Active Topics

 


Reply
Thread Tools
Posts: 4,556 | Thanked: 1,624 times | Joined on Dec 2007
#11
oops thanks for the correction guys
__________________
Originally Posted by ysss View Post
They're maemo and MeeGo...

"Meamo!" sounds like what Zorro would say to catherine zeta jones... after she slaps him for looking at her dirtily...
 

The Following User Says Thank You to Laughing Man For This Useful Post:
dansus's Avatar
Posts: 279 | Thanked: 208 times | Joined on Aug 2009 @ London
#12
If i was to guess, i would say Q1 2010 for the N900 on Tmobile US.
 
Posts: 1,067 | Thanked: 313 times | Joined on Sep 2009 @ USA
#13
it is expected to be 299.99 with 2-year commitment.

tmo is offering both susidized and non-subsidized services and the 20-month payment plans too.
 
Posts: 459 | Thanked: 669 times | Joined on Sep 2007 @ The DMV
#14
That article was in reference to the NYC n900 meetup last friday (I blanked on Mr Agarwal's name and position in the other thread). There were probably more journalists and tech bloggers there than 'regular' tablet enthusiasts.
 
Posts: 203 | Thanked: 68 times | Joined on Oct 2009
#15
Originally Posted by ceroberts75 View Post
it is expected to be 299.99 with 2-year commitment.

tmo is offering both susidized and non-subsidized services and the 20-month payment plans too.
Wow, that would be a really bad deal. If it's $299, you'd end up paying a total of $779, once you add in the extra cost of the Even More plan over the course of a two-year contract. I wonder what the unsubidized price through T-Mobile will be on the Even More Plus plans?
 
Posts: 224 | Thanked: 107 times | Joined on Aug 2009
#16
Originally Posted by cb474 View Post
That's not correct. On the Even More plans, the phones are subsidized and you can pay for them on a 20-month plan. On the the Even More Plus plans the phones are not subsidized and you can also get the 20-month payment option. And it's the same selection of phones on both types of plans. [Edit: Looks like CaptainGinyu beat me to the punch. Hope my explanation is also useful.]

That aside, it seems like it would have to be T-Mobile for the N900, given the 1700 3G band. There have been a lot of rumors about T-Mobile releasing the N900 already. Of course, to get the subsidy, you'd have to sign up for a two year contract on an Even More plan, which is $20 more per month for the plans with data. So over the two years you'd pay $480 more in the monthly cost of your plan, plus the presumably $199 up front for the device. That means You'd pay a total of $679 extra, which is $100 more expensive that just buying the N900 outright from Amazon and even more expensive than the worst price you can get buying directly from Nokia ($649). This is the great lie of phone subsidies, they're a bad deal for the consumer and the carriers make money on them in the long run.
Edit: Turns out I'm off on this, please see discussion below

Your math is off here. The Even More plan is only $10/mo more than the Even More Plus (contract free/no subsidy) plan. Between the two of them, yes, it would be $20 more per month, but the price of the phones (indirect from Amazon even) would be $1100, so assuming they would be happy with Tmobile for two years, they get a better deal with the subsidy.

I still say the best option is making your own subsidy: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=33447 , you can even switch to the cheaper plan for $35 - http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=33760

Last edited by bocaJ; 2009-11-04 at 21:53. Reason: I was wrong
 
Posts: 203 | Thanked: 68 times | Joined on Oct 2009
#17
Originally Posted by bocaJ View Post
Your math is off here. The Even More plan is only $10/mo more than the Even More Plus (contract free/no subsidy) plan. Between the two of them, yes, it would be $20 more per month, but the price of the phones (indirect from Amazon even) would be $1100, so assuming they would be happy with Tmobile for two years, they get a better deal with the subsidy.
That's not correct. If you get the plans with data, it's $20 more. If you get the plans with just voice or just voice and text, it's $10 more. You can see in my post that you quote I specified that I was talking about the plans with data, when I said $20 more. I was assuming that anyone who got the N900 would want the data connection. [Edit: Also, I'm pretty sure that T-Mobile will not let you buy an N900 from them and not get a data plan. This is what they do with the G1 right now and the Touch Pro 2. I don't see why they would treat the N900 differently.]

T-Mobile's website is pretty confusing, but you can see the plans laid out in a more straightforward manner here (although if you price it out on the website you will get the same results):

http://www.tmonews.com/2009/10/unlim...lan-breakdown/
http://www.tmonews.com/2009/10/project-dark-pricing/

To be precise, it's $20 more for the unlimited talk+text+web plan on Even More ($99) versus Even More Plus ($79). Although actually, as I look more closely, if you get one of the plans that doesn't include data, Even More is $10 more and then adding smartphone data is $30/month (versus $25/month on Even More Plus). So in that case, you'd pay $15 more per month on Even More versus Even More Plus.

So, assuming you want a data plan with your N900 [and in fact assuming T-Mobile won't let you get the N900 without a data plan], the Even More plan is $15-$20 more per month, which makes the subsidy a ripoff. If you buy the N900 from Amazon right now, you pay $582. If you get it subsidized from T-Mobile for $299 (assuming ceroberts75 is correct on this price), you also pay $360- $480 more over two years for the more expensive Even More plan (assuming you want the data plan [and you probably will have no choice anyway]). So you pay $659-$779 "subsidized" versus $582 on Amazon.

