Google's Nexus One 'equipment recovery fee' slashed to $150, still a pain
By Chris Ziegler 
posted February 8th 2010 5:05PM
posted February 8th 2010 5:05PM
So the good news here is that Google appears to have heard the cries for help, having taken a chainsaw to its brutal $350 "equipment recovery fee" that had been lumped on top of T-Mobile's $200 ETF for subsidized Nexus One contracts canceled in the first 120 days. The bad news, though, is that it still exists at all -- a hairy precedent for an industry being watched with eagle eyes by the FCC right now. The company has knocked $200 off the fee, bringing it down to $150; in other words, if you break your contract, you'll pay the same ETF that Verizon now charges on its "advanced devices." Whether that was a deliberate move to let 'em say that they're no more expensive than Verizon is unclear, but let's be honest: $350 is extreme, $550 was highway robbery. At least we're going in the right direction.
Just buy it unlocked people, how hard can it be? Hopefully this trend will discourage people flocking into a contract and re-evaluate the obviousness of unlocked phones.
@pika2000 I agree. Once you get used to buying and using unlocked unsubsidized phones, i'm not sure you can go back.
Paying less for the internet doesn't hurt either.
Just shut up already. It's a unlocked phone even if you sign a contract with TMobile. $150 sounds pretty reasonable to me.
You know what's truely extreme?......Mountain Dew!
Is anyone using this phone on AT&T?
Still worth it to buy unlocked.... I have had enough contracts.... But recovery fees make sense, this isn't a charity...
I like this article