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I bought my Vibrant about a year ago with the $25/month using the credit I had with them...Do they still do that? Because lately I keep seeing that you have to put like 300 down plus the payment. I only paid like 79 to cover the tax on the price of the phone and first months payment....
Anyone do it this way? Or have things changed?
Sent from my T959 using XDA App
Yea I got mine on the installment plan but you have to have one of their newer plans.
So u extended contract?...im talking about buying at full price no contract ext and keep my 69/mo unlimited talk text web
Sent from my T959 using XDA App
I did the Value Plan, but you have to pay the downpayment of $260 and then it's $15/mo for 20 mo or something. I don't think they have any plans w/o a downpayment any more.
You can still do a "classic" plan, there is no down payment, or any payments anymore, just the single time subsidized cost of the phone... however, the "classic" plans are more expensive...
That being said, I bought the phone outright, I have a friend that works at a T-Mo retail store, she ordered it with her discount that she gets 2x a year since I fixed her laptop a few months ago. $325 after tax
accordex said:
So u extended contract?...im talking about buying at full price no contract ext and keep my 69/mo unlimited talk text web
Sent from my T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can buy a phone at full cost at any time. No matter what your plan is. It only extends contract if you change anything... like the plan, some features, etc...
I live in Boston and bought the amaze full price and I got the $60 prepaid unlimited Talk text and 2gb of internet. This is worth it trust me. They also got a $50 plan but the only thing is they offer only 100mb. That beast would burn through that in a few days not even.
Everything came up to after tax and the first month you gotta pay upfront too. $658.78
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda premium
Well I was at a store. This is what I was planning to do. I did get a 'value' plan contract so have to pay full price. value plan has $49.99 unlimited everything.
so TMO is willing to finance % free up to $300.00. Then the rest you have to down-payment. So Amaze is $270 and GS2 is $230 down payment. probably taxes are extra so i'd guess taxes on $570 is maybe $40? I did not go through with it so that would probably be $310 charged to my card. What else? $35 phone activation fee?
True and not true... There is an $18 "upgrade fee" (ahemm BULL****) *cough cough* that they have added to anyone that has stayed on the classic plan
Oh and let's not all forget about the $50 migration fee if you DO choose the new "value" plan.
God do I HATE big business/mega corporations.
/rant
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda premium
jmhalder said:
You can still do a "classic" plan, there is no down payment, or any payments anymore, just the single time subsidized cost of the phone... however, the "classic" plans are more expensive...
That being said, I bought the phone outright, I have a friend that works at a T-Mo retail store, she ordered it with her discount that she gets 2x a year since I fixed her laptop a few months ago. $325 after tax
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotta love it when karma comes back around in a good way
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda premium
Notice Of Administrative Charge Increase
Effective 1/1/2012, the monthly Verizon Wireless Administrative Charge for voice and email plans will increase from $0.83 to $0.99 per line for all eligible customers. The charge for Mobile Broadband customers will remain at $.06. For information regarding this charge, call 1-888-684-1888. Please consult your Customer Agreement for information about rate changes.
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Click to collapse
Will this make us eligible to terminate our contract without an ETF and go month to month? I would definitely be interested in re-signing a new contract for another phone.
They did this back in 2008 to the same fee and it was possible to cancel. Actually getting to Verizon to do it is a different story.
http://consumerist.com/2008/04/esca...-based-on-administrative-charge-increase.html
Well my question more specifically is...can I basically end my 2 year contractual commitment and go month to month due to this change? Or do I have to cancel completely and move to another carrier?
I have no desire to break my contract but I wouldn't mind getting them to offer me some freebies to not do it.
On the other hand, if I got out of the contract and something happened to my phone I could get a new one at a reasonable price so it could be my insurance. Hmmm...
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk
feralicious said:
I have no desire to break my contract but I wouldn't mind getting them to offer me some freebies to not do it.
On the other hand, if I got out of the contract and something happened to my phone I could get a new one at a reasonable price so it could be my insurance. Hmmm...
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
That's exactly what I'm interested in. I'm wondering if it will basically let me get a new phone at a subsidized price anytime I want since I'm off contract. Essentially an upgrade available immediately for me.
You would probably lose your unlimited data and get on the 2/4Gb plan.... by having to start a new month to month contract.
Cares said:
That's exactly what I'm interested in. I'm wondering if it will basically let me get a new phone at a subsidized price anytime I want since I'm off contract. Essentially an upgrade available immediately for me.
