[Q] Is it better to buy from the Play Store or T-mobile? - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

So, while I've 100% decided to finally get a new, better phone (I'm currently using a T-mob G2, albeit on 4.0.4), and I've decided on the Nexus 4, I'm having a hard time deciding where to get it from. I'm hoping the wisdom of the xda userbase can help me make an informed decision.
I've been a T-mobile customer since 1998, and I don't really see myself leaving anytime soon. I'm on a "classic" plan and due for an upgrade, so the 16GB N4 would be $199 (after mail-in rebate), versus $349 from the play store.
Are there *any* differences between the two models? Not hardware-wise, obviously, but software. Will the carrier version be just as easily rootable as the play store version? If I'll definitely be with T-mobile for the life of the contract, without even considering the ETF then, is there any benefit to getting the unlocked version? My G2 is sim-unlocked, but I haven't used that aspect of it at all in the last two years.
Thanks for any advice you can give me.
-John

chinly43 said:
So, while I've 100% decided to finally get a new, better phone (I'm currently using a T-mob G2, albeit on 4.0.4), and I've decided on the Nexus 4, I'm having a hard time deciding where to get it from. I'm hoping the wisdom of the xda userbase can help me make an informed decision.
I've been a T-mobile customer since 1998, and I don't really see myself leaving anytime soon. I'm on a "classic" plan and due for an upgrade, so the 16GB N4 would be $199 (after mail-in rebate), versus $349 from the play store.
Are there *any* differences between the two models? Not hardware-wise, obviously, but software. Will the carrier version be just as easily rootable as the play store version? If I'll definitely be with T-mobile for the life of the contract, without even considering the ETF then, is there any benefit to getting the unlocked version? My G2 is sim-unlocked, but I haven't used that aspect of it at all in the last two years.
Thanks for any advice you can give me.
-John
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Click to collapse
Hey John!
They are the SAME exact model. Both are unlocked. The one T-Mobile is selling, is the one directly from the play store, just at a lower on-contract price.

iAndropple said:
Hey John!
They are the SAME exact model. Both are unlocked. The one T-Mobile is selling, is the one directly from the play store, just at a lower on-contract price.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply!
When you say the T-mobile one is "unlocked", do you mean completely, or just the bootloader? Not a deal-breaker, just curious.

chinly43 said:
Thanks for the reply!
When you say the T-mobile one is "unlocked", do you mean completely, or just the bootloader? Not a deal-breaker, just curious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone will be carrier/SIM unlocked, even if you buy it from T-Mobile.

drumist said:
The phone will be carrier/SIM unlocked, even if you buy it from T-Mobile.
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Click to collapse
Terrific! So it's just a matter of price, then, which I can certainly figure out myself. Thanks for answering!

chinly43 said:
Terrific! So it's just a matter of price, then, which I can certainly figure out myself. Thanks for answering!
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Click to collapse
Noo problemmmm

Hey the $199 cost is actually greater than if you simply bought the phone from the playstore or from tmobile for the value plan. The classic plan prices are much greater than the value plan, I would recommend getting the value plan where it will $200 upfront like the classic but you will pay the rest off monthly. Even with this cost added it is significantly cheaper than classic.

aces_500 said:
Hey the $199 cost is actually greater than if you simply bought the phone from the playstore or from tmobile for the value plan. The classic plan prices are much greater than the value plan, I would recommend getting the value plan where it will $200 upfront like the classic but you will pay the rest off monthly. Even with this cost added it is significantly cheaper than classic.
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I definitely appreciate the advice, and while what you're saying true for most people, I'm not sure if it applies to me. I'm on a family plan that has different contract-end dates for each line; what I've gathered online, then, is that although I'm past the end of my particular line's contract, because others are not we'd have to pay a $200 "migration fee" to change to the value-type plan, which would be $10/month cheaper. The combined extra $150 from the play store (or $350 from the t-mob store) and $200 fee don't offset the $240 saved with the cheaper bill.
On the other hand, I haven't asked in person at a T-mobile store if I'm getting this all correct, and I could easily be wrong. If anyone knows for sure, they could chime in here to let me know I'm right or wrong!
EDIT: Plus, the rest of the family would then not get discounts on their eventual new phones if they were to want them.

Thread title should be amended:
To be reamed or not to be reamed, that is the question.
And if you have to ask ......

compact_bijou said:
Thread title should be amended:
To be reamed or not to be reamed, that is the question.
And if you have to ask ......
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Click to collapse
Funny, but if you read through, it looks like if I'm planning to stick with the same (family) plan I have right now, it's probably cheaper for me to get it subsidized.

