an entry level android and walked out with an epic 4g for $249! I had never seen a contract phone cost so much. Now many Verizon phones are $299. It would be too funny w the nexus hits Sprint if it is $199 lmao

Google partnering with Verizon on the US launch was such a mistake...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

The sad thing is in a month or two after launch amazon wireless will be selling it for a penny.
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

I wonder if you have not been paying attention for the past six months to a year when they've been charging $299 for ALL of their high end LTE smartphones? I'm not saying its a good price I'm just saying no one should be surprised by this at all.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App

matt2053 said:
I wonder if you have not been paying attention for the past six months to a year when they've been charging $299 for ALL of their high end LTE smartphones? I'm not saying its a good price I'm just saying no one should be surprised by this at all.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
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Click to collapse
I have been paying attention and it's another Verizon ploy to force the industry into changing. They did this with doubling the ETF and years ago they forced the industry to move from 1yr contracts to 2yrs. I dont remember if it was them or AT&T that first went to tiered data.
$300 (contract price) + $350 (ETF) = $650. The argument was always that the ETF was to cover the subsidized price. Most phones are roughly $500 off contract. They're just milking their customers more and more.

atoy74 said:
I have been paying attention and it's another Verizon ploy to force the industry into changing. They did this with doubling the ETF and years ago they forced the industry to move from 1yr contracts to 2yrs. I dont remember if it was them or AT&T that first went to tiered data.
$300 (contract price) + $350 (ETF) = $650. The argument was always that the ETF was to cover the subsidized price. Most phones are roughly $500 off contract. They're just milking their customers more and more.
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Click to collapse
Very true..
That's why I'm planing on getting it at Costco or any other retail store. ($199)

atoy74 said:
I have been paying attention and it's another Verizon ploy to force the industry into changing. They did this with doubling the ETF and years ago they forced the industry to move from 1yr contracts to 2yrs. I dont remember if it was them or AT&T that first went to tiered data.
$300 (contract price) + $350 (ETF) = $650. The argument was always that the ETF was to cover the subsidized price. Most phones are roughly $500 off contract. They're just milking their customers more and more.
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Click to collapse
lol no they're not? High end phones release at $600-$700. All but the base iPhone models come out at that price point, as do pretty much every other high end phones. Stop crying about something that, in reality, isn't actually a problem.
Inflation is something that has pretty much never been accounted for in the wireless world. Phones have been selling for about the same amount they sold for in the mid-90s, and yet now people are crying.
Oh, and what are you talking about 1-year contracts? The first 4 contracts I signed with AT&T, 10 years ago, were all 2-year contracts.

$300.00 is in line with the other VZW smartphones with 32GB memory (including the 32GB iPhone 4S).

Id be happy with them just RELEASING THE DAMN PHONE... WTF is the hold up?! Seriously.. this is going to be pointless by the time it comes out.

atoy74 said:
I apologize up front for the quasi rant but I was all for switching carriers, paying an early termination fee and paying more for service (by a decent amount) but Verizon is going to far charging $300 up front. As long as the gold standard is the iphone and they're at $200...everyone has to compete.
Maybe I should tweet this directly to Verizon and not post here. Just wondering if others are feeling the same way.
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Click to collapse
Verizon iPhone 4s is $299 and its NOT LTE. I paid 299 for my EVO 3D and while I regret it now, its the cost of being an early adopter of a top tier phone.
On a larger note:
As I've stated on other threads, this comes down to lack of good competition in the marketplace. I don't want to get all political on this thread, but this is what happens when you have limited competition among carriers. Now when I say "This" I don't mean the price of the phone, I'm referring to the overall cost of being a customer (monthly bills, ETFs, contract lengths, etc). Chances are, the pain of a $299 price tag would be exponentially reduced if that bill you're paying every month was reduced by 25%. We're a heavily consumer driven population and a majority of us on this thread are included in that group(myself included, guilty). We sit here waiting and ranting for a phone to be released. We're basically saying "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY", while barely coughing at the price. Meanwhile, these same companies spend millions of dollars to lobby our governments to more or less bend laws in their favor (for more on this see "lack of wireless carrier regulation in network neutrality"). I'd also direct your attention to how over a decade ago, many of these companies were paid billions of tax payer dollars to build out a network infrastructure and instead wasted the money on their own interests. Where is the regulation??! Peel the onion back and take a peek. The amount of effort you spend doing so and working for change will gauge how truly frustrated you are. Chances are, you'll read this post, and it might hit a curiosity nerve, but that's where it will end. You'll forget all about it as you continue paying that $100+/month bill and this is exactly what they're banking on. It is a "vote with your dollars" situation what will take you learning about the backside of the system. It will take you educating yourself about the lawmakers taking the money from these companies and ensuring you cast a vote each election season that favors a corporation independent lawmaker (i kind of lol, just thinking of this). While I consider myself a conservative independent, this problem is not an argument of Left or Right politics, this is a real world corporate america issue.
TL;DR - Your rant of high cost is a mere drop in the bucket when you start looking into what is really going on.

