How do you all afford it? - General Questions and Answers

I've been pondering which one to go for for ages and can't decide. How on earth do you all decide which one you want when:
a) you know another (better) one will be out within a couple of months
b) these things can cost upwards of $500
Where do you find the money?
Do you all stay in all month just so you can afford it, or are you all secretly loaded?
Just curious.....

most people are tied down with never-ending contracts which give them the oppotunity of getting a free phone once every X months
personally I buy outside contracts so I paied 1000$ for my x1
paied the same for my himalaya and wallaby
but since wallaby was the first htc phone ever and himalya was the 2ed and I only got the himalya because the wallaby was stolen and the insurance paied for it
and then the time to x1 was released and the fact that the himalaya broke
explain that I'm not loaded
but of cause it don't mean that there are not people in this forum who may be buying with mum and dads money
but on the pro side
I only pay 10$ a month to my operator and never had a sim locked phone in my life

Related

Wow, high price for Diamond!

Surely this can't be right.
Just checked with Smart Mobile Gadgets, and HTC Diamond are selling at $899.94. Compare to Sony Experia X1, which is selling for $979.94. I am not an iPhone person, but WOW at those price, I may be forced to buy the 3G iPhone instead. Lets hope the price will be lower than what they have there.
Hahahahahaha! That's way too much money for this phone, HTC will sell only a few.
it'll probably drop to $800 or less quite soon after (£400)
it's 'cheaper' with a contracy usually though, free or very cheap (>£100) with contacts <£35/month, that also includes all your calls/texts/internet so it can be quite good.
if you think about it, that has always been the price for the high end phones. remember the Nokia 8890 back in the days? it was about the same price as well.
Yeah, it's far too much for a phone with 4GB storage only and without a card slot.
These are pre-release prices so they are obviously high. When these phones come to carriers, that's when the prices will come down significantly and plus they won't be released in the U.S till the end of the year so that will also give some time to reduce prices.
PLus they are unlocked, Locked devcices are usaully cheaper by hundreds of dollars and unlocking is no big deal.
HTC want us to pay >$900 for Microsoft for using Google youtube and Opera browser?
NO WAY!
I think I disagree.
Keep in mind that it will be available in Europe first so...
900$ is about 600 euros, which seems reasonable for a new WM device with VGA screen + GPS...
Moreover, the old HTC Touch is still sold for about 420 euros..
After checking out the iPhone, it does make sense that the Diamond is way too expensive. In any case, AT&T only carries the iPhone. For now, I am happy to use my 8525 and 3125.
Well I paid 915 US$ last year for a TyTN II with shipping included, so this prices are high but not overpriced.
I like the Diamong but for now I think that I'll wait for Windows 7.
daniel_rh said:
Well I paid 915 US$ last year for a TyTN II with shipping included, so this prices are high but not overpriced.
I like the Diamong but for now I think that I'll wait for Windows 7.
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THAT IS INSANE!
I know the mogul is a tad bit under the specs of the tilt, but i paid 500 about a month before its official release. I cant really see the diamond going for more than 600 usd, especially if it want to compete with the iphone (which IMO, is better)
I really hope the raphael is around the same or less.
let's say you have 900$. what are you going to buy? sony or htc?
Stop yer fussin. Thats only the prices they're charging because the phones aren't even out yet. When they come out they'll probably be impossible to find too, but hopefully Sprint lets me upgrade at a discount with a new contract or something.
Yeah, they'll come down after they release. At least I hope they do! My wife and I are planning on getting one of each next year (I like the X1, she likes the Diamond).
If they stay almost a grand a pop we'll be passing...too rich for my blood.
I only paid $120 for my Mogul... I won't pay $900 for a phone.
hidavi said:
I only paid $120 for my Mogul... I won't pay $900 for a phone.
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$120! Where did you pull that off, ebay?
I got my Hermes (two of them, 8525's) for $199 each from AT&T themselves. No contract extension, nothing. I just called up one day and told them what I wanted, and they gave it to me somehow. I think it's because the Tilt was like two months away so maybe they were trying to clear 'em out.
$399 for two 8525's was a deal, I thought. But no way I'm going to pay even five hundred for one phone. That really is a bit high...and 900+ is just out of the question, as far as I'm concerned.
hidavi said:
Stop yer fussin. Thats only the prices they're charging because the phones aren't even out yet. When they come out they'll probably be impossible to find too, but hopefully Sprint lets me upgrade at a discount with a new contract or something.
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Exactly. I got my Wing for $326 off eBay. $900 is not worth a phone especially when it's going to be like $300 in the next 6 months.
Just checked pricing here too and it's £480 unlocked without a contract and £200 for T-mobile flext 25 which is what I'm on. That's quite a bit more than I'm usually willing to pay - I haven't paid more than £60 for a phone on contract. As others have said though, the price will come down when it's been on the market a few months, plus we'll know all it's little bugs by then
I couldn't wait for a new phone though as I've just bricked one, so I've ordered a LG KS20 unlocked without contract (managed to brick my phone 4 months before contract is up).