I wonder if you can go into the TMo and see if you can get the phone for the Play Store price.
I'd wait until the 13th and see.

chinly43 said:
So, while I've 100% decided to finally get a new, better phone (I'm currently using a T-mob G2, albeit on 4.0.4), and I've decided on the Nexus 4, I'm having a hard time deciding where to get it from. I'm hoping the wisdom of the xda userbase can help me make an informed decision.
I've been a T-mobile customer since 1998, and I don't really see myself leaving anytime soon. I'm on a "classic" plan and due for an upgrade, so the 16GB N4 would be $199 (after mail-in rebate), versus $349 from the play store.
Are there *any* differences between the two models? Not hardware-wise, obviously, but software. Will the carrier version be just as easily rootable as the play store version? If I'll definitely be with T-mobile for the life of the contract, without even considering the ETF then, is there any benefit to getting the unlocked version? My G2 is sim-unlocked, but I haven't used that aspect of it at all in the last two years.
Thanks for any advice you can give me.
-John
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to make sure, that means that we will have access to Google Wallet and everything else if we buy from T-Mobile, right?

bfspider said:
I wonder if you can go into the TMo and see if you can get the phone for the Play Store price.
I'd wait until the 13th and see.
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Click to collapse
Doubt it. There wouldn't be a real reason to sell a phone without a contract and discount it down $150. No incentive for the store, T-Mobile, sales reps. etc.

Guys i have a question maybe you guys can answer for me. THis is the first time me and my husband have been with a GSM network and i plan on getting the phone through play store BUT here is my question....
"what are you guys talking about when you mention classic plan and value plan? Does tmobile charge you $200 then the extra a month on a regular upgrade if your available for one? Im so confused and have seen this floating around quit a bit. Does it only apply to this phone or do they do this with every phone? with my past carriers i have been able to get a phone when available for an upgrade at the upgrade price without extra a month so i am just curious as to what all this means?" Can someone please explain this to me lol

branzno said:
Guys i have a question maybe you guys can answer for me. THis is the first time me and my husband have been with a GSM network and i plan on getting the phone through play store BUT here is my question....
"what are you guys talking about when you mention classic plan and value plan? Does tmobile charge you $200 then the extra a month on a regular upgrade if your available for one? Im so confused and have seen this floating around quit a bit. Does it only apply to this phone or do they do this with every phone? with my past carriers i have been able to get a phone when available for an upgrade at the upgrade price without extra a month so i am just curious as to what all this means?" Can someone please explain this to me lol
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Click to collapse
If I am correct, when you purchase the phone under a value plan you pay $200 but then you also pay a monthly amount in addition to your plan until the phone is fully paid off. The monthly amount you pay in addition to the initial 200 will add up to Tmobile's price for the device without a contract. However if you purchase the device under the classic plan, you pay one flat fee for the phone and there is no additional cost to your monthly plan besides the first months upgrade fee ($35 I believe).

chinly43 said:
Funny, but if you read through, it looks like if I'm planning to stick with the same (family) plan I have right now, it's probably cheaper for me to get it subsidized.
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Click to collapse
If you (and only you) got off your family plan, you could go to StraightTalk (still using T-Mobile's coverage, or AT&T's if you prefer) and pay $45/mo. for unlimited everything. Is that still more expensive than your portion of your family plan costs? Seems unlikely.

Are you guys sure there are no differences? I just read that the T-Mobile version will be using their HSPA+42, while others will be using +21.
Oh wait, the site says 42. I HOPE THERE ARE NO DIFFERENCES because I will be buying it from the Play Store since I am on the poor family plan. Essentially I am saving $250.

AlleN7 said:
Are you guys sure there are no differences? I just read that the T-Mobile version will be using their HSPA+42, while others will be using +21.
Oh wait, the site says 42. I HOPE THERE ARE NO DIFFERENCES because I will be buying it from the Play Store since I am on the poor family plan. Essentially I am saving $250.
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I am pretty sure there are no differences between the devices! From all the articles I have read they seem to be exactly the same.

Any one know if they will be covered under insurane if bought from the play store? Wondering if the numbers match up so in case of an accident asurion wont weasel out as usual.
N2

Initial_G said:
I am pretty sure there are no differences between the devices! From all the articles I have read they seem to be exactly the same.
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At first I thought they were the same and then I got confused because I read an article where a guy was mad because only T-mobile was selling it with their contract. Others had to get it thru Google Store. Then he complained that it didnt have LTE and that T-mobile one had HSPA+ 42, while the other only had HSPA+ 21. I dunno. I can't wait!

