Contract isn't up for a while - Thunderbolt General

My current contract with verizon runs out mid-September. Two phones coming out on the market soon originally caught my eye... The Bionic and the Thunderbolt.
I read that motorola phones aren't the best in terms of root, and I have a good history with HTC (the eris and some incredible use as well). I don't have the money to drop $750 on a phone outside of contract, either way.
My question is... when I can renew my contract, what phone will be worth getting? The Bionic, TBolt, or any others? (With the Eris, I picked it up so late in the release that it was literally obsolete in like 4 months and I want to avoid that again.)

To be honest there will probably be even newer phones coming out around that time. With that Tegra 3 quad coming after this slew of phones maybe you should wait till then.

Raikalo said:
My current contract with verizon runs out mid-September. Two phones coming out on the market soon originally caught my eye... The Bionic and the Thunderbolt.
I read that motorola phones aren't the best in terms of root, and I have a good history with HTC (the eris and some incredible use as well). I don't have the money to drop $750 on a phone outside of contract, either way.
My question is... when I can renew my contract, what phone will be worth getting? The Bionic, TBolt, or any others? (With the Eris, I picked it up so late in the release that it was literally obsolete in like 4 months and I want to avoid that again.)
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Click to collapse
my opinion for now is no, a contract upgrade in september for the tbolt would not be a wise decision.
take a look at this:
gizmocrunch.com/android/5891-verizon-motorola-targa-htc-thunderbolt
already there is news of another 4g/lte verizon device besides the samsung stealh, the htc tbolt, motorola bionic, and lg revolution. my guess is that by the last quarter of 2011 there will be plenty of 4g/lte devices like this new Targa that will have better specs and capabilities than the tbolt or bionic. though the details are sparse, the Targa is showing a 12MP camera which is better than all of the 4 original 4g/lte verizon phones. this makes me think that it will also have strong specs in ram and processor speed (could even be dual-core) and so by september tbolt and bionic could be obsolete like you said your eris was or at least soon-to-be obsolete.

I'm in the exact same situation...
***shakes fist at September upgrade***

Related

What would you do? Contracts, phones, cancellations, and ideologies.