atoy74 said:
I have been paying attention and it's another Verizon ploy to force the industry into changing. They did this with doubling the ETF and years ago they forced the industry to move from 1yr contracts to 2yrs. I dont remember if it was them or AT&T that first went to tiered data.
$300 (contract price) + $350 (ETF) = $650. The argument was always that the ETF was to cover the subsidized price. Most phones are roughly $500 off contract. They're just milking their customers more and more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At&t had tiered data for at least six months before Verizon did. Phones are not $500 off contract either. Also, carriers lost money on the $150 etf so can't really blame them there.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

I'm with everyone else saying this shouldn't be surprising at all, they've charged this much for every high end LTE phone thus far. They have no REAL competition in the 4G area yet, so why wouldn't they charge that much? It's called smart business practices. We don't like it, but we are still going to pay it regardless. Can't blame them for milking it as long as they can, aka until AT&T and the rest get a legit 4G/LTE network up and running and wide spread (the handful AT&T has atm is nothing). Once that happens, the prices will probably drop to lure/keep customers around.
BTW, I'm pretty sure 289-299 will be the price regardless of where you buy for the first couple weeks. Costco's price is $289. Maybe Wirefly or someone will have one for $269...but I highly doubt any place is going to be selling it for $199 on launch day or that week.

LTE phones all released at $300 on contract. All new iphones with 32GB of storage also released at $300 on contract. I don't see any problem at all.

hotleadsingerguy said:
lol no they're not? High end phones release at $600-$700. All but the base iPhone models come out at that price point, as do pretty much every other high end phones. Stop crying about something that, in reality, isn't actually a problem.
Inflation is something that has pretty much never been accounted for in the wireless world. Phones have been selling for about the same amount they sold for in the mid-90s, and yet now people are crying.
Oh, and what are you talking about 1-year contracts? The first 4 contracts I signed with AT&T, 10 years ago, were all 2-year contracts.
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Click to collapse
I can't speak for AT&T but I was a Prime Co/Verizon customer for many years then switched to Sprint. I had many 1yr contracts. Really, was it necessary to call me a liar?
joshnichols189 said:
At&t had tiered data for at least six months before Verizon did. Phones are not $500 off contract either. Also, carriers lost money on the $150 etf so can't really blame them there.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Guys, $500 full price smartphone does very much exist. The Samsung Epic 4G Touch (Galaxy SII, which is an excellent phone) is $499 off contract at Sprint. See link
Evo 3D is $549
Photon 4G is $549

