Motorola Atrix or Motorola Photon or Samsung Galaxy S

S

sukhdeepsingh

Disciple
Hi

I lost my phone recently so i havent given time to "R&D" since i wasnt expecting to buy a new phone.

Anyways, after having a look in few threads i have concluded

Motorola Atrix - around 360$
- Seems to be best

Motorola Photon 4G - around 380$
- Seems that 3g is not supported on GSM Network. Correct me if wrong

Samsung Galaxy S - Shall get in India - Another decent phone with good display
Let me know which one you suggest in under 20K Range.

Feedback

  1. 1. Which phone?
    2. What the normal bid/win price on ebay.com or any US site
    3. ShopnShip or ICCWorld
 
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Need some advice from someone who's bought from AT&T/amazonwireless and broken the contract by paying ETF.

As i've said earlier, a friend is coming down from NY in a couple weeks and i'm planning to get a new atrix via him as it would be the cheapest option.

Now, the phone costs between $450 - $600 without contract, which is very expensive. But on contract, it can be as cheap as 1 cent for a new connection to $50 for existing subscribers.

AmazonWireless: Motorola Atrix 4G Android Phone (AT&T)

MOTOROLA ATRIX (TM) 4G* Cell Phone - from AT&T

According to these pages, the ETF cost is $325.

Early Termination Fee Policy

AT&T Returns Policy - Wireless from AT&T.

http://wireless.amazon.com/help/200655670/ref=etfpaglet_hp_dp?applicationLayoutId=2

Can someone who's had experience with AT&T's ETF please advice on if this is a good way to go about it? I'm pretty freaked out by ebay scam artists and even amazon seems a bit dicey on this product. Bottom line is, since my friend can bring it in person, shouldn't that be a better deal than buying it myself, online?
 
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Buying a phone with contract will need a lot documents like SSN, address proof etc etc in US.

Buy a new one from ebay and ask the seller to get it unlocked before shipping. Unlock codes for Atrix is usually 5$. Tell the seller that you'll pay that fee through PP. When you use it outside US it doesn;t matter whether you are in contract or not as AT&T can't do anything to you.
 
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All the docs are available. In fact he already has an iphone 4 on contract with att which could screw the whole new connection deal.

I'm very wary about ebay because there are just too many atrixes around with small niggles, and maybe these guys are selling them because of those. I don't wanna take that risk when it's halfway around the world. If my friend buys direct from att i can just send it back with him if theres any issues. i still cant figure out how these guys are selling supposedly new pieces for ~$350. seems fishy to me.

Since all us atrixes are from att, the box has to be opened to unlock. so how do we know if the phone is really new and if the person is selling it because he found a minor defect in it?
 
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Julian said:
Need some advice from someone who's bought from AT&T/amazonwireless and broken the contract by paying ETF.

As i've said earlier, a friend is coming down from NY in a couple weeks and i'm planning to get a new atrix via him as it would be the cheapest option.

Now, the phone costs between $450 - $600 without contract, which is very expensive. But on contract, it can be as cheap as 1 cent for a new connection to $50 for existing subscribers.

AmazonWireless: Motorola Atrix 4G Android Phone (AT&T)

MOTOROLA ATRIX (TM) 4G* Cell Phone - from AT&T

According to these pages, the ETF cost is $325.

Early Termination Fee Policy

AT&T Returns Policy - Wireless from AT&T.

http://wireless.amazon.com/help/200655670/ref=etfpaglet_hp_dp?applicationLayoutId=2

Can someone who's had experience with AT&T's ETF please advice on if this is a good way to go about it? I'm pretty freaked out by ebay scam artists and even amazon seems a bit dicey on this product. Bottom line is, since my friend can bring it in person, shouldn't that be a better deal than buying it myself, online?
Click to expand...

Or at $300-$350, you can get a Mint Condition Atrix. Search Craigslist - as deals happen in person. tell your friend to fully inspect the phone:)
 
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Gaurish said:
Or at $300-$350, you can get a Mint Condition Atrix. Search Craigslist:p
Click to expand...

