Rumored no 950XL on AT&T!

hnikesch

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re: Rumored no 950XL on AT&T!

My wife just got a 640 XL Lte from ATT and she payed $249 off contract, if she wanted she could have gotten the phone for $0.99 plus $15.00 per month on a 2 year contract that would have cost $360.99 so she saved $111.00 by paying up front and staying off contract. I am using a 640 Lte dual sim that I purchased unlocked online on At&t with only putting in the old sim from my 635 no problems, At&t didn't carry the 640 yet when I got it but I wanted it.
 

Jazmac

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re: Rumored no 950XL on AT&T!

I'll offer some math too. Sales tax rate in this example is 6% and $25/month subsidy cost is based on AT&T mobile share value savings when you use either AT&T Next or bring our own device.

For my AT&T 1520 (32 GB version), the cost at the time was $640. This was in April 2014.

Using AT&T Next - $38.40 up front for sales tax and then $32/month for 20 months. Total cost is $678.40. Paid off in 20 months.

Using 24 month contract, $200+tax=$212, plus $40 upgrade fee=$252. Plus $25/month extra for 24 months is $600, total cost $852.00. Paid off in 24 months.

Using credit card, assuming 18% APR, charge $678.40. Payment approx. $34/month for 24 months, total cost approx $816.

In short, you don't get out of the store with a 500.00 plus phone for 199.99 bucks. It doesn't exist.
 

d33pth0u9ht

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re: Rumored no 950XL on AT&T!

What I don't understand is why people would be upset by this. $600/24mo. comes out to $25/month. ATT charges about that for a subsidized plan today. There is no subsidy, customers are just spreading the payments out over 24 months.

JPDVM2014 stated above in this forum that once his 1520 is paid off next month, then his bill would be reduced from $150 to $120 a month. The reality is that there is no subsidy and we need to be smarter consumers. ATT is getting the entire price of every phone they sell.
 

tmoore71

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AT&T never sold the 925 in their store, at least not here. I got my 925 from AT&T online. Just because they are not carrying a phone in their store does not mean they won't carry it. Let's wait and see.
 

Marquis de Faux

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There aren't Microsoft Stores everywhere. Microsoft better be selling these phones through a lot of places (Walmart, Best Buy, Fry's, etc.) if they want to sell them without going through the carriers.
 

Big Papa Smurf

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Ok, reality check. Lets put this in context, now unless you're referring to the Lumia 640 XL in your example, its about 240 out the door. but even that will be a few bucks a month on contract.
High end phones, 200 bucks? Not even close.
Iphone 6 plus 16 gig, 800.00 plus tax out the door. Iphone 6plus 64 gig, 950 and 128 gig over a grand plus tax, out the door. And its not even on the network yet.
Galaxy 6 edge 64 gig about 700 plus tax. Nexus 6 about 550.
The reason why so many people have smart phones is that most are financed by the carriers. Carriers get stuck with massive amounts of debt because a good chunk of those phones are never paid for. People want them and carriers know this and they want to cash in on your need for "status" so like car companies, they buy them and sell them back to you over time "on contract". What you are paying for is the full retail price for the phone plus fees to the carrier for carrying the note.
The $200 phone is an example... I pulled a random price point out for an imaginary $500 phone. You would pay more over time instead of buying the phone outright... Which was what my math example was all about.
Or you could look at some of these other examples where they used more realistic price points...
 

Lumious

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Id rather have the 950 over the 950XL anyways. The Icon is 5" and that is about right, if the rumored specs of 5.2" for the 950 are true then that size might just be perfect. 5.7" is getting too close to that 6" phablet size of the 1520 and 1320.
 

Maaz Mansori

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AT&T never sold the 925 in their store, at least not here. I got my 925 from AT&T online. Just because they are not carrying a phone in their store does not mean they won't carry it. Let's wait and see.

I actually saw the 925 in an AT&T store shortly after it was released. The 32 GB version of the 1520 was online only though; it was never available at a store as far as I know. I think of this as a wait and see approach though. AT&T will see how the 950 sells and will consider carrying the 950 XL after that, possibly only online but possibly in the stores too.
 

Jazmac

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I actually saw the 925 in an AT&T store shortly after it was released. The 32 GB version of the 1520 was online only though; it was never available at a store as far as I know. I think of this as a wait and see approach though. AT&T will see how the 950 sells and will consider carrying the 950 XL after that, possibly only online but possibly in the stores too.

I could probably rock either the 950 or the 950XL. I lean towards the 950. I've been down the 1520 road and as much as I like it, I simply got used to it. I may not need a phone as large as the XL. But that could change. :)
 

drtek

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AT&T's monthly service is expensive because there is a subsidy built in to the regular service price. If you pay full price for a phone on your own, you're pretty much paying the rate of a subsidy without getting subsidized.