RVDigital said:
On a larger note:
As I've stated on other threads, this comes down to lack of good competition in the marketplace. I don't want to get all political on this thread, but this is what happens when you have limited competition among carriers. Now when I say "This" I don't mean the price of the phone, I'm referring to the overall cost of being a customer (monthly bills, ETFs, contract lengths, etc). Chances are, the pain of a $299 price tag would be exponentially reduced if that bill you're paying every month was reduced by 25%. We're a heavily consumer driven population and a majority of us on this thread are included in that group(myself included, guilty). We sit here waiting and ranting for a phone to be released. We're basically saying "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY", while barely coughing at the price. Meanwhile, these same companies spend millions of dollars to lobby our governments to more or less bend laws in their favor (for more on this see "lack of wireless carrier regulation in network neutrality"). I'd also direct your attention to how over a decade ago, many of these companies were paid billions of tax payer dollars to build out a network infrastructure and instead wasted the money on their own interests. Where is the regulation??! Peel the onion back and take a peek. The amount of effort you spend doing so and working for change will gauge how truly frustrated you are. Chances are, you'll read this post, and it might hit a curiosity nerve, but that's where it will end. You'll forget all about it as you continue paying that $100+/month bill and this is exactly what they're banking on. It is a "vote with your dollars" situation what will take you learning about the backside of the system. It will take you educating yourself about the lawmakers taking the money from these companies and ensuring you cast a vote each election season that favors a corporation independent lawmaker (i kind of lol, just thinking of this). While I consider myself a conservative independent, this problem is not an argument of Left or Right politics, this is a real world corporate america issue.
TL;DR - Your rant of high cost is a mere drop in the bucket when you start looking into what is really going on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely agree and well said. That's generally where I was going with this. The industry keeps trending more and more expensive. I'm saying that I'm drawing the line at $300 phones now. I dont want to end up like Rogers in Canada with 3yr contracts and expensive rates.

Hey you can come to Canada where our phones are between free and $150 on contract for almost every phone. You know if you like three year contracts instead... and having to pay $10 more on your plan for Caller ID and voice mail.
And i mean you guys actually have limits on your ETF they are what $350 and when you get the phones for free on an amazon sale... Our ETF is the price of the discount so if you want a decent device prepare for a $500-600 ETF

Unlimited minutes,
Verizon: $300 + $120 a month = $3180 over two years
T-Mobile: $700 + $60 a month = $2180 over two years
500 minutes,
Verizon: $300 + $90 a mont = $2460
T-Mobile: $700 + $50 a month = $1900
Verizon could give away their phones for free, they are still too expensive.

bleach168 said:
Unlimited minutes,
Verizon: $300 + $120 a month = $3180 over two years
T-Mobile: $700 + $60 a month = $2180 over two years
500 minutes,
Verizon: $300 + $90 a mont = $2460
T-Mobile: $700 + $50 a month = $1900
Verizon could give away their phones for free, they are still too expensive.
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Click to collapse
True but sadly they still have the largest subscriber base in the country.

Sprint launches early upgrade promo

In an industry where customer churn can be likened to the fearsome troll under the bridge, Sprint has launched a program designed to keep its favored subscribers around for another two years. While not everyone is eligible -- those who've upgraded less than eight months ago, corporate outfits and those in collections need not inquire -- the program lets customers buy their way out of their current commitment and become eligible for a new, subsidized handset. The promotion begins February 12th and is set to run through the 14th of April, where the amount you pay correlates to the time since your last upgrade. So if you're currently pining for the Epic 4G Touch or the iPhone 4S, just give your local Sprint store a call this Sunday. They just may be able to hook you up.
Source:http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/09/sprint-launches-early-upgrade-promo/

Nice C/P skills -_-
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It's more like they want to get rid of Wimax phones and other inventory it seems like. It's a ripoff, hardly worth the price. Ebay is cheaper
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Cleaning house getting ready for LTE

My OG Epic (Now NS4G) line is due for an upgrade in 5 months...may be perfect timing for once
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IMO opinion this is more of a contract buyout to get new user pricing than it is an early upgrade promo like the Sprint Premier Gold program was.

It makes 0 sense to pay $55 to buy out for early upgrade if you're like 1-4 months out.

cds0699 said:
It makes 0 sense to pay $55 to buy out for early upgrade if you're like 1-4 months out.
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Keep in mind though, that we live in a world where people will happily spend well in excess of $55 to "upgrade" from something like a IPhone 4 to a 4s. Sometimes, "sense" takes a back seat to a desire to be instantaneously satisfied... lol