I know, these plans are super confusing. People are pulling their hair out right now. Even the T-Mobile customer service people are confused and quoting all kinds of wrong prices on the phone.

But trust me. You're fooling yourself if you think the subsidy is a good deal. It's always been a money maker for the phone companies. It's just a way to trick people who can't or don't bother to do the math.

Last edited by cb474; 2009-11-04 at 09:42.
 
Posts: 77 | Thanked: 63 times | Joined on Sep 2009
#18
What is the best T-mobile plan in the US for the following:
- two phones, one an N900, the other the simplest voice-only phone
- minimal voice use (about 200 minutes per month combined between
both phones)
- no text/sms on either phone
- unlimited data on the N900 (must support ssh and tethering; ideally
really unlimited but I will live with anything at least as large as
2G/month so long as they only shut down data and don't charge
exhorbitant fees for going over)
- i don't need a subsidy for the N900, i don't need 20-month payment
either
- subsidy or 20-month payment for the other voice-only phone would be
nice but not necessary
- prefer no contract, but a 2-yr contract is ok
 
Posts: 35 | Thanked: 20 times | Joined on Sep 2009
#19
Originally Posted by qobi View Post
What is the best T-mobile plan in the US for the following:
- two phones, one an N900, the other the simplest voice-only phone
- minimal voice use (about 200 minutes per month combined between
both phones)
- no text/sms on either phone
- unlimited data on the N900 (must support ssh and tethering; ideally
really unlimited but I will live with anything at least as large as
2G/month so long as they only shut down data and don't charge
exhorbitant fees for going over)
- i don't need a subsidy for the N900, i don't need 20-month payment
either
- subsidy or 20-month payment for the other voice-only phone would be
nice but not necessary
- prefer no contract, but a 2-yr contract is ok
At the moment, since T-Mob does not subsdize the N900, the best plan is Even More + 750 minute talk family plan, $50/month, plus the additional smartphone data, at $25/month, for a total of $75.

But if you are not a current T-Mobile subscriber, be sure that you have decent coverage in places you care about. Here's one way to check: buy a prepaid T-Mobile phone and use it for a few days.

If you have coverage where you need it, you can use the phone for the 2nd line on your plan.

If the coverage is poor, you can return it for a refund within a few days.

I did that and was surprised at how poor T-Mobile coverage is in my area. I'm returning the phone today and getting a Droid, even though I'd prefer a N900.
 
Posts: 224 | Thanked: 107 times | Joined on Aug 2009
#20
Originally Posted by cb474 View Post
That's not correct. If you get the plans with data, it's $20 more. If you get the plans with just voice or just voice and text, it's $10 more. You can see in my post that you quote I specified that I was talking about the plans with data, when I said $20 more. I was assuming that anyone who got the N900 would want the data connection. [Edit: Also, I'm pretty sure that T-Mobile will not let you buy an N900 from them and not get a data plan. This is what they do with the G1 right now and the Touch Pro 2. I don't see why they would treat the N900 differently.]

T-Mobile's website is pretty confusing, but you can see the plans laid out in a more straightforward manner here (although if you price it out on the website you will get the same results):

http://www.tmonews.com/2009/10/unlim...lan-breakdown/
http://www.tmonews.com/2009/10/project-dark-pricing/

To be precise, it's $20 more for the unlimited talk+text+web plan on Even More ($99) versus Even More Plus ($79). Although actually, as I look more closely, if you get one of the plans that doesn't include data, Even More is $10 more and then adding smartphone data is $30/month (versus $25/month on Even More Plus). So in that case, you'd pay $15 more per month on Even More versus Even More Plus.

So, assuming you want a data plan with your N900 [and in fact assuming T-Mobile won't let you get the N900 without a data plan], the Even More plan is $15-$20 more per month, which makes the subsidy a ripoff. If you buy the N900 from Amazon right now, you pay $582. If you get it subsidized from T-Mobile for $299 (assuming ceroberts75 is correct on this price), you also pay $360- $480 more over two years for the more expensive Even More plan (assuming you want the data plan [and you probably will have no choice anyway]). So you pay $659-$779 "subsidized" versus $582 on Amazon.

I know, these plans are super confusing. People are pulling their hair out right now. Even the T-Mobile customer service people are confused and quoting all kinds of wrong prices on the phone.

But trust me. You're fooling yourself if you think the subsidy is a good deal. It's always been a money maker for the phone companies. It's just a way to trick people who can't or don't bother to do the math.
I just checked and I appologize because I was off on my pricing. Apparently the smartphone dataplan costs have gone up from $25 before project black to $30 on Even More plans although they are still $25 on EMP plans, and particularly with family plans, that might frustrate some of the numbers I was citing. Ultimately, it all comes down to the numbers, and unless you can save $15*24=$360 with a subsidy, it's not worth it. I guess I only got in at exactly the right time.

One annoying thing on the T-mobile site is that they make it look like you're forced to pay the whole $30 for unlimited web+texting if you select a smartphone first, but I found that if you select the plan first then add a phone, you can get data only for $5 less. Since I can send texts just fine with Google, this is for me.
 
Reply


 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 17:46.