it pays to wait

Every day I see people on the train with their iPhones, their Blackberrys,  their Treos, their SideKicks and soon enough I am sure, their Androids (or is that T-Moble G1). All busily reading and clicking and touching and yet when you talk to many of them they are unhappy because they think they bought their phone too early or are paying too much for their monthly plan. Even the people who have their phone provided for and paid for by their employer are usually grumpy about the age of their phone.

Don't get me wrong, I think phones on the train can be a great productivity tool, especially internet connected phones. Particularly today when there was an accident on the line 'above' us and all trains in one direction were indefinitely delayed and my train which was to be an express became a local (meaning it stopped at every station along the route and effectively doubled my commute time).

The trick to getting the most phone for your money is to wait as long as possible so the early adopters have had their fix, the bugs have been ironed out, the supply eases a bit and the prices come down. I can't think of too many people who are impressed by another person's phone for more than a few minutes and honestly - are these really the people you need to have fawning over you? The other secret to getting a cool phone at a great price is to shop around. Your carrier is not always the best source for a phone nor is it always the cheapest. Online retailers have the ability to stock many more brands and varieties and as long as they are unlocked they are ready to run on your network. For example, T-Mobile doesn't carry phone by Vertu, and at about $3000 for the cheapest handset, I don't carry one either. But grakomindo.com does and many many more styles than I ever knew were possible.

Don't settle for what your carrier thinks you would like and for what they think you should pay - shop around and you may be surprised what's out there. It's your phone, make the most of it and save big.