Upgrading on Orange

For years I've been with Orange and I last got a tytn1 recently replaced with a tytn2 because of repeated problems with the tytn1. last renewal I "upgraded to a n6301 for my wife to keep my contract price down. I am a band5 user and am on a Dolphin 40 websave. I have:
Dolphin 40 £30
websave eve n WE internet
500 mb +£5 peak use internet
100 mins loyalty reward (that dont include voicemail call... weird that one...) I
10.00 loyalty reward -£10
Orange Care +£6
Thing is I know I can do better ESPECIALLY as I havent upgraded for years and that a friend from PAYG got the same deal getting a contract AND a n95 which, at the time was new.
I need 400 xnet + unlimitted landline call and 250 texts or so and internet as I currently only have access through my phone.
The big one though is I want to actually UPGRADE and get a well deserved touch pro2 as it has the keyboard and I dont think the ACER is a great idea)
how do I get it? searching the internet comes up with a few places that suposedly do the touch pro2 on orange but I've not heard anything of these companies and am worried leaving orange direct. Can anyone advise me where to go for the best deal and to get this TP2? Otherwise it'l be cheap phone upgrade and max deal for minimum £PM so I could get the phone myself.
Lastly am I foolish sticking with Orange thinking my loyalty count for something?
I'd really apreciate any advice. I'm due to upgrade now
orange direct dont do the tp2 so you wil have to go through another company anyway, I would first phone up orange and ask if there is a way to use another company to upgrade through without having to leave and come back to them. As for staying with a company i dunno really I don't I switch the second I see a better deal, saying that my gf has been with o2 for years and she gets the most amazing deals every year I think she has 400mins unlimited texts unlim internet for £15/pm and she got a free e71. I on the other hand brought my touch hd sim free £500 and got a sim only deal from tmobile 600mins/unlimited texts/internet£20pm
also don't limit your choice to one phone until you have seen what deals you can get for example orange do the tg01 (no keyboard) they may give that to you for a really good price then you could sell it and buy whatever phone you wanted on ebay maybe, the n900 from nokia looks amazing although not wm (until wm7 I think thats a good thing- apart from no tomtom)

[Q] T Mobile phone insurance

Hello. So I have had my Touch Pro 2 since it came out and the HD2 since it came out as well. I managed to talk my girlfriend out of her iphone and gave her my Touch Pro 2 over a year ago and have had her on my account on a second line. I have always had insurance on both phones. I almost filed a claim on my HD2 about a month ago because you have to "bend" the usb cord to get it to charge but didnt get around to it. Today apparently mygirlfriend managed to break the TP2 by stepping on it. And I want to attest to HTCs build quality because both of these phones have had more than 9 lives. So I was going to file a claim on the TP2 and my girlfriend is trying to convince me to file the claim on the HD2 and get another HD2 so she can have my old one. She "hates" the TP2 and loves my HD2. Other than some possible moral issues does Tmous have any way of knowing that we would then have two HD2s? On the same note I doubt they even make the TP2 anymore so would they let her choose something else? i paid full price for both of these phones which was a pretty penny when they came out. I could go on about how Tmous royally has screwed my with a second contract as my moral validation but I won't.
As a side note, we are paying about $150 a month for "flex pay" with only 750 minutes shared between us because my credit isn't the best. I have really been looking for some sort of other prepaid or no contract solution...
Any news on this?
Did Tmo ever find out?
My friend Jake had the same issue with his phones, and filed a claim on the better one and got away with it. So I don't see why you wouldn't be able to do the same. Hope that helps answer your question.

