News

Comes With a Ribbon, but No Strings
02 Dec 2008

CHOOSING the right cellphone to give can be difficult, but once that choice is made, there’s another big issue to consider: How to get the discounted price for a phone without committing the gift-getter to a long-term contract.

It isn’t easy. Because carriers save their hottest phones for those who agree to a one- or two-year service plan, getting a reasonable price usually means settling for a bare-bones handset with a relatively expensive pay-as-you-go calling plan.

The industry just doesn’t seem interested in unencumbered gift purchases. “This is a big reason why we don’t see big spikes in cellphone sales in the fourth quarter like we do in other categories of consumer electronics,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at the NPD Group. “Wireless companies are just so focused on the contract.”

There are exceptions, though some of them involve patience and a willingness to haggle.

Although most prepaid calling plans come with dull entry-level phones that do little more than place and receive calls, some carriers have kicked them up a notch. T-Mobile recently began offering a prepaid starter plan that works with the Sidekick, whose slide-out keyboard, built-in camera, stereo audio, Web browser, instant-messaging and interchangeable color shells are popular with the text-messaging generation. It sells for $250.

Similarly, Virgin Mobile has a prepaid package for its Shuttle phone, with a slide-out keypad, video-streaming, location services, a camera and 3G network downloading speed. It also has a prepaid option for its Wild Card, with features similar to the popular LG enV including a clamshell design with a keyboard inside, two color screens, Bluetooth stereo audio and a camera. The Shuttle is $100. The Wild Card is $90.

There are also inexpensive options for the friend or family member who needs a device only for text-messaging and sending and receiving e-mail messages. , for example, offers the Peek, a thin device with a full keyboard, like a BlackBerry, but no phone. It sells for $100 plus $20 a month for the service, which has no contract and runs over the T-Mobile network.

“These are second devices, yes, but they’re good, particularly if you have someone who may not be an advanced consumer,” Mr. Rubin said. “They’re easy to use.”

If you are a longtime subscriber to a particular service, you may be able to negotiate a better price for a gift phone than the one the carrier advertises.

Verizon Wireless, for example, will sometimes agree to sell a phone at the discounted price and allow a delay before it is activated, said Brenda Raney, a spokeswoman for the company.

But there is a catch: If the device is not activated in the allotted time, the full retail price is charged to the purchaser’s credit card, Ms. Raney said.

With many other carriers the process is less formal. Mr. Rubin advises gift-givers to ask their carriers directly.

Source: nytimes.com