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T-Mobile confirms leaked Galaxy S III pricing; Most expensive new-on-contract SGS3 option in the U.S.

Posted Jun 21 2012 by Dustin Karnes in  with 16 Comments



If you’re on T-Mobile, you may not be too excited to hear the latest pricing confirmation from your carrier. The expensive pricing that was leaked out is confirmed, and you’ll be coughing up a lot of dough.

Available with a qualifying Value voice and data plan with a two year service agreement, the Galaxy S III will cost an out-of-pocket down payment of $229.99 (16GB) or $279.99 (32GB) with 20 equal monthly payments of $20 per month via T-Mobile’s Equipment Installment Plan (EIP).

Also offered with a qualifying Classic voice and data plan, the Galaxy S III will cost $279.99 (16GB) after a $50 mail-in-rebate card or $329.99 (32GB) after a $50 mail-in-rebate card with a two-year service agreement.

That makes the SGS3, at minimum, $30 more expensive than it is with any other U.S. carrier. Not to mention the fact that you’re also looking at this being the cost after a $50 mail in rebate if you’re on a classic voice and data plan, making your out of pocket $329.99 for a 16GB and $379.99 for a 32GB.

Worth the price? let us know in the comments.

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About the Author

Dustin KarnesDustin Karnes is a technology fan and Android fanatic. He fills his days with enterprise level tech support, and free time with Android news and reviews, and occasionally takes a peek at the world outside his window long enough to see the sun. His articles have been featured on many Android / Technology sites, and he runs an HTC Evo 3D, rooted and running any number of custom ROMs. He is a husband to a wonderful wife and father to two beautiful girls, and resides in Houston, TX.View all posts by Dustin Karnes →

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  • Yusef Hassan

    Pretty upset about this. I have been looking forward to this phone for a while and now I am not even thinking about it…at least not with t-mo. It makes me want to switch carriers but I won’t get nearly as good of a deal as I am with t-mo. Tough decision…

    • yippiedad

      If you forgot the math you learned in school then yes, it seems that T-Mobile is more expensive than the competition. But subsidizing cost has to be calculated over the whole contract period – so let’s compare the cost over two years:
      ATT: S3 subsidized ($199.99) + unlimited minutes ($69.99/month), text ($20/month) and 5GB data ($50/month) = $3,559.75 after two years and thereafter $139.99/month.
      T-Mobile (Value Plan): S3 down ($229.99) + unlimited minutes, text and 5GB data ($74.99/month) + Equipment Installment Plan (20*$20/month) = $2,429.75 after two years and thereafter $74.99/month.
      So compared with ATT you save $1,130 during the first two years and thereafter $65/month… How can THAT be considered expensive??? Whatever – it’s not my problem that people can’t do math – I have saved enough dough with T-Mobile to buy whatever phone I want out right – and I’m not forced to buy every 24 months.

      • Dustin Karnes

        The thing we’re discussing here is the simple cost to get the phone at first. Over time may be a different story, but this article isn’t about the subsidizing, it’s about up front, out of pocket cost. I do appreciate the perspective though, it’s always welcome! Anyone else want to chime in on this? Are people more worried about up front cost, or cost over time?

        • yippiedad

          No, up front price is DIRECTLY tied to the subsidizing payments, so it is really misleading to blindly say that $199 is cheaper than $229. Otherwise I’ll give you a SIII for FREE – plus a $1000 cash “award” if you want. Is that cheap? Not if I force you to pay $100 extra for 24 months…

          If you are concerned with the up front cost, then you can just use a credit card – it’s still cheaper in the long run…

        • Chris Martin

          People only worried about up front cost are those that are probably buried in CC debt and couldn’t manage the budget of a lemonade stand.

          • GinaDee

            Disagree. T-Mobile loses out in the marketing wars by scaring customers away at the up front pricing scheme. Everyone already knows they are cheaper in the long run but that’s not the point here. US consumers will pay more per month as long as they get their phone cheaper up front. T-Mobile continues to shoot themselves in the foot by insisting on a pricing scheme Americans already rejected. Funny you go to Germany and you get these things free on a contract plan.

      • Guest

        Why do you only compare the absurd overpriced unlimited plans???

        My AT&T plan is $70 month. (More minutes and data than I could ever use.)

        T-Mobile wants to charge me $75-$80.

        How is that cheaper exactly????

      • Guest

        Look at the T-Mobile 4G LTE coverage map on their web site.
        Oh, can’t find it????

        Gee, I wonder why T-Mobile hides that info from everyone.

  • Chris Martin

    Your thought process is wrong. This isn’t a whole lot different then what the other carriers are charging, and on the value plan it’s probably cheaper then most carriers. You have to look at the Total Cost of a phone + plan over a 2 year period.

    T-Mobile cost $230 + $20 * 20 for the phone is $630, $60/Month for Plan (Unlimited Talk/Text/2GB Data Highspeed(Unlimitted Data) is $1440 for a total of $2070 in 2 years.

    Verizon cost $200 for the phone, plus $120 per month for Talk/Text/2GB Capped Data is $2880 for the plan, $3080 all together, and the plan doesn’t even really match T-Mobiles because there’s no overages.

    That’s a whole hell of a lot cheaper for T-Mobile

    • LaShun

      Thanks that makes a lot of sense. I was trying to calculate what would make this more expensive to purchase but in the long run it is really cheaper.

  • George Garrett

    At what point though are customers willing to wait a few months for the mass Nexus device release and pay a comparable off contract price for a phone with more than likely similar specs?

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  • dmensch

    I’ve got a 1000 minute family Classic plan. On T-M’s website, the 32GB SGIII is listed for my upgrade at $379. Straight up. No mention of a mail in rebate. :-|

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  • Guest

    The S3 is online for $149 by other carriers.