What's the point of that 2 year agreement then?

[Gibson486]

Tmobile just begun the "value" line plans. In these plans, you can add options such as unlimited data for $10 a month. Not bad. It turns out that they have a family plan to go with it. $99.98 will get two lines with unlimited talk, text and data (4G up to 2GB). Not bad, right?

Well, yeah, you have to sign a 2 year contract....sure.

So, what about the phone? They just mention a free sim card, but what about the cost of the phone?

You have to pay full price for it. So, I wonder...why would I be hooked onto a 2 year contract when I can pay 2 cents more and get 2 plans with unlimited talk, text, and data from the monthly store? Of course, the only caveat is that you get 4G speeds upto 1GB of data and they throttle after as opposed to 2GB. Is that 1 extra GB worth the hassle of signing a 2 year agreement?

So far, the only other difference I can see is that they do not allow you to purchase phones such as the tmobile mytouch from the monthly store. That's fine....so are they going to not let me buy it from a 3rd party? Have T-mobile finally changed and are locking phones to certain plans?

 

[blinblue]

Go Virgin Mobile or Page Plus, no contract and better prices.

Virgin Mobile is unlimited data on Sprint's network (non-roaming) but somewhat restricted phone selection.
Page Plus has more limited data, 100MB, (on Verizon's non-roaming network, so pretty huge) but you can bring in any Verizon phone.

It boggles my mind that so many people go with contract plans that cost more, give less, and you are locked in for 2 years.

 

[brblx]

it seems like it's been a while since a two year contract got you more than like a hundred dollar phone.

they're giving you a decent deal...compared to what it could be. it's still rape...but your contract is covering the lube. they can't pay for a smartphone, too.

is it really, like, flat-out MSRP? not even a, 'hey, look, we'll give you 100 off this $300 phone that's commonly available for 150!'

i've accepted that celphone plans will always suck and the use of unlocked phones will die like a one-legged dodo. so i just bought a shit phone and pay virgin mobile beans for acceptable service. when it becomes unacceptable, i'll throw the phone in the trash and move on.

edit- as a loyal customer to VM (so far), i have no issue saying the service is not that great. but i have service when i need it (dont travel to the boonies) and i always get my calls or messages. have had a couple instances of a dropped outbound message or being temporarily unable to send/recieve them. this may partially the phone, which i suspect to be shit. it's an LG l33tt3xt0r or something.

 

[Cuda1447]

Tmobile just begun the "value" line plans. In these plans, you can add options such as unlimited data for $10 a month. Not bad. It turns out that they have a family plan to go with it. $99.98 will get two lines with unlimited talk, text and data (4G up to 2GB). Not bad, right?

Well, yeah, you have to sign a 2 year contract....sure.

So, what about the phone? They just mention a free sim card, but what about the cost of the phone?

You have to pay full price for it. So, I wonder...why would I be hooked onto a 2 year contract when I can pay 2 cents more and get 2 plans with unlimited talk, text, and data from the monthly store? Of course, the only caveat is that you get 4G speeds upto 1GB of data and they throttle after as opposed to 2GB. Is that 1 extra GB worth the hassle of signing a 2 year agreement?

So far, the only other difference I can see is that they do not allow you to purchase phones such as the tmobile mytouch from the monthly store. That's fine....so are they going to not let me buy it from a 3rd party? Have T-mobile finally changed and are locking phones to certain plans?

Woah woah, a little misinformation in there I think.

If you wanted a discount on the phones with T-Mobile, the same rate plan would cost you $140 a month for 2 lines instead of $100. So you can pay $140 and get the discounts on the phones with a 2 year contract. Or pay $100 but give up the discounts on the phones. Or.... just go prepaid, $70 per line for unlimited talk/text/data and no contract. Just pay retail for your phones

 

[Gibson486]

it seems like it's been a while since a two year contract got you more than like a hundred dollar phone.

they're giving you a decent deal...compared to what it could be. it's still rape...but your contract is covering the lube. they can't pay for a smartphone, too.

is it really, like, flat-out MSRP? not even a, 'hey, look, we'll give you 100 off this $300 phone that's commonly available for 150!'

i've accepted that celphone plans will always suck and the use of unlocked phones will die like a one-legged dodo. so i just bought a shit phone and pay virgin mobile beans for acceptable service. when it becomes unacceptable, i'll throw the phone in the trash and move on.

