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Comment by gambiting | Hacker News Reader

So hang on....are you telling me that $199 is the cheapest price WITH A CONTRACT??

Obviously things are different in the US,but in UK it's almost unfathomable to be paying anything for the phone if you are getting a contract. Sometimes the latest iphone will have an upfront cost of 29 pounds, but it's rare.

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It is worth mentioning that they are including a year of prime which is worth $99 and a $10 credit on their store so the actual price compared to say an iPhone is $90.

And if you already have Prime? Do they refund a year of your subscription?

They extend your subscription by a year.

That's normal in the US. The difference here is that there is no specific price point you have to get on - I've been moving up and down with how much I pay each month on my contract, which I couldn't do in Australia. The contract termination fees are also much lower, and if you're on family plans the month to month costs can go down drastically.

> in UK it's almost unfathomable to be paying anything for the phone if you are getting a contract. Sometimes the latest iphone will have an upfront cost of 29 pounds, but it's rare.

My observation is that the telcos will often offer the more expensive phones on higher tariffs, and that it's cheaper over 12/24 months to buy a phone off-contract, and then get the cheapest SIM-only plan for your needs.

in UK it's almost unfathomable to be paying anything for the phone if you are getting a contract

Here's EE's page for a 16GB iPhone 5s. Prices range from 9.99 to 149.99 depending on the plan chosen:

http://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-phones/pay-monthly/iphone-5s-16g...

Look at the next model up, 32GB, and the up-front cost increases significantly:

http://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-phones/pay-monthly/iphone-5s-32g...

It's always much more expensive direct from the network.

Here you can buy the 16GB iPhone 5S for £0 up front, on a £33pm contract.

http://www.dialaphone.co.uk/plans?upfrontPriceRange=Free&tar...

My experience of EE this week was that they attempted to sting me with a £150 up front charge for a phone (HTC One m8) on a £35pm contract. So, this does happen.

I wouldn't jump to conclusions yet. I image they will do whatever is customary on a per region basis to be competitive.

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