Related

Best place to get a Vibrant off contract

I've been following the Galaxy S and Vibrant releases for a while and love the Vibrant. I however have a problem concerning plans. Since I will only be using its Internet capabilities where I have Wi-Fi (college, home, work), I have no need or desire for a data plan. T-Mobile REQUIRES new devices are sold with data plans so my question is.
1.Would getting a Vibrant from Ebay (for ~$500) and using my old SIM be the best option?
2. Can I just walk into a Tmobile store and tell them I want to purchase a RETAIL ($500) Vibrant with no contract or SIM and get one that way (or are they going to add a data plan and ask me for my Tmobile line credentials to do so)?
3. Is getting a Vibrant on contract for $200 + data plan and then cancelling the contract after the 15th day the cheapest option?
I suppose I would prefer to buy it from Tmobile, even at retail price since I get the manufacturer insurance of 1 year (have needed it before) free though if not possible, Ebay is an option too. I'm just looking at getting it as cheap as possible without having to do a 2-year data plan contract.
Thx.
I bought it at T-mobile off contract, however i made some other account changes while i was there so not sure if they require anything account wise when buying off contract.
I see. What kind of changes did you make? Adding a data plan or something else?
Do you think I can walk into a store, and buy a Vibrant for $500 WITHOUT providing any account information so that they cannot associate my account with the phone?
I'd like to keep my contract AS IS currently, and if possible not renew it (it just passed the 2 years mark so I can technically get a discounted phone if I renew it but I do not like T-Mobile's new contracts. I have unlimited texting on my line through a Family plan)
you might try asking this over in the the Tmobile vibrant forum
i believe you can cancel the data plan after or during the first month but i'm not the expert
costco WAS selling Vibrants off-contract (even more plans) for $229. not sure if its still ongoing.
Either costco or t-mobile. At costco they have to tie it it to a new phone line, which you can cancel at any time since you aren't under contact, pretty sure there is no fee.
I opted to but at tmo, and have the price split up over 20 payments interest free. I already had an existing android plan though.
andy2na said:
costco WAS selling Vibrants off-contract (even more plans) for $229. not sure if its still ongoing.
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Click to collapse
Even More plans are contract plans. Are you talking about Even More Plus plans?
Go by a T-Mobile store and ask or call their customer service. You'll get a much better answer straight from the horse's mouth than you will from here.
I've heard about people trying to get a discounted phone with a new contract or making changes to their plan so they qualify and then immediately change things around in a manner that would disqualify them from the discount after they got it and then T-Mobile hit them with the remaining amount for the full price of the phone in their next bill. I guess it's their way of saying "cheaters never prosper".
If I buy it from Tmobile with ANY sort of contract...Even more Plus or Even More, they WILL add a data plan to it. There is also activation fees for a new line so not only will I have to pay the $500 for an even more plus plan, but I would have to CANCEL the line...in that case I may as well get it off of Ebay and save myself the hassle of all that.
The T-Mo forums are really helpful with everything other than development. Try there or stop at an official T-Mo store. The third party official partner places get paid to sell contracts. I've had some bad experiences on eBay and had to go to resolution with the seller twice on pre-smartphone phones, so beware.
What kind of bad experiences exactly?
If I were you and looking for a SGS I'd buy the full model that has all the extras... or possibly even the version with a slide out keyboard and ffc. The SGS Pro i believe it is.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
}{Alienz}{ said:
What kind of bad experiences exactly?
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Click to collapse
Wrong carrier on one occasion and got a refurbished instead of new phone the other time. I have gotten good deals as well, so it's a crapshoot. I probably didn't screen the seller as well as I should have, just looked at the overall rating.
Sent from my T-Mobile G1 using XDA App
you could probably call tmo or stop in to a tmo corp store and ask, I find they are usually very helpful about things like this. side note i actually had a long conversation w/ the rep at the store when i bought my vibrant about cyanogenmod and phone modding, which he has done to his phones.
OMG, costco was selling this for $250 no contract and noone spread the good news. SHAME ON YOU ALL.
Know if i can still get it @ 250?
if you find any good deals please post it here. thanks
engineer14 said:
OMG, costco was selling this for $250 no contract and noone spread the good news. SHAME ON YOU ALL.
Know if i can still get it @ 250?
if you find any good deals please post it here. thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. A memo was sent out and they raised the price Tuesday morning to $479. Think the $250 was a pricing error.
The best deal is with Bing cashback! $325
Go to bing.com
search for tmobile (you should see gold dollar sign w 35% off)
click on the link to tmobile site then do your shopping
I got my phone for $325 and on top of that, 35% off activation and the $59 plan.
so my total saving was $208
But bing is ending its cashback program at the end of july so better hurry!
I don't see the gold $ when I search t-mobile nor when I do my shopping after clicking through bing do I get the discount.
Is there supposd to be some code you put? Is it possible for you to just post a link?
too bad Bing cashback is gone at the end of the month.
@killer bee
See picture
hpz937 said:
you could probably call tmo or stop in to a tmo corp store and ask, I find they are usually very helpful about things like this. side note i actually had a long conversation w/ the rep at the store when i bought my vibrant about cyanogenmod and phone modding, which he has done to his phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went to check the phone out the phone at a local store and someone was playing with the demo so the rep let me play with his personal phone. I noticed he had the su app installed lol
Sent from my T-Mobile G1 using XDA App
engineer14 said:
OMG, costco was selling this for $250 no contract and noone spread the good news. SHAME ON YOU ALL.
Know if i can still get it @ 250?
if you find any good deals please post it here. thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree! I recently switched our 5 phones over from AT&t and we went with Even More Plus because it's cheaper in the long run and no contract. However, we had to pay full price for the phones. Two of them were basic flip phones, but three of them were Samsung Vibrants at $500 apiece. We bought them at a T-Mobile corporate store and the most they did for us was waive the activation fee (which I found out would have been done anyway as a AAA member) and give us one free car charger when we bought the other two. We shelled out $1500 for the three Vibrants and we could have paid $750 at Costco!!!!! We're still in our 14 day return period, obviously, so if this is all true I'm going to call T-Mobile and see what can be done.

