AT&T Mobile Share & Off-Contract Users take note...

[bassoprofundo]

You can save $15/month per device now using an off-contract phone...

http://bgr.com/2013/12/05/att-mobile-share-value-plans-details-announced/

Note that I don't see anything about the $40 per subsidized smartphone cost going down as you go up the tiers in data packages like with the current Mobile Share plans, so for me (5 phones), this could actually be more expensive. For a lot of folks (especially you Nexus fans), this could save you some serious $$ though.

 

[bearxor]

This is fantastic and long overdue. This actually makes AT&T Next a viable option, IMO.

Hopefully VZW follows suite.

I wonder if the new TMobile is responsible for this.

 

[crashtestdummy]

Right now, I'm paying $22/Month/Person on a 5 person family plan on T-Mobile (off contract/no phone subsidy). If I wanted 2.5GB/person, it'd be $32/month/person. Until AT&T can approach that kind of value, it's going to be hard for me to even consider going back.

 

[cliftonite]

So when my contract ends, I could buy a Nexus device and automatically save $15 per month? (I have the old unlimited data/400min plan)

 

[bassoprofundo]

Right now, I'm paying $22/Month/Person on a 5 person family plan on T-Mobile (off contract/no phone subsidy). If I wanted 2.5GB/person, it'd be $32/month/person. Until AT&T can approach that kind of value, it's going to be hard for me to even consider going back.

I think a lot of people are in the exact same boat. T-Mobile is a good enough option now that people can tolerate less coverage and phone selection in exchange for some pretty significant savings. Even with my discount, my costs work out to about $35/person with 5 lines on a FamilyTalk plan, and that's only with 2 of 5 being smartphones (1 unlim/1 2gb). I've tried to find a way to justify switching to MobileShare, but no matter how I shake it out, I pay $25-30 more per month. I also lose the option of adding a dumbphone line @ $9.99, which I really like so I can have a cheap option for my kids until they show they're responsible enough for something more.

 

[bassoprofundo]

So when my contract ends, I could buy a Nexus device and automatically save $15 per month? (I have the old unlimited data/400min plan)

EDITED :

I need to amend what I said before... You won't automatically save $15/month on your current plan. You have to switch to a Mobile Share plan, which may or may not be cheaper than your current plan. The difference is that off-contract, you save $15/month on your Mobile share plan cost.

 

[bearxor]

Right now, I'm paying $22/Month/Person on a 5 person family plan on T-Mobile (off contract/no phone subsidy). If I wanted 2.5GB/person, it'd be $32/month/person. Until AT&T can approach that kind of value, it's going to be hard for me to even consider going back.

Yeah, if I could get by with 500MB of data and TMo had anything other than EDGE where I lived, I would consider it.

But even TMo isn't that big of a savings over AT&T for me. I'm paying $175 after taxes for two lines and an iPad with 10GB. I guess that's $82/line.

If I went to TMo, my monthly bill (before taxes) would be $130 for two lines (60+70). Then I'd have to add data to the ipad, that's $10 for 700MB total. now you're at $140 before taxes and phones. Two phones are going to run $20/mo minimum for something decent. iPhone 5S's are going to run me $25/mo each. So tack $50 on to the rest of that and all of the sudden I'm at $190 before taxes for significantly less coverage area.

It's great you can bring your own phone and save that amount monthly you might have spent on a phone, but not so great if you don't want your phone to be a couple years old.

So when my contract ends, I could buy a Nexus device and automatically save $15 per month? (I have the old unlimited data/400min plan)

You wouldn't want to do anything. This only applies to those on mobile share plans, which you are not on.

But, if you were on a mobile share plan in a contract, then you can switch to this when your contract ends. You don't need to go buy a Nexus to do so. As soon as the phones you're using are out of contract, you're eligible to switch over.

 

[crashtestdummy]

EDITED :

I need to amend what I said before... You won't automatically save $15/month on your current plan. You have to switch to a Mobile Share plan, which may or may not be cheaper than your current plan. The difference is that off-contract, you save $15/month on your Mobile share plan cost.

If you want a rough guide, the Moto X goes for $50 on contract with AT&T. Factoring in monthly savings, that puts the phone's price at $410, so you'd save $60 on the no-contract plan over being on contract over 2 years (assuming you plan to upgrade every 2 years--not a given).

