What's new

Finally.Verizon Dumps Contracts!

Gents, this article at Gizmodo is welcome news as far as I am concerned. http://gizmodo.com/verizon-is-finally-ditching-smartphone-contracts-too-1722767038

Finally, we are seeing the inevitable move away from contracted, over priced mobile devices. And when I say over priced I mean the ridiculous, 'retail' prices carriers throw at you to suggest their contract prices are somehow a good deal. A goodly portion of what you pay to them each month goes toward that device. By the way, the same devices the carriers have had exclusive rights to sell for decades. Ever notice when you check the price of a phone in a major retailer like Best Buy, Amazon, or Walmart they still carry the carrier's brand on them and are locked to their individual services? And the prices are the same as at the carriers stores. This is their buying power. We've all been over paying for this stuff for decades. Go to Asian and European retailers and see the cool devices they can buy anywhere and use with just about any carrier.

Eventually this move away from contracts will bring true consumer 'street' pricing to mobile devices. Just like it has done to everything else. And eventually it will lead to interoperability between carriers. A situation which should have been mandated years ago. It will take awhile but this can only mean good things for consumers. When you are able buy unlocked, unbranded devices from the mentioned retailers and simply call up who you like for service, then things will be good. We now just need AT&T to give in and the die will be cast. Remember when they stared the 'Next' programme a few years ago? Hey, bring you own phone! Hey, sign up for Next and get a new device for only $25 a month! Get a new one every year. Then people quickly realised the pricing for your non subsidised plan was exactly the same as the subsidised plans. Who's playing whom here? It didn't take long for the ruckus to hit. Now they have lower prices for those who bring their own devices. And I personally hope that in time we are at a place where you just hit a vending machine for service. What do you think?
 
Israel passed a law that caps the penalty for breaking a cellular contract (at 8th of the reminding time of the contract).
With increased mobility, the competition heated up and prices went down, rapidly.
The telcos' stocks also took a dive.
 
I just dumped Verizon Wireless for Consumer Cellular. Saved 50% with more time and no contract...month to month for services used, not in advance like VZW.
 

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
I'll have to do some research - my Verizon 2 years was up in June, though I haven't heard any call for a new phone a cheaper monthly bill is always nice. I started with Verizon some time back (originally AT&T) when it was found that ATT service wasn't available in the interior (but Verizon was) of the building I was working in. My sons' all have the alternative services and complain about dropped calls etc way more than i experience. But now in me dotage i don't use it much anyway ..
 
My VZW contract is up in November ... I'm not sure what I'll do yet.

I'm reluctant to switch to another carrier. Verizon has consistently been rated the best in customer satisfaction and they provide the best coverage in my area. Still, at home I can barely get a 1-bar signal and at work, I get a 4G signal on one side of the building and can barely connect with 3G on the other. (True, we're not supposed to carry our cell-phones on the job, but this is a rule that everybody ignores, including supervisors, managers, and visiting executives from HQ.)

I don't particularly like what I'm paying for service. My monthly bill is only around $80 a month since I only have one line and don't hardly ever use voice calling, I don't have a texting plan, and I only use about 1gig of data out of the 2gig I'm paying for. Still, that's way too much to pay, but I can't be without it.

I'll get with my local dealer and see if they can explain the new options to me. Everytime I go to the VZW website and try and figure out ways to save money, I wind up more confused than when I started.
 
Check out the recently announced but not yet available Moto X. Available unlocked direct from Motorola, Amazon and Best Buy starting at $399. Will work on AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and I think Sprint too. The future is here, gentlemen.

Also worth checking out the Moto G available now through the same channels. Starts at $179 and works on GSM carriers (at&t, T-Mobile and their MVNOs).
 
Page Plus uses Verizon towers, I get no lost calls and same coverage as Verizon for 12 bucks a month. I use my phone as a phone and text device.
 
I'm stuck with Verizon, as my in home service uses a Verizon network extender. I have nothing good to say concerning their service. Nothing.
 
I just dumped Verizon Wireless for Consumer Cellular. Saved 50% with more time and no contract...month to month for services used, not in advance like VZW.
Some further thoughts on this, after reading some other posts:

- Consumer Cellular uses ATT/Sprint networks...excellent coverage
- good selection of phones (we have new Moto E LTE)...you can keep your phone if you have ATT/Sprint (you get new SIM card)
- there are AARP discounts (5% on monthly charges, and 30% on selected accessories)

website: https://www.consumercellular.com/
 
Hmm, then I expect Apple to outright buy an american carrier and make them the iphone exclusive carrier. No way apple will give up that sweet sweet price premium.

Of course samsung and the other android phone makers are already dying on the 1% margin, not sure they can sustain a price drop, unless the drop comes all from the carriers portion. If the manufacturer sells direct to the consumer it could be interesting, but then we may see even more fracturing of the US's cell infrastructure.
 
Could Apple be the biggest loser from this over the next few years? The iPhone is great, but it is priced at a premium. Once people realize they can pay less for an Android smart phone that can all the same text, tweet, facebook, take selfies, etc. I expect more pricing pressure on them.
 
