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N4 Available Tomorrow at T-Mobile - but there's a catch

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Pappy35

Well-Known Member
...if you want an unlocked one you have to pay $499???

I'm sure it's a total coincidence that they sell out all their stock today and tomorrow you can have the same unlocked phone from TM for $150 more.

That seems pretty Evil to me. I might just have to step back and give my newfound love of Android a second thought.
 
I called their store today and they already knew that they'd have them tomorrow, and we knew weeks ago that it'd be $500 without a contract, so I doubt it was some last minute conspiracy.
 
I know but it sure leaves that open for discussion. I can't believe they, of all people, could have such a screwed-up, tight-lipped, customer-unfriendly, opening day.

You might have known but I've been scratching and crawling the web for weeks looking for info on this device and didn't know they (TM) were going to charge that much for it. Not something that's been openly known (I admit I may have missed it but I'd be surprised).

No, none, zero, zip, info regarding when to buy, and now when we might be able to buy again. Just doesn't seem right.
 
Yeah I'm really surprised at how horrible it went. They could've at least had the Nexus line open so we could get some customer service, but they just had a message on there saying that they prettymuch weren't doing anything about anything.
 
T-mobile probably paid a lot for them to sell with a contact so they have the right to made their money back if you're not getting service with them.
 
There is some possibility that the boot loader from a Google n4 will work on a tmo n4. The spectrum hackers unlocked their boot loader by over writing it with an older version. But that's not for certain and would involve potential hard bricks. So personally I'm waiting.
 
JunBringer said:
I thought they were both the same exact phone.
Click to expand...

Hardware wise, sure.

I'm not that familiar with locked boot loaders. But there must be something different in the tmo boot loader for it not to honor "adb fastboot oem unlock", right? Or not -- maybe it's the same boot loader image but the device serial number needs to be in a certain range for it to work, or something...?
 
I haven't read about any sort of software changes that t-mobile made at all. You have any links so I can educate myself?
 
JunBringer said:
I haven't read about any sort of software changes that t-mobile made at all. You have any links so I can educate myself?
Click to expand...

Nope, pure speculation at this point. :) Maybe someone will buy a tmo n4 and let us know if it unlocks or not. I'd be pretty amazed if it did.
 
Maybe it's just me, but if Verizon doesn't look the boot loader on a nexus device, I highly doubt T-Mobile would.
My guess is that the changes would be similar to what international carriers did to the gnex. Not tied to Google directly, but the yakju image could be flashed over it to rectify the situation.
 
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You ever post something is a fit of anger (in this case over the damage I did to my finger from pressing F5 twelve thousand times over the course of yesterday)? Well, I did with this one. SHould've had a couple of shots and a smoke to calm down first. Haha..

Oh well, spurred some discussion at least.
 
Pappy35 said:
You ever post something is a fit of anger (in this case over the damage I did to my finger from pressing F5 twelve thousand times over the course of yesterday)? Well, I did with this one. SHould've had a couple of shots and a smoke to calm down first. Haha..

Oh well, spurred some discussion at least.
Click to expand...

It happens No biggie.I'm pissed because I didn't order the tablet because I was going to pick it up at walmart but they never got them.
 
Pappy35 said:
That seems pretty Evil to me. I might just have to step back and give my newfound love of Android a second thought.
Click to expand...
There's nothing evil about it. Nobody has to buy it from T-Mobile. Th ones in T-Mobile stores are targeted for those who want to buy it for $199 and sign a contract.

I am pretty disappointed that I wasn't able to snatch one yesterday. But I can wait till it becomes available in the Play store again.
 
If Google sell for a certain price and another company wants to buy and sell then it makes sense that they have to have a margin - does it not?
 
MartinS said:
If Google sell for a certain price and another company wants to buy and sell then it makes sense that they have to have a margin - does it not?
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Exactly. It's also your right as a consumer not to purchase it for whatever price you don't agree with.
 
JunBringer said:
I called their store today and they already knew that they'd have them tomorrow, and we knew weeks ago that it'd be $500 without a contract, so I doubt it was some last minute conspiracy.
Click to expand...

I'm looking for the exact reference too, but this was known. Probably in one of the reviews that were posted.

Added Engadget article with reference to the $500 unlocked price on T-Mobile:

"T-Mobile has already made an odd pair of decisions around its approach to the Nexus 4, namely its choices to ask $200 on contract and $500 up-front for a smartphone that costs $349 unlocked. It might be time to add a third quirk to the list, if a forgivable (and not entirely surprising) one."

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/31/t-mobile-says-its-nexus-4-wont-provide-wifi-calling/
 
tdm said:
Nope, pure speculation at this point. :) Maybe someone will buy a tmo n4 and let us know if it unlocks or not. I'd be pretty amazed if it did.
Click to expand...

Someone just posted that they bought the tmo n4 and unlocked the bootloader. So color me amazed... in a good way. :)
 
I paid my local T-Mobile brick & mortar a visit this afternoon to get some hands on time with the Nexus 4... they did not receive any yet and weren't sure when they would.
 
It seems like not all of their stores are carrying it for some reason. The only one quasi nearby me that's selling it is in Laurel, MD.
 
Yeah, I was told my a store in Memphis they are only being physically carried in 'Major' markets. Could buy online though and have it shipped I suppose.
 
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