Eh...cell phones are very expensive. I'm with Verizon under their standard and mandatory two year contract. My phone has been broken since late May or even early June of this year. The back was always coming off of the phone (it was an LG) and one day the entire microchip and keypads fell out, so I had to reassemble the entire phone myself. I was pretty upset when I first saw everything, from screws and the microchip laying on the ground as the back of my phone broke, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I reassembled it, but it wasn't necessarily fixed. The phone was over a year old by that time, too. I had to tape up the entire phone with scotch tape to avoid the back falling off again. It worked for me as a solution to save money, but the damage to the microchip was fatal. I'm guessing it got scratched or something when it hit the ground as it fell out the back of my phone.. Well anyway, because of the damage to the phone, it randomly shut off and never stayed on more than two minutes, even when it had a full battery charge. It was ridiculous. So I brought it to Verizon, who as I said before I was with. They didn't cover it, even though it was a phone with them and their manufacterer LG. Apparently, Verizon is very slick with their phone sales...phones come with a one year warranty, but Verizon requires people to sign up for two years on contract. I thought this was totally ridiculous, so I took the cheapest approach possible and just used my brother's old phone and got that activated with Verizon and compatible with my number. Well, that must've lasted me a few days because apparently that phone had a problem with the back too. The back fell off and that phone broke too - so I pulled out my scotch tape and taped up the whole phone to get it to work. It was embarassing, and the battery life of the phone did not last longer than I'd say...three to seven hours. It varied, for some odd reason. In later August, I switched back to my original phone that was broken. It was an effort that went in to vain, really. It barely worked and by mid-September, it was done...it no longer stayed on for even twenty seconds. Being Verizon or LG did not cover me for the phone they provided me, I was left with only one solution to this problem: to buy a brand new phone. I don't know if any of you have been reading what I post here, but I recently just bought a car and I am VERY broke. I waited and saved up a little of what should've went towards car insurance, and today I bought a new phone. I bought an LG-VX9800M; it's basically the phone for Verizon that is similar to the T-Mobile sidekick. And get this...it costed me $400.00. I think that the price was totally ridiculous, but I needed a good phone that would work and provide the solutions I needed. It's amazing how if I got a new contract, the phone would've been under $200, I think maybe even lower than $150, which is a MUCH lower price than what I paid. Sadly though, my plan expires next year, and I couldn't get a new contract without spending like $300 to cancel my current one. So all-in-all, today I basically got fucked over and I am dirt poor, now. I just don't understand why cell phones are so expensive...I could've bought a really nice custom computer with the amount I paid for a phone today.
Sorry to hear that.. 400$ for a phone is quite expensive why don't you find one from eBay (there are a lot of reliable seller with 10K+ feedbacks)? you can get a brand new cool phone for ~200$ or even less..
Not only are the phones overpriced but so are the plans. Especially considering none of the providers feel the need to provide quality service. Us as consumers need to start demanding that we get what we pay for. That is why currently I refuse to pay for one but its getting harder and harder to hold out when society is making it impossible not to have one.
That's why I use a pre-paid phone. It cost me $20-30 for the phone (I don't remember the exact amount) and another $20 every 3 months. Between that and Vonage I'm saving about $100/month.
Verizon is a corporate piece of trash that is actively working with AT&T to shut down and take over the net with COPE and net neutrality. Anyone here at DP who is a customer of either of these companies is insane. Yes, $400 is a rip off for a cell phone. Period. It is a piece of a junk that DEPRECIATES in value. This means it will be worth nothing in five years. You could have bought a decent laptop for that price. Me and you are two different people, but I purchased a prepaid Nokia 1100 for $25, and I don't have any phone bills. I simply by the minutes when I need them. The Cell Phone companies are a complete joke, and I'm saving hundreds of dollars each year by using the Internet as my primary communictions tool. My advice to you EGS and everyone else here at DP is to stop being ripped off by multi-billion dollar fortune 500 companies that don't give a damn about you. Keep you cash in your pocket, invest it in YOUR business. Same here.
for those gadget like Ipod or razr, you are buying more than a electronic device...and seriously, if they are cheaper, they are going to sell less
I live by the philosophy of "practical technology." I have more than enough to buy a Razor or an Ipod, but I refrain from buying them, because I'm frugal. I know that they will be worth nothing in five years. All you have to do is wait for the price to drop(which it will eventually). These companies constantly keep releasing these new gadgets and gizmos, and they make you think you've got the "latest" technology. In reality, the government/military has extremely advanced technology behind closed doors that they won't even let you have access to. Once you understand that the government/military is hording advanced technology, it is easy to understand why constantly buying the so called latest gizmos is a rip off. I guess it is a matter of what you are buying it for. In most cases, people buy more than what they need. But its ok. Once they go bankrupt and have to sell their gadgets and gizmos for pennies on the dollars, guys like me will be waiting for them, and I will always get a great deal. It is more than just a feeling. It is reality. Verizon is a monopoly, and ripping you off is just one of the many crimes they have committed. The biggest crime they are attempting to do is trying to take away the neutrality of the internet. They make me sick, and my blood just boils thinking about it, because I know they are trying to take over the net, dominate it, and put the rest of us out of business. It is a shamed you got ripped off, but you will need to remember this mistake for future reference. If I were you, I would avoid doing busines with fortune 500 monopolies like Verison, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Cingular. I would either use VOIP internet services, or I would stick to using a prepaid cell phone. You will avoid the headaches and BS, and you will save a bunch of money at the same time.