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9:00 am
July 22, 2011
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Please need your advice
We have been asked to get an upgrade on one of our phones from one of the carriers we have been using for awhile.
- They are offering a Nokia Lumia 710 - for a 2 year term – on a 2 year term they have this phone and a Samsung galaxy Q
- It is totally Free and there is no downpayment.
- The monthly payment for our plan still stays the same – except that we will be on a Contract as now we are Not on a contract.
- They said the price of the phone is 229$ for Nokia to purchase it, and if we should break the Contract – they base it on the value of the phone and when we are cancelling it the difference we have to pay at that time.
Please advice if this is a good deal?
How does the carrier benefit from giving us a free phone.
Also if I use the phone I am not with the same carrier – so I have to unlock it to use with my carrier then the warranty is gone I guess.???
The Carrier will unlock it after the 2 year contract is over, But if we want to unlock from a 3rd party we can do so as long as we still have their number we would get the usual 1 year warranty with the phone
My understanding is that the Nokia 710 uses a micro sim card so we have to use an adapter for it so can the phone be taken overseas?
Any stores carry Nokia lumia 710 ??
Appreciate your suggestions and feedback - thank you
8:15 am
April 22, 2009
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Both phones are really bad phones for the money. The Q is more or less junk, worse than the Gio.
I do want to like the Nokia Lumia 710. It has some pretty nice hardware, good camera, great maps, and GPS, and should be a quality handset. However, the Windows mobile OS is end of the line. It will not be upgraded, and the few apps for it will be fewer. If you want to use this as a phone and do basic wifi web browsing, and you are not big on apps, the 710 should be a nice handset. But windows mobile is weak with proxy settings, so correctly getting Speakout browsing to work properly will be a challenge.
If you plan to stick around with your contract anyway for your free phone, sure, get the free phone, The Lumia 710 specifically. But neither phone is worth even close to $200.
As for carrier benefit, the carrier gets to unload their junk that is not selling well, and they lock you into another 2 years. The phone cost the carrier probably less than $100, so it only adds less than $5 a month subsidy to the contract, and since most contracts are $30+, the carrier can easily eat that cost.
9:12 am
July 22, 2011
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Bridonca, Thank you very much for your reply
Yes only one of us are with the carrier offering the free phone as longtime users without any contract. Mine is with chatr and i will be using the phone.
As for carrier benefit, the carrier gets to unload their junk that is not selling well, and they lock you into another 2 years. The phone cost the carrier probably less than $100, so it only adds less than $5 a month subsidy to the contract, and since most contracts are $30+, the carrier can easily eat that cost.
They said we do not have to pay any downpayment and the plan amount stays the same. Only thing we must have a 2 year contract.
If we unlock the phone from a 3rd party they said the 1 year warranty will still be there as long as we still maintain the carrier phone number which we will be doing, But i am going to be using the phonet with chatr - not sure.
I dont want to be in the same situation as i was with the Gio wherein i unlocked it and then the warranty was out.
Also what is the micro sim, which needs an adaptor, when i take this phone overseas their sim is the normal regular sim. Will it work -??
4:30 pm
April 22, 2009
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Most carriers already have the cell phone subsidy already built into the monthly cost. With Virgin, and Bell, you can ask for a discount in the monthly bill if you are bringing your own phone. I suspect other carrier have similar discounts.
A Micro SIM card is electrically the same as a SIM card. except it is cut smaller. There are SIM cutters and SIM adapters out that they get your SIM card to the size socket you have on the phone. It is an extra annoyance, but not a big deal.
As for warranties, I really would not worry about them. As you already found out, a Samsung warranty is not worth much. If you need to unlock the phone, unlock the phone. It is less hassle just getting a new phone than having to deal with warranty issues on a duff phone, locked or unlocked. A new phone is a lot cheaper when you account for your time spent.
I say this because if you unlock the phone, and your phone gets flaky, your carrier might or might not support it, but then again, the manufacturer should. Then there is the game of pass the buck played to find out who will take care of the repair/replacement. That of course involves a certain time without a working phone.
My strategy is just to get the phone cheap, and run it into the ground. If it dies, get another one, or even better, if you see a good deal on a phone, get it as a backup. That way, if you have to play warranty roulette, you still have a working phone.
5:55 pm
July 22, 2011
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Thank you very much Bridonca for you kind help and taking much time to explain in layman's terms – appreciate it
I will go and get the free phone they are offering and thank you for telling me about the adapter and about the phone itself and all information i needed to know
Thank you again