Alright, need some outside opinions on this. I want a new phone.
Currently, I'm on Verizon with the Droid 1. Its an excellent phone, and its been a lot of fun modding it, etc. Sapphire and Cyanogenmod have been awesome ROMs.
I've been disgusted with Verizon's, and Motorola's, actions over the past few months. From Moto's locking the bootloads on the Droid 2 and Droid X, to the essentially forced loading of Big Red's VCAST App store to the Incredible. I fully expect Verizon to disconnect their future Android phones form the Android Market in favor of their own VCAST App Store. There's also their whole Bing deal. It wouldn't bother me if I was able to change it easily, but that's not the case without rooting. Verizon's been a control freak in the past, and unfortunately, it seems the Droid 1 is going to be the exception.
While trying to stream some Flash based episodes from the web, the Droid 1 choked bad, even when OC'd to 1Ghz. Min and Max. Shoot, even connected to a PC's USB for power, the battery still drained on the thing. I want something more powerful.
Unfortunately, I am still on contract with Verizon for another year, breaking it carries a 115 USD fee.
Here's my dilemma. I like T-Mobile's myTouch 4G. Now that its been permarooted, bloat can be removed, Genius button remapped, etc, its a very nice phone. I had wanted to pick up one under their Even More Plus plans, however, that made the price too rich for my blood at present. But, it seems TMO's phased those plans out. So, if I want the Glacier, its 199 for TMO.com or 49-79 from Wirefly/Amazon. At 80 dollars, with the free activation offered by Wirefly or Amazon, the price becomes much more attractive even with the ETF from Verizon.
TMO does have a live HSPA+ network in my area. Verizon's LTE network is supposed to go live in December. I've heard conflicting reports for the launch of their 4G phones, everything from January 2011 to 3Q 2011. While I'm sure these phones will be very powerful(Tegra?), how locked down and crippled will they be?
According to TMO's website, my current phone is portable to their network, so I wouldn't have to change my number.
What would you do? If I decide to cancel the Verizon contract, where do I begin? A call to Verizon to cancel? I haven't gone all the way to the checkout at Amazon or Wirefly, is there a form for porting the number? Whats the best way to handle this? Or just wait and continue to give Verizon money despite my conflicts with their ideologies?
Nothing? No opinions?
Bump again.
well i'll help a bit
you can call Tmobile and ask them to help you port the number to Tmobile, all you need is your account details, and then you talk to verizon to break the contract and pay ETF
2nd the droid is useless on tmobile as you know its cdma and tmobile is GSM
now the even more plus plan is there but you can only get in store or on phone its removed from the site to avoid confunsion
also amazon has a high ETF of $200 so if cancell the contract you have to pay the normal ETF + 200$
Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I know the Droid is useless on Tmo, but I want something more powerful. The Moto Olympus and the LG Star look like powerful devices, but I'm sure the Moto will have the locked bootloader. No idea about the LG, blurrycam shows it running some UI overlay, not vanilla Android. Could change before release.
You bring up a good point on the Amazon ETF, double wammy. Wirefly is likely similar, and I definitely don't want to be in the same situation again in a year.
I guess my main concern is about the longevity of the Glacier? Or I could sit tight with the Droid for a while and get a Gtablet to satisfy my thirst.
Sent from my Droid using XDA App
Bateluer said:
Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I know the Droid is useless on Tmo, but I want something more powerful. The Moto Olympus and the LG Star look like powerful devices, but I'm sure the Moto will have the locked bootloader. No idea about the LG, blurrycam shows it running some UI overlay, not vanilla Android. Could change before release.
You bring up a good point on the Amazon ETF, double wammy. Wirefly is likely similar, and I definitely don't want to be in the same situation again in a year.
I guess my main concern is about the longevity of the Glacier? Or I could sit tight with the Droid for a while and get a Gtablet to satisfy my thirst.
Sent from my Droid using XDA App
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the new moto is coming to At&t so your outta luck, also buy from T mobile and tell them your breaking your contract for them, so ask them whats the best offer they can give you
Diamond_dawg said:
the new moto is coming to At&t so your outta luck, also buy from T mobile and tell them your breaking your contract for them, so ask them whats the best offer they can give you
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That seems like a good idea. Have to look into it.

What's the Chances of AT&T swapping out a Captivate for an HTC Inspire 4G?

I went to Best Buy to peruse this evening and checked out the HTC Inspire 4G - overall it's a pretty snappy phone and the 4.3" screen has me drooling along with the front camera, rear flash and the Sense UI that has grown so much from my good old days of HTC on Windows Mobile!!! Then I thought to myself, hmmmm, perhaps AT&T will let me get it!!!
I purchased the Captivate on July 15th, about three days ahead of the actual release date and I was beaming - until the woeful GPS and now the occasional rebooting if you look at it too hard issues came up, of course I stuck with it because originally they said the holy grail of 2.2 would be out by August, then the end of September, then after Turkey day then by Christmas...... and now it's almost March, almost seven months later to the date!!!
I've been a Bell South/Cingular/AT&T subscriber since 2000, now a little over 11 years, and thru those years I've had let's say about nine phones of my own not to include my wifes phone and then my kids as they grew up and I gave them phones via the family plan. Strangely enough when I upgraded my last phone (HTC Fuze) to the captivate they gave me the option to upgrade a year later which will be July 15th, they usually let me upgrade every year or so so I'm always fresh.
But after this second hassle with them about a Samsung smart phone (first was the BlackJack) I'm pretty done and ready to go back to old reliable HTC and call them up and demand that they give me an Inspire or I nip all my plans in the bud since they all expire this year with my phone being the last one to expire in July and moving over to T-Mobile or Verizon. I know I could get it and they would probably extend my contract another 6 months or so, and I've seen the specs on it and know that by mid summer it would be be beyond old hat since it's pretty much the Evo with GSM with new Sense UI. Or I could wait and see if they would give me the Infuse or the new Motorola but I'd hate to get any of those phones then see in July that the new HTC Super Duper or Samsung Galaxy S 2.5 come out then. Should I wait it out another five months with the Captivate, play the warranty return game till they offer me an alternative or just say" Yo AT&T, if you still want my business give me a Motorola!!!"
Right there with you. Got my Cappy in late July, now on my sixth. They offered to give me a different phone on the last two, but the closest to the Cap's specs were the x10 and iPhone 4. Hoping number six here holds out until the x12's or Atrix's come out. If they're not willing to budge on my terms when it inevitably dies (free and no-new-contract) then I'm paying the ETF and heading to sprint.
I'm planning on doing the same. Although chances are they will only change it (one time) to another phone that is refurbished. So it might take a while to jump on a new phone.
How did you manage to gets a one year contract with a phone upgrade? I wish I got that.I have a one year upgrade option but a t year contract that gets extended with every upgrade. The 300-500 is not worth the contract cancellation for me
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
crystalhand said:
The 300-500 is not worth the contract cancellation for me
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True. But with all the bullsh*t that has came with this droid and having to take 5 phones to the post office to be shipped back (only to be refurb'd again and passed off to some other poor bastard)... a $200 ETF is like paying for the luxury of no longer putting up with AT&T. Every month another $20 less that I have to pay them, etc.
3 times warranty exchange of captivate for the sleep/charge death issue; and possibly account history.
As always, be soft, be patient, and be genuine.
I was told I could swap for a different phone in Dec last if the sleep death issue reoccurred (that was the 4th exchange in all -- once a battery and 3 times phone exchange).
Luckily, my captivate survived.
Im so tempted to just pay the ETF and jump to verizon.. its nice to see that att is getting some new android phones. Even though the htc phone has the lowest specs its so tempting because it will have aosp and 2.3 before the new samsung phone.....and unless motorola goes with an unlocked bootloader they will be in the same boat. Hardware specs don't mean much if the software isn't there
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Early upgrade pricing is $300 and most everyone will qualify for that. Sell your Captivate for $250-$300 on Craigslist and be done with it. It will be hard to get them to swap it. I tried.
gtg465x said:
Early upgrade pricing is $300 and most everyone will qualify for that. Sell your Captivate for $250-$300 on Craigslist and be done with it. It will be hard to get them to swap it. I tried.
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The Inspire is available for $400 with no contract. I'd rather do that than pay $300 for an upgrade and be locked in for 2 more years.
Same boat.... random shutdowns, etc. On my 5th or 6th phone. I have device support center near my house, so swapping them out it easy, but irritating. When I called yesterday, they said I could swap it for an Inspire, but only when the warranty center received refurbished units, which could take 30-90 days. I doubt it will take that long. I do not see them issuing new Inspires to anybody with a problem at 31+ days. I would have to guess they will have refurbs within 30 days, but who knows. Anybody know how long it takes for AT&T to start getting refurbs?
I'm also curious to know if i can do this. I bought a Captivate refurbished, and already got a replacement because of random shut down issues. Maybe i'll give AT&T a call tomorrow and see what I can do, anyone think people interested in this idea have a decent chance as long as we're reasonable to the AT&T rep we speak to?
Tried. Didn't work : /
It's good to know I'm not the only person thinking about the trade out, seeing as how the Inspire 4G is marked monetarily lower than the Captivate but of the same calibur I'm sure that it will be a refurb option really soon. The only thing I dread about going through the warranty process is initially getting back Captivate refurbs that have bigger issues than mine over and over again until AT&T finally gives in and lets me choose another phone of the same calibur which is why I haven't sent mine in for the GPS, media scan of dread and shutdown while charging/rebooting troubles but now that they are becoming more frequent that it's becoming unbearable.
Buying an Inspire straight out or having AT&T extend my contract for another year isn't an option I'm willing to take, that would get me stuck with an inspire until spring 2012 at the least - no thanks I saw what became of the Aria.
The simple fact is the the issues with this phone should have been addressed and resolved a long time ago and we shouldn't have to put on a custom rom to get it to a state that it should have been that way out the box, custom roms should be for fun and enhancements to an already good product not band aids to fix flaws that the manufacturer or carrier wont acknowledge and respond to.
Hopefully in a few weeks once people start going through the Inspire's the option to choose a refurbished Inspire 4G as a swap for a Captivate will become available, either that or the official 2.2 comes out then I'll stick with the captivate until summer, after that AT&T better come correct with the android updates and some stunning hardware or I'll be jumping ship to T-Mobile.
Wow, I didn't realize the captivate was having so many issues...5th and 6th phones? My god.
I got my phone in August and its running like a champ with Darky 9.2.
johnnie5000 said:
true. But with all the bullsh*t that has came with this droid and having to take 5 phones to the post office to be shipped back (only to be refurb'd again and passed off to some other poor bastard)... A $200 etf is like paying for the luxury of no longer putting up with at&t. Every month another $20 less that i have to pay them, etc.
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IT'S NOT A DROID! @[email protected]##%@#$%^#$%^&#7
xreflection said:
Wow, I didn't realize the captivate was having so many issues...5th and 6th phones? My god.
I got my phone in August and its running like a champ with Darky 9.2.
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it's true. granted, i've only gone through one phone, but i did have the random shutdown problem, and at first i wasn't bothered by it. it quickly became the most annoying problem ever by occurring more frequently.
I am still skeptical about the whole 4G network with AT&T especially being such crappy coverage service already with their supposed upgraded 3G network. If they said they finally completed their 3G network upgrade and provide this kind of horrible coverage quality, I can't even begin to imagine how their supposed 4G network speeds are as well as the coverage it will support. If i was to get a 4G AT&T phone, I would wait at least half a year to a year to really see how they push their network out onto the market.
I talked to an AT&T rep last night and I think I am goinh to jack the upgrade on one of my kids' line and get the Inspire 4G. I got it for my wife and it was the bomb.
The rep told me the exception upgrade for the Inspire is 199.
I originally posted this in the Inspire 4g General forum:
_________________________________________________________________
I bought the Captivate day 1 in June after all the hype only to be disappointed like many users. I called AT&T customer service about an hour ago and was online with a rep within 10 minutes. I very calmly explained my issues with the Captivate (GPS, rebooting randomly) and asked to be given an early upgrade. Without so much as a question the rep told me he would approve it through his supervisor. It took me less than 30 minutes to have a full upgrade ready whenever I want to use it. That will be in about an hour when I go pick up the Inspire.
TL;DR: If you want to upgrade from your Captivate but stay with AT&T, it is trivially easy to get the full upgrade price.
_________________________________________________________________
Also, the OP says that the Inspire has a front-facing camera, but it does not. Just FYI.
I did it. Love it. Such a better out of the box experience.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

What's on AT&T's Android horizon??

From the looks of it, the best Android phone coming out (that we know of) is the HTC Holiday? 1.2 GHz, qHD...it's supposedly coming out during the (wouldn't you guess) holiday season, AFTER phones on other carriers with 1.5 Ghz and 720p screens have been out for a couple months. Wth? From the looks of it, AT&T might not get the Nexus Prime (or whatever it's called, at least not right away). In fact, it's rumored to be going to Verizon, who is also getting the HTC Vigor, the Motorola Dinara, and a couple of the phones in that recently leaked Samsung lineup are going to Verizon.
Of course, where these phones go is all speculation...but damn, someone tell me my crappy carrier will be getting something good within the next 6 months!!
Perhaps I'm missing something...
The Samsung Galaxy S2 should be out next month. That will be the top Android device for ATT. And there is a slight chance they get the Nexus-Prime this Nov/Dec.
I would get the Galaxy S2. Will be a great device and last a long while if there is a steady XDA user base for ATT's version.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
Zorachus said:
The Samsung Galaxy S2 should be out next month. That will be the top Android device for ATT. And there is a slight chance they get the Nexus-Prime this Nov/Dec.
I would get the Galaxy S2. Will be a great device and last a long while if there is a steady XDA user base for ATT's version.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
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I dunno. It'll be a 1.2 ghz releasing about the same time as the other supposedly 1.5 phones, AND the screen resolution isn't even qHD, let alone at all on par with the 720p... You're right though, if the development is good (on XDA, etc.) then that does a lot for the phones lasting value.
But spec wise, it seems the SGS2 has been held off of US shores for FAR too long, and it risks being outdated almost immediately.
Are there really no other good ATT phones in our future? Can we expect some surprises to be unveiled in the coming weeks for phones on par with these beasts Verizon, etc. are getting?
Import an unlocked prime.
Well, AT&T is buying out T-Mobile and I'm sure with it will come a bunch of new phones for AT&T
There's rumors a Nexus Prime will be dropping for every carrier.

New phone?

Verizon sent me an update notification yesterday. I love my tbolt but am curious about things new. I'm not a fan of MOTO Blur so I'm not really into the Droid series unless someone convinces otherwise. It seems that's the only thing Verizon is promoting at the moment. Does HTC have a new monster release soon or do I need to settle? What is everyones opinion?
I didn't like the original Blur. Ninja, or whatever the launcher was called. New Blur is very sleak and pretty snappy, especially on a RAZR. My only issue with Motorola is the locked bootloader. Makes the developer scene kinda meh. I mean, HTC MIGHT be coming out with something big within the next couple months, but the Rezound is still holding pretty strong. Who knows, a new EVO is about to drop on Sprint, so maybe Verizon will get a taste of something.
According to phone arena HTC is supposed to be dropping a tb replacement in April. Obviously it's a rumor, but it wouldn't surprise me since they have talked about it since a month before the rezound dropped. I'm waiting till April to make my decision between the nexus and the new HTC phone that may or may not be coming. I have the TB and the bionic, and I HATE the bionic. As soon as the Ril is released and made compatible with twisted rom I may go back to the TB. Don't get anything moto, just my 0.02 oh, and I have more problems with lag and data on the bionic than I had with the TB.
They talked about it a month before the Rezound drop because it WAS the Rezound lol
Yeah, that's the reason they just wrote another article on it the other day talking about an April release date. I think it was code named the fireball, model number 6410. So yes, clearly it was the rezound. 6425.
I'm hanging on to my TBolt until something amazing comes out. When I leave my TBolt it's going to be for something that absolutely blows it away and something that shows great developer support.
I'm going back to tmobile as soon as my contract is up since the little lady and I can get on a family plan and cut down on the bills. I was offered a charge but no thanks!
Ryanmo5 said:
I'm going back to tmobile as soon as my contract is up since the little lady and I can get on a family plan and cut down on the bills. I was offered a charge but no thanks!
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Click to collapse
Yep. Seems if you like Android, a GSM carrier (T-mo) is the way to go. I'm sticking with Big Red since they have LTE and I have unlimited data. As soon as they find a way to kill that, I'm out.
Ryanmo5 said:
I'm going back to tmobile as soon as my contract is up since the little lady and I can get on a family plan and cut down on the bills. I was offered a charge but no thanks!
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Click to collapse
Say it ain't so!!
Sent from my HTC Mecha using xda premium
You said it perfectly.
Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt
mrkite38 said:
Yep. Seems if you like Android, a GSM carrier (T-mo) is the way to go. I'm sticking with Big Red since they have LTE and I have unlimited data. As soon as they find a way to kill that, I'm out.
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+1
sent from your moms room
I just got the RAZR MAXX last week, coming from the bolt, and am pretty happy with it. The new blur actually isn't bad at all. Definitely not as much on the dev side for it as the bolt, but we do have root and some custom ROMs, themeing and over clocking options. Also, we are rumored to be getting ICS this week! And even if that doesn't drop, there's a leaked version that you can load. Signal and battery life are excellent as well! Would I have paid $200+ for this phone with a 2 year contract? Probably not due to the locked bootloader! But for free...most certainly worth it!
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
The HTC One X just came out, or within the next week or so, on T-Mobile and I believe AT&T as well. IF a version comes out for Verizon, it will be HTC's flagship device of the year.
If I wasn't getting such a good deal with Verizon ($59.99 for unlimited data, text, and 450 mins), then I would probably switch to AT&T since they are pretty strong up here. US Cellular is my preferred choice of a carrier but they have horrible phones.
geoff5093 said:
The HTC One X just came out, or within the next week or so, on T-Mobile and I believe AT&T as well. IF a version comes out for Verizon, it will be HTC's flagship device of the year.
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Considering we get Flagship phones so late thanks to Verizon's over testing, we would get lucky if we get the One X before X-Mas.
The One X would probably be the first real tempting upgrade from the Thunderbolt. I doubt we'll see such a phone at Verizon though. We would have already heard the rumors.
The Incredible 4G will most likely be our closest counterpart of the One series.

