I'd Pay More for a Prepaid Smartphone

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I'd Pay More for a Prepaid Smartphone

by Rick

I have to say that if you asked me a year ago I would have had a much much lower number in mind for what I'd pay to avoid a contract. But now that prepaid smartphones are becoming available I'm much much more likely to pay more to avoid a contract. If I consider that a half decent average smartphone on contract is now going for about 200 bucks, to avoid a contract I'd probably pay $300 or even $400.

You might think I'm crazy, but when I look at the price of contract plans versus the price of the unlimited all-in prepaid smartphone plans, it really seems like a great deal. Yes, it's hard to fork over that kind of money at one time, but if you look at it over even just one year, it's still worthwhile. And then I can upgrade my phone whenever I want, whether a newer one comes out that I really want, or I buy a used on on eBay. It gives me a lot more flexibility.

Also, that way, if I'm not happy with the service, I can go to another carrier without having to worry about early termination fees.

Prepaid smartphones are going to change the country!

Comments for
I'd Pay More for a Prepaid Smartphone

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Aug 16, 2010

Last Year's Models on Prepaid
by: PrepaidWirelessGuy

Excellent strategy; I like it! I wonder if this hasn't yet happened because, in the example of the Droid (the original one) they reduced the price for postpaid customers now that the Droid 2 and Droid X are out (which is typically what they do). Or if they've actually ran out of inventory on that phone?

I think it would be reasonable to continue to manufacturer older models for the prepaid market, which should be cheaper due to older processors and screen technology, less RAM, etc. That's really how the price of notebook computers came down (and lower priced netbooks) became available; slower processor, lower specs, but perfectly reasonable power for most people.

They could even choose to further "downgrade" the specs to lower the price even further, still leaving the average person with a great smartphone.

I also have a theory, particularly for postpaid carriers with prepaid brands, which is to offer refurbished smartphones on their prepaid plans at lower prices. With returns, warranty fixes, and the like, there's often a reasonably large supply of refurb units that are in perfectly good condition but legally can't be sold as new. These would be perfect candidates for prepaid users who don't want to pay the full no contract price of a brand new smartphone.

So many options; it's really only a matter of time. As OEMs and carriers continue to validate the opportunity for prepaid smartphones, I expect our options will flourish!

I really believe it's sites and discussions like this one that get their attention ;-).

Aug 16, 2010

Wave of the future
by: Lucious

Your comments are reciprocated all over the nation, and this country is wising up.

Aug 16, 2010

Prepaid Smartphone
by: Anonymous

I'd pay $200-$250 for a decent smartphone, much like the Zio that Cricket will have out soon. To be honest, I would gladly accept less than the latest technology for a more reasonable price. The Zio fits that bill, but I would love to see manufacturers trickle "last year's" model phones down to prepaid carriers at a lower price. So a Droid with Android 2.0 would be nice now that Droid 2 and Droid X is replacing the original. The big 4 postpaid guys can keep the first adopters happy, while more budget minded prepaid folks like myself can be happy with an older model. Give us some love, Motorola, HTC, etc!

Aug 16, 2010

No Contract Smartphones Definitely Heating Up!
by: PrepaidWirelessGuy

I couldn't agree with you more! You're definitely on the right track with respect to how you're viewing what many refer to as the "Total Cost of Ownership". It's not just about the upfront cost for a handset, but also about the cost of the service. As a simple analogy (the reverse situation), even if you could afford a pre-owned Aston Martin for $85K, the maintenance on that type of car would be so high, that you'd probably find yourself up a creek. So it's not just about the cost of the phone (or car), but how much does it cost to maintain it!

One needs only look to other countries like Europe where prepaid is the norm, and people are used to paying the equivalent of $500 or $600 for an iPhone (unlocked!). In the U.S., not many people would think that that cost is reasonable. In fact, they'd/we'd probably think that's insane!

Ironically, people used to pay $500 for PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) that were far less capable than are today's smartphones; however, now when a phone is over $250 people are kicking and screaming that they're being robbed! Somehow the whole postpaid subsidy model has corrupted our brains, and we've lost the perspective of what value really is. We expect a lot for very little personal cost, and then we complain about contracts and early termination fees. Well, someone has to pay for the real cost of that fancy smartphone, and carriers can afford to do it if you agree to commit to paying a certain monthly fee for a specific number of years. Anyway, that's perhaps a different topic...

All in all, though, your point is a great one, and I think we'll see people willing to spend more on prepaid smartphones than they ever would have for a no contract feature phone in the past. The future of prepaid is most certainly bright!

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