As I think I mentioned before, I signed up for a no-contract basic mobile phone plan when I moved to Singapore in early April. My intention was to see what promotions and new phones would be available before signing a contract.
Good thinking. Now here comes the iPhone 4, although it'll be an extra 30 days or so before Singapore gets Apple's latest magical device. I've run the numbers many different ways, using reasonable estimates, and basically I'm a fool if I don't sign a mobile phone contract and take delivery of a new iPhone from one of Singapore's carriers. But I may be a fool (economically speaking) to keep the iPhone. Essentially, selling a new iPhone 4 (through eBay, for example) would net funds sufficient to pay off the entire minimum spending flow for the entire two-year service contract, by my calculation. Or at least come rather close. In other words, right now I'm paying SGD 15 per month for basic service, which is quite a bargain. But that's SGD 270 over the next 18 months. Instead, I could be paying approximately SGD 0 (net) per month for better service for 24 months, as long as I don't keep the iPhone 4. Wacky, isn't it?
So that first decision would seem easy: sign a contract. But do I then keep the iPhone? Or do I stick with a more basic phone, something like a Nokia 2730 for example? Or split the difference and go with something like the Motorola Milestone XT720, an Android-powered smartphone?