[Q] How easy is to buy a Focus without a contract?

I will be traveling to the US in about a week, I want to buy a Focus and was wondering if I will be able to do it without having a contract with At&t..
I'm willing to pay the "No Commitment Pricing" of $500+taxes but I don't know what kind of requirements they impose to the actual purchase of a device in the store.
Anybody has info on this?
idloco said:
I will be traveling to the US in about a week, I want to buy a Focus and was wondering if I will be able to do it without having a contract with At&t..
I'm willing to pay the "No Commitment Pricing" of $500+taxes but I don't know what kind of requirements they impose to the actual purchase of a device in the store.
Anybody has info on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your best bet is Best Buy if/when they get the phone, I think.
When I bought my Focus today in an official AT&T store, they mentioned I would have to purchase some sort of contract to "get the phone today". I didn't mind since I was planning to, but it felt to me like it was a necessity...
Anyone else have problems buying off contract? I used my upgrade on an iPhone 4 and wanted to buy this for the full retail price today.... Hopefully I don't run into any problems =/
I bought mine no contract with no hassle. I'm already an ATT customer and just asked to buy the phone without a contract.
chizzwhizz said:
I bought mine no contract with no hassle. I'm already an ATT customer and just asked to buy the phone without a contract.
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Click to collapse
Same here, I was in and out in about 5 minutes.
Bizybone said:
Same here, I was in and out in about 5 minutes.
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phew... load off my mind. now i can sell off my samsung captivate without worrying the whole day if i did it for nothing. THANKS
I got the phone when the stores open in Columbus, OH on the 8th. There were 4 of us in line there. The other 3 were Microsoft employees. Two bought the focus, one the HTC. All bought them with NO contract. Infact I think one guy paid for all three of them lol. I'm pretty sure since you can order them online with no contract for $499.99 at ATT.com that a contract is not needed.
I walked in and out of a official att store with a focus.
Buy it @ at&t stores should be no problem at all. The biggest problem is to get it unlocked.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
You can't buy the Samsung Focus off contract currently. AT&T will sell it outright ($499 + tax), but they will only sell it to you if your an existing on-contract customer or you sign up (with a minimum term). I've already been to AT&T and tried, apparantly my money is not good enough there. I'm not sure how people in the US put up with this rubbish. Either way, the only way to get a Samsung Focus in the US at the moment is to sign up at AT&T.
I've also been to Best Buy, but they only stock the HTC Surround, which I won't buy due to it not having a microSD slot.
I'm currently an AT&T customer who just renewed my contract for another 2 years for the iphone 4. So they'll be able to sell me one full retail price, right?
www.expansys-usa.com
What about Amazon Wireless, I think you can buy there without a plan...
EDIT: I just confirm this, you can buy without a plan!
Most online site still need to verify your status with AT&T (at least that's the policy with Letstalk.com). Stores don't like to sell phones without contract because there is no money to be made (monthly service charges).
jaraya13 said:
What about Amazon Wireless, I think you can buy there without a plan...
EDIT: I just confirm this, you can buy without a plan!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can go elsewhere on the net as well. The problem is AT&T has the best price right now. Everyone else is a good 50-80 more expensive. I'd rather save the extra cash and grab a branded one...
bmstrong said:
You can go elsewhere on the net as well. The problem is AT&T has the best price right now. Everyone else is a good 50-80 more expensive. I'd rather save the extra cash and grab a branded one...
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Click to collapse
Dude I meant the branded ones (AT&T), for example the HTC SURROUND AT&T BRANDED price is $460 or something like that. And I was able to go through all the checkout process, just that I didn't want to pay, hehehe
OK cool.. I hope there are Focus left when I´m there!
Amazon.com doesn't have Focus in stock. In fact, it only briefly showed up in like 10 seconds before it was sold out @ 11/8.
You go to Dell online and buy any phone on any carrier in the US and some unlocked Nokia's without a contract and in some cases the prices are pretty good...I have a Streak AND a Nokia N8 on the way lol. The Nokia (ugly pea green one) was actually only $450 compared to $550 most other places. If I don't like either one I may be joining the Focus owners club in a few weeks.
craiglist.. thats how i got mine// 400 bucks.. a week old

