Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
"I own an iPhone 3G and I'm looking for a decent speaker / alarm clock for it. I am going to listen music in a mid-sized room, so I want nice quality speakers with solid bass. I also want to use it as an alarm clock, so it would be great if there is such a feature. The price can be low-mid to mid-high range. I was looking at the Klipsch iGroove SXT; it's powerful, slick and the reviews are good, but it doesn't have an alarm clock feature. It's no deal breaker if I can set it up from the iPhone, but I'm not sure. Thanks!"
Great, now dropping a line on the last month (or day) of the contract will still cost you $110.. or you wait and pay your $60 phone bill then port out...
Just looks like a money gouging and inconveniencing customers to me. If they wanted to stop 'flipping' make the term fee $200 (reduced by $7/month like sprint). Now add in a $250 penalty for canceling service after 30 days but before 4 months (with exceptions, military, etc.)
Price to cancel Timeline:
31 days: $443
3 months: $429
4 months: $174
1 year: $116
23 months: $39
Given that the minimum plan for a smartphone is $70/month, after 3 months of service the customer already paid $200 to the company (company recoups most of losses)..
Hell, now that I think about it, it's a commissioned system. Verizon makes out like a BANDIT here..
1) They gained money from selling the phone to that retailer
2) They revoke payment to retailer for the account closing w/in 6 months
3) They collect ETF (and dont return any of that money to retailer)
4) They collect first bill from customer
Per 31-day cancellation Verizon will make a profit on this of:
~$10-40 per phone
~$350 ETF
~$70 First bill (before taxes, which doesn't really profit vzw)
~$35 Act. fee
If I were Verizon I'd be franchising out the business, $465-$500 profit per cancellation (remember, the phone was bought by the 3rd party vendor -- Walmart, letstalk, wirefly, Best Buy -- and not a company cost, plus their phones (generally) only work on their network so whomever buys the phone = more profit for VZW from data fees!)
And Yes, before you say so, Walmart sells it's cell phones through Letstalk, and Letstalk & Wirefly have huge penalties to recoup their losses (See point #1 & 2 above). So really just Verizon corporate stores take the beatings... and Best Buy.
Well, anyway, what a dashing tale of greed. Glad I'll be grandfathered -- but this will really make me consider switching when I have to resign