Then add the $15 BYOD fee...

Fortunately, I have a 1020 thru AT&Terrible. I just have to swap out the SIM.
 
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RumoredNow

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What I'd like to know is if an unlocked 950XL will work with AT&T LTE Bands. GSM will work for voice/text but many unlocked phones are stuck with WCDMA/UMTS for data when used with AT&T. This is the case with the 930, for example. My understanding is the unlocked 1520.3 works with AT&T LTE though, but I'm not aware of any other WP models that do. Also I thought I'd mention that PayPal Credit may be an option if you order a phone directly from Microsoft. I've used it on other devices such as the Microsoft Band. They typically give no payment/interest for 6 months if you pay it in full by the deadline but be careful because if you don't they will add the interest for the entire 6 months.

The 930 never got Bands for the US because of that exclusivity Vzw had on the Icon. Exclusivity deals really cripple consumer choice and is a part of the old model that Microsoft most especially needs to avoid. Look what happened:

AT&T gets an exclusive for the 1520 and hamstrings it by yanking Qi and shoving PMA in. Then they rub salt in the wound by halving internal storage. Bye Bye nice flag in the US.

Verizon gets an exclusive on the 930 in the US. Update? What update? Oh that update! (Narrowly avoids pitchfork toting mob of their own customers.) Sure the SIM tray is unlocked. Good luck getting MMS anywhere off Vzw after they finally added their own touch to the firmware they pushed late. Another nice flag trampled in the mud.

AT&T get an exclusive on 830. But wait, every 830 in the world has full denim and Lumia Camera 5 with Rich Capture except the AT&T model and (for IDK what reason) the Argentinian Country Variant. Check the 830 forum, AT&T users with 830 are talking fraud and class action lawsuit.

3 strikes, they should be out. The US carriers are all playing on the same team against YOU the American consumer and they are wiping the field with you. The game is rigged and few enough people on Our team are checking the rule book.

They got you buffaloed Maaz. Please, for your own sake, do some research. The 1520.3 - yep it works on AT&T and ATT mvno, ditto T-Mo + mvno. And if you unlock an AT&T 1520 you can enable the 1700 MHz band on 3G and take that puppy walking over to T-Mo no problem.

There are plenty of Factory Unlocked phones that work perfectly fine on AT&T including LTE. There is a Factory Unlocked 830 (RM-985) that works on AT&T 100% AND has full Denim.

The 640 XL in RM-1045 gets every frequency top to bottom for AT&T, T-Mo and just about anyplace in the world with 13 (yes 13) bands of LTE. Ditto the 640 in RM-1075 every frequency for US GSM and a still impressive 11 bands of LTE for world travel.

Lumia 830 in RM-985 we already mentioned. Full AT&T and only an issue on T-Mo if the area is not refarmed to LTE (and that area is shrinking monthly).

Lumia 735 in RM-1039 is 100% AT&T compatible. It might have a hiccup on T-Mo as band 17 LTE is not quite as broad as band 12, but everything else is a match.

Lumia 435 in RM-1068 is an H+ phone that is full on compatible with AT&T. Likewise the 532 in RM-1032, 100% AT&T ready in an H+ device. Same with the 535 in RM-1092.

How about a BNIB 1320 in RM-995 that is Unlocked and ready for AT&T and T-Mo?

There are more Lumias, I'm tired of digging. Do I need to mention Blu? Unlocked and their track record is that with no firmware they test and OTA fast. Great for slim footprint OS on the phone and commited to updating you...

The phones are out there. You can research them and get them. Don't ever let the US GSM carriers lead you to believe they have the only phones that work on their network. It simply is not true.


If you are ok a carrier and you are happy with them I really see no reason to get a factory unlocked phone. Why?

The only way I would think of is the fact you may want Faster updates

Not just faster, more assured. There are a lot of phones out there which US carriers are not updating when all the other variants around the world have stepped up.
 

Joe Acerbic

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Yes, there are many AT&T and T-Mo compatible Lumias floating around the world. It's just that with Nokia, if you bought a non-USA model for use on a U.S. carrier, you got no support and no warranty if anything went wrong. When the gadget costs $600-$700, that's a consideration.
 

pankaj981

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https://www.bing.com/search?q=phone+...ZI&form=MOZLBR

Yes, there are many AT&T and T-Mo compatible Lumias floating around the world. It's just that with Nokia, if you bought a non-USA model for use on a U.S. carrier, you got no support and no warranty if anything went wrong. When the gadget costs $600-$700, that's a consideration.

