If you ask me, All smart phones are over priced. It's like all phone manufacturers stick together and charge high prices so we don't have a choice but to pay it. Same thing with cell phone service. We are getting ripped off.
This is why I came to the conclusion that using prepaid cell service wins over at the end of the day, or at the end of two years. T-Mobile right now has their 4G prepaid monthly service going, which I'll be utilizing soon. Thirty dollars a month for 150 minutes of talk, unlimited texting, and unlimited 4G data (if the bandwidth for 4G speeds is in my area) that gets throttled after five gigs. PLENTY fine for me, as what I was getting with att.
Smartphone prices out of contract are preposterous! 600+ dollars?! That's a Windows 8 PC!!
IMO also -> You're absolutely correct, bfoster!
I read your other post on phone cost tally also, Coke. Real savings to be had! :thumb:
The thing is that they have set plans of which I'm guessing most people don't even use up. IMO, cell service should be pay as one uses as it was back in the day -> A service charge + what one used. I think they tactfully changed it around with "packages" to their advantage through the years.
As with my daughter and I, I have to maintain the 750-minute shared call package for the next least one, which is 500 minutes (if I remember correctly) is not enough. I use calling more than she because of business. She uses approximately 100 minutes of calling if lucky, whereas I use about 400 to 600 minutes. She uses tons of texting and FB data as a teen. I caught Vz taking unlimited texting off the plan the last time I had to renew the contract when I was promised it would remain as it would be grandfathered in. I caught this upon the first bill, for it was sky high. They charge 30 cents a text on overage. That's absolutely outrageous!
The real kicker is data and really gets my goat. It's mandatory to get a data plan with a smart phone. We get 150MG a month each on our plan. She went over one month using FB while on vacation in Florida. Ugh! $$$ Of course it doesn't eat up too much when writing text in FB, it's the pics they post that eats up a lot. Of course this is when she had her old phone of which didn't have the option of turning off data. She can now with her new one. To teach her some responsibility, I taught her how to turn it off and use the WiFi in the house or anywhere else she can do so. I also set up alerts when it reaches certain points.
Anywho, using this method, we're lucky if we use half of it. In keeping somewhat of track when looking at my bills, I use around 30MB and she about 60MB on average. It was less, but she uses more since school started. If I had my way, I wouldn't have data in my plan whatsoever. Not with all the hot spots around here in the big city anyway. The only other time I really need data is out on the road looking up an address or using navigation, of which can be replaced by some other navigation. I can wait to check up on my email or news until I'm in a hot spot. So to me data plans are useless, yet mandatory and expensive!
I thought like Elvis sang -> "I'm caught in a trap! I can't walk out!" Just like Cokie figured out -> I'm going prepay come hell or high water!