Early Upgrade? (o2 UK)

Hi Forum,
I just smashed my HD2 by dropping it on a concrete floor when getting out of my car. Dumbass. I was wondering, I am 15 or 16 months into a 24 month contract with o2 in the UK (via CarphoneWarehouse), do you think that they would allow me to get an early upgrade? I was thinking about bartering with them and trying to get what is essentially an 18 month contract, but locked into 24 months to make up the 6ish months I have left on my remaining contract.
Has anyone ever haggled with them, to any success? I have got insurance through my bank as part of a Current Account Plus but as I've claimed on it before it'll cost me £50 excess and it took several months to get my phone back.
I'm paying nearly £40 per month, so I'm not a 'penny-punter' but appreciate I'm not on the world's largest contract either.
Maybe if I took o2's own mobile phone insurance too, this could help sweeten the deal for them. I don't know. I'm really at a loss without a working phone and although my phone does work, it's really difficult to see through the almost shattered screen.
Kind regards.
ThinkTankInk said:
Has anyone ever haggled with them, to any success? I have got insurance through my bank as part of a Current Account Plus but as I've claimed on it before it'll cost me £50 excess and it took several months to get my phone back.
I'm paying nearly £40 per month, so I'm not a 'penny-punter' but appreciate I'm not on the world's largest contract either.
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Sorry I'm a little off topic here...
1. You guys in the UK can get insurance if you break your phone through the bank?!
2. Penny punter? lol what does that mean
I'm sure you can work something out with them. In Canada (which has a greedy telecom industry) stuff like that always happens and it's not the end of the world. In my experience it's more who will serve you than company policy. Don't sweat it too much.
Yeah, because I got what's called a Current Account Plus. I pay my bank £5 a month and I get a £300 interest free overdraft (which I am in a lot!), free mobile phone insurance which usually costs around £12-£24 a month and various other bits and pieces I'm not bothered about.
Also, a penny-punter is a term used in the betting industry. I work in a betting shop. It's someone that comes in a bets pennies per race (50p, 25p etc.) rather than pounds. You have to treat them the same as you would someone that was whacking £10,000 on a quadriplegic donkey. In short: a cheapskate.
Gonna give o2 a call when they wake up at 8am this morning and see what can be done. I'll post my results. I sincerely hope that they're feeling generous.
Update: o2 and Carphone Warehouse stonewalled me. Basically said that I should have taken *their* phone insurance (for £24 a month!) and now I'm stuck with a broken phone and eight months left on my contract.
O2 did say I could lower my contract to £26ish per month, however. Then, once I had been on my new tariff for a month I could buy out my contract at the new price. But that's still around £180.
I have about £150 for rainy days, and it is indeed looking very gloomy, so I think I am going to put that towards a phone that'll keep me going until January and then get something new, shiny and soon-to-be-obsolete-in-another-six-months-time handset.
I'm really sorry to hear that. Sounds like that place is playing with the rules...
Would you be interested in a blackberry pearl flip? I know it s blasphemy talking about a BB here but I'm willing to send it free of charge (i would ask you to pay shipping though). I will check for it when I get home.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S Captivate powered by Serendipity 7
I really appreciate the offer. It's much more generous than I was ever anticipating, but I am going to decline. Sorry to sound ungrateful but I am really needing a phone with a large display and gaming capabilities, because I work evenings and Sundays. My phone is the only source of relieving boredom.
Again, I really do appreciate the offer though! Thank you.
No worries! Good luck on your search.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S Captivate powered by Serendipity 7
d_gritza said:
Sorry I'm a little off topic here...
1. You guys in the UK can get insurance if you break your phone through the bank?!
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It's swings and roundabouts.
With a bank account policy the premium is normally lower, but the excess can be higher and it's often not new for old.
With my O2 insurance it's £10 a month, £28 excess for any claim and I get a new phone the next working day.
I looked at the benefits from the £5 a month account Barclays are offering and other than the insurance for mobiles none of the benefits were of any use to me so I declined and stuck with my O2 insurance.
If I knew o2's was a tenner I would have gotten it myself. I'm sure they quoted 24 quid per month though which is why I declined. That is extortionate.
Sent from my HD2 pretwnding to be a Nexus One using XDA Premium App (now with limited edition cracked screen!)
ThinkTankInk said:
If I knew o2's was a tenner I would have gotten it myself. I'm sure they quoted 24 quid per month though which is why I declined. That is extortionate.
Sent from my HD2 pretwnding to be a Nexus One using XDA Premium App (now with limited edition cracked screen!)
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Blimey £24 I'd refuse to pay too!
http://www.o2.co.uk/support/generalhelp/howdoi/insurance
For basic phones it's £7.50 a month, high end phones it's £10 a month and iPhones it's £10 or £15 depending on model.
Excess is £25 or from £50 for iPhones.
I was getting confused between claims, the £28 and next day delivery was through CPW with my HD.
HD2 was £25 and I think a week or 10 days, and I had to hand over the damaged handset to the courier.
Once I get my new phone, I'm going to call O2 and see if they'll hook me up. As the phone will be 'third party' though, I'll probably just stick with what I have and then get it when I get a new contract in Jan/Feb.