Nope, flat MSRP.

 

[Gibson486]

Woah woah, a little misinformation in there I think.

If you wanted a discount on the phones with T-Mobile, the same rate plan would cost you $140 a month for 2 lines instead of $100. So you can pay $140 and get the discounts on the phones with a 2 year contract. Or pay $100 but give up the discounts on the phones. Or.... just go prepaid, $70 per line for unlimited talk/text/data and no contract. Just pay retail for your phones

Look at you last 3 sentences. Also, unlimited data, text, and voice begins at $50 a month.

 

[brblx]

i dont know whether to applaud their honesty or point out the marketing stupidity.

 

[Gibson486]

i dont know whether to applaud their honesty or point out the marketing stupidity.

yeah, i saw it at the store today. My financee wants to get the unlimited data plan because she wants to move onto a smart phone. I saw the 49.99 for each line on a family plan with unlimited everything ad, then I saw the $50 for unlimited everything ad with the monthly plan on the other side of the store.

I thought, "aw man...they had a free my touch special online today...that's worth a 2 year contract". I tried for an hour trying to make the free my touch go through with the family plan change. It kept removing the phone and just putting a free sim card there.

 

[brblx]

there's probably legal language calling out the exclusions. if you can't find it, hell, call them and just say you're having a technical issue with their website.

i dont think that'd work. but i'd try it.

 

[Cuda1447]

Look at you last 3 sentences. Also, unlimited data, text, and voice begins at $50 a month.

Right, it's retarded.... but the option is still there for unlimited without a contract. The prepaid plans are actually great value if you don't mind not getting a discount on the phone. Where they start to get more expensive is with family plans of more than 2 lines.

 

[Raduque]

Two lines, unlimited everything with a subsidized phone is $160/mo.

You're paying way less on the Value plan, which is why there's a contract. Instead of a phone discount, you get a plan discount.

You can finance equipment @ 0% apr on the Value plans, too. Up to $300 over 24 payments, any remaining is due up front.

 

[Gibson486]

Two lines, unlimited everything with a subsidized phone is $160/mo.

You're paying way less on the Value plan, which is why there's a contract. Instead of a phone discount, you get a plan discount.

You can finance equipment @ 0% apr on the Value plans, too. Up to $300 over 24 payments, any remaining is due up front.

Yes, but if you only have two lines, the value plan (requires contract) and the monthly plan come out to be pretty much the same (with a discounted phone, it would be $140 a month). Essentially, they are banking on people to pay MSRP on the phone by luring them with the 0%. In the end, you are still paying the same.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I like the idea of unlimited, but too bad its all a lie when they cap the amount of data.

2GB is not 'unlimited'. Even the morons know this. Makes me want to classify clueless consumers as a new form of semi-life.

 

[Gibson486]

I like the idea of unlimited, but too bad its all a lie when they cap the amount of data.

2GB is not 'unlimited'. Even the morons know this. Makes me want to classify clueless consumers as a new form of semi-life.

Well, it is unlimited. It 2GB of 4G speeds, then they throttle you to slower speeds.

 

[Gibson486]

Well...I was about to go for the 2 year contract since my fiancee really wants it to be a family plan (whatever) and she is a paranoid about the throttling after 1GB. I go to a tmobile store....they look up my account and say that I will be charged $135 in fees to go to this plan....why? They have a migration fee specifically for the value plans, which is $100 and the set up account fee which is $35. WTF? I asked about going to the monthly4G plan for $50 a month. There is no fee because "it's just the updated version of your plan". In the end, we broke up the family plan into 2 separate monthly 4G plans. I did the $30 plan, she did the $50 plan. Since I have been with Tmobile for almost a decade, they said they would not charge me the $35 fee for my fiancee's plan.

I think Tmobile may need to rethink about how they implement this...

 

[goobee]

I am currently on ATT Go and have been eyeing changing to a unlimited no contract plan. It would be nice if more carriers were GSM but it is what it is. As such, I have ATT no contrarct (expensive and not worth it) or T-mobile. Not much to choose from unless I want to go CDMA and have to buy a new phone. ^_^