CoppertoneSPF15 said:
Keep in mind though, that we live in a world where people will happily spend well in excess of $55 to "upgrade" from something like a IPhone 4 to a 4s. Sometimes, "sense" takes a back seat to a desire to be instantaneously satisfied... lol
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I have to agree, people at my store will pay a lot to get their upgrade now to get the phone they want now. I think a lot of it comes from people who buy cheap phones and just can't take having them anymore and will do anything to get out of that phone.
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newalker91 said:
This actually isn't a promotion. It's just a last resort offering by Retention as of right now. You pay on average $10/month remaining on your contract with an average maximum of 6 months to move your upgrade up. We've been doing it for months for customers in my stores, but it's never really been publicly advertised.
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Are you working for a corporate store or a preferred retailer? I'm a preferred retailer and would love to know how you go about doing it, and compare that to the way we do it at our store. Shoot me a PM, love to compare notes!
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JasonK75 said:
Are you working for a corporate store or a preferred retailer? I'm a preferred retailer and would love to know how you go about doing it, and compare that to the way we do it at our store. Shoot me a PM, love to compare notes!
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Click to collapse
can i be included in this? i only have a way for 2 weeks early... preferred retailer

My wife is only 2 months away from an upgrade; if she waits, she still pays 36 dollars "activation fee", or, if she does it tomorrow, its the same 36 dollars, so, if you are a month or 2 away, it doesn't cost you a dime more to do it now..
yes, i am sure its to clean out the existing inventory before the "new" network is in full swing..
WOOT, 3000 POSTS!!

I work at a preferred dealer as well, just tell your customers to call customer care and see if they can do an early upgrade. If that doesn't work have them be transferred to retentions and say someone they know was able to buy out their remaining contract and get an early upgrade. That easy. I have my upgrade still, saving it for the GSIII because I'm not stupid like some people.
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ccline84 said:
I work at a preferred dealer as well, just tell your customers to call customer care and see if they can do an early upgrade. If that doesn't work have them be transferred to retentions and say someone they know was able to buy out their remaining contract and get an early upgrade. That easy. I have my upgrade still, saving it for the GSIII because I'm not stupid like some people.
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Click to collapse
i have an airave for that

Ok I called Sprint customer care today inquiring about the upgrade. My girl's line is due for upgrade in October and I am tired of her complaining about her Evo3d restarting all the time. So I called to see if I can get that upgrade for an Iphone for her. I was told that the new promo is only for people who's upgrade is in April or earlier and are also having phone issues. I think I'm going to call a corporate store tomorrow. Any advice or am I wasting my time? The Engadget article said if you upgraded within the last 8 months your or not eligible. I didn't upgrade this line within the last 8 months.

To upgrade or not to upgrade....
I saw this on Friday and wandered into a Sprint store on Sunday. The fella at the desk told me this was all legit and that I would need to call customer service because he could not do anything from the store (he said to ask for the "retentions" department).
I've been suffering with a Hero for the last 18 months. Loved the phone when I first got it, but it didn't take long to realize that it was not powerful enough to keep me happy. My wife is on her third Moment because everything about that phone just doesn't seem to work. I was hoping to hold out for an LTE phone but it appears those won't be dropping until late summer, and I'm not sure if we can hold out that long.
On the Sprint website, I get a message that I am eligible for $150 off a new phone on April 1 (remnants of the Premiere Program). From what I read, I'll have to pay $36 to upgrade in April or I can pay $55 now.
So my question(s) to all you Sprint people out there, am I reading all this correctly? Will I still qualify for the $150 off the new phone? Am I absolutely crazy for not waiting for LTE? Should I take the SGS2E4GT (Galaxy S 2) or hold out for the Nexus?
Thanks for the input.

dabigoh said:
I saw this on Friday and wandered into a Sprint store on Sunday. The fella at the desk told me this was all legit and that I would need to call customer service because he could not do anything from the store (he said to ask for the "retentions" department).
I've been suffering with a Hero for the last 18 months. Loved the phone when I first got it, but it didn't take long to realize that it was not powerful enough to keep me happy. My wife is on her third Moment because everything about that phone just doesn't seem to work. I was hoping to hold out for an LTE phone but it appears those won't be dropping until late summer, and I'm not sure if we can hold out that long.
On the Sprint website, I get a message that I am eligible for $150 off a new phone on April 1 (remnants of the Premiere Program). From what I read, I'll have to pay $36 to upgrade in April or I can pay $55 now.
So my question(s) to all you Sprint people out there, am I reading all this correctly? Will I still qualify for the $150 off the new phone? Am I absolutely crazy for not waiting for LTE? Should I take the SGS2E4GT (Galaxy S 2) or hold out for the Nexus?
Thanks for the input.
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Click to collapse
I would buy a used phone off Craig's list or something now and hold onto you upgrade for an LTE device. You can get an E4GT for around $300 and EVO 3D for much less or an Nexus 4G for even less then that.
That is what I would do because once the GN drops you know you will want it or whatever cool LTE phone comes out soon after that...

