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RE: I dont know....
By spluurfg on 6/18/2007 3:11:39 AM , Rating: 3
K700, K750, K800, N73 when they came out. I only had to pay for the K800, since I got it without a contract. The rest were free with contract. $500 with a 2 year contract is insane -- you can get any phone you want free with an 18 month contract in the UK, including the stupid LG Prada, the 8800 Sirocco, any Blackberry ever made, HTC/T-mobile/O2 PDA phone... Heck they even offer a free phone plus a free PS3 with some contracts.

RE: I dont know....
By xsilver on 6/18/2007 6:07:35 AM , Rating: 2
its the same here in Australia - the US system is probably a bit stuffed.

24months contract + $50 AU (40US) per month (including $50 free calls) = pretty much any phone free N73,E65, LG shine etc.
This would probably only exclude the N95 and phones in that price range. On around a $90 plan though it would be free.

at the end of the contract - sell the phone and pocket the $$$.

RE: I dont know....
By Ralph The Magician on 6/18/2007 10:14:43 AM , Rating: 2

You really think that phone is free? By the time the contract is over you've already payed for the phone, and then some. Of that $50AU you spend a month, $15AU is going to paying off your phone.

RE: I dont know....
By ss284 on 6/18/2007 12:03:20 PM , Rating: 1

The Iphone is $600 with a contract, so that ~$15 a month is going toward paying off the other part of the phone, for a total of roughly $1000 for an phone, compared to roughly $400 for a "free" phone. Still a $600 difference.

RE: I dont know....
By plewis00 on 6/19/2007 1:51:23 AM , Rating: 2
The UK phone market is non-representative. It is one of the few sectors where the UK is one of the cheapest in the world. Because of the way we in the UK embraced phone technology, subsidies on the handsets are some of the largest anywhere (if not the largest) - dealers are paid huge commissions for connecting and keeping customers, networks pay lots of commission because there is loyalty and the additional features are used and manufacturers strike up dealer/network exclusivity deals all the time (but not for 5 years, about the largest one I've heard was 1 month for Carphonewarehouse on the new Nokia 8600 Luna before Phones4u and the rest get it). You can even get 12 month contracts with 12 months free cashback (what I suppose the American market would call, 100% free after rebates). I realised all this after reading about the iPhone, yes, it is expensive but you cannot compare the US phone market to the UK one.


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