SIM cards for Freerunner (was Free Runner price vs iphone 3G price)

[Joe Pfeiffer]

Kevin Dean writes:
>On Wed, Jun 11, 2008 at 3:33 PM, Joe Pfeiffer <joseph at pfeifferfamily.net> wrote:
>>
>> US.  To me, it's quite obvious that a contract without a phone
>> *should* be cheaper, but that's a long way from "is" (it actually
>> worked out for the best, since I've had a working phne all these
>> months as a result).
>
>I'm an American and your statement confuses me. Why is it "obvious"
>that a contract without a phone should be cheaper? The service
>(cellular connectivity for voice and/or data) is the same service no
>matter what phone you have.

Because the price of the "free" phone is bundled into the price of the
contract.  If I don't get a phone, I shouldn't have to pay for one.

>In the US, the price of service contracts doesn't change. The price of
>PHONES does when you agree to commit to a service contract but the
>service contract doesn't.
>
>
>>
>>>The most obvious example of this is that one can choose how much to
>>>pay up front - on can choose the phone "for free" with one set of
>>>tariffs, or pay £75 on purchase and get the same number of minutes
>>>for £10 a month less (on an 18-month contract, for example). One can
>>>also get much cheaper contracts when no phone purchase is involved.
>>
>
>Not sure if you're confusing cause and effect here or if Brits just
>look at "cellular service" differently than Americans. You are
>implying that "the contract" is "the monthly service of voice/data
>connectivity and a handset". In the US, ONLY the monthly service of
>voice/data connectivity is contracted. It seems to me that what you're
>ACTUALLY doing when you make your purchase is purchasing a phone at
>some price, agreeing to a service level (monthly voice/data) and then
>financing the cost of that device through your monthly bill. By paying
>the £75 up front you're simply paying for the phone and NOT paying the
>cost of it in installments monthly.
>
>But from how I see it the service that is purchased (voice/data
>connectivity) remains the same price.

Not quite -- you're also committed to pay the inflated price long
enough to pay for the phone, or pay for the phone under the guise of
an "early termination" fee.