The way I read this is that they are just pro-rating your ETF (the way they all should do anyway).
In theory, it works like this:
A high end handset costs ~$600 but in exchange for signing a 2-year contract, the cell phone carrier will subsidize $400 of the cost and roll the cost of that "loan" into the cost of your monthly service. You get a new phone without as large an initial outlay of cash and they gain a steady source of income for at least the next 2 years.
In theory you should be able to bring your own phone and get service at a lower cost off-contract because you aren't paying off a subsidy but since the top 3 providers don't offer this, there is not really any benefit to not taking the subsidy. You are already paying the same monthly rate so other than not being locked into a service contract, you gain nothing financially from not taking the $400 subsidy.
Along with this, in theory, your ETF should drop by 1/24th every month as you are basically paying off the subsidy one month at a time over two years. Once again, it doesn't quite work that way. At least this is an attempt to let people pay off the remaining subsidy before signing a new contract and taking a new one.
I would prefer to just pay $600 for my phone and then pay $17 less per month (approx 1/24 of $400) with no contract but since the US market seems accustomed to cheaper subsidized handsets on contract I don't know it would ever take off much. The contracts, handset exclusives, and lack of porting options have made it so the carriers have little incentive to compete on price or plan options..but that's another topic for another day.

Well I got mine it was 40 bucks but.my Gf needs a new phone had so, iPhone 4s and she can have my day 2week old epic touch 4g
Update: I got my upgrade and the fee was added to my bill and my upgrade is now waiting. Pretty cool. I have another upgrade in August so I will se what they have then.
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I have a upgrade in October, but I'm debating to hold off for the s3 which could be a long way off or get the epic touch. I have a 3d right now but the white epic touch looks sexy.
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AT&T Next to Offer Option to Forgo Wireless Contra

ATT will begin offering wireless customers the option to forgo contracts and get more frequent upgrades if they pay full price for their smartphones, allowing the carrier to cut back on the profit-sapping cost of subsidizing devices like the iPhone.
ATT is beginning a program later this month for subscribers to buy their phones using a monthly financing plan that will add payments to their monthly bills. After a year, they will be allowed to trade in the device for a new one. Under the new option, called AT&T Next, there are no service contracts other than the financing commitment. It is available for tablets as well.
So for a $650/20 months we get almost $35 per month added to your bill. what do you guys think: is it worth it?

BTW unlimited data plans are still allowed on Next.

privatewarrior1 said:
ATT will begin offering wireless customers the option to forgo contracts and get more frequent upgrades if they pay full price for their smartphones, allowing the carrier to cut back on the profit-sapping cost of subsidizing devices like the iPhone.
ATT is beginning a program later this month for subscribers to buy their phones using a monthly financing plan that will add payments to their monthly bills. After a year, they will be allowed to trade in the device for a new one. Under the new option, called AT&T Next, there are no service contracts other than the financing commitment. It is available for tablets as well.
So for a $650/20 months we get almost $35 per month added to your bill. what do you guys think: is it worth it?
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Hmm. I think I'd go for it.
I don't particularly care to wait two years for a new phone. I get tired of phones after 8 months.
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I've never had to wait 2 years for a phone upgrade; usually, after about 12 months, I have been able to call and ask nicely for an upgrade, so, I would NEVER go for this...ATT gets more than enough of our hard earned cash, why give them more???

So when you first buy a phone...you are paying a subsidized price, and that amount is "hidden" in your monthly fee...now they want you to pay another fee...then get a phone...then pay more on top of that?? Makes no sense to me. I'd rather buy a new phone outright on a no-interest credit card or something..shoot maybe even just save up for it. I've even wheeled and dealed my phones on Craigslist...Is business really that bad that carriers are trying to nickel and dime people for everything? 20 months was fine. Gave you time to make a choice on what you wanted instead of paying an arm and a leg when you get that itch to change. Oh well, to each their own. I definitely won't be taking advantage of this new option.

