Whats the cheapest way to get the best phones?

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Krieger91

[H]ard|Gawd
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I'm really not up to speed on which carriers do what and what their prices are and it honestly becomes a pain to try and find out all the little details.

How can I get a new high end android phone (like a Galaxy S II) for the least amount of money? I just want it to tool around on games mainly, and do some light email/texting/web. I hardly talk at all so I don't care about minutes.
 
Steal it.

Also usually Amazon has some good deals for new customers, sometimes walmart also.
 
Amazon would be your best bet when they offer the penny sales. They've had 2-3 to my knowledge offered all the high end Android phones for new 2 year contracts.

Costso would be a good option too. Usually they offer $50-$100 cheaper than direct and even give you a bundle of accessories.
 
You will see other retailers like Amazon sell phones on contract for a lot cheaper than the carriers. For instance, Verizon will sell an HTC Rezound for $299 on a 2 year contract whereas AmazonWireless may charge only $100. The full retail of the phone is $650.

So if you terminate early in the contract, Verizon will charge you a $350 Early Termination Fee to recoup the costs of subsidising the phone. Whereas if you get the phone through Amazon and then terminate the contract, they will also charge their own termination fee on top on Verizon's for them to recoup the costs as well.

Its something to keep in mind.
 
Amazon only requires you to keep service for 6 months. After that, the only ETF you owe would be to Verizon.
 
Last week, Amazon Wireless had the Epic 4G Touch (GS2) for as low as $79 with a new contract.
 
Well,You should try ebay.There are lots of auctions going all the times which means there are good chances of getting a good deal.
 
Just my opinion I would never buy a used phone as you do not know what the previous person did to it.

Outside of an Iphone the best way to get them without getting suckered into a new contract or a manditory data plan is to buy them outright
 
I seem to only research phones once ever two years :) My contract will be up with sprint in April. I've been generally happy, and Loved modding the hell out of my Evo.

To be honest ive been eyeballing Verizon - while Sprint has their WiMax - I don't get it at my house (but 1 mile down the road I do - blah!) While sprint has been steady and easy to deal with, I find myself wanting "more speed"

I found just how incredible some of the deals are on newegg for a new Verizon customer sign up. For example instead of paying 200 dollars for a Bionic, I can get it for $20 dollars from newegg... that's a HELLUVA discount. Sadly thats the only one that seems heavily discounted. I'd love the new Galazy nexus but even with a discount thru newegg I'm still paying 280 for the phone.

Is there any particular reason why the Bionic is so heavily discounted?

I suppose I'm researching a bit too soon, as I'm sure a lot will change between now and April. I'm just glad to know I can get a much better deal online for a phone (and still have it be new) vs going into one of those shady local verizon or sprint stores. I always get the car dealership vibe when going into such places.
 
Become a developer and sell 2-3k+ devices per month with your software :)

Every major manufacturer will send you pre-release top of the line devices for development :)
 
the websites i check for prices are letstalk wirefly and amazonwireless.

bionic has been out for quite a while, motorola has released the razr which is better than the bionic in every way.

amazon had lots of deals where every phone was a penny (razr, rezound, bionic).

i got my galaxy nexus for 189.99 on release (new family plan line added, wirefly) amazon had it for 150 for new customers.

just gotta keep checking.
 
yeah - seems by the time April rolls around I might be able to get between 50 and 75 dollars for my "old" Evo via Sprints Trade up program. Problem is if I don't want to stay with sprint, Ill have to unload it on craigslist or here or something cheap.

I'll just have to keep checking Amazon and newegg as those seem like the best places to get a cheap top of the line phone when you are a new customer signing up.

Thanks!
 
Where can I get a factory unlocked iPhone with a contract? Apple.com won't sell it with a contract.
 
athlon1.2 said:
Where can I get a factory unlocked iPhone with a contract? Apple.com won't sell it with a contract.
Click to expand...

GSM unlocked iPhone 4S cannot be sold with contract and the only place to buy it is from the Apple store. You have to try to reserve one the night before at 9pm to pickup the next day. Sorry you're not going to get that subsidized.

Other than that, you're going to have to try your luck on Craigslist or something.
 
ebay + forums like [H] forum are where I look

selling and buying off contract phones + prepaid GSM service FTW!
 
AlphaQ said:
GSM unlocked iPhone 4S cannot be sold with contract and the only place to buy it is from the Apple store. You have to try to reserve one the night before at 9pm to pickup the next day. Sorry you're not going to get that subsidized.

Other than that, you're going to have to try your luck on Craigslist or something.
Click to expand...

I got my facotry unlocked, ATT-free (not the ATT "no contract" version) iPhone 4S, via the Apple website. Macrumors have a massive thread on the subject alone. Mainly posting this because that link eluded me for about 5 min when I was looking at the site the first time around (I blame surfing on my Atrix as a result).

iphoneunlocked.png
 
Like I said, you're not going to get an unlocked iPhone 4S with a contract like he asked. They will not subsidize you...

16gb $649, 32gb $749, 64gb $849
 
DF-1 said:
bionic has been out for quite a while, motorola has released the razr which is better than the bionic in every way.

.
Click to expand...

The Bionic and the Razr are almost identical hardware wise. They both use the same processor (Bionic is underclocked 200mhz) same screen size, same RAM, same amount of internal storage etc etc.
 
Snotrocket said:
The Bionic and the Razr are almost identical hardware wise. They both use the same processor (Bionic is underclocked 200mhz) same screen size, same RAM, same amount of internal storage etc etc.
Click to expand...

The Bionic, iirc, doesn't have Pentile layout, while the RAZR does, however much that matters to each person.
 
BDV said:
Become a developer and sell 2-3k+ devices per month with your software :)

Every major manufacturer will send you pre-release top of the line devices for development :)
Click to expand...

If you make software that sells that many copies, buying a new phone is not going to be one of your worries :D
 
Iphone 4s is slightly below the top notch anddroid 4G phones out there. And the way "I" get great deals is on craigslists, horrible place for computer related stuff, but great for mobile deals.
 
For a subsidized phone on contract, Wirefly and Amazon usually have cheaper prices that purchasing directly from the carrier.

For an unlocked phone, eBay and Amazon.

For a used phone, Craigslist or eBay, though I would go with Craigslist so I can examine the phone before buying to make sure it's in decent condition.
 
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