Will we ever be able to buy phones direct from mfg's and/or delete all bloatware?

[eds817]

It looks like the major carriers, at least here in the US are no longer subsidizing phones. I am with AT&T and even though they still offer to subsidize phone with a 2 year contract they are raising the monthly cost which makes it the same as buying under their Next program. If I were to buy a new phone under their Next program I will pay the full price over 24 months. If I want a subsidized phone with a 2 year contract my monthly bill will increase by $25.00 or $600.00 over the 2 years.

To me it's obvious that carriers really don't want to sell hardware and if they have to they want you to pay full price. If this is going to be the norm then why don't the manufacturers just sell them direct. This will give the manufacturer the ability to update devices more quickly and eliminate the carrier bloatware.

If we cannot buy direct and are forced to get devices from the carrier and pay full price then we should be allowed to delete any software (bloatware) we want.

Does anyone have any information about this or in what direction the market will be heading?

Thanks in advance for all comments.

 

[xandros9]

I don't know what you've been seeing but the US market is hooked on subsidized phones.

Worth noting its easy to remove bloatware on Windows Phone. Carrier branding and stuff? not so much though.

But anyways, without carrier support its difficult to sell a phone to people.
I saw a prepaid ad for a Straight Talk iPhone a while back and commenters were wondering why this iPhone was so overpriced. (hint: many believe $200 is the true cost, when its really something like $600-1000. I saw an article wondering why the iPod touch ($230) cost more than an iPhone a long time ago)

Customers go to the carriers to buy the phones too usually. It's going to take a lot of effort to wean people of these low upfront prices.

 

[ajst222]

As far as the bloatware thing goes, just delete it. That's not an issue of any sort that I see. As far as the updates go, it would certainly be nice to see Microsoft update the devices directly like Apple does rather than going through the carriers for the updates.

While I don't use Edge (I'm on Verizon), even though you're paying for the full price of the phone over x amount of months, you're saving money on your bill when you do that. Verizon and AT&T I know discount either $15 or $25 off of your bill (determined by how much data you purchase) if you're on Edge or Next. You also have the ability to upgrade sooner after you pay off usually 50% of the phone. So it would still make a lot more sense than buying direct from the manufacturer.

I don't think buying direct from the manufacturer would be a successful model. People see a $649 price tag...they don't buy it. But then they see $27 a month for 24 months with the ability to upgrade sooner with a discount on their phone bill and they take it. It's a good deal for a lot of people. For the rest of the people, they have the 2 year contract. People like discounts.

 

[xandros9]

People like discounts.

Even when it's not

 

[ajst222]

Even when it's not

But they THINK it's a discount when it comes to Edge and Next, and that's all that matters! As long as it sounds better than $649.99

The two year agreement discount is something that Americans at least have grown accustomed to, which is actually a discount. People aren't going to go from that to the off contract price just to get rid of bloatware. I would assume a lot of consumers don't even care about it. And I don't feel many seem to know or care too much about updates unless they're techies like us, or if it's just Apple releasing their yearly iOS update

 

[PepperdotNet]

Seems the closest you can get to this currently is the 1520.3 imported gray market, or the 1020 unbranded from MS Store.

Microsoft could sell an unlocked unbranded regional variant of every phone that supports every carrier frequency in North America.* They could even offer a payment plan. That would be a good start.

People like "us" who want high end phones would just use a credit card anyway and pay it off however fast or slow we choose. I'm guessing most of those who typically end up with the two year contract would actually be satisfied with a lower-end phone where the full price is actually under $200. Especially if the "look and feel" are just as good as the $200 plus 2-years payments iPhone or Galaxy. I have no doubt that Microsoft could make such a phone.

*Actually, if Microsoft made one phone, with top specs and a radio that supported every carrier worldwide, the as-yet nonexistent 000-88 variant, I would buy it.

 

[metalchick719]

If you're a Windows Phone user, you should know that you can delete any carrier apps from your phone. Android is the problem when it comes to not being able to remove them.

 

[eds817]

If you're a Windows Phone user, you should know that you can delete any carrier apps from your phone. Android is the problem when it comes to not being able to remove them.

I'm new to Windows phone and still learning.Thanks for the info.

 

[RumoredNow]

Consumers have long had Factory Unlocked phones to choose from and purchase. Most don't want to pay the full purchase price and are also unsure of how to pick the correct phone/variant to function on the network of their choice. Add in carrier exclusive Apps (those that only work on Branded devices like WiFi Calling and SoftCard) and most customers simply go to their carrier when it is time for a new phone.