Tmobile wouldn't sell me a Tab

I went down to Tmobile to check out the Galaxy Tab out and possibly pick one up yesterday. I played with it for about 20 min and really liked it. It felt fast and worked well. I did turn flash to on-demand in the browser, and that helped a lot. I tethered it to my EVO wifi and that worked great too.
But when I wanted to buy one with out a contract they said they couldn't do that. The guy was saying that they were in limited supply and could only sell one with the 2 year contract. I called a few other stores and they either didn't get any in or were sold out. Now, it looks like Amazon is sold out too. I guess I will wait for black Friday to see if there are any deals or new tablets announced.
That sucks, my tmobile store is awesome. Its located in Visalia, CA They hooked me up. Have you tried Best Buy?
Sucks and good news at the same time. Sucks you can't buy one, great news that they sold so well that they have to reserve them for contract sales only.
That should loosen up once AT&T launches theirs, as well as the Bell Canada NAM version.
slcEVO said:
But when I wanted to buy one with out a contract they said they couldn't do that. The guy was saying that they were in limited supply and could only sell one with the 2 year contract.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... because selling it with a plan is how the store reps earn commission. I can't imagine that they can legally refuse to sell someone an item when it is in stock... because that is essentially what they are doing.
Can't you just buy it under contract and then cancel right away? Off contract is $599, with contract is $399. They charge $200 early termination fee, so doesn't it just even out?
I looked online today and Best Buy is showing Unavailable for all the stores around here. I also thought the Tmobile one was the only one with the 16GB memory built in. Best Buy shows both with the 16GB built in. One other feature I liked about Tmobile is that they would do a prepaid 3G service. I will mostly use wifi and link to my phone, but I thought it would be good to have an option for 3G when I travel. I'll have to see if Sprint or Verizon can do a prepaid or one month plan.
It is good, that it seems to be selling well. I was also surprised I liked the size so much. I was thinking I would hold out for a 10" tablet but now really like the smaller size. Maybe an 8" would be perfect.
Buying T-Mobile Tab
My goal was to buy one without a contract and monthly charges.
All stores around me had them in stock but one store refused to sell without me committing to a plan even without a contract, another store clerk said that internet Wifi won't work without an activated 3G service and essentially refused to sell. The third store manager sold it without bogus stories, however, he also said that they sell to current T-mobile customers primarily.
Customer service said once that it should not be such conditions to sell the device, however, they also said that store managers can impose such.
The Tab works like a charm with WiFi only but has activated 3G SIM allowing to connect to T-Mobile store for ordering service in case of need.
It is very nice feature because if I need I can order and start using 3G data very quickly without calling rep or going to a store.
chrisreese said:
Can't you just buy it under contract and then cancel right away? Off contract is $599, with contract is $399. They charge $200 early termination fee, so doesn't it just even out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+2
Comes out the same..
$399 contract price... Call T-Mobile and cancel, they will bill you a $200 ETF = $599 total
raqball said:
+2
Comes out the same..
$399 contract price... Call T-Mobile and cancel, they will bill you a $200 ETF = $599 total
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But isnt there activation charge and any other stuff also??
jay_jay_n said:
But isnt there activation charge and any other stuff also??
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Click to collapse
Yeah, they will probably charge for the first month too.
I am not in that big of a hurry, so will probably just order from amazon.
One thing to also consider because I'm in the same boat is that with being on contract you have the option of the $6 a month insurance, hard to decide since I have a second line just ready for the tab
I'm pretty sure T-Mobile is waiving the activation fee, they did for me.
Also, the T-Mobile version (and I assume the AT&T) is the only one with 16GB built-in with the addition of an available MicroSD slot which is empty. The Sprint and Verizon versions don't have the built-in memory but include a 16GB MicroSD card. That's why I picked the T-Mobile version, so I could add a 16GB card for a total of 32GB of storage.
I experienced the same thing. I went to T-mobile store yesterday tried to buy one without contract. The rep. told me even though without contract, I still have to buy a data plan. This surprised me because I have bought phone without contract and with full price previously, and this has never been a requirement. I think they do it for the commission for the rep/store; and also they try to push people into a 2 yr contract. I do not think this is legal. I think there will possibly a class action law suit against them for doing this.
Anyway, I checked with Amazon today and guess what? They have just lowered the price from $650 to $600, with roughly $6 for standard shipping and no tax. I think I will buy the tab from them. On T-mobile website today, there is no more option for buying the tab without contract.
But I do not know if I buy it from Amazon, when I activate it, will T-mobile require me to buy a data plan? Anyone know the answer?
^ You can bypass the activation screen by touching the 4 corners of the screen, starting from the top left and going in a clockwise motion.
You can just stick with using wifi if that is what you want to do. And not having to activate it.
Yes, you are right. The store and T-Mobile loses money with every product that they sell. They recoup their costs by signing you up on a contract. That is their main way of earning money.
ConceptVBS said:
^ You can bypass the activation screen by touching the 4 corners of the screen, starting from the top left and going in a clockwise motion.
You can just stick with using wifi if that is what you want to do. And not having to activate it.
Yes, you are right. The store and T-Mobile loses money with every product that they sell. They recoup their costs by signing you up on a contract. That is their main way of earning money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks ConceptVBS.
I also got the run-around by t-mobile stores until I said that I want it activated on prepaid. That was then apparently just as good as the month-to-month "non"contract. I don't know if its official policy or just a misinformed CSR, but worth a try. The CSR did not think of the prepaid option by herself.
Of course 30$ for 300mb/month is outrageously expensive by European standards, but since I'm in Wifi range most of the time its working out fine so far.
ConceptVBS said:
The store and T-Mobile loses money with every product that they sell. They recoup their costs by signing you up on a contract.
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Click to collapse
I find it hard to believe that they lose money by selling it at 599.- Less profit than when selling it with a contract, sure, but a loss they won't make.
chrisreese said:
Can't you just buy it under contract and then cancel right away? Off contract is $599, with contract is $399. They charge $200 early termination fee, so doesn't it just even out?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep cause that's what im doing. my first bill comes in January that's when ill cancel. lol only problem after is no internet from my old sim cause they blocked me.
Its got nothing to do with T-Mobile its the sales reps
They don't make as much commission on phones as they do when they sell u a line
Croak said:
Bell Canada NAM version.
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What does a NAM version mean?
xoltrix2000 said:
What does a NAM version mean?
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I could tell you stories about the 'NAM, son. Don't get me started.
...What?... What's that?... North American version?... oh, then, nevermind.

