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Comment by ireadzalot | Hacker News Reader

Except it is not free. You pay for the phone in monthly installments when you pay your phone bill.

You pay at least $800-1000 for that $600 smartphone when you pay for it across 24 months instead of paying for it all at once.

I've never quite understood this statement. Aren't you still going to pay the monthly installments regardless of whether you were in a contract or not? On ATT, Verizon, etc, the non-contract prices aren't cheaper than the ones on contract.

So, at the end of two years, you'll be paying the same amount for your phone bill and have a subsidized device.

You're right. However, some telcos do offer cheaper monthly rates. T-Mobile is leading the charge on that in the US.

Yes if you stay with ATT/Verizon/Sprint. If you instead choose a MVNO like StraightTalk or Virgin Mobile, you'll pay less. I pay $45/mo on StraightTalk, and when I buy a new phone in the next year or so, I'll jump to $30/mo with Virgin Mobile since I don't need unlimited voice (or text...).

If you're paying for yourself and either buying used or slightly outdated hardware(or getting a new Nexus 4), this is probably completely true. If you're bundling several smartphones and regular phones, the contract price can win out. You still need to shop around to see what the best price is if you're going with iOS or the more expensive Android devices.

For example, since I'm sharing a plan with my family, the ATT contract comes out to around 20% cheaper than a similar contractless byo device Virgin Mobile service for iPhones, upgrading only after the contract is up.

In Romania I pay 15€ monthly for a PrePay plan with 1 GB of data, 3000 minutes in the same network and 150 national/international minutes. It's a PrePay, no contract, and I've seen similar deals in other European countries.

Trust me, you're being ripped off.

non-contract prices aren't cheaper than the ones on contract.

That's just because of how ubiquitous the subsidized phone model already is.

I have an iphone, but don't want a data plan. I pay $35 per month (Chatr, in Canada) for unlimited calling and texting.

I bought the phone outright. Most telcos would make me pay $80 per month over a couple of years to get the subsidized phone. A much more expensive deal for something I don't want.

can you do that on other networks? most of the phone reps say you can't use a smartphone without a dataplan, since "everything goes over data" as they say.. my wife would love a smartphone, but not the dataplan...

You absolutely don't need a data plan - my girlfriend is on Rogers with a smartphone kitted out as a dumbphone. Just turn off packet data (in the network settings menu) and you're set. You might not be eligible for subsidies on some devices though: many carriers have a minimum monthly cost to get the full discount.

Almost always, yes, as long as you own the phone. I had a non-data plan for years with FIDO. If the rep says you can't, ask for someone else.

Wow would love a US equivalent of this if it's out there? Could turn an older iPhone 4 into a cell phone for kid without an expensive data plan (they're without a wireless option about 12 minutes of the day)

I have a AT&T-mvno Straight Talk plan here in the US that costs 45$/month for unlimited data/talk/text - it's vastly cheaper to just purchase the phones outright. Too bad straight talk quit selling AT&T compatible SIM cards a few months ago.

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