Nexus 4 available on T-Mobile | Hacker News Reader

Nexus 4 available on T-Mobile

t-mobile.com

16 pointsgregorym12 comments

So, unlocked from Google is $300 or $350 but locked from t-mobile with contract is $200

https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_8gb

T-mobile is going to have to go to free-after-rebate to get customers.

Well going by the retail price of most of the phones that they give away, they should be paying people $300 to get one on-contract.

> Suggested retail $549.99

What does that even mean? Google doesn't sell the Nexus 4 for $550 or anything close to that.

It's very possible that Google subsidizes the cost of Nexus 4s that they sell where T-Mobile does not.

Shady:

> $199.99 After Discounts

> For a limited time, when you purchase a Google Nexus 4 on T-Mobile.com or through 1-877-387-4324, you may qualify for a $300 instant discount and a $50 mail-in rebate card.

Also:

> Supercharge your Nexus 4 by adding unlimited data on a nationwide 4G network, only from T-Mobile

So does that mean LTE was officially activated or is that another marketing ploy?

In the meantime, it's been out of stock since day one here.

TMobile has been calling their HSDPA+ network 4G for a while now. LTE on bands supported in the USA is not possible on the device.

T-Mobile is not particularly shady in my experience, just a bit disorganized about Nexus pricing.

T-Mobile is moving toward clearer pricing plans that are more like the rest of the world and much more straightfoward:

http://gigaom.com/2012/12/06/t-mobile-ceo-confirms-the-iphon...

For the lowest cost and most freedom, you can buy the Nexus 4 directly from Google or on Craigslist, eBay, etc.

(I'm not affiliated with T-Mobile in any way; I'm just a customer who buys a lot of Nexus phones)

"4G" is a meaningless marketing term. The best way to evaluate network quality is to buy the phone, walk around with it and do speed tests for 30 days, and return it if it doesn't meet expectations.

I'm keeping my Verizon Galaxy Nexus for this reason. It may not be the latest and greatest, but it works really well and the data is really fast.

If you buy the same phone from Amazon, without monthly payment plan, it's about right. In most of Europe, where Google doesn't sell it, the price for this phone was about $800 on launch. Google is heavily subsidizing it and the $299 price is just incredibly cheap.

T-Mobile's website goofs on the suggested retail price.

The T-Mobile store salespeople do know this, and will tell the straight story which is that you'll save the most money if you buy the phone directly from Google and are willing to wait for it.

Also from an Australian Retailer, Harvey Norman, for ~$490.

Or on a $35 (or more) plan for 2 years. Which will end up being $360 if you subtract the cost of the phone plan.

almost twice the cost of google.com/nexus price.

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