[githulhu]

I don't know about other carriers but AT&T has recently changed their model, so if you bring your own device (or buy one from AT&T at full price) you get a discount on your monthly bill.

I just bought an unlocked Moto G for ~$200, which is honestly a good enough device for my needs and a huge money savings over paying $200 up-front, plus an additional monthly charge, for a flagship device.

[chrisBob]

I see that they offer a discount for BYO devices now. That was not obvious to me earlier, even after looking at their web page.

Cell phone pricing should be a simple formula, but it is surprisingly difficult to find a good comparison of costs for an iPhone (or similar) from all of the different companies. What is AT&T Next, for example. The implications of paying $32/month and then saving $15 on the bill are not obvious.