New Mobile for a Reasonable Price!

• 

  p1 ama on 12/07/2015 - 21:32

  +2

  $260 + 12 * 24 = $548
  35 * 24 = $840

  Is having the Xperia worth ~$300 to you?

  Technical note,

  I'm an economist, so if you want to actually figure out how much the values actually are, you have to calculate the present values of the annuities. Assuming an opportunity cost of capital of 3% (approx. bank savings) p.a. compounded monthly (nominal), then the PVs are:

  Think Mobile: 12 x a_(24:0.03/12) + 260 = $539.19
  Virgin Mobile: 35 x a_(24:0.03/12) = $814.31

  So work out whether having the Xperia is worth the difference to you.

  • 

    Beejay on 12/07/2015 - 21:49

    Thanks for the calcs! Yeah for the extra ~$300 (over the course of 24 months) I would be getting:
    * A better phone
    * Local Warranty
    * Some extra calls/data on the Virgin Plan
    * The bonus of not having to absorb the ~$260 for the Jiayu S3 upfront

    When I write it like that the Xperia does look a bit more appealing, especially if something were to break on the Jiayu.

    • 

      Beejay on 12/07/2015 - 23:47

      But then again, the Xperia is ~150% the total cost of the Jiayu.

    • 

      p1 ama on 13/07/2015 - 01:40

      The bonus of being able to pay for the Xperia over 24 months and not having to absorb the $260 upfront cost for the Jiayu phone is the reason why the second calculation differs from the first.

      The first calculation assumes that all payments are made now (i.e. you can either just pay $548 and get the Jiayu and 24 months of Think Mobile, OR, you can pay $840 and get the Xperia and 24 months of Virgin Mobile).

      The second calculation takes into account the fact that they payments are made at different times. Since money you don't have to pay now can be put in a savings account earning interest, of course, the more you can delay your payments, the less the cost actually is to you. That's why the the Jiayu option went down much less than the Xperia.

      Anyway, that's just all technical and probably not that relevant to you because we're talking about such a small difference. Maybe someone who's used these phones or actually knows a lot about phones can help - I'm not too much of a phone person.

    • 

      elusive on 13/07/2015 - 15:54

      You also generally get better OS upgrade support from big manufacturers. Dunno how Sony is, though - I think they were quite delayed, but the random Chinese brands often just drop support as soon as the phone is released.

      Also keep in mind that the Virgin plan would lock you in a contract - if you ever feel you need to change plans, you no longer have that option (without paying a lot).

• 

  Falchoon on 13/07/2015 - 09:23

  I have a pre-paid android Samsung Galaxy Trend plus for <$100 and pay $30 a month and basically get "free" calls/txts and data (up to a limit) with Telstra. There are other different pre-paid plans depending on what your needs are.

• 

  lost69 on 14/07/2015 - 06:59

  -1

  Who needs a smartphone? $10 Telstra Cruise, $30 pre-paid long life for 6 months. Have people call you, not the other way round. Some random junk China phone that won't get updates and barely gets any support vs an overpriced smartphone. Hmmm choices choices.

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  knaff on 14/07/2015 - 10:13

  If you can stretch it to $40 a month you can get a S5 or G3 with 1.5gb data