Tmobile selling Galaxy S 4G again

Either that, or my computer is having some weird kind of flashback:
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/default.aspx?capcode=AGE
Any ideas as to why Tmo has trotted out the SGS4G again - AND at a higher price than the HTC One X and the Galaxy S Blaze?
It could be a mistake and they meant to add the S3.
Or you guys still have some OS update hope.
you could always buy the GS4G, I don't think it was ever taken off their list. It's been one of the phones they advertise in their pre-paid plan line-ups for some time now.
The One S is cheaper because it has more incentives and discounts right now. the actual retail price is higher than the GS4G if you buy it outright.
That deal on the One S is pretty sweet though. I just don't want to start another 2 year contract
i'm buying the next sprint LTE android flagship phone. Jelly Bean.
airfluip1 said:
i'm buying the next sprint LTE android flagship phone. Jelly Bean.
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Don't. Buy an at&t phone or other 1900/850 capable phone (our phone is believe it or not. Get a straight talk at&t sim and pay 45$ a month for GREAT service. I'm not advertising just vouching
Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk
T-Mobile never stopped selling the 4G. They actually raised it's price with the new financing thing they got going on.
Is there a place offering the quad core One X at a reduced price for contract? I'm looking to get a top of the line phone soon. I would love the S3, but I'm pretty sure it wont be discounted for a little while.
Sorry, but it was gone from their main list of phones with contract for quite some time - it was followed off the list by the G2x and the HTC Sensation. And now it has reappeared, costing more money than dual-core phones like the Blaze and the One X and still without any official hope of getting ICS. I just find that very strange.
Manumission said:
Sorry, but it was gone from their main list of phones with contract for quite some time - it was followed off the list by the G2x and the HTC Sensation. And now it has reappeared, costing more money than dual-core phones like the Blaze and the One X and still without any official hope of getting ICS. I just find that very strange.
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They probably had a bock log of phones that need to be sold. Again its a phone pushed towards the prepaid service. You will qualify for discounts by purchasing the newer phones. However if you are upgrading or replacing out of contract the sgs4g is cheaper.
Yes T-mobile is still selling our phones and yes Samsung is still making our phones. Does that really surprise you, they still make flip phones and simian phones for non data plans. They rarely discontinue a phone unless it no longer will function on their upgraded networks, like what happened to the original sidekick phones. They could no longer support the data system so one day all the sidekick owners received a text that said upgrade or lose service. If the phone can still fill a market need and be profitable then it will continue to be sold.
bot42 said:
Yes T-mobile is still selling our phones and yes Samsung is still making our phones. Does that really surprise you, they still make flip phones and simian phones for non data plans.
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The fact that they are selling the phone doesn't surprise me - what does surprise me is that it is so much more expensive than the Blaze and the One S, on a 2-year contract. Don't get me wrong, I like our phone, but for new customers signing a 2-year contract, offering the SGS4G at a higher price point than those two dual-core phones is a head-scratcher.
Manumission said:
The fact that they are selling the phone doesn't surprise me - what does surprise me is that it is so much more expensive than the Blaze and the One S, on a 2-year contract. Don't get me wrong, I like our phone, but for new customers signing a 2-year contract, offering the SGS4G at a higher price point than those two dual-core phones is a head-scratcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They want you to buy the new phones. Its not really a head scratcher. Again they would rather push the sgs4g towards the prepaid side. You also qualify for discounts for the newer phones that the sgs4g does not qualify for.

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