google hardware discounting?
4my phone is getting a bit old… not ancient, but old enough that i’m contemplating it’s replacement…
I’m leaning towards a “new” Pixel (1st Gen), but i’m…cheap…(also broke), just don’t want some one’s hand me down with a worn out battery…
I have no qualms with buying a used car, but a phone? new please.
anyway, now that google has announced the Pixel 2, how long until the first gen gets marked down?
thinking something closer to the $200 range?
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Historically I think Google tends more towards discontinuing a product line rather than selling it at ever decreasing prices like the major players do. I’m also seeing talk indicating that October 19th will be a discontinue date for the line. Even if they keep it around it’ll probably be a couple of years before a $650 price class phone hits the $200 price class, and as Google designed the Pixel line to be a premium offering it’s doubtful they’ll play the price drop game. It looks like they might already have sold out of internal stocks of the standard model with the XL remaining in stock for the time being.
@earlyre
I would be surprised to see even used prices on 1st gen pixels go anywhere near $200 soon.
: (
@f00l A good example is my unlocked 64GB iPhone 6 Plus. Released in September of 2014, last year I paid over $400 for a 2 year old used phone… and that was a bargain for the market. Today I can sell it on and get 80% of my investment back.
The market for premium phones is nuts, but if you buy right, the phone will carry ya for a number of years.
They were already discounting the Pixels in the past few months. But more like $200 off, not $200 for the phone. I didn’t see anything in the rumored specs for the Pixel 2 that made me think it was worth waiting and paying for, so I bought an XL about a month ago. (Now that the 2 is actually out, I still think I made the right decision.) They’re offering up to $410 on a trade in, so $200 seems unlikely even for a good used one.
well, a broke fella can dream can’t he?
and in fairness they do have 24mo 0% financing available… so there’s that…
lil site called woot, sold OG Pixels and Refurb Pixels recently.
@username do tell…I keep forgetting to look at stuff over there since meh started…
@earlyre they had refurbs for $399-449 and refurbs again for $429.
http://www.wootstalker.com/recentw.php?type=&search=Google+Pixel
If you’re interested for fi, the moto x4 is 399 new and works there now.
@Pantheist what Network does fi run on? I seem to remember that they used T-Mobile. They(T-Mobile) have almost zero coverage here.
@earlyre they use seamless switching between three carriers and wifi which is why they need special phones. They use sprint, tmobile, and us cellular here’s the coverage map: https://fi.google.com/about/coverage/
@Pantheist and those maps lie so hard.
According to T-Mobile’s maps there should be a full strength 3g signal here.
Real world, zero signal, as attested by 2 different customers of theirs.
And by here, I mean this whole town. unless you happen to be in/near the corridor along the interstate… There there’s signal.
@earlyre fair enough. I’m just looking forward to switching to fi because I currently use ting- it’s cheap and good customer service, but the sprint network alone is terrible.
My plan is to wait another year and try to snag a used Pixel 1.
If you want a Android, check out blu phones on Amazon. Get one with 3gbs of ram and you should be set have the vivo xl that I got for $150
@darkzrobe https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/08/citing-privacy-threats-amazon-stops-selling-some-android-phones-from-blu/
If you’re the type to hold a grudge against a corporation…
@InnocuousFarmer Ya they have been in trouble a few times.
And I am really against surveillance… But this is a device running on a OS that does the same thing (Google), which will most likely run apps that everyone and their grandma is also spying on. The whole smartphone industry is rather invasive.
Which is why I have a windows phone and even the NSA is to lazy to write apps for it /sarcasm
@darkzrobe you really think Microsoft is less privacy invasive than Google?
@darkzrobe I kinda feel that WP is like the old Apple – immune to attacks through obscurity. If you’re going to do something devious, go for the majority, right?
@jbartus Yes. Cortana only keeps suggesting me cat videos. Google suggests cat food, cat litter, and cat care. That’s going too far!
@jbartus nope they are just as bad.
For $200, I would consider one of the following:
Samsung Galaxy Alpha
LG G5
Moto X Style
Going by eBay prices, they’re all available new and within budget. (Okay, the Moto X Style is about $10 over per this listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/152711774450)
I understand falling in love with a phone and waiting until the price matches your budget and I wouldn’t fault you for it. (I did this, held out for a Priv)
Yet I think the difference between last year’s flagship, today’s midrange and anything coming down the pipeline for 2017 is marginal and not worth the splurge unless you demand a very specific use from your device or place value on something besides functionality.
@onae the moto X Style, is the non US version of what i currently have, the Moto X Pure Edition.
@onae
What about the “Honor” lines of Android phones?
@f00l
I know somebody who has the Honor 6X. I keep on meaning to play around with it, but I keep on running out of time since I’m always trying to look for sprinkles (@mfladd).
@everyone
Woot has some LG carrier unlocked phones up today.
LG G3, G4, G5, & V10 Unlocked Smartphones
https://www.woot.com/plus/lg-g3-g4-g5-v10-unlocked-smartphones?ref=w_cnt_gw_dly
Cost:. Up to $150
The V10 32gb is $140.
Thoughts? I know some LG models had bootloop problems. .
@f00l
All of those models you mentioned have been involved in lawsuits regarding bootloops.
@mflassy
Skip then. Ok.
@LackOfSprinkles doing lots of baking?
@f00l I’ve owned, over the years, 2 brands of phones. Motorola, and LG.
all the LG’s have had problems necessitating either warranty, or insurance replacement(usually things that would have been warranted, but fell outside the warranty period)
I’ve only had to replace one of the Moto’s, and that was only b/c it got soaked in an unfortunate incident where someone(not me) improperly put away a hose which led to my whole right leg(esp the phone pocket on my pants) getting soaked when I turned the water on…
but that wasn’t the phone’s fault, or motorola’s for poor design. in fact the replacement for that soaked Moto(my beloved OG Droid) will still fire right up and work to this day, nearly 7 years later…
so i’m a little biased towards Motorola… even though they are a shell of themselves these days, motorola sold the Mobile side to Google, who then in turn sold it to Lenovo, who currently owns the brand.
My previous unit(which my nephew still uses), the 1st Gen MotoX, was the sole product developed under Google’s ownership, and Was manufactured in the US (Fort Worth, TX to be exact)…
still a good phone, if only the battery were “user serviceable”.
you actually can replace it, but most folks who have done so end up losing NFC(android pay, etc), as that antenna is attached to the battery pack, and is easily damaged…
@earlyre @f00l
While there are mixed opinions over how Google dealt with the mobile side of Motorola, things were interesting.
I’m looking forward to seeing if and how things change for the Pixel lineup now that Alphabet has acquired part of the HTC talent involved in the Pixel brand.
@mflassy
I’m interested in the formerly HTC talent coming to Google also.
And now that Google has gotten way into the future of premium android phones and into their own version of the amazing new and future android OS features, I’m looking forward to Google choosing to make a far more “afforable Pixel” (as Apple has done with the iPhone SE).
They DO discount their phones occasionally. I bought a new 5X for $125 last year and got on Project Fi.