AT&T CUSTOMERS CAN GET A NEW SMARTPHONE OR TABLET EVERY YEAR

[Apoptosis]

AT&T CUSTOMERS CAN GET A NEW SMARTPHONE OR TABLET EVERY YEAR WITH NO DOWN PAYMENT WITH “AT&T NEXT”

No Down Payment, No Upgrade or Activation Fees, and All On The Nation’s Fastest 4G LTE Network

AT&T 4G LTE Now Covers More than 225 Million People

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DALLAS, JULY 16, 2013 — Today, AT&T* introduces what’s next in wireless. Beginning nationwide on July 26, consumers can get a new AT&T smartphone or tablet every year with no down payment, no activation fee, no upgrade fee and no financing fees.**

With AT&T Next, customers purchase a smartphone or tablet with no down payment and agree to pay monthly installments for the device. After 12 payments, they can trade it in and upgrade to a brand new device — again with no down payment — or they can keep using their device and have no more payments after 20 months. AT&T Next is available for new AT&T customers or existing customers who are upgrade eligible.

“With AT&T Next, customers can get the newest smartphone or tablet every year with no down payment. That’s hard to beat, and it’s an incredible value for customers who want the latest and greatest every year,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive officer of AT&T Mobility.

AT&T’s 4G LTE network now covers more than 225 million people nationwide and 328 markets. AT&T’s 4G LTE deployment is expected to cover 300 million people by year-end 2014, with nearly 90 percent of the build completed by the end of this year.

The great performance of AT&T’s network continues to be validated by independent third-party testing. AT&T 4G LTE service was recognized as having faster average download and upload speeds than any of our competitors in PCWorld/TechHive’s most recent 20-market speed tests — the second consecutive year that AT&T has ranked first overall. PCWorld/TechHive also ranked AT&T’s as the fastest combination of 3G and 4G services in the 20 cities it tested.*** And AT&T was named America’s fastest 4G LTE network in PC Magazine’s 2013 Fastest Mobile Networks 30-market study — and also swept the top rankings in all six U.S. regions from coast to coast: Northeast, Southeast, North-Central, South-Central, Northwest and Southwest.****

AT&T Next is available for any current smartphone or tablet in AT&T’s industry-leading selection of devices. The interest-free monthly device installments range from $15 to $50, depending on the device selected. For example, a customer purchasing a Samsung Galaxy® S 4 would have no down payment and pay $32 per month, in addition to the monthly wireless service plan they choose, with the option to trade in their device and upgrade after 12 payments or to keep using the device and pay off the installment plan in full after 20 months. There’s no penalty for paying off the installment plan early.

AT&T offers a broad choice of device purchasing options. In addition to AT&T Next, customers continue to have their choice of all current options, including getting a discounted device with a two-year service commitment; paying full retail price for a device with no-commitment; getting a partial discount for an early upgrade after six months with a two-year service commitment; or bringing their own compatible device.

More information is available at http://www.att.com/next or at any AT&T retail store.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
** Requires 20-month 0% APR installment agreement & qualifying credit. Wireless service req. (voice & data for smartphones/data for tablets). If you cancel wireless service, remaining balance on device becomes due. Sales tax due at sale. Qualifying devices only. Upgrade after 1 yr.: Req. min. 12 installment payments, acct. in good standing, plus trade-in of current device in good & functional condition & purchase of new device/wireless agreement & service plan. After upgrade remaining unbilled installment payments are waived. AT&T Next available only at AT&T owned retail stores & att.com. If device is returned, restocking fee up to $35 for smartphones or 10% of tablet sales price may apply. Terms subject to change.
*** PCWorld/TechHive, May 23, 2013, “AT&T clocks best overall speeds with 3G/4G combo”
**** PC Magazine, June 17, 2013; http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2420333,00.asp

[FZ1]

They make it sound like they are giving you something or making it a good deal. The reality is, you are paying for the hardware through increased monthly payments and then they get your phone which they can recondition and sell so you miss out on the resale value. So, you're no better off than if you just paid the prorated early termination and sold the phone.

[Apoptosis]

They make it sound like they are giving you something or making it a good deal. The reality is, you are paying for the hardware through monthly payments and then they get your phone which they can recondition and sell so you miss out on the resale value. So, you're no better off than if you just paid the prorated early termination and sold the phone.

Very good point...

The Galaxy S 4 they used for an example costs $32 per month, so for a full 20 month contract it is $640 for the phone. A 12-month 'trade-up' plan would run you $384 plus like you said you'd have to give the phone back.

[KnightRid]

So then the plans are coming down in price because the cost of the "free" or "discounted" phones are already included in the price of the ridiculous cost of cell service...??

Yea, I dont think so either, so in reality you will be paying for the phone twice for 20 months then you go down to the normal pay. Unless of course they are actually lowering the cost of the cell phone plans by the MAX per month charge for a phone, since everyone pays the same for their plan, the MAX has to be used to compensate, then they can add on whatever monthly charge depending on the phone you want. Heck, you should be able to get a full plan for under $40 a month if you have an old phone you want to keep using

Just another way to make stuff look and sound good but in reality, they are ripping you off for even more money.

[FZ1]

At least some people are catching on. Unfortunately, a lot of people have no brains to speak of and will think it's an awesome deal. Probably the same people who use the payday load places.
http://www.macrumors.com/2013/07/18/com ... -carriers/

Through the program, customers end up double paying for their devices through both the new monthly handset payments and the portion of the monthly service charge that has traditionally been collected by the carrier to recoup its upfront handset subsidies. Assuming that $20 of AT&T's monthly service fees go toward recouping the carrier's handset subsidy, a customer looking to upgrade after 12 months would have paid $390 in device payments on a 16 GB iPhone 5 and $240 from monthly service fees, yielding total payments of $630 for the $650 device, although they also have to turn in the device to AT&T.

In all cases, customers would seem to be able to save some money by purchasing a contract-free phone upfront for $650 and then reselling it on their own terms whenever they wish to upgrade, almost certainly saving hundreds of dollars in the process. Customers looking to upgrade more frequently than once per year may do somewhat better, but still likely not better than simply purchasing a unsubsidized device directly.

[bubba]

Even if I was on AT&T I wouldn't want to upgrade every year.

Guess I'm cheap and a creature of habit, mostly cheap. Run something until it doesn't do what I need it to, then replace it. Only reason I switched up to my S3 was because my TBolt died. Long as my S3 holds I'm good.