Comments on: The True Cost of a Motorola Droid

By: Good Gord

Good Gord — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 04:04:08 +0000

Aside from the possible $35 activation fee, as arkar mentioned, there are also Taxes, Surcharges and Fees, including these two which, according to Verizon’s phone plan order page, add between 21.5% and 54.5% to your monthly bill:
* Tolls, taxes, surcharges and other fees, such as E911 and gross receipt charges, vary by market and as of February 1, 2011, add between 6% and 39% to your monthly bill and are in addition to your monthly access fees and airtime charges.
* Monthly Federal Universal Service Charge on interstate & international telecom charges (varies quarterly based on FCC rate) is 15.5% per line.
That’s an extra $528 to $1352 more over the 2 year contract.

By: Art M.

Art M. — Thu, 27 May 2010 00:06:36 +0000

Ya know, if you’re OK with going Verizon, you can get a Motorola Droid from Amazon for the OUTRAGEOUSLY low price of $19.99.

Yep. Twenty bucks will get you a Verizon Motorola Droid. You just have to be comfortable having a 2 year contract, or a 2 year extension to your existing contract.

By: Kishore

Kishore — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:44:47 +0000

All,

What is the exact price of a DROID in shop?

By: Boo

Boo — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:09:42 +0000

Thinking about switching to the Droid so I stumbled upon this article. I am already a Verizon customer and I am probably going to pass on this phone for the time being. The cost benefit analysis just doens’t work for me.

While it would be “neat” to have some of the features the Droid offers I get the impression that the bill would really start adding up the more you want to utitlize the benefits of this phone. While internet access on a phone can be nice paying $30 extra for it per month seems like a waste when I pay a little more than that for my home access through AT&T which includes access at every Starbucks. Not to mention the plethora of locations that offer free access or very inexpensive access.

As far as the navigation features are concerned there are dozens of great portable navigation devices that you pay for once and all the services are included. I guess if you use your phone as you life line for everything a Droid makes sense but other than that it doesn’t seem worth it.

By: arkar

arkar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:36:06 +0000

Nice
Thanks for tip, I got verizon too but I am lookin at Tmobile unlimited plan as it is much cheaper. I just wish they have droid or droid eris over there.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:29:47 +0000

I didn’t pay an activation fee, most likely because I was renewing a contract. If they do want you to pay this fee, for example if you’re adding a line or a new customer, you might be able to get that waived with a little work.

By: Arkar

Arkar — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:48:31 +0000

U didn’t put $35 activation fee or did not have to pay for it.

By: Tim Anderson

Tim Anderson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:38:26 +0000

I never like saying the true cost is based on a 2 year plan. You do know they offer 1 year contracts at significant discounts as well right?

Assuming you don’t go over your minute allowance, here is what buying a Droid could cost you.
Motorola Droid after $100 rebate $229.99
Car charger accessory (optional) $29.99
Car mounting accessory (optional) $29.99
12 months voice plan 450 minutes $479.88
12 months data plan $359.88
12 months 500 text msgs (optional) $120.00
12 months tethering (optional) $359.88
Total $1609.61

This will allow you to upgrade to the newest and latest phone just 10 months from your date of purchase (Verizon lets you extend your contract at "renew" prices 2 months before your contract is up. $30 (difference between a 1 and 2 year contract) for a full year choice is totally worth it to me.

By: Tim Anderson

Tim Anderson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:38:00 +0000

I never like saying the true cost is based on a 2 year plan. You do know they offer 1 year contracts at significant discounts as well right?

Assuming you don’t go over your minute allowance, here is what buying a Droid could cost you.
Motorola Droid after $100 rebate $229.99
Car charger accessory (optional) $29.99
Car mounting accessory (optional) $29.99
12 months voice plan 450 minutes $479.88
12 months data plan $359.88
12 months 500 text msgs (optional) $120.00
12 months tethering (optional) $359.88
Total $1609.61

This will allow you to upgrade to the newest and latest phone just 10 months from your date of purchase (Verizon lets you extend your contract at “renew” prices 2 months before your contract is up. $30 (difference between a 1 and 2 year contract) for a full year choice is totally worth it to me.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:15:32 +0000

Thanks for the information on PDAnet. I heard about it the other day. It might be a great solution for tethering, I'll check it out.

By: drparty

drparty — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:10:17 +0000

Or you could always just tether with PDAnet... been around for years. Depending on you data usage you'll be fine, if your planning on streaming hulu in the airport all day you'll probably want an official tether solution. For light usage PDAnet works wonders and saves tons of money on the tether package.

Here's how to get it working on the Droid:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1467063

By: Flexo

Flexo — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:09:29 +0000

That's a legitimate analysis. You're looking at the cost to switch from one service to the Droid, a comparison between one situation and another. I'm just looking at the overall cost.

If I continue to pay less per month with the Droid than I was paying with the BlackBerry, you could say my cost of ownership is negative. I'm saving money in the new situation, or I will have when the savings outpace the cost of the initial outlay to buy the phone. But that doesn't reflect the fact that I do hand over money to Verizon frequently and significantly over the course of two years.

Both points of view are valid.

By: Walt Breuninger

Walt Breuninger — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:02:16 +0000

The true cost of the Droid is $199. That's it. There's no reason to buy any of the accessories or the tethering.

As for the monthly plans, the alternative is not "no cell phone" the alternative, 99% of the time, is "another cell phone", so you can't count the full price of the monthly bill in the cost of the Droid. At the most you're paying an extra $20 per month more vs the monthly cost of a "regular" (i.e. non-smartphone) device.

The truth is that you're paying $199 up front (instead of $0 for a cheaper phone) and maybe an extra $20 per month for the plan. That makes the total cost about $680 over 2 years.

And the same goes for the iPhone.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:40:44 +0000

When I visited the store on Friday, the store was pretty busy, and everyone seemed to be at least interested in the Droid. I'm not sure how many walked out with one. The salesperson basically said, when asked about how Droid sales were going, “If you're visiting the store today, you're here to buy a Droid,” which didn't really give me any information. But he was busy trying to sell me a phone.

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:10:50 +0000

Hm I actually felt the GPS was LACKING…..but it might be just a matter of preference. Despite all of the hype of the phone's release, the local Verizon stores here didn't see people lining up. I wonder if it's still considered a successful launch elsewhere.

By: RainyDaySaver

RainyDaySaver — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:57:13 +0000

It's amazing how much one little device can cost. I have Verizon as my carrier and was considering it, but I don't think I would use the Droid its fullest capability. I have your run-of-the-mill cell phone. I use it for texting and calls, mostly, but can get on the Internet if I need to. And as I'm almost always near a computer, it doesn't pay for me to have the data plan. Thanks for the breakdown, it confirmed that the Droid is not for me!