A possible setback for DRM in Europe

Posted Feb 6, 2014 22:47 UTC (Thu) by marcH (subscriber, #57642)
In reply to: A possible setback for DRM in Europe by jwarnica
Parent article: A possible setback for DRM in Europe

> It is interesting what people, based on historical accidents (or conspiracies) grow used to. Cell phones, purchased or bundled in 2-3, or 5 year contracts come to mind as a different example.

Even more striking example since widely different across different regions.

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A possible setback for DRM in Europe

Posted Feb 13, 2014 11:21 UTC (Thu) by Wol (subscriber, #4433) [Link] (4 responses)

And in England (probably the same in most of Europe) we have the choice of buying the phone and putting our own SIM in, or getting a "free" phone on contract.

Oddly enough, both me and my wife have switched from pre-pay to contract, and my brother-in-law is on the verge of doing the same. But the reason is simple, we're switching from dumb phones to smart-phones, and once you take the (real) cost of the phone into account we worked out the phone service (all we *want*, included) is costing us about £2.50/month.

Thing is we're not mad users, so although the included bundle isn't that much, we're not hitting it despite our use of the phone having rocketed since we went contract.

I think, when the two models are free to compete, you get a much better system. And the fact that older people tend to want dumb phones, and younger people want smart phones, means that neither model can "win". Good!

Cheers,
Wol

A possible setback for DRM in Europe

Posted Feb 13, 2014 14:48 UTC (Thu) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link] (3 responses)

we worked out the phone service (all we *want*, included) is costing us about £2.50/month

Wow. I've avoided getting a smartphone forever, because even the contract options seem to start at about ten times that price for a plan containing any data at all (and without a data allowance, what's the point of a smartphone?).

What on earth is this magic plan?

A possible setback for DRM in Europe

Posted Feb 13, 2014 15:10 UTC (Thu) by mpr22 (subscriber, #60784) [Link]

A quick look on Carphone Warehouse's website turns up a Samsung Galaxy S4 16GB contract with 250MB data allowance, unlimited SMS, 300 UK minutes (then an admittedly exorbitant per minute rate), zero up-front cost, on contract with Vodafone for 24 months at £21/month. Carphone Warehouse's sim-free price for a Galaxy S4 is £469.95. 469.95/24 = £19.58.

A possible setback for DRM in Europe

Posted Feb 14, 2014 15:00 UTC (Fri) by james (guest, #1325) [Link] (1 responses)

Alternatively, there's Three's pay-as-you-go plans at 1p/MB for data, 2p per (outgoing) text, and 3p/min for (outgoing) voice. Every time you top up you get 150 MB free (which lasts for thirty days). Minimum top-up is £5 through the website or mobile app, £10 elsewhere.

I find that I usually only want to use significant amounts of data (or have long phone conversations) when I'm at home or work, and both places I'm on wifi and near landline phones. It's rare for me to get through more than £2 of credit a month.

I'd consider buying an unlocked phone elsewhere, though (the Moto G has good reviews).

A possible setback for DRM in Europe

Posted Feb 15, 2014 19:19 UTC (Sat) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]

Looks like I need to switch PAYG plans yet again (my current one, switched to only a year ago, is now charging >30p/text!)

This constant mandated switching is really tiresome, and all it shows is that the carriers are much more interested in screwing over their customers than in not annoying the hell out of them.