You both have a point but the later one does have more weight. The reason one would have to import these phones is due to the carrier exclusivity BS. That needs to stop and MS should start selling phones directly through stores so that the phones and consumers get the treatment they they deserve. Carriers here in the US provide only one year of warranty while in many parts of the world 2 is the norm. There are ton of flaws in the system favoring the carriers to push newer devices quickly after either stopping support or not providing warranty, that needs to change...but that's a different discussion.
 

66stang351

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If you get a subsidized phone on AT&T you pay $25 a month more for your plan...for 2 years...that is $600. So basically whatever down payment the phone requires plus $600 is what you pay.
 

Skamath

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I personally would go for a unlocked phone instead of a "subsidized" phone specifically if it has got a handset installment per month above the plan. I would have to be desperate to go for the latter. I rather go for a outright phone with a prepaid plan which is much more value for money. In the long run it saves you heaps
 

Maaz Mansori

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The 930 never got Bands for the US because of that exclusivity Vzw had on the Icon. Exclusivity deals really cripple consumer choice and is a part of the old model that Microsoft most especially needs to avoid. Look what happened:
Verizon gets an exclusive on the 930 in the US. Update? What update? Oh that update! (Narrowly avoids pitchfork toting mob of their own customers.) Sure the SIM tray is unlocked. Good luck getting MMS anywhere off Vzw after they finally added their own touch to the firmware they pushed late. Another nice flag trampled in the mud.

Wasn't the Icon really a 929 though? I'm not sure that a carrier exclusivity deal would prevent international phones from working on US bands; my understanding is that it prevented another US carrier from carrying the same model phone, at least for a specified amount of time. Once Verizon stopped selling the phone, it should have allowed it to be given to other carriers. It may be more likely that other carriers did not want it.

AT&T gets an exclusive for the 1520 and hamstrings it by yanking Qi and shoving PMA in. Then they rub salt in the wound by halving internal storage. Bye Bye nice flag in the US.
Agreed, although there was a 32 GB version available online for a short period of time; I happen to have one. Your point is still valid though.


They got you buffaloed Maaz. Please, for your own sake, do some research. The 1520.3 - yep it works on AT&T and ATT mvno, ditto T-Mo + mvno. And if you unlock an AT&T 1520 you can enable the 1700 MHz band on 3G and take that puppy walking over to T-Mo no problem.

There are plenty of Factory Unlocked phones that work perfectly fine on AT&T including LTE.

I don't need to re-quote all the details. I get your point but how many people are going to research and order an international version of a phone once they confirm full compatibility? Many people don't have the technical knowledge to even properly figure it out. Furthermore, the cost of unlocked phones is often higher than what the carrier is offering if you buy the phone outright from them (no contract) or go on a 0% interest payment plan. And to top it off, there are also concerns about import taxes and such. Lastly, you also lose the 1 year carrier warranty and have to go through the hassle of having an international warranty honored.

That said, the phones you mentioned either have an AT&T version or another model that would meet the requirements. Back to the topic of the 950XL, if AT&T does not carry it, how many people are really going to go through the hassle and risk of obtaining an international version? Some of us diehard fans might do so but very few others will. If you truly want to bypass the carriers, the phone would have to be widely available in the US elsewhere and advertised as being fully compatible with AT&T and other carriers such as T-Mobile.

I would like a 950XL but depending on price, compatibility, and warranty, I might have to settle for a 950. Or I can wait for the Intel processor phone if it appears the wait won't be too much longer by then.
 

RumoredNow

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Wasn't the Icon really a 929 though? I'm not sure that a carrier exclusivity deal would prevent international phones from working on US bands; my understanding is that it prevented another US carrier from carrying the same model phone, at least for a specified amount of time. Once Verizon stopped selling the phone, it should have allowed it to be given to other carriers. It may be more likely that other carriers did not want it.

Nokia Lumia Icon vs. Nokia Lumia 930 - GSMArena.com

Other than the radio, they are identical. After Vzw was done mucking about with it, then Microsoft was buying up Nokia and that was about the end of that. They just cleared off the drawing boards of designs too far along to really cancel. Point is, since only Vzw could have it in the states they had to design with a more global radio on the 930 and that lets out the US for LTE. By the time any US Unlocked variant could have been offered it was a moot point.

Notice though, if you please, how Verizon had the HSDPA max speed halved so anyone using the unlocked SIM tray would not show up their EV-Do too bad. LOLOLOLOL. This is the kind of shenanigans that carriers perpetrate. HSPA 21.1/5.76 Mbps on a 2014 flagship. Puh-hu-leaze. Could they try any harder to mess over, you, the phone buying public?
 

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