I'm sure! like the ebay dude who wanted $233 for an atrix with water damage! :bleh:

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

So anyway, no one has ETF experience then? i've asked my friend to ask att directly. let's see how it goes.
 
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Water damage is easy to check - there two water damage indicators - one on phone and one on battery which turns red on exposure to water. And seller may ask anything even $2330 for an atrix with water damage but the question is are you foll enough to buy?

After the HP touchpad firesale when many people wanted the TP but failed some people was selling sketch of TP on ebay!!!
 
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The water damage thing was just an example of a moron ebay seller. Thing about ebay is, i've been burned too many times to risk this much money on some stranger's claim that the phone is new. and flawless. finding faults in an android phone could take more than a cursory glance which is all my friend will have the time to do when buying it.
 
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the cost would be 324 + 250 .. don't bother, a galaxy S2 in India would be better at that cost.

Source - http://wireless.amazon.com/help/200...outId=2&width=750&height=300&left=326&top=302

AmazonWireless Instant Discount Policy

When you purchase your device with service from AmazonWireless.com, we automatically pass along an instant discount from the carrier to you. This discount has been provided to you based on your agreement to (a) activate a new, or extend an existing, line of service for this device with the carrier, and (b) maintain this service in good standing for a minimum of 181 consecutive days. If you do not activate or extend a line of service in connection with this device, or if your service is canceled/disconnected before 181 consecutive days, AmazonWireless.com will charge you $250 per device, plus applicable taxes.
Click to expand...
 
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Sanav3 said:
the cost would be 324 + 250 .. don't bother, a galaxy S2 in India would be better at that cost.

Source - AmazonWireless
Click to expand...

I saw that, not sure if it's applicable if paying an ETF in the first place.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---
Dex@ter said:
from ebay , is it better to buy a used one from a reputed dealer or look at the so called new units ( not sure how new they are )
Click to expand...

There have been a lot of reports of atrixes with defects like overheating, random reboots, etc. What's to say that the reason one of these pieces is on sale is not because it has a defect? And since the box has to be opened to unlock since they're all at&t locked, there's no such thing as a sealed box atrix anyway. Of course a lot of people here on TE have bought atrixes via the ebay route, i'm just not ready to take that risk.
 
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Julian said:
I saw that, not sure if it's applicable if paying an ETF in the first place.
Click to expand...

It is, ETF of 324 $ is for breaking the contract with ATT and 250$ for amazon wireless, as they discounted the original price... else buy it from ATT at 99$ and pay only 324$ ETF.

I guess you would get Atrix 2 for 99 $
 
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So amazon wireless discounts $99 and charges $250 to cancel? nice! There are other places selling it for cheaper than $99, like bestbuy, $50 i think and free at some point. Damn motorola for their stupid carrier tie ups.
 
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Julian said:
So amazon wireless discounts $99 and charges $250 to cancel? nice! There are other places selling it for cheaper than $99, like bestbuy, $50 i think and free at some point. Damn motorola for their stupid carrier tie ups.
Click to expand...

bestbuy has it for 30 bucks.. :thumbs up: .. and atrix 2 for 50

The only reason I would prefer to buy from ebay is to avoid the hassles of cancellation of service..
 
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You can't just insert CDMA SIM and get it working. The MEID no. of the device needs to be registered with the operator first to get things working. I don't have much knowledge beyond this. Go through the RIMWEB forum and you may find some info there.
 
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Sanav3 said:
bestbuy has it for 30 bucks.. :thumbs up: .. and atrix 2 for 50
The only reason I would prefer to buy from ebay is to avoid the hassles of cancellation of service..
Click to expand...

Bestbuy went back to $0, and i was discussing with my friend about buying it from there. Did a trial purchase and it seems there are a few initial payments to be made to ATT for activating and for talk+data plans. Works out to $39.99+$15+$36=$90.99 Add the $325 ETF to that and the total is a nice $415.99. Making it a pretty bad idea. So the mystery of how these guys are selling supposedly new atrixes for ~$350 on ebay and amazon is still unsolved.

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