FOXNews.com: 2-Minute expert: Can I get a smartphone without a contract?

FOXNews.com FOX News Network - We Report. You Decide. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

2-Minute expert: Can I get a smartphone without a contract? May 19th 2012, 12:00 Taxes, dental exams, cellphone contracts — things you hate but can't avoid. Actually, you can skip the last one. The subsidized price of a fancy phone (sometimes a third or less of what it costs otherwise) is the golden handcuff that holds you in a contract. But with prices on good smartphones dropping and plenty of used smartphones for sale, BYOD — bring your own device — is now an option. Don't wireless providers require contracts? Not always. In fact, there is a whole class of "no-contract" (sometimes called "prepaid") providers such as Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. Both have solid national coverage at rates about half those of contract plans (unlimited calling, texting and data at $55 per month on Boost, for example). Major carriers like Verizon also have no-contract options. You have to buy the phone outright, but respectable Android smartphones, for example, range from $200 to $300 — not much more than with a contract, and an amount you would soon save in lower monthly bills. At the end of May, Virgin is introducing superfast "4G" wireless service with the HTC EVO V 4G. (Yes, that's a lot of letters!) It has high-end features that include a 4.3-inch screen, the latest "Ice Cream Sandwich" version of Android and even a 3D camera, for $300. What if I want a bigger selection? You can buy the latest and greatest outright and put it on some networks, often with 4G service. Verizon, for example, sells its Droid 4 (a 4G phone) for $550. Or buy direct from the maker. Apple iPhones range from $375 for an 8GB iPhone 3Gs (a new device, but with 2009 technology) to $650 for a 16GB iPhone 4s. Samsung's new Galaxy Nexus Android phone is $400. Not cheap, but in exchange for the higher price of the phone, you can leave the carrier at any time without an early termination fee (up to $350). And you can sell the phone through a service such as uSell.com (for example, that iPhone 4s currently fetches up to $315). You can also buy used. On eBay, a used iPhone 4 (16GB) sells for about $275 and an iPhone 4s goes for about $400 to $500. The popular Samsung Galaxy S II Android phone is around $300. Can I take a phone from one carrier to the next? Sometimes. Sprint and Verizon accept only new or used phones made for their networks. With AT&T and T-Mobile, you can often buy a SIM card to activate a phone on either carrier's network. (This is currently the only way to use an iPhone with T-Mobile.) You can often install SIMs from international carriers when you travel. If you frequently go abroad, savings on international roaming could make up for buying a phone outright. But the phone has to be "unlocked." That's rare for models originally bought on contract (though AT&#T now unlocks iPhones at the end of a contract). Phones bought new from the makers, such as the iPhone and Galaxy Nexus, are generally unlocked. For a small fee from Web services, you can get a code and instructions to unlock a BlackBerry. 5 Steps to Cut Cable and Enjoy TV for Half the Price 2-Minute Expert: What are No-Contract Smartphones? Best Smartphone with Keyboard: Motorola Droid 4

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions