Dear Google: AT&T Locked Down the Best Android Handset Ever, and It’s Your Fault

[antef]

Give up text messaging (which is pure carrier profit), and you bring the plan down to $70 a month (I have no idea what these $10 of fees are, I don't have them on my AT&T bill). Also, you can upgrade as often as every 18-20 months on AT&T, so you get a "free" phone after 8 years.

But yes, you are effectively paying $200 for access to an LTE network plus 3GB of guaranteed data instead of arbitrary limits. And again, that's assuming you go for a $400 unlocked phone. Want an iPhone? Those start at $650, again making purchasing an unlocked phone unreasonable.

I buy my iPhone on contract to take advantage of the fact that carriers subsidize it $100 more than other phones.

I don't have AT&T, but my Sprint bill has $9 of "surcharges" and "government taxes & fees". You may not have these same things, but I find it hard to believe you have exactly $0 of anything in addition to your $40 for voice and $30 for data.

I'm not sure where you get this $200 figure from. We need to compare over a 24 month period since that is the term of your contract (even if you upgrade early, at the end of the day you still had service for 24 continuous months). With your $70/month figure and $200 for a phone that is $1880 over 2 years. $45/month + $400 for a phone over the same period is $1480 or a savings of $400. Even with your $650 iPhone scenario you still save $150 or $6.25/month over 2 years.

Yes, of course if LTE or 3 GB of guaranteed data matter to you then you need to stick with traditional AT&T plans. But your original statement was that "it does not make financial sense to buy an unlocked phone," which isn't true when said definitively. I provided numbers and said that it CAN make financial sense and offer savings depending on your needs. Obviously you can come up with situations where it makes less sense.