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Click to collapse
Month-to-month customers rarely get discounted devices. Generally you will have to pay full price for a new phone. It wouldn't be worth it. And I agree that you would lose your unlimited data that way. On the other hand, if you break your contract, you could possibly come back in a week or so and sign up for a new one to get a discounted phone.
WasabiWa83 said:
Month-to-month customers rarely get discounted devices. Generally you will have to pay full price for a new phone. It wouldn't be worth it. And I agree that you would lose your unlimited data that way. On the other hand, if you break your contract, you could possibly come back in a week or so and sign up for a new one to get a discounted phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what I meant. Stay month-to-month until a new phone comes out and resign a 2 year for a fully subsidized line.
If you break contract you are at the will of Verzion. If they decide they want to raise your price, reduce your data, etc, they can do it. The only thing keeping you in the plan you have now is the fact they have to honor their end of the deal too.
I will try this tonight. I have a line that I keep suspended, so this would be a great out for me.
H3Dude said:
You would probably lose your unlimited data and get on the 2/4Gb plan.... by having to start a new month to month contract.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And there it is who would want to be on a more expensive data plan.
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WasabiWa83 said:
Month-to-month customers rarely get discounted devices. Generally you will have to pay full price for a new phone. It wouldn't be worth it. And I agree that you would lose your unlimited data that way. On the other hand, if you break your contract, you could possibly come back in a week or so and sign up for a new one to get a discounted phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which is only a slight discount from buying it outright in the beginning.
VZW charges $299 for these devices with a $350 ETF that drops $10 a month. Same $649 either way - you're just paying for your freedom in advance.
Superguy said:
Which is only a slight discount from buying it outright in the beginning.
VZW charges $299 for these devices with a $350 ETF that drops $10 a month. Same $649 either way - you're just paying for your freedom in advance.
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Click to collapse
But we're talking about getting to break the contract without the ETF and we already have a phone. So I paid 1 penny for my phone and am on a 2 year contract. If I got out of contract and went month to month without the ETF and lose my phone then it will only cost me $150 to get a new phone with a new contract at Amazon or Wirefly. I don't know why people pay more and buy at Verizon.
The issue would be what they would charge you for a plan month to month - or if they even offer that option, they might just say see ya - and if you keep unlimited data if you already have it.
Regardless of who you buy your phone from, in the end we'll all be dealing with Verizon in the end. The .01 Rezound was a deal for new customers only/new lines only I believe. I'm not going to buy from wirefly or any of those retailers. I don't think Costco reduces the price of the phone too much when it first comes out. I do know they generally offer nice bundles for pretty much the same price though. With my company I do get more $ off my devices ranging from $50 - $100. Not sure if other places can apply that discount or not. Imo I don't see what the big deal is from such a minuscule bump in price. When we signed up with Verizon we all knew we were going to pay the highest rates already to begin with. Slight price increase with the 4-5 years I've been with them, I frankly could care less. You pay what you get for imo. If you people want to terminate and sign back up to get a subsidized phone you can try. I'm pretty sure they have some policy or regulation in place that will prevent such scenario. Well! Good luck to those that decide to go down this path.
feralicious said:
But we're talking about getting to break the contract without the ETF and we already have a phone. So I paid 1 penny for my phone and am on a 2 year contract. If I got out of contract and went month to month without the ETF and lose my phone then it will only cost me $150 to get a new phone with a new contract at Amazon or Wirefly. I don't know why people pay more and buy at Verizon.
The issue would be what they would charge you for a plan month to month - or if they even offer that option, they might just say see ya - and if you keep unlimited data if you already have it.
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Click to collapse
since you haven't had your rezound for 6 months, amazon would charge you their ETF. When they don't get their monthly commision for your line, they will come after you.
nrfitchett4 said:
since you haven't had your rezound for 6 months, amazon would charge you their ETF. When they don't get their monthly commision for your line, they will come after you.
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Not true. I work at Best Buy mobile. We get payed by Verizon as long as they sign there contract and don't return and cancel with in 14 days. I assume this is the same at Verizon.
zetsumeikuro said:
Regardless of who you buy your phone from, in the end we'll all be dealing with Verizon in the end. The .01 Rezound was a deal for new customers only/new lines only I believe. I'm not going to buy from wirefly or any of those retailers. I don't think Costco reduces the price of the phone too much when it first comes out. I do know they generally offer nice bundles for pretty much the same price though. With my company I do get more $ off my devices ranging from $50 - $100. Not sure if other places can apply that discount or not. Imo I don't see what the big deal is from such a minuscule bump in price. When we signed up with Verizon we all knew we were going to pay the highest rates already to begin with. Slight price increase with the 4-5 years I've been with them, I frankly could care less. You pay what you get for imo. If you people want to terminate and sign back up to get a subsidized phone you can try. I'm pretty sure they have some policy or regulation in place that will prevent such scenario. Well! Good luck to those that decide to go down this path.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty sure the 1 penny deal was for any new contract, existing customers or new, but that's neither here nor there. I only brought up the price I paid cuz the poster I was responding to was adding up costs.