Where you really save money is if you're willing to get a cheaper phone than the subsidy, like a Moto G or Lumia 520/521. Then the savings are $160 and $260 per phone over 2 years, respectively.

That's still a lot more expensive than doing the same with T-Mobile or an MVNO, though.

 

[crashtestdummy]

Yeah, if I could get by with 500MB of data and TMo had anything other than EDGE where I lived, I would consider it.

But even TMo isn't that big of a savings over AT&T for me. I'm paying $175 after taxes for two lines and an iPad with 10GB. I guess that's $82/line.

If I went to TMo, my monthly bill (before taxes) would be $130 for two lines (60+70). Then I'd have to add data to the ipad, that's $10 for 700MB total. now you're at $140 before taxes and phones. Two phones are going to run $20/mo minimum for something decent. iPhone 5S's are going to run me $25/mo each. So tack $50 on to the rest of that and all of the sudden I'm at $190 before taxes for significantly less coverage area.

It's great you can bring your own phone and save that amount monthly you might have spent on a phone, but not so great if you don't want your phone to be a couple years old.

Not to quibble too much, but you're a little high on the rates. Two unlimited lines on T-Mobile is $120/month, and $130 with the added tablet.

That said, you're basically correct. If you're buying high-end phones, then T-Mobile's pricing structure doesn't do much for you. If paying $650 for an iPhone seems silly, though, then you can save a lot of money by getting less expensive hardware. There's a reason that iPhones have a much smaller market share in Europe, and it's that contract subsidies are far less common, and people see the "true" cost of the device. It's hard to justify the cost for most when there are very good phones at half the price or less.

 

[paperwastage]

That said, you're basically correct. If you're buying high-end phones, then T-Mobile's pricing structure doesn't do much for you. If paying $650 for an iPhone seems silly, though, then you can save a lot of money by getting less expensive hardware.

not necessarily....

at launch, iphone 5s was $650 retail, or upgrade + $200 down

can you save $450 ($650 - $200) over 24 months of the contract? ($450 / 24 = ~$20 per month?)

$130 (unlimited 2 phones + tablet @ 500mb) + $20 * 2 phones = $170, same as your at&t plan....

you get unlimited data on your phone, but only 500mb on your tablet... (vs 10GB of data on at&T across all devices)

if tmobile service is good in your area, then go for it

 

[crashtestdummy]

not necessarily....

at launch, iphone 5s was $650 retail, or upgrade + $200 down

can you save $450 ($650 - $200) over 24 months of the contract? ($450 / 24 = ~$20 per month?)

$130 (unlimited 2 phones + tablet @ 500mb) + $20 * 2 phones = $170, same as your at&t plan....

you get unlimited data on your phone, but only 500mb on your tablet... (vs 10GB of data on at&T across all devices)

if tmobile service is good in your area, then go for it

I think you're confusing posters, but that was basically my point. There's not much difference between T-Mobile and subsidized plans at the high end. The real savings come if you're willing to buy phones that are much cheaper than AT&T's subsidy (about $500/phone).

 

[zerogear]

No savings on Unlimited Data -- time for T-Mobile.

 

[bearxor]

Not to quibble too much, but you're a little high on the rates. Two unlimited lines on T-Mobile is $120/month, and $130 with the added tablet.

Yes, sorry, I was thinking it was the same price for each line. So I'd be looking at $70+$40+$10+$50 = $170 before taxes which I suppose is about a break even except for coverage.

you get unlimited data on your phone, but only 500mb on your tablet... (vs 10GB of data on at&T across all devices)

if tmobile service is good in your area, then go for it

Yeah, but the 10GB of data is essentially unlimited for me and I'm not limited to 2.5GB tethering. I use ~7GB a month, my wife uses ~1GB and I use less than 1GB on the iPad. I run it up there every month but have never gone over 10GB. I've also never consciously restricted my usage to save data.

The big problem for me with TMo is EDGE. EDGE everywhere. If they had invested the money they're spending on LTE in to upgrading everything EDGE to HSPA, I would seriously consider it.

That problem, of course, is area-specific.

 

[Midwayman]

EDITED :

I need to amend what I said before... You won't automatically save $15/month on your current plan. You have to switch to a Mobile Share plan, which may or may not be cheaper than your current plan. The difference is that off-contract, you save $15/month on your Mobile share plan cost.

It not even that simple if you have lots of phones. Base plan rates went down on big plans while per device charges went up. At least its a move in the right direction. Smart money is still pre-paid lines though.