Yowza: Verizon's Droid 4 is $250 with a Two-year Contract
Remember when $199 was the sweet spot for smartphones on a two-year contract?
Earlier this week, Verizon used CES 2012 as a stage to announce the arrival of Motorola's Droid 4 to the network. The confirmation of the device's imminent arrival was a long time coming, as leaks had uncovered the device months ago. Packing a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, a 4.0-inch qHD display with scratch and scrape resistant glass, 16 GB on-board memory, it was shaping up to be a pretty desirable device. However, today, pricing information made its way online, and it turns out getting your hands on this phone is going to cost you a minimum of $250.
According to a MAP (minimum advertised price list) obtained by Droid-Life, the phone's minimum price will be $249, which means it will likely debut at $249 on a two-year contract. Scheduled to hit stores in a few weeks' time, the phone features the aforementioned 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, a 4.0-inch qHD display with scratch and scrape resistant glass, and 16 GB on-board memory, as well as support for up to 32 GB via microSD card, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video capture, 4G LTE, a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard and Android 2.3.5 (ICS update on the way). There's also a number of accessories available that will, of course, cost you extra on top of that $250 price tag.
"A full suite of accessory options extends the power of Droid 4 and allows consumers to work however they work best," Verizon said on Monday. "Accessories compatible with Droid 4 include the 10.1-inch Lapdock 100, 14-inch Lapdock 500 Pro with built-in webcam and Ethernet connection, HD Dock, HD Station and vehicle navigation mount."
Would you pay $250 for a phone on contract? Let us know in the comments below!
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It's interesting how my family thought $25 was too pricey for a phone (LG Versa) four years ago, but have now invested in three Droid Bionics and an iPhone 4S this past year.
I will not pay more than $200 USD for a phone on contract unless it is the god phone or something. I have my limits. interesting how the screen is 4" when most new phones are about 4.5" now-a-days. I personally think that the 4.5" screens are a getting a little too big.
I've been waiting for an original Droid replacement with LTE ever since Verizon turned on their LTE services in Dec 2010. So, I've been on the same Droid for almost 2.5 years. $250 every 2.5 years isn't so bad. For people that bought the Droid 3... oops!
I'm sure Verizon knows this since they must realize a lot of original Droid owners have been waiting for this device. It's just their way of taking an extra $50 from us... but we're suckers aren't we? Just like iPhone fans are all suckers for new iGadgets.
so phone companies are now aiming to screw you both ways, coming and going, nice.
$200 is too much for a phone on a 2 year contract(especially for a contract that isn't unlimited by default), the price will drop too a BOGO @ $100 in like a month anyway... people always pay out the a$$ for the newest tech ASAP... so I won't be surprised if this sells well. But After my 2-year contract with my DroidX on Verizon is up, I may take my business somewhere else because I will be losing my unlimited data unless I pay with my First Born...
and too all you people who are going to say "most people don't use 2gb of data a month, so unlimited is useless to them"...... I say 'then why limit them...'
I just (yesterday) bought the Droid Bionic for $50 with a new 2 year contract & I'm very happy with that price. The Bionic doesn't sound like it's a slacker compared to the 4, biggest difference being the lack of the slide-out keyboard.
I just (yesterday) bought the Droid Bionic for $50 with a new 2 year contract & I'm very happy with that price. The Bionic doesn't sound like it's a slacker compared to the 4, biggest difference being the lack of the slide-out keyboard.
Bionic is awesome, got mine less then a month ago and I love it, I upgraded from a Droid Incredible and while I still love my DINC the Bionic is so much better. Only problem I have with it is that the camera on the DINC is better. Bionic camera pics tend to be fuzzy if you zoom in while the DINCs pics stay crisper.
No contracts for me... They are too expensive... My bro is on Metro and he got a very nice LG Esteem... He is quite happy with it... Over the course he would have had a compareable phone on a contract, he will be saving well over 300 dollars, including the cost of the phone...