Used Phone Prices Make No Sense...to me

With new phone prices without a contract around $500 and upgrade prices for the hot models running $99-250, I was thinking maybe I should shop recent used, i.e. an Incredible 2 or even a Galaxy Nexus or RAZR now that the Maxx is out. So checking eBay and Craigslist, and various forum marketplaces I am seeing that used pricing runs from $100-$300 on the Inc2 to $300-$500 on the Nexus and RAZR.
My son just got an Inc 2 upgrade for free. Why would anyone pay $100-$300 (widely asked) for a free phone? I might pay $50 to play with it. Why would anyone pay $400 for a used Nexus or RAZR when you can upgrade for $199 or $249 (less with a new account). I would pay $100, OK, but why pay more than the upgrade price? I understand the desire to avoid a contract, but seriously you have to get service from somewhere. I can't believe that many of the people selling these things paid full retail, so how can the used prices be more than most people paid in the first place. There can't be that much demand and the supply increases daily.
Please explain.
Some people have just upgraded recently and can't do a new contract before their two years is up without paying a pretty decent fee. It's cheaper to buy the phone from someone else and maybe get rid of their old phone than to pay the price for getting a new contract. Some people here also own multiple devices and switch them out often, so it doesn't really make sense to open a new contract for each phone. Check people's sigs: some members/devs here have four or five devices at a time.
And just in case you don't know why there's a charge for early upgrades, the carriers give you the phones at discount because over a two year contract you will end up paying down the expense they took. If they give you a new phone every six months you have gone through around $2000 worth of devices and they certainly won't make that up just from your monthly bill.
danam said:
With new phone prices without a contract around $500 and upgrade prices for the hot models running $99-250, I was thinking maybe I should shop recent used, i.e. an Incredible 2 or even a Galaxy Nexus or RAZR now that the Maxx is out. So checking eBay and Craigslist, and various forum marketplaces I am seeing that used pricing runs from $100-$300 on the Inc2 to $300-$500 on the Nexus and RAZR.
My son just got an Inc 2 upgrade for free. Why would anyone pay $100-$300 (widely asked) for a free phone? I might pay $50 to play with it. Why would anyone pay $400 for a used Nexus or RAZR when you can upgrade for $199 or $249 (less with a new account). I would pay $100, OK, but why pay more than the upgrade price? I understand the desire to avoid a contract, but seriously you have to get service from somewhere. I can't believe that many of the people selling these things paid full retail, so how can the used prices be more than most people paid in the first place. There can't be that much demand and the supply increases daily.
Please explain.
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It is all in being eligible for an upgrade!!! People who break, drop in toilet, or lose their phone are the ones paying. They had a new phone and liked it. But they broke it and aren't eligible for an upgrade price for another two years. They would have to pay full price. A used phone at $250 is better than paying $500 from the provider since you have no upgrade options.
I like it. My last two upgrades I have made money!!!! I had an original droid. I upgraded to my droid X for $299. $100 rebate brings cost down to $200. Sold for $250 on ebay!!! Old droid would have cost someone $400 from verizon if they weren't eligible for an upgrade. They have the phone they want and saved $150 versus buying a new one from verizon.
85gallon said:
I like it. My last two upgrades I have made money!!!! I had an original droid. I upgraded to my droid X for $299. $100 rebate brings cost down to $200. Sold for $250 on ebay!!! Old droid would have cost someone $400 from verizon if they weren't eligible for an upgrade. They have the phone they want and saved $150 versus buying a new one from verizon.
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I understand why it works for the seller . But this sort of presumes that more people are dropping phones in toilets than are buying new phones and retiring old ones, and I am not sure that can be so. Alternatively, it assumes that a real lot of people want to upgrade in less than two years and are willing to pay hundreds for the privilege; and I am not sure that can be so either.
I guess that I am cheap. But if I am entitled to pay, say, $199 in 3-6 months I am not paying more now for used equipment.
Some carriers give a cheaper monthly rate if you own your phone. I always buy phones outright either new or used and save money overall.
Sent from HTC G2
Crashdamage said:
Some carriers give a cheaper monthly rate if you own your phone. I always buy phones outright either new or used and save money overall.
Sent from HTC G2
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nothing is free.
My phone cost me £120 new which came with a PAYG sim.
My contract sim only is £13 a month.
I could have got the same phone on contract for £35 a month.
So I would be paying an extra £22 a month on a 18 month contract, after 5-6 months I would have been payiing more for the phone and be out of pocket. The contracts where the phones seem free have you paying for the phone monthly instead.
danam said:
I guess that I am cheap. But if I am entitled to pay, say, $199 in 3-6 months I am not paying more now for used equipment.