You guys getting it at full price?

or is everyone conveniently in time for an upgrade?
Just curious because everytime a major phone comes out, people rush out to get it, but are they paying full price or what?
And if you got it, thoughts?
I've been off contract for almost 5 years. Buy, Sell, Buy, Sell....
I paid in full because I have EM+ plan (unlocked phone plan).
mmas0n said:
I've been off contract for almost 5 years. Buy, Sell, Buy, Sell....
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I'm in that same boat... Usually you can re-coup most of what you paid for the original unit and come out very little out of pocket to pick up a new handset.
I bought two at full price. I'm also on the best plan available to mankind, EM+ no contract.
Full price and in my hands. Screen is nice.
irishrally said:
I bought two at full price. I'm also on the best plan available to mankind, EM+ no contract.
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A couple other members are as well. Where do you get that plan, if I may ask very very nicely?
bmstrong said:
A couple other members are as well. Where do you get that plan, if I may ask very very nicely?
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It's the even more plus plan. They stopped featuring it on the website but are (as of now) still selling it through t-mobile stores. It's not officially promoted anymore that's why you have to ask for it at your local t-mobile store.
With the EM+ plan I get 2 lines, 1500 minutes, unlimited text and web for $120. Saves me having to get a landline.
It is available at tmobile. EM+ is $59.99 for unlimited text, unlimited data and 500 minutes. If you buy this phone on contract, the exact same plan costs $79.99 and you tied to tmobile for 2 years. It is much cheaper buying the phone at full price and getting the cheaper plan on EM+.
Tmobile took the EM+ plan off their website, but you can still get it my calling tmobile or going to a store a requesting it.
I make over 80k a year and have a 700 credit score and they wouldn't give it to me for $199. I could only get $100 off with a 2 year service plan. Wtf?
irishrally said:
It is available at tmobile. EM+ is $59.99 for unlimited text, unlimited data and 500 minutes. If you buy this phone on contract, the exact same plan costs $79.99 and you tied to tmobile for 2 years. It is much cheaper buying the phone at full price and getting the cheaper plan on EM+.
Tmobile took the EM+ plan off their website, but you can still get it my calling tmobile or going to a store a requesting it.
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Very cool information. Many thanks to you both. My company offers a T-Mobile discount, got a guess if I could use it on these plans?
I had to get mine for full price. Apparently I was only eligible for some thing where I pay the first month upfront and pay slightly more for the phone because my credit doesn't exist, and the Nexus couldn't be activated with that option. Instead, I got a "free" phone with contract, then I just got an unlocked Nexus to put on my account. Unfortunately, they'd only let me get a free Sony Ericsson instead of an LG Optimus since it was their idea in the first place. Best Buy did pay my first month's contract and all fees that go with the first activation, though. That made me very happy since it was about $190.
ecapox said:
I make over 80k a year and have a 700 credit score and they wouldn't give it to me for $199. I could only get $100 off with a 2 year service plan. Wtf?
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I'd call tmobile or go into a real tmobile store and see if they can do anything for you.
ecapox said:
I make over 80k a year and have a 700 credit score and they wouldn't give it to me for $199. I could only get $100 off with a 2 year service plan. Wtf?
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Do what I did:
Get a 2-year contract with a free LG Optimus then get an unlocked Nexus. You can sell the Optimus for quite a bit (definitely more than $100).
bmstrong said:
A couple other members are as well. Where do you get that plan, if I may ask very very nicely?