As to the additional costs, I could care less about pennies more per month, but if it creates a way to lose the 2 year commitment that would be cool since that would allow me to replace the phone for only $149 if something should happen to it. Most likely I won't do anything about it, I'll wait and see if anyone else reports back successfully. I've already had so much good luck getting this phone I may be pushing things. I got refunded $199.98 from Amazon when it went on sale, ordered it with the mhs to get the Amazon $100 gift card for which I found no fine print stating I had to keep it for any length of time, then found the unlimited data plan trick so bumped up my mhs to unlimited to get that. I really needed a new phone too so I made out like a bandit! Oh, and moms got me a 64gb card for xmas (she actually thought it was a boring gift, lol). Now I just have to get brave enough to root.
nrfitchett4 said:
since you haven't had your rezound for 6 months, amazon would charge you their ETF. When they don't get their monthly commision for your line, they will come after you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought about that, but if Verizon is the one breaking the terms perhaps there's an out and they would be held responsible. However, I suppose they would just subsidize that pennies per month cost to keep the contract valid if it came to that.
I just thought of this.
I'm on a 4 person family plan all with unlimited data. The 3 other people are willing to give up unlimited but I'm not. I'm willing to pay full price for my phone but I figured out a way to get it for cheaper.
Open a 5th line for $9.99 per month. Use this line's upgrade every 20 months. Swap the upgraded phone with a spare feature phone.
$9.99 x 20 (cost to maintain 5th line) = $200
$250 (subsidized phone after taxes)
= $450
Paying $450 vs $650 for full retail would be a $200 savings. Better than nothing right?
Yes but you would have to have data on that line also for a bit, then dump the data and keep a dumbphone activated
couchmonkey said:
Yes but you would have to have data on that line also for a bit, then dump the data and keep a dumbphone activated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can just keep data for 1 day and dump it...and that's where the $9.99 x20 comes in. Keeping it activated for 20 months.
The problem is, as soon as you upgraded that line, forcing a new contract, they could, conceivably, seeing as you would be out of contract on the rest of your lines, force you out of unlimited.
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Cares said:
I can just keep data for 1 day and dump it...and that's where the $9.99 x20 comes in. Keeping it activated for 20 months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the past I was able to activated the phone without adding data on my second line/dumbphone line. question so do they charge partial month for 1 day of data?
Damasterjj said:
In the past I was able to activated the phone without adding data on my second line/dumbphone line. question so do they charge partial month for 1 day of data?
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good question, I kept data on that line for a month just to be sure I wouldn't have any issues.
Also, if you are going to go this route, better off waiting for big deals like amazon's 1 penny deal.
nrfitchett4 said:
good question, I kept data on that line for a month just to be sure I wouldn't have any issues.
Also, if you are going to go this route, better off waiting for big deals like amazon's 1 penny deal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will charge you for that half of day so like a dollar
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If you buy off of Amazon it has to remain on the upgraded line for 181 days or they charge you $250. FYI
Sent from my Rezound
Droc1983 said:
If you buy off of Amazon it has to remain on the upgraded line for 181 days or they charge you $250. FYI
Sent from my Rezound
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
umm, no they don't. Bought several phones off of amazon, as long as the line stays active, they don't know what you are doing on it. They get a commision based of selling you the line.
I've bought 5 phones on amazon and swapped them between lines and put a dumb phone on one of the lines a month after I got it. No fees.
That's my plan and it'll work don't let people BS you and say it won't. People trollen around because their not unlimited.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
I'm a bit confused. I thought that after 06/28/2012, if you upgrade a phone thats on a family plan, with a new one at a subsidized price they force you and all lines in the shared plan to move to the new shared data plans.
That would technically screw the other people with unlimited data on the family share plan. Verizon might be able to get away with this because you have to sign a new contract for the upgrade. This contract would override any previous ones.
I could be completely wrong but I thought the reason you could keep unlimited data if you paid full price for a new phone is you don't sign a new 2 year service contract. Basically if you pay full price for a phone Verizon could care less if you even activate it. Not that a sane person would do this but you could go into a store, pay full retail for a phone and smash it with a hammer right there on the sales counter.