I guess ATT (and eventually Verizon) feel the need to come up with some new razzle dazzle to make people think they are getting something similar to what t-mobile is offering. You are correct, when you do the math, this new "special" program is nothing more than another way for ATT to take money out of your pocket.
Carriers ALWAYS try and nickle and dime the public out of every possible dollar they can, and most of these new "special" deals, aren't special for anyone except ATT executives, and stock holders...

privatewarrior1 said:
ATT will begin offering wireless customers the option to forgo contracts and get more frequent upgrades if they pay full price for their smartphones, allowing the carrier to cut back on the profit-sapping cost of subsidizing devices like the iPhone.
ATT is beginning a program later this month for subscribers to buy their phones using a monthly financing plan that will add payments to their monthly bills. After a year, they will be allowed to trade in the device for a new one. Under the new option, called AT&T Next, there are no service contracts other than the financing commitment. It is available for tablets as well.
So for a $650/20 months we get almost $35 per month added to your bill. what do you guys think: is it worth it?
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Click to collapse
you paid $199 for note 2, one year later you sell the phone for $300 (min). then you spend $350 on another phone. total is 199+350=550
with new plan. one year you pay 650/20*12=390, second year you pay 390. total 780.
you know what you should do.

This is a bit tricky.
Say for the Note 2 you paid 199 + locked into a contract. The price isn't actually subsidized into the cost of your monthly contract, rather the cost is the ASSURANCE that you'll be locked into a contract for 2 years. The amount of your monthly bill can go up/down obviously, and you won't find a line on your bill stating "monthly phone subsidized fee".
My take on this new program is that there will be a line listing the cost of your phone bundled into your monthly fee, without a contract locking you in for 2 years.
Difference is that if you're insane, you can get a different phone 12 months down the line, and split that new cost into your existing monthly bill. This allows you to theoretically have the cost of the new phone added onto the bill in addition to the cost of the old phone.
This isn't much of a deal if you're getting a high end smartphone at 6-700 bucks, but a pretty good deal if it's a lower end or less expensive phone.

vista1984 said:
you paid $199 for note 2, one year later you sell the phone for $300 (min). then you spend $350 on another phone. total is 199+350=550
with new plan. one year you pay 650/20*12=390, second year you pay 390. total 780.
you know what you should do.
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Click to collapse
This here^^^^^^^
This is what AT&T stated:
The monthly installments will run between $15 and $50, depending on the phone, and are a function of evenly dividing the full retail price of the phone by 20 months.
By way of example, AT&T says, a Samsung Galaxy S4 in Next will cost $32 a month on top of your monthly service plan. You'll be able to trade it in and upgrade after 12 payments, or pay it off in full after 20 months. That's based on the full $639 purchase price of a 16GB model.
Just my 2¢®
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vista1984 said:
you paid $199 for note 2, one year later you sell the phone for $300 (min). then you spend $350 on another phone. total is 199+350=550
with new plan. one year you pay 650/20*12=390, second year you pay 390. total 780.
you know what you should do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Slight correction. Second year you'd be paying 260, not 390. The split is over 20 months remember.

apallohadas said:
Slight correction. Second year you'd be paying 260, not 390. The split is over 20 months remember.
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if you get a new phone, the 20 months term will start over again. my calculation is based on the assumption that we buy new phone every year.

vista1984 said:
if you get a new phone, the 20 months term will start over again. my calculation is based on the assumption that we buy new phone every year.
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I'm just guessing here, but I think that if you buy another phone right at the first 12 month point, they'll stack that with (on top of) the existing cost of the old phone. So you'll be paying monthly + old phone + new phone, instead of month + new phone.
If they give you a buyout amount to totally pay off the old phone, that might work better.
Another thing that we haven't really considered are the extra fee (if any) revolving around the extended cost of the phone. Is there a service fee for this 'loan'? I mean, that's what it is after all. It's like a mortgage for your phone.