These U.S. companies are always behind. European countries have had contract-free cell phones for over a decade. They have also had reasonable prices, faster and cheaper Internet, more competition, etc. Americans are too nice and don't complain enough.


Could Apple be the biggest loser from this over the next few years? The iPhone is great, but it is priced at a premium. Once people realize they can pay less for an Android smart phone that can all the same text, tweet, facebook, take selfies, etc. I expect more pricing pressure on them.

The Samsung S5 and similar Android-based phones are in the same price range. I doubt people looking at iPhones are cross-shopping the cheaper models, like people shopping for a Mercedes are not cross-shopping a Toyota. Just my two cents, though.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
I have been running without contract on T-Mo for years. Now I have a Note3 with unlimited everything (They throttle my speed if I go over like 10GB in a day) for $85/mo, on a month by month basis, and a Note4 for $3/day with a cap on high speed data but otherrwise unlimited, and I only pay on days I use it. So my Note4 is my voice phone and I often go days without a phone call or a text. My Note3 is my big bad internet machine, downloader, navigator, etc. If I go to sea I dump my monthly plan until I get home. When I refill the Note4 I always put $100 so the money is good for a year and I don't lose my number OR pay for use if I am gone for several months. Both Notes are rooted and unlocked, Note3 on stock ROM and Note4 on CM12. I like my setup and T-Mo has treated me pretty good. My laptops tether through my phones, too.

I moved to T-Mo back when ATT started treating me like a red headed stepchild just when T-Mo announced their $2/day deal. My Motorola Razr metal body flip phone was already unlocked so I could use it overseas, so I wasted no time making the jump.
 
I have been running without contract on T-Mo for years. Now I have a Note3 with unlimited everything (They throttle my speed if I go over like 10GB in a day) for $85/mo, on a month by month basis, and a Note4 for $3/day with a cap on high speed data but otherrwise unlimited, and I only pay on days I use it. So my Note4 is my voice phone and I often go days without a phone call or a text. My Note3 is my big bad internet machine, downloader, navigator, etc. If I go to sea I dump my monthly plan until I get home. When I refill the Note4 I always put $100 so the money is good for a year and I don't lose my number OR pay for use if I am gone for several months. Both Notes are rooted and unlocked, Note3 on stock ROM and Note4 on CM12. I like my setup and T-Mo has treated me pretty good. My laptops tether through my phones, too.

I moved to T-Mo back when ATT started treating me like a red headed stepchild just when T-Mo announced their $2/day deal. My Motorola Razr metal body flip phone was already unlocked so I could use it overseas, so I wasted no time making the jump.
PMFJI...

That's a classic phone...one of the best Motorola ever produced IMHO.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
PMFJI...

That's a classic phone...one of the best Motorola ever produced IMHO.

Yeh they led the way with standard USB connector instead of proprietary garbage. Great design. I could tether with it, too! Of course data was at I think about 14.4 kb max at the time, on I think ATT. This phone actually went through a wash cycle. I heard it clattering in the dryer and pulled it out, removed the battery, sprayed it out with freon, let it dry in the sun for a couple of days, stuck a new battery in it, (the old one was toast) and it booted right up. Almost all the coating was gone from the aluminum or magnesium or whatever. It warnt no purty thaing. But it still worked. I finally gave it away because my Androids do so much more for me that I would never want to carry the Razr again. But it sure fit nice into a jeans pocket.
 
These U.S. companies are always behind. European countries have had contract-free cell phones for over a decade. They have also had reasonable prices, faster and cheaper Internet, more competition, etc. Americans are too nice and don't complain enough.




The Samsung S5 and similar Android-based phones are in the same price range. I doubt people looking at iPhones are cross-shopping the cheaper models, like people shopping for a Mercedes are not cross-shopping a Toyota. Just my two cents, though.
I hope you are right, since AAPL is probably the largest stock position in many of our retirement accounts (due to its heavy market cap weighting in various index/mutual funds). But the competition to Apple and Samsung continues to be relentless from the so called mid-market Android phones which offer a lot of punch. I recently upgraded my phone and wanted to go back to iOS but found the price difference to be much. An iphone 6 plus with 64GB was about $849 off contract, while a roughly equivalent Asus Zenfone 2 was $300 and supported dual SIM and sdxc card ($200 for the 16 GB version). While the iPhone might have a slightly better screen, camera, and overall user experience I could not justify nearly 3 times the price. Though Verizon being CDMA limits a lot of these potential GSM-only phones.
 
I really do not think that the phones will get any cheaper. There have always been expensive, top of the line phones and cheaper alternatives. I am sure that the newest iPhones and Samsung Galaxy Note phones, etc., will still be $600 or $700 or more depending on how much memory you want. You can buy smart phones without contract now that are just a few hundred dollars for any carrier, most people seem to always want the newest and fanciest phones, which will always be sold at a premium.
 
I let my ATT contract run out, if I renew it I lose a HUGE discount that I have. So I went to best buy and bought my phone there with their credit card (interest free financing for 12 months). Pay it off in 12 months or less and done.
 
Top Bottom