T-Mobile GALAXY S 4 aims to undercut competition through July
It's not that T-Mobile will stop trying to compete with Verizon and AT&T when July comes, but here in the first few warm weeks of summer the pink carrier will make a move on one of the most popular out-the-gate Android smartphones of the year with a unique proposal. While earlier this year it was apparent that T-Mobile wasn't going to take their fourth place standing in the USA-based mobile carriers race as long as they could help it, it would appear that it didn't just end with the iPhone 5. Here T-Mobile has made the case for the Samsung GALAXY S 4 as well.
What you're going to be seeing here in the period between now (June 12th) and the 13th of July is T-Mobile knocking out the cost of the GALAXY S 4 as well as the Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S III. While the GALAXY S 4 will cost users $99.99 up front, the Note II $169.99 up front, and the Galaxy S III $49.99 up front, each of them will also have payments for two years from that point forward. This is part of T-Mobile's continued efforts with "Simple Choice" plans as they call them, making the actual cost of smartphones and tablets a bit more apparent than the competition.
While you pay a certain amount of cash up front for any smartphone or tablet, there's a certain sort of deal that goes on with most mobile carriers when you buy them "on contract". If you've got the standard 2-year contract on a smartphone or tablet, you'll likely pay several hundred dollars less than if you'd buy it "off contract". The extra cost is then transferred to your monthly bill mixed in with your base cost for data, talk, text, service, all that good stuff – it's essentially invisible.
T-Mobile's approach has you paying a different amount – not always less or more than the competition – but makes it a bit easier to see. When you pay $99.99 for the Samsung GALAXY S 4 then follow up with 24 payments of $20, you're actually paying a total of $480, which is still a mighty bit better than the off-contract price for this same device on the other carriers: right around $639.99 – depending on your choice of carriers, of course.
So have a bit of a think on that one. And have a peek at SlashGear's Samsung GALAXY S 4 review to see what this device is all about if you're not already in the know.