Mine is 500 minutes split between (2) phones, 200MB data per phone, 200 messages per month for one phone and 1000 for the other. This is old rates and the reason only (1) phone has 1000 messages is because I got that deal when it was still available.

If you get the cheapest plan now and for just (1) phone it would be $49.99 for 500 minutes per month, then $20 on top of that for 300MB data and your given the minimum of (200) messages for around $5. You want unlimited? Pay an additional $15-20.

So for me to get the bare minimum it costs me ~$80 per month. To get something similar to yours, meaning with unlimited messages, I would be paying ~$100 per month. Then after that you have to add extra costs for taxes and fees, so your really looking at ~$90-$110 per month for (1) device.

Want a second device? No problem, just pay $20 for the second line, then $20 for the 300MB data and $5 for the messages, or just pay $30 to get unlimited messaging on both devices.

If it's a new contract and you want an iPhone, add $200-$300 up front cost to that for the device and then an extra $36 for activation fee. Yes, we need to pay a fee for them to activate a device they sold to us, for their service, just for us to pay them money monthly. This goes for each phone, so if you have (2) then you pay $72 in fees on top of the costs for each new phone.

I want your rates, lol!

It's more or less similar situation in the UK, the only way to get a cheaper contract is by buying the device on pay as you go, which means paying around £350-400 or even up to £550 for a new iPhone, then the smaller fee on top. Admittedly the unlimited text tarrifs are more common here and you can get them as low as $20, but the minutes and data will bump up the contract price. There is no activation fee (I don't think so), but there is a pretty high unlock fee if you want it on another network.

What hardware did you get with that contract?

That was so fucking awesome, I almost sprayed my monitor with coffee.

Samsung Galaxy S (Captivate). I got it almost 2 years ago as my plan is up in September.

I am currently undecided as to whether I want to get a new phone with a new plan or just say "Fuck it" and go with a prepaid since I barely call anyone to begin with and I have my WiFi devices hooked up to my work WiFi and my home WiFi, so I really don't need data plans.

Crappy prepaid phone and an iTouch. That should suit me well right?

My other option is Metro PCS which is $50 per phone for unlimited everything, but the phone selections suck and most of them are quite ugly and you have to pay for them up front.

The prices are practically the same, Galaxy S was a top line model 2 years ago wasn't it?  So when people still pay such extortionate prices, why are people kicking up such a fuss about $15 a month? It's weird these forums, had it been Sony introducing this type of scheme, it'd be a blessing sent to the poor, who are not able to afford the consoles on their own.

An additional year warranty would be $60, if you bought one separately.

It's a rip off.
There are ways to pay a monthly fee without going into a contract with Microsoft.

Anyway if you can't shell out enough money for a 360, you probably should be commit yourself to a contract.

I've never seen it at 30 bucks. Lowest I've seen it is 39.99. 49.99 is a fair price that can be found when its on sale somewhere every month. 59.99 is standard price...

It's pretty funny seeing people overreact here. There are so many unknowns for guys superchunk to conclude that this will be a definite ripoff. Even on face value, this isn't that bad as some people her are screaming it is. Pay 200 less upfront, but 40 dollars more over 2 years time. 

However the questions I have are:

1. Will this include the new music streaming service. I pay 9.99 for Zune every month.

2. Is price of Gold going up? A lot of new content is pouring in to XBL and we could be seeing a new tier of XBL gold that includes PVR like features and cable TV service. 

3. Whats the cancelation fee? If it's just the remaining price of the console - months remaining(like most cell phone companies here in Canada), this is a solid deal. If its like 200 bucks, at any point during the 2 year contract...this sucks.

I'd say wait for e3 before you say this is a good or bad deal but you have to hand it to microsoft for moving the console business model to avenues where it hasn't been before.

Yeah, I don't see the big deal here either.