On The Cheap: The Waiting Game

On The Cheap is a feature where we investigate low-cost solutions to staying high tech. It comes out every two weeks. Like a paycheck. Aren’t we clever?

While I’m sure we all know that lust for the latest and greatest doohickey can be bad for the wallet, it can sometimes also be bad for our workflow. Cutting-edge products tend to have issues that need to be worked out. Oddly enough, early adopters end up paying for the privilege of being “Beta Plus” testers. This is especially true with cellphones, where a new hot device can be displaced as a carrier’s “it phone” in a matter of weeks (seen any Kyocera Echo ads, lately?). For a phone that was supposed to be the “new hotness”, it sure didn’t take long for the Kyocera Echo to become free for new subscribers, with a mere $50 upgrade, via Wirefly and other sites (with a Gingerbread update in the works, this might actually be a great deal).

However, if you’re patient enough, prices go down and models improve. Compare the cost of the first iPhone (no multi-tasking, no apps, no cut and paste, and 4 GB base model) for $499, with the $199 iPhone 4 (much more robust iOS, a base model with double the storage, and faster chip). That’s quite a difference.

Playing a waiting game can pay off. My first smartphone was the VisorPhone and was a GSM add-on to Handspring’s Visor line of products. At the time, I was using a Palm Vx (don’t mock me) and was a lowly college lab tech. Had I bought the VisorPhone and a Visor when they first came out, I would’ve been out about $400 and been really miffed when the Treo 180 came out a year or so later. Instead, I waited patiently for the VisorPhone (a niche device to be sure) to be part of a promotion. Sure enough, I was soon able to net a VisorPhone as part of  a “free with purchase of PDA” promotion  from Handspring. I also managed to net the color Visor, the Prism, for $99. This may seem like paying too much, but it was an insane deal at the time for brand-new tech direct from the manufacturer. As a bonus, it was also a better version of the software and hardware I would have had if I hadn’t waited and I got it for significantly less.

Laugh, but this was BLEEDING EDGE back in the day.

Of course, there is a downside to this concept —  you can end up waiting too long. For several months, HP Wireless Central was selling the Palm Pre 2 for free with a Verizon upgrade. They even went so far as to throw in a Touchstone induction charger, a car charger, and another wall charger. Not bad, even with the Pre 3 due “any day now.” Unfortunately, by the time there was an available upgrade credit in my family, this deal was gone.

That’s a rare exception that disproves nothing, really. Generally, waiting until a sale is a benefit. My original Pre cost me $75 when they were still going for $200, thanks to a Best Buy Black Friday sale that was also an online sale (because I’m not that crazy). Sites like Amazon, LetsTalk, and Wirefly constantly offer promotions. As an added bonus, you know by then what was and was not worth getting.

Waiting stinks, but it’s better to wait a few month and end up with extra cash and a solid device than to have buyer’s remorse.

Don't trade the lease for your car, okay?