Apple’s colorful 5c has been something of an object of derision by serious tech users, but the sales have certainly been impressive. Look down your nose all you want, but Apple has moved a ton of units. One reason is likely the fact that retailers have been aggressive with pricing, something atypical for iPhones. Recently, we heard news of another impressive deal, until we took a minute to think about it.
Retail giant Walmart is offering the iPhone 5c on contract for $.97. That’s right, less than a buck. This is obviously to make room for whatever Apple will call the next generation of iPhones due to be announced on September 9, a little less than three weeks from today. But that’s not the reason to avoid buying it. We’re confident in predicting that the 5c remains more than powerful enough for your daily use compared to whatever Apple puts out next.
The reason to not take advantage of this dubious deal is because you will be locked into a two-year contract with Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, or US Cellular. That wouldn’t have been a big deal before, but we’re in an era of massive plan shakeups. Sprint alone has changed plan structures two times this year. Committing to two years on a current plan is something you want to think long and hard about.
As for Best Buy’s sale, you can grab more than just the 5c. In store purchase of any open box iPhone nets you a $200 gift card. You can even find the already discontinued iPhone 5 at some Best Buy locations. A 4s costs you next to nothing, and then you have $200 to spend. That is, as long as you want to spend that at Best Buy. That, plus the above mentioned contract issue, makes this a dodgy deal as well. One side note though: Best Buy is the one place other than a Sprint retailer or Sprint.com where you can get a Framily plan. If that plan is your thing and you want to get in on it before it goes away, then this might work for you.
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