If your needs change, change plans.

I would only be concerned about moving and having coverage issues. I would never sign a contract for a discount on hardware, I would only sign a term to get a better rate (I signed a three year term to get a Student plan).

I will pay full price for a new device when the time comes.

Deckster: Assuming you dont move and dont get pissed at your provider... When you buy your new phone outright your paying way move over 3 years. contract or no contract vs me with the same phone and monthly plan over 3 years i get a "free" phone and you don't.

I have yet to hear a legit reason not to subsidize my next phone.. The only one argument is i want a phone that none of my providers provide(Nexus one for example) or i may move?

The getting board with my phone argument does not hold water, as i can take a free phone now and if my provider does not "hook" me up midway with the iphone5 then i pay for it full wack at that time.

If I am signing a term for a better rate, I will also use any hardware credits offered. I just don't think that saving some money on hardware is worth locking into a term.

Carriers are much more willing to negotiate with a tenured customer on a 30 day term than the same customer already locked in for two or three years.

I have yet to hear a legit reason not to subsidize my next phone.. The only one argument is i want a phone that none of my providers provide(Nexus one for example) or i may move?

1. Occasionally carriers attempt to unilaterally change the terms of a contract (e.g. charging for incoming text)

2. Subsidized phones come locked. This is important for two reasons. The first is that if you temporarily leave the country with a locked phone you're forced to roam at ridiculous rates, while an unlocked phone can get a local pre-paid SIM card. The second is that even when your contract ends you cannot take your device elsewhere, you're stuck with your provider or you have to get a new phone.

3. Even if you are absolutely satisfied with your carrier's wireless service, you may for some reason wish to change your other services (TV, home phone, or Internet) and it would make sense to bundle your wireless with the new provider. Television and Internet providers in particular have evolved massively in 3 years.

4. Your cellular needs are almost guaranteed to change in 3 years. While providers are usually happy to make changes that increase the cost of your plan, decreasing on a contract is more difficult. Are you absolutely positive that technology won't evolve in three years so that text messages as a separate service are still necessary? I'm not, I could easily see all of that going through apps through a data plan. Additionally, you're betting on your carrier to maintain a fast network for three years.

That's not to say contracts are terrible for everyone, but they are for some people and it's unfortunate that they have become the standard for everyone. Two year contracts are much more manageable and it's easier to predict where you'll be in two years.

text messaging is not core to your service. If technology changes so much in three years that you would never use it, drop the feature.

Carriers cannot change anything about your plan that is bound by contract. That is why your bundled minutes, data, and price are the only things that require a term, all other features such as sms, call display, or message centre are able to be added or removed as necessary and as such are not required to be price protected (however many times the carriers will grandfather the prices for existing customers).

I have never had an issue lowering my monthly package on the occasions that I had to. I would imagine the only issue would be wanting to go from postpaid to prepaid.

When I was last under contract (this was 4 years ago) text messages were built into my plan. If I wanted more than my 200/month I would have had to upgrade to a new plan.

Not having those features price protected is a huge problem if you need them. If your carrier choses to raise prices and you need that service you have no choice if you're under contract.

the biggest thing that everybody needs to ask is why at the end of the contract, the providers still will NOT unlock the phones.

TorontoColin: So your saying prices get protected while not under a contract?

I understand the list of "IF's" you posted.... But i dont think those are realistic "IF's" for the majority...

What i am getting at is that side by side you with a unlocked paid full price phone vs me with a subsidized phone over a 3 year period on the same monthly rates you pay more... Pretty much all you get is the freedom to leave if you paid full price for the phone..

No you're absolutely not price protected, but there's also nothing stopping you from changing providers at any time, which not only allows you to always go for the best deal, it also gives you a lot of leverage with your wireless provider.

My current provider (Wind) doesn't offer subsidized phones or contracts. Quality of service discussions aside, if I were to stay on my current plan I will recoup the cost of purchasing my Nexus One outright within a year compared to a comparable phone on a comparable plan on one of the incumbents. Should I have any issues with Wind I could easily leave for Mobilicity or Rogers/Fido/Chatr on 2G or, should I relocate to their service area, Shaw or Videotron when they launch or T-Mobile in the US.

The value isn't as clear if you need to use an incumbent just because the incumbents don't offer any plans designed for unsubsidized use. However that doesn't mean you can't get any extra value, you just have to negotiate a little with the right people.

This topic isn't really about subsidized vs unsubsidized devices though. The point was that 2 year contracts are more manageable than 3 year contracts but Canadian carriers have basically nullified them by skewing device discounts towards three years.

In the states they offer 2 year contracts on the iPhone and it's sold for the same price it is here.

nothing new, we in Canada always get gouged by both the corporations and the government.

Hopefully the new competitors dilute profits enough, which are at insane levels of +45% of expenses, that they see 2 year terms as being ways to retain some business. I am leary of another 3 year contract when the phones become nearly obsolete at about 2 years in.

I'm waiting for the day that 2-yr contract will be the max. I have yet to own a phone that lasts longer than 15 months (Ive been using mobiles since 1992 at rate of 1400 to 2400 minutes each month)