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Go to the nearest T-Mobile corp store and ask for Even More Plus (aka Unlocked Phone Plan).
irishrally said:
I'd call tmobile or go into a real tmobile store and see if they can do anything for you.
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yeah. My idea is to do what someone else suggested. Go get a free phone and then pay full price for the Nexus S. I can sell the free phone andmake soem $$ back. OR i could just get a contract free monthly plan and buy the Nexus S for full price. That way i wont be locked into a contract. Problem is, there is only 4 stores in my area that are the Best Buy Mobile stores where they have boxes and boxes of Nexus S phones.
To be honest, i dont know what the problem is with the Best Buy Mobile i went to. If i can qualify for a $250,000 house with no issues, i think i can buy a dam phone for the 2 year contract price.
Lets see how much i can sell the Nexus One i have for on Craigslist. That may help me decide.
better than EM+
...is EM+ FAMILY plan. Just got my wife and I on it. Only available by phone or in a T-Mobile store. Saves you > $1000 over normal contract, over 2 years. Hey, that's about the price of two phones!
I bought two outright. I've been with t-mobile for 12 years. I get unlimited talk, text, and web for $93.87 a month.
ecapox said:
I make over 80k a year and have a 700 credit score and they wouldn't give it to me for $199. I could only get $100 off with a 2 year service plan. Wtf?
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Same exact thing happened to me! I was floored! wtf?
I was approved for a $400k mortgage, but not a $200 phone?! What?
So, I'm in the store, bewildered, and then asked them to put the plan in my wife's name (I was getting a family plan). So, we type in all her info, totally expecting everything to be ok, and her credit check comes back exactly the same as mine.
We have good credit, my wife and I make good money, and we pay our bills on time. I'm still in shock.
I've spent all day on the phone with Best Buy, T-Mobile, and Transunion to try and figure out what happened and I still don't know.
The only thing I can think of is we recently bought a new home and we've only been there for 1.5 years, but seriously. All this because of that?!
And the guy at Best Buy is telling me about this Flex Plan thing, and I'm just like, hold up -- just give me the two year contract. I totally didn't understand what he was saying. And he's telling me like he's doing me a favor -- pay $480 for the Nexus S and pay the same $140/mo contract deal -- what? Why would I want to do that?
sshtac said:
Same exact thing happened to me! I was floored! wtf?
I was approved for a $400k mortgage, but not a $200 phone?! What?
So, I'm in the store, bewildered, and then asked them to put the plan in my wife's name (I was getting a family plan). So, we type in all her info, totally expecting everything to be ok, and her credit check comes back exactly the same as mine.
We have good credit, my wife and I make good money, and we pay our bills on time. I'm still in shock.
I've spent all day on the phone with Best Buy, T-Mobile, and Transunion to try and figure out what happened and I still don't know.
The only thing I can think of is we recently bought a new home and we've only been there for 1.5 years, but seriously. All this because of that?!
And the guy at Best Buy is telling me about this Flex Plan thing, and I'm just like, hold up -- just give me the two year contract. I totally didn't understand what he was saying. And he's telling me like he's doing me a favor -- pay $480 for the Nexus S and pay the same $140/mo contract deal -- what? Why would I want to do that?
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The one thing we have in common is a recent house purchase. Mine is about 14 months. My credit is fine, not perfect, but still very good.
I felt the same exact way "just give me the 2 year contract price and stop trying to confuse the **** out of me with all this other crap."
Why the hell would I pay $490 for a phone AND a 2 year contract when I can just buy the stupid phone for $530? I think ill just wait for an att version or the PlayStation phone. Screw T-Mobile.