Am I completely missing something?
Another thing I can't figure out are people not in a family share plan. If someone only has 1 line with unlimited data, how can they force you into the new plans if you upgrade your phone at the subsidized price? You can't share data without having another phone.
I believe that after the 28th any line change, other than a device change for warranty or full retail purchase will require a new contract, therefore removing unlimited on all lines.
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merlin66676 said:
I believe that after the 28th any line change, other than a device change for warranty or full retail purchase will require a new contract, therefore removing unlimited on all lines.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They can't do that though without letting you out of your contracts. Each line has its own contract.
Interesting topic here. I was thinking of something similar the other day. Definitely keeping up with this thread!
Cares said:
I just thought of this.
I'm on a 4 person family plan all with unlimited data. The 3 other people are willing to give up unlimited but I'm not. I'm willing to pay full price for my phone but I figured out a way to get it for cheaper.
Open a 5th line for $9.99 per month. Use this line's upgrade every 20 months. Swap the upgraded phone with a spare feature phone.
$9.99 x 20 (cost to maintain 5th line) = $200
$250 (subsidized phone after taxes)
= $450
Paying $450 vs $650 for full retail would be a $200 savings. Better than nothing right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't forget about the taxes and other charges on the line. I have around an additional $8-$9 in taxes and other fees on that line.
My plan was that since my sister has the 2 GB data plan that if I ever had an upgrade in the future, I could give her mine and then buy the phone with her line, then just put my SIM in it. I still keep my unlimited and get the subsidized Price
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA
You don't have to keep data activated at all. They don't require it, yet. I did this with an upgrade to the Tbolt for the reasons you said. Heck, if you buy the phone 250 then pay the 350 ETF you still come out ahead of paying full comp.(albeit not by much.) The actual line charge ends up being about ~14 a month. so really 280 instead of 200. But that being said, its still cheaper than the full retail way. I had the money to buy the Tbolt outright, but I still did it that way because it was cheaper.
1454 said:
You don't have to keep data activated at all. They don't require it, yet. I did this with an upgrade to the Tbolt for the reasons you said. Heck, if you buy the phone 250 then pay the 350 ETF you still come out ahead of paying full comp.(albeit not by much.) The actual line charge ends up being about ~14 a month. so really 280 instead of 200. But that being said, its still cheaper than the full retail way. I had the money to buy the Tbolt outright, but I still did it that way because it was cheaper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean you do not have to keep data activated at all? Are you saying there's a way around paying for data for a smartphone?
z0mghii said:
What do you mean you do not have to keep data activated at all? Are you saying there's a way around paying for data for a smartphone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, just on the new line. She never activated data on my "new" line when I bought the thunderbolt. She just activated the sim to my current number and I put it in. Which now, if I did it again, I wouldn't even have to get a new sim. She, the VZW rep, just activated an old Krzr I had on the last line and it is still there without ever having data activated on that line. I was saying that I was never charged extra for not having data on that "new" line even though I used it to buy a "smartphone".
z0mghii said:
What do you mean you do not have to keep data activated at all? Are you saying there's a way around paying for data for a smartphone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He means putting a dumb phone on that line that doesn't use data. Then you just pay the line fee of 10 bucks a month.
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I wasn't sure if I should have posted this in the Q&A or not but decided to throw it into the General section since it is not directly related to the Thunderbolt. Just wanted to hear from my fellow Thunderbolt owners.
So onto the question...
Has anyone upgraded their device through Amazon Wireless and what was their experience? Is there any benefit to do it through Amazon (except for the price of the device) vs Verizon?
I've always gone through the Verizon store but Amazon is offering a better price on the phone.
You will have two disconnect fees if you might cancel later on. One with Amazon and one with Verizon. Other than that, I would always upgrade someone other than Verizon.
TheBeardedMann said:
You will have two disconnect fees if you might cancel later on. One with Amazon and one with Verizon. Other than that, I would always upgrade someone other than Verizon.
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Click to collapse
+1. I did best buy. Their warranty program is a lot better than what you can get through vzw...
LeftyGR said:
+1. I did best buy. Their warranty program is a lot better than what you can get through vzw...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I seriously considered Best Buy. Amazon's price was just too good though.
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda app-developers app
I upgraded through Letstalk.com, stumbled across a coupon code and got my thunderbolt $150, it was May and I believe they came out in March, Verizon was still selling them for $250 at the time.
was a good experience and they overnighted if for free.
