By The Motorola Milestone XT720 is just about set to meet its July 2nd launch date over in the UK, and Expansys is now offering the device for pre-order with Vodafone. You can grab the device for free on a two-year, 25 pound tariff (300 minutes, unlimited text messaging, and 500MB data).
If you order today, you can expect the device to ship to begin shipping in 5 days (which would place its shipping date very close to the original launch date, pending any holidays and business days).
Quite a good deal for that phone, but I’m gonna wait for it to come out on T-mobile UK
Europe, it seems, has gone towards a fully-subsidized business model. Basically you can have the phone for free in exchange for a relatively expensive, but limited, contract plan. I hope the US goes more in the direction T-Mobile US has gone, with cheaper no-contact plans and unsubsidized phones. I would rather pay more up-front for the handset and save money on the backside with the plan.
This is a UK ad, but regardless all of Europe has similar price plans. You pay between 0 and full price for the phone, there are many tiers to choose from (ie 0, 50, 75, 100, 150, etc.). If you pay 0, they require you to take one of the higher priced subscriptions. If you pay more for the phone, you can take cheaper and cheaper subscriptions (obviously with fewer and fewer minutes/texts/MBs). Some carriers even have different length contracts, where if you take a 24 month contract over an 18 month, you either pay less for the phone or can take a cheaper subscription.
Its really the best of both worlds. You can get fully subsidized on a 2 year contract, or you can buy the phone outright and not be tied to a contract. Either way the cell service is much much much cheaper than the US. A free Nexus One (or Dell Streak, HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy S, Motorolas, etc…) for 25-35 pounds/month on an 18-24 month contract beats the hell out of anywhere in the US.
This is a good phone and a good deal for Vodafone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GvTNxfrwuo check this out. the phone has a froyo OS
I’d rather wait for the X or Evo 4G – why to get a phone on 24 months contract with yesterday’s processor?
@Nathan – yes, Europe rocks when it comes to good deals on the phones. Apart from the iPhone, hehe, 240quid on 24months tariff, you’ve gotta be joking me :)