apallohadas said:
I'm just guessing here, but I think that if you buy another phone right at the first 12 month point, they'll stack that with (on top of) the existing cost of the old phone. So you'll be paying monthly + old phone + new phone, instead of month + new phone.
If they give you a buyout amount to totally pay off the old phone, that might work better.
Another thing that we haven't really considered are the extra fee (if any) revolving around the extended cost of the phone. Is there a service fee for this 'loan'? I mean, that's what it is after all. It's like a mortgage for your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the new plan, my understanding is that when we have a new phone with this plan, we only need to pay for monthly phone payment, after one year, we can choose either keep the phone and pay for the remaining 8 months (after that the phone is yours), or, upgrade to a new phone and pay for the new phone's monthly payment again (20 months term reset).
so basically every 12 months you can upgrade with no cost, by keeping paying 650/20 each months. convenient for lazy people i think.
monthly service bill won't be affected (call+text+data).
yeah, there might be service fee for every upgrade too.

vista1984 said:
the new plan, my understanding is that when we have a new phone with this plan, we only need to pay for monthly phone payment, after one year, we can choose either keep the phone and pay for the remaining 8 months (after that the phone is yours), or, upgrade to a new phone and pay for the new phone's monthly payment again (20 months term reset).
so basically every 12 months you can upgrade with no cost, by keeping paying 650/20 each months. convenient for lazy people i think.
monthly service bill won't be affected (call+text+data).
yeah, there might be service fee for every upgrade too.
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Click to collapse
I thought they said no upgrade fee.
Sent from the TermiNOTEr 2!

Bsmith0731 said:
I get tired of phones after 8 months.
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Who doesn't man?

wase4711 said:
I've never had to wait 2 years for a phone upgrade; usually, after about 12 months, I have been able to call and ask nicely for an upgrade, so, I would NEVER go for this...ATT gets more than enough of our hard earned cash, why give them more???
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which department do you ask? and do you get any discounts on top of that?

privatewarrior1 said:
Who doesn't man?
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I'll say.
I was getting tired of my note but I switched over to an aosp based rom and my excitement has been renewed, for how long, who knows.
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vista1984 said:
the new plan, my understanding is that when we have a new phone with this plan, we only need to pay for monthly phone payment, after one year, we can choose either keep the phone and pay for the remaining 8 months (after that the phone is yours), or, upgrade to a new phone and pay for the new phone's monthly payment again (20 months term reset).
so basically every 12 months you can upgrade with no cost, by keeping paying 650/20 each months. convenient for lazy people i think.
monthly service bill won't be affected (call+text+data).
yeah, there might be service fee for every upgrade too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well when you upgrade your line you have to do one of two things: either you trade in your old phone (I am assuming it should be in good condition otherwise they will charge you for it) or you can keep your phone and pay the balance left to pay it off.
ATT is marketing the deal like its doing us a favor saying they got rid of the $35 upgrade fee, yet they will charge us the same amount each month for the next 20.
I wonder how many will fall for this?

privatewarrior1 said:
which department do you ask? and do you get any discounts on top of that?
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Click to collapse
I ask for retention, since they can make decisions no other department can...
the last 2 early upgrades I got were for 2 Gnote2's; one was about 4 months ago, and then the other one was about 1 month ago; I was less than 12 months in on both of these phone contracts when I called.
The first one I got for 299, less 6 months of unlimited texting credit(180 dollars, so the net was 119. They waived the activation fee on that one...
The most recent one,was 199, about a month ago, and they did charge me activation, but I called when the bill came and asked them to waive it, and they did!
The only take away from this is that you need to ask for an early upgrade, and if you are a good customer,(I have 3 lines,) ALWAYS pay your bill on time, and dont ask for all sorts of crazy stuff, there is a very good chance you can get an upgrade after 8-12 months...the "sales" department, usually cant do these kinds of things, thats why you have to get to retention....

apallohadas said:
I'm just guessing here, but I think that if you buy another phone right at the first 12 month point, they'll stack that with (on top of) the existing cost of the old phone. So you'll be paying monthly + old phone + new phone, instead of month + new phone.
If they give you a buyout amount to totally pay off the old phone, that might work better.
Another thing that we haven't really considered are the extra fee (if any) revolving around the extended cost of the phone. Is there a service fee for this 'loan'? I mean, that's what it is after all. It's like a mortgage for your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correction: when you get a new phone after 12 months, you trade in old phone buy new phone and start over. The old phone bill is canceled. With Att Next, you no longer own the phone, it's a "lease phone". The tricky part is now rooting and unlocked bootloader will be difficult decisions because the phone must be in good satisfactory condition on all levels
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