Sent from my IdeaTabS2110AF using Tapatalk 2
There's a deal for getting the Droid DNA at 100$ via upgrade on Amazon right now (50 for new contract)
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I went through Amazon to get a Note 2. Their price was really good.
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I'm assuming that getting an upgrade price through amazon still makes you lose unlimited data....
Sent from my Sense 4 ICS NuBolt, powered by Santod
arizonaomnia said:
I'm assuming that getting an upgrade price through amazon still makes you lose unlimited data....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup.... any discounted upgrade price gets rid of unlimited.
2 options to keep it, first is 100% successful second not so much.
1) Buy at full price and stay off contract.
2) Add a new line and get a new phone with it, activate a dumb phone on the line instead and drop the data package, costs 10$ a month for the new line. This one might not work for long.
option 2
Milimbar said:
Yup.... any discounted upgrade price gets rid of unlimited.
2 options to keep it, first is 100% successful second not so much.
1) Buy at full price and stay off contract.
2) Add a new line and get a new phone with it, activate a dumb phone on the line instead and drop the data package, costs 10$ a month for the new line. This one might not work for long.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if I understand 1. buy the new phone. 2. When it arrives from Amazon don't use that phone to activate but some other dumb phone and drop data after turning on? 3. Take old sim out of Thunderbolt and use that in new phone from Amazon.
So the requirement to get a smartphone plan from Amazon is not required to meet the terms of the new phone agreement to not get dinged by the cancel fees?
I'm on Verizon obviously and I was lucky enough (at the time) to have been grandfathered into that 1400 minute plan with unlimited data. We have two phones, HTC Rezound(mine) and a Motorola DX2(wife), both do for upgrades in August. I'm probably going to wait until some new phones come out, nothing I see entices me right now.
Down to the point, how can we upgrade without losing our unlimited data? What are our options, any way to get around this? My wife is dying for a new phone, here DX2 is 2 years old and falling apart plus I'd love to get away from HTC. I appreciate any help with this.
Really the only way is to buy a phone off-contract.
Yeah as far as buying new, either catch a sale right around launch and buy it retail or wait until the phones been out a few months or so until they're cheaper than the retail price at online auctions or classified listing.
Or you can add a new line and get a new phone. Then swap Sims and activate an old dumb phone on the new line which allows you to not have to pay the $30 smartphone package. Ends up costing about 12-15 after the 9.99 monthly charge with taxes and usage fees added on.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta
I guess you have to buy one off contract. Swappa is great for buying gently used phones. Or you could buy a Nexus 4 or Nexus 5 when it comes out.
GrayTheWolf said:
Really the only way is to buy a phone off-contract.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This
#BlameAnt
Can I at least pay monthly if I need to pay full price? I really don't want to leave VZW but $1200 for knew phones is crazy.
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xXezmacXx said:
Can I at least pay monthly if I need to pay full price? I really don't want to leave VZW but $1200 for knew phones is crazy.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am pretty sure they will let you spread out payments.
GrayTheWolf said:
I am pretty sure they will let you spread out payments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Too bad I can threaten them by leaving and going to tmo or sprint lol. I also saw a post a while back that someone went to Costco or a similar store like them and the rep at the kiosk gave him the 2yr upgrade price and kept his unl data. I wish I could find it.
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xXezmacXx said:
Too bad I can threaten them by leaving and going to tmo or sprint lol. I also saw a post a while back that someone went to Costco or a similar store like them and the rep at the kiosk gave him the 2yr upgrade price and kept his unl data. I wish I could find it.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I remember that thread he got it by transferring the upgrade from one line to his or something. I think that's what happened.
Right now I'm on the old Nationwide Family Talk & Text plan. We have 2 phones; 1400 min, unlimited data and text. My girlfriend and I don't even come close to 1400. I took a screenshot of my data usage and my gf's from the vzw app. I believe it shows that I used over 5gb for this billing period so far? Am I able to see last months total data usage online? My 3yr old uses my phone a lot so I'm worried about tier data plans. Oh and we pay about $175 a month for this plan for two phones which is insane
I think these are all of my options? Which do you feel is the best for me in the long run?
A. Pay full retail for two new phones and use the monthly payment plan so I can keep my unlimited data?
B. Switch to a data tier plan and drop unlimited so I can get the 2yr phone discount prices?
C. Wait until Dec when my contract is done and then switch to another carrier?
D. Try and find a use phone on Craigslist?
Right now I have a Rezound (used from Asurion) and my GF has a cracked DX2. Where looking at maybe the S4 or a 5s when it comes out. We always wanted to try iPhones.
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