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What are you going to do? Pay $50 on a throw away so you have a phone for the next 3-6 months or just go without a phone for that time?
Also, a lot of people don't realize that their old cell phones are worth something. They throw them in a drawer or the garbage or they recycle them so they can feel good. I hope they never find out!!
I will be getting a free RAZR in a few months!!! After rebates and ebay of course!!
I was actually digging through some old stuff a few months ago and I ran across an old Moto Z6TV that I forgot to put up on ebay when I retired it years ago. I put it up on ebay and got $40 for it. I think it was3 or 4 phones ago. And I let the prospective buyers know it would be needing a battery soon in the auction listing.
Peeps need them for something. Maybe they know something I don't and are stocking up for the Zombie apocalypse. Who knows. I don't care as long as they are buying!!
Not everybody wants a contract. You can get a contract and pay $1k-$2k over the course of 2 years for a "free" phone or you can get a significantly cheaper pay as you go service and pay $200 for an unlocked phone.
I do business on CL all the time. This time of year is notorious for high-priced phones. If you wait until spring and summer really hits, phones will be available left and right.
Usually CDMA phones are cheaper as well, so if you look around daily, you'll find a good deal.
Sent from my 2ghz Impulse 4G
Depends on the financial status of the person to go for used phone or a new contract phone
In the past two years I've gone through 5 android phones and saved a ton of money giving the phones down to my wife and mom and never have to sign a new contract. Currently my wife has an Iphone, my mom a nexus s 4g, and I traded my android phone for an Iphone 4s...I'm going to sell that 4s and get a white Epic 4G Touch for 350 tonight, the Iphone should sell for a decent amount, I'm not out to gouge anyone but the Iphone holds value well (I hated the iPhone or I'd keep it but I miss android)
Well let me explain how it makes sense. Here's my actual history:
Buy an HTC Touch Diamond for $125 close to when it came out on some weird contract thing.
Sold Diamond for $200, bought iPhone 3G when moved to tmobile for $250, did a few other deals in between, but ended up trading the iPhone 3G for an HD2 when HD2 came out on tmobile. Sold HD2 for $250 a couple months ago, and moved to ATT and got a Galaxy Note on Contract (thru a friend $10 add a line) for $300 (soon to be $150 back for the promo), for all the deals I did between there I probably netted a few hundred dollar profit, bought and sold tablets as well (used most of them, I'm not trying to be a businessman here). You get to try out a bunch of devices this way.
If you take care of them, the resale is worth the original purchase. If you bought a Galaxy Nexus unlocked for $650 like 6 months ago, you could probably sell it RIGHT NOW for $650 easy if you took damn good care of it.
It's just how it works, you're not really out that much money if you're smart about how you do it, I've dropped $400 on devices and stuff and used/resold etc...
I agree with the general idea of the thread, some used phones are too much IMO.
There is a reason people are paying the used phone prices and I'm willing to bet they checked their options before dishing out a few hundred dollars.
We all get that most providers essentially mortgage you a device through your plan but if you don't fall under their qualifications to upgrade then your about to realize how much these little gadgets actually retail for. If you can upgrade through your provider that's your best bet. If not the used market is probably your go to option.
Sent from my Galaxy S2
eplote was
Taking into account that most phones are essentially a computer in your pocket, the used prices should reflect upon the age of the tech, total use time and who the owner was.
In the IT industry, hardware drops in value quite rapidly due to new gear coming out.
If the handset is a current model of it's class, then expect a premium price.
As for iDrones, they are like the fashion industry, you pay for a label and a social status as an iPhollower.
/Rant over
Crikey
If that makes no sense to you go take a look what people are paying for "used" Iphones.
for what its worth, used galaxy ace's were been sold for more then I paid for mine brand new.
from what I can see on ebay people usually only take 10-20% of the price of a new phone unless there is obvious damage. if you find a retail phone with a discount it will be less than used on ebay.
Most people charge too much for their used phones yet people due to contract issues buy them^^
My personal experience is that if you try to find a used phone on the E bay the price has no sense, but if you look in a local site of vacancies you can find good occasions, expecially if you make an offer that is lower of the asked price.
heres how i got my amaze, i bought it broken. honestly, as long as it turns on, im happy, i do customer service for t-mobile but i have at&t only because i have been with them since they were cingular. anyways, dont want to get off topic at hand, i can repair anything. my amaze had went through a joy ride through a dryer. and i still payed 250.00, then i had to get a digitizer/LCD, then a back, then a battery, but i still came out cheaper then retail price. i get laughed at on the smoke deck at work because of my phone but as the month went on it got nicer and nicer then a new trainee said when did you get your new phone? lol i build it...really. i got my inspire with a cracked screen the only phone i have that NOT damaged is my infuse lol

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