AT&T Galaxy Tab Cost

Everyone is lowering the price of the Tab, except for ATT. Why does ATT think they can still charge so much for the Tab?
They don't have a subsidy on the Tab since there is no contract. It's currently $550 and the Verizon/Sprint models are $499 I believe. The AT&T Tab was initially $50 more and it has held the same after the discount. The data plan is a better deal than the others so it would make up for it in the long run. 2gb is $25 and you can get a small 200mb plan for $15.
AT&T tab does come w $50 credit for MediaHub rental, better storage capacity (comparing w some providers, not all) and the only one right now, if it matters to you, that will allow u to have 3G & phone call features at the same time.
Right, I think it's a better value because you can do those two things easily. I resented t-mo, and I'm growing to like at&t.
Hmmm, maybe I should just buy a brand new one from AT&T and forget about buying a used T-mobile version.
let's see....verizon has the tab for $200. a plan for 20 a month. that's 480 over 24 months plus the original 200...comes to 680. That's not bad. Compared to att's 549, plus you get 3g service.
rangercaptain said:
Right, I think it's a better value because you can do those two things easily. I resented t-mo, and I'm growing to like at&t.
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Agreed!!!
Sent from my SGH-I987 using XDA Premium App
T-Mobile will NOT sell it at 499, or AT ALL, unless you get a plan. I was so pissed that I wrote a four-page letter. Not that T-Mobile will read it, but ... I am generally cool with them. They are all over the place, and their CSRs have no CLUE what they are doing.
You should just be aware because it caused me a lot of annoyance, and it would be sad to see it happen to someone else. T-Mobile's pricing is also just weird. Why would you offer a no-commitment price, but with a catch??? And it's not even on those little pricing cards in the store.
Oh, and if you can get 2 gigs for a no-committment data plan with AT&T, definitely go with them. T-Mobile has nothing comparable, at all. 100 megs for a week for 10 bucks sounds great, but it's completely useless. Then they want 30 bucks for 300 megs over a month.
They missed the ball on that one.
It is a beeeeyoootiful device ... I mean gorgeous looking. It also has a ton of potential, but you may be better off waiting until Samsung gets their software together.
lockheedload said:
let's see....verizon has the tab for $200. a plan for 20 a month. that's 480 over 24 months plus the original 200...comes to 680. That's not bad. Compared to att's 549, plus you get 3g service.
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It doesn't sound like you're existing AT&T customer. If you're, just swap your sim card to the tab. No extra plan is needed. Again, the most important thing is whether or not you will use it as phone. If you don't, I wouldn't get the AT&T tab.
sbrownla said:
T-Mobile will NOT sell it at 499, or AT ALL, unless you get a plan. I was so pissed that I wrote a four-page letter. Not that T-Mobile will read it, but ... I am generally cool with them. They are all over the place, and their CSRs have no CLUE what they are doing.
You should just be aware because it caused me a lot of annoyance, and it would be sad to see it happen to someone else. T-Mobile's pricing is also just weird. Why would you offer a no-commitment price, but with a catch??? And it's not even on those little pricing cards in the store.
Oh, and if you can get 2 gigs for a no-committment data plan with AT&T, definitely go with them. T-Mobile has nothing comparable, at all. 100 megs for a week for 10 bucks sounds great, but it's completely useless. Then they want 30 bucks for 300 megs over a month.
They missed the ball on that one.
It is a beeeeyoootiful device ... I mean gorgeous looking. It also has a ton of potential, but you may be better off waiting until Samsung gets their software together.
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Click to collapse
Sounded like you need to go to a different store. I first bought mine through Tmob outright, no plan for $599+tax. Then I returned it as there wasn't easy way to get 3G&voice together, plus the fact that I already am AT&T cust.
you can get the tmo version for $499 plus a $50 rebate.
madsquabbles said:
you can get the tmo version for $499 plus a $50 rebate.
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According to their site the $50 rebate requires a 2yr agreement.
waltah! said:
According to their site the $50 rebate requires a 2yr agreement.
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unless you're going to some 3rd party site, tmobile is $449 after rebate no contract. $249 after rebate - w/contract.
Prepaid - no contract
with contract
madsquabbles said:
unless you're going to some 3rd party site, tmobile is $449 after rebate no contract. $249 after rebate - w/contract.
Prepaid - no contract
with contract
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Good deal, thanks for clearing that up for me. I'm actually looking into a GTab as well and that's not a bad deal if you do prepaid since they'll give you a free $50 refill card as well.
yeah, kinda makes you wonder why they've even considered making a wifi only version that costs just about as much as the wwan version. at bb you can get the version tab for $429 right now.
waltah! said:
Good deal, thanks for clearing that up for me. I'm actually looking into a GTab as well and that's not a bad deal if you do prepaid since they'll give you a free $50 refill card as well.
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I've been looking into getting one of these now that the prices seem somewhat reasonable... still debating on this or an iPad... There's even a refurb tmobile version you can get for $199 but only with the 2yr contract. No way in heck I'll ever be paying for a data plan on a tablet though. I'm still trying to read through all these posts to determine if I can use my SIM from my phone in this tablet on occasions I"m away from wifi.
Either way, the $449 is a decent deal but the $399 wifi version (new) is my vote if the SIM swap is undoable.

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