What should I do to get a new Samsung Galaxy S II phone in a more econimical way
 

Hi to all

I am a Rogers wireless phone customer and stuck with 31 months contract. I am not happy with my current iphone 3 but not eligible to do hardware until Feb 2012. Anyhow, Rogers does not seem to carry my dream phone at all.

If I want to leave Rogers, I need pay $ 500 for the penalty. So what should I do ?

(1) downgrade my plan to mimium plan like $ 12.00 month and not using the phone (assume I am out of Canada ad reserve my account with Rogers0

(2) Buy the phone without a contract from Bell or Best Buy

Other legal way to get this phone cheap with less hassle, please share & let me know ASAP.

Many thanks for your input in advance.

Buy it outright

buy the phone outright
transfer your plan
negotiate with rogers for a better plan

Easy answer. Buy it outright.

Buying it outright is ALWAYS the best choice, in any situation. I would never lock myself to a contract for more than a year.

Buy it outright, sell current phone to recoup some cash back. Least money lost this way

call retentions...either 1) give them a very convincing reason to give you an early upgrade..get white iphone 4..sell on craigslist..use funds to get s2

2)pay the $20 a month to get early upgrade..same as above..

both should be cheaper than buying outright imo..and wont really affect ur contract that much cos ur only extending it by 5 months anyhow..

and uhh..ofc #1 is cheaper..just depends how good ur negotiating skills are

if you plan to STAY with Rogers:
early upgrade
sell the new phone, use that $ to buy SGS2 outright from Carriers or Craigslist.
unlock and use on rogers.

or win lottery and screw everyone, do whatever you want :)

Just buy the phone outright
Posted via RS Mobile

Have you guys ever had any luck purchasing unlocked phones from online? If so, which stores have you used?

I wouldn't say buying outright is always best in any situation. If you have a sick plan, either through hookups, your company, or retentions, often times you can only get those if you sign a contract. Once you have a sick plan you're probably not gonna be jumping from carrier to carrier so having a contract is actually beneficial since you can do HUPs to get phones cheaper.

The only reason I bought my SGS outright and today, the SGS2 outright is because my plan is <<$50 so I can't use a HUP.

whaaaaa?

i pay $35 after tax @ Rogers I get a HUP every 30 Months. I can even get Early HUP. something is wrong.

how much data do you have? or do you have data?

But you can't use HUP on a smartphone unless you meet certain requirements like $50 voice+data plan or something along those lines?

The last HUP I did was for a dumbphone for the sole purpose of selling for that extra $100

How is it ALWAYS the best choice? If you rarely change phones and can get a free phone with a 2 year contract on a very good plan, why would it be better to buy it straight out and then pay for the same each month?

End Up pick up a new phone from Richmond.

Well for instance, he wouldn't be in the predicament he's in right now if he wasn't "stuck in a 31 month contract" :lol

And I'm not sure how 'free' the phones are. I haven't looked at the terms in Canada for a long time, so I can't say.

The only reason why I can see buying a phone straight out is better is if you enjoy switching phones often then obviously you must buy a new phone straight out. Another would be if you don't like being stuck in a contract whether you just dont want too, if you might be moving, or you think there might always be better deals in the future. The third would be that (well I don't know about Canada) in HK, they have plans that go much cheaper if you do a sim subscription only, so no phone attached. That can add up and save people money as well.

For me, I went on a 2 year contract and got a free S2. It's actually quite a good deal for me since I rarely switch phones and my total 2 year contract would be $977 including phone and 24 months of 800mb data and 2000minutes plus all the caller id, voice mail, SMS crap. The phone itself is $640 so I figure thats only $14 per month for my plan which I couldn't get if I bought the phone straight out.

I guess to each their own.

The "free" phones in HK are far FAR from being free, that much is for sure. Not only do you have to pay a "deposit" (IE you are buying the phone outright anyway), you have to buy more expensive and more limited plans AND buy "value added services" which add another $30+ to your bill.

To each their own indeed, but I think contracts are a ripoff for everyone. As long as you know you are paying more and getting less, then I guess it's perfectly acceptable. I doubt many people know that though, when they are getting their "free" phone.

The question is, if you have a $50 plan. Would it be better to pay 50/month and spend $500 on a phone every 1.5 years? Or would it be better to pay $50/month and spend $100-$200 every 1.5 years on a hardware upgrade?


To each their own of course but one thing I should share is I know people who think they are cool and refuse to sign a contract so they can brag about how they're not tied down. These people are paying $50+ a month and buying their phones outright. What's also funny is they've been with the same carrier for the past 5 years too. THAT is paying more and getting less.

Might as well have signed a contract with a better plan and be eligible for HUPs.

Of course every situation is different. I'm tied down and still buy my phones outright because it saves me more money in the long run.