I downgraded to an LG Optimus V, on the 35 bux a month plan... It does the job. Got the phone for 70 dollars. I will make my money back on what I saved from switching from Boost Mobile in 2 months... Only now I have limited minutes, where before I was on a completely unlimited plan...
AmazonWireless is offering it for $169.99 with a 2-year contract.
Personally, I'll be looking to pay full price for phones. I'm still riding on the grandfathered unlimited data plan. The MINIMUM data plan now is capped at 2GB/mo at the same price I pay. My wife and I use enough data to warrant the upgrade to 5GB/mo which is +$20/line/mo. That's $240/yr/phone for extra data charges. I'd rather pay that much extra every 2-3 years on a new phone than every 1 year on data charges.
Personally, I'll be looking to pay full price for phones. I'm still riding on the grandfathered unlimited data plan. The MINIMUM data plan now is capped at 2GB/mo at the same price I pay. My wife and I use enough data to warrant the upgrade to 5GB/mo which is +$20/line/mo. That's $240/yr/phone for extra data charges. I'd rather pay that much extra every 2-3 years on a new phone than every 1 year on data charges.
Data capping should be illegal.
I got my phone for free and it has the same specs at the Droid 4, except mine has a bigger screen.
I recently upgraded to the Verizon Droid Razr, but purchased it through Amazon Wireless. This allowed me to retain my unlimited data plan instead of switching to the newly capped plans available. It was also cheaper at Amazon ($229) vs. Verizon ($299), so it was a win/win. If you're looking to upgrade and currently have an unlimited data plan, then I would suggest checking out Amazon as well. Still loving the Razr...
My Bionic was selling at Verizon for $300, but I bought one new from Wirefly for $120. My company ponied up $100 of that so I only had to pay $20. Never ever buy a phone from the retail providers, they are a ripoff.
Fifty dollars more than usual is pretty small compared to the price of a two year contract. Meh.
cool, i'm happy with my ZTE warp from boostmobile. i paid 140$ and it's my phone, no contract and 50$ a month unlimited. i don't like contracts/late fees/hidden fees. no contract phones/service isnt perfect but it's better than being pwned by a 2 year contract.
I recently upgraded to the Verizon Droid Razr, but purchased it through Amazon Wireless. This allowed me to retain my unlimited data plan instead of switching to the newly capped plans available. It was also cheaper at Amazon ($229) vs. Verizon ($299), so it was a win/win. If you're looking to upgrade and currently have an unlimited data plan, then I would suggest checking out Amazon as well. Still loving the Razr...
Your wrong on your data plan... If you went to Verizon you would have been grandfathered in. I say that because I just did it for my wife for Christmas. I upgraded her 2 year old phone to a Razr and she still have the same exact unlimited plan and even got 1000 txts instead of 500 for the same $10 price.
cool, i'm happy with my ZTE warp from boostmobile. i paid 140$ and it's my phone, no contract and 50$ a month unlimited. i don't like contracts/late fees/hidden fees. no contract phones/service isnt perfect but it's better than being pwned by a 2 year contract.
^^^joke, he so wants a contract....
i just got the razr and they're making a new phone??! already?!
Motorola makes many different phones ya know and your question would seem worthy if you actually said "they are making a new razr already"
Moto Razr FTW
One lesson I learned about buying a new smartphone is to wait a few months before purchasing a model that came out recently.
$250 for the exact same phone it replaces? same 4" qHD screen as the Droid 3, Same Camera, same storage and the ONLY difference is the 200mhz bump from 1ghz to 1.2ghz.
So who would spend $250 for this device? Well if it was this last July (2011) i would've because thats when the HTC Evo came out with specs equal to or greater than this device a good 6 months later.
Quarter of a 1k for a phone, in these times....
No! Its just to expensive and being locked in for two years. Locked in data plans. I went out and bought newer smart phone without data plan charges. Because most of my day, either at work or at home I have wi-fi connection. If your not in a contract you can have the power to have them lock out data connection so you don't have to pay those high fees.