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BillShrink cost of ownership analysis: Pre, MyTouch beat out iPhone 3GS, Moto Droid

BillShrink cost of ownership analysis: Pre, MyTouch beat out iPhone 3GS, Moto Droid
Posted Tuesday, November 03, 2009 by Adriana Lee     
Views: 10832

More fodder for the cost-conscious: According to a recent cost comparison from BillShrink.com, the cost of owning a Palm Pre or MyTouch 3G is $1,250 less than AT&T’s iPhone or Verizon’s Moto Droid.  

To come up with this number, it assumed unlimited voice and data, which of course works out in favor of America’s #3 and #4 carriers. (Actually, the cost savings would probably still bear out for any device they carry.)

But the question is — is it worth saving some bucks to suffer through blackouts (see Aaron’s post on Tmo’s nationwide voice outage) or data wipes (remember the Sidekick/Danger fiasco)? Only you and your wallet knows. In any case, I think Tmo might be putting its award-winning customer service skills to the test this evening.

As for the numbers, see how they stack up by check the chart below or click here to read the full story.




Via: BillShrink.com, MobilitySite

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Adriana  Lee
Adriana Lee - Mobile lifestyle editor / iPhone editor
Adriana Lee, a journalist and admitted gadget freak, has covered everything from business and tech trends to fashion and pop culture. Published in consumer and trade titles, she’s been showing...

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Comments on this Article

Profile image icon for PhoneCollector
PhoneCollector @ Nov 4 6:11 PM
I agree, the 3rd paragraph about outages is biased. I've been with Tmo for 8+ years and this is the first time I've had an outage, and it only affected 1 of my 3 lines. I get a good deal out of Tmo: Family MyFaves and their 3G network is building out fast. My only complaint is phone selection. Hoping for the Sholes or the HD2, currently using an unlocked iPhone which gets up to 200k downloads in my area, which is often faster than AT&T's 3G....just sayin....
Profile image icon for Gmanbd
Gmanbd @ Nov 4 5:39 PM
ACTUALLY....for a mere $69 a month you get Sprints everything data plan plus ANY MOBILE ANYTIME (all outgoing/incoming mobile to mobile calls are free) and 450 anytime (daytime) minutes (moot due to the free mobile to mobile.....what's not to love fanboys ?
Profile image icon for Aphotic
Aphotic @ Nov 4 5:19 PM
The prices on the Tmo side are wrong for the plans if you choose Even More +. Unlim Talk Text Web would be 79.99 and 1000 + unlim text & web is 69.99. MyTouch Wins! :)
Profile image icon for roley33
roley33 @ Nov 4 4:16 PM
(thats sarcasm btw)
Profile image icon for roley33
roley33 @ Nov 4 4:14 PM
i worked for tmo, sprint, and vzw for 10 years each. they all suck att is the best. lol
Profile image icon for JohnathanScales09
JohnathanScales09 @ Nov 4 3:13 PM
i like who made this good job...thanks for making it a little easyer on picking a phone....
Profile image icon for Windsponge
Windsponge @ Nov 4 11:50 AM
These figures are stupid. Not very accurate and should be figured at base plan not 900min. Verizon is still best hands down as far as coverage and who knows they might get some decent phones.
Profile image icon for SteveyB
SteveyB @ Nov 4 11:00 AM
I worked for Verizon Wireless for 5 years. They have their share of network issues - don't be fooled. I seriously doubt that tmobile and sprint are more prone to network problems. Believe me - save the money.
Profile image icon for spkf79
spkf79 @ Nov 4 4:16 AM
Adriana, I gotta say that 3rd paragraph seemed pretty biased. Esp seeing AT&T has the most customer complaints (remember story here on Phonedog about AT&T customer being told his 20% drop call rate in NY was "good"). Its true you probably get what you pay for with T-mo (decent network) and Sprint (bad customer service) but its better than overpaying for service just to have an iPhone.
Profile image icon for Adriana  Lee
Adriana Lee @ Nov 4 10:25 AM
Hey, spkf79: Given that I covered this on the same night that Tmo had a huge outage (and not long after the data troubles), it seemed appropriate to call them out on it. I would've done the same for any carrier plagued by similar issues within a short period. (I was the one who called out AT&T in the article you mentioned.) But I do see your point, and I apologize if it seems like I'm picking on them. Believe it or not, I actually like T-Mobile, generally speaking. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify.
Profile image icon for gadgetshare
gadgetshare @ Nov 4 2:18 AM
The Droid and iPhone both come out evenly with the overall price.
Profile image icon for jrcrow79
jrcrow79 @ Nov 4 1:35 AM
lol..Mark..shhh..good point..dont tell anyone ;-)
Profile image icon for Kimalito
Kimalito @ Nov 3 11:27 PM
Sprint is trash assholes, at&t is super expensive for no reason, & verizon think they the shit because of the driod. they just have alot of customers becasue they joined with alltel same as at&t and sprint joined with cingular and nextel. Tmobile is the best and i dont care what anyone saids. they got nice phones, outstanding prices and customer care is like louis vuitton lol. Yay tmobile =)
Profile image icon for stulaw11
stulaw11 @ Nov 3 11:27 PM
big deal unlimited plans make up a SMALL percentage of the population- probably less than 5% Irrelevant comparison
Profile image icon for PLA007
PLA007 @ Nov 3 11:15 PM
On the unlimited usage plans, they list 5GB Data but that is for broadband. If I am not mistaken, for smartphone they allhave unlimited data, no GB cap. BillShrink.com needs to correct that part of their chart. Its misleading and T-Mobile is not the only one that has it unlimited. VZW, Sprint and AT&T for smartphones, its not capped.
Profile image icon for RevenG101
RevenG101 @ Nov 3 10:44 PM
I notice they didn't use the Even More Plus 79.99 plan for T-Mobile.
Profile image icon for mark3306
mark3306 @ Nov 3 10:13 PM
They should have used the hero to represent sprint for this list. It out performs the pre in camera, storage, apps and voice command while still undercutting the price of the iphone and droid.
Profile image icon for eXPerience333
eXPerience333 @ Nov 5 9:59 PM
It's because the Palm Pre is still sprint's most featured phone. I'd say, it's Sprint's most advertised phone. That's why.

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