David Beren, TmoNews:
Ah T-Mobile, I knew your introductory pricing of $99 down payment wasn’t going to last. As of today, T-Mobile will ask well-qualified customers to drop $149 as their down payment instead of $99 as has been the case since the April 12th launch. I don’t recall anyone or anywhere telling me the $99 price was only good for one month, but in hindsight I should have seen the writing on the wall.
It means that you’re no longer getting a better deal on the iPhone 5 from T-Mobile than you would be getting it unlocked directly from Apple, but it’s still reasonable – you’re now paying the full retail value of the phone over the length of the deal.
It’s actually still a deal if you compare long-term ownership with AT&T. If only T-Mobile had the same level of coverage that AT&T has. Technically, Verizon has the best coverage, but I would be spending about $20 per month with Verizon and therefore AT&T (with my simultaneous voice and data) is more than good enough for me.
Apple asks for the full price which is $500+ so how is this not a better deal still.
Still not unreasonable if they’re your cup of tea