Yowza: Verizon's Droid 4 is $250 with a Two-year Contract

By Jane McEntegart
published

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!

Jane McEntegart

Jane McEntegart works in marketing communications at Intel and was previously Manager of Content Marketing at ASUS North America. Before that, she worked for more than seven years at Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware, holding such roles as Contributing Editor and Senior News Editor and writing about everything from smartphones to tablets and games consoles.

25 Comments Comment from the forums
  • sseyler
    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.
    Reply
  • whiteodian
    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.
    Reply
  • rh_dog
    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.
    Reply
  • warezme
    so phone companies are now aiming to screw you both ways, coming and going, nice.
    Reply
  • jdenova007
    $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...'
    Reply
  • Star72
    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.
    Reply
  • Camikazi
    Star72I 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.
    Reply
  • jacobdrj
    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...
    Reply
  • AmazonWireless is offering it for $169.99 with a 2-year contract.
    Reply
  • Anomalyx
    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.
    Reply