[waldojim]

I know we all like free stuff on Black Friday, so I thought I might start a thread where we can post all the cool free(ish) things that we find!

I know phone carriers are good for this:
Verizon Wireless has the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 16GB and 32GB phones for free, as well as the Motorola Droid Razr. Of course, you have to sign up for a contract, but hey - free phones are great any day of the week.

Att is selling the Nokia 900 and the Moto Atrix 2 for 1 cent. That doesn't seem nearly as nice as the Galaxy Nexus, but maybe that is just me.

Sprint is also rocking a Free Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and the Galaxy Victory for free!

So if nothing else, this is a great year for decent free phones!

So yeah, please add great deals you find!

This post has been edited by waldojim: 22 November 2012 - 03:22 PM

[LiveBrianD]

I wouldn't call the Galaxy Nexus a great deal, with the Nexus 4 being only $350 (16GB) unlocked. That said, I'm hoping I can get a Samsung 830 cheaply on sale. (maybe not an 840, since TLC is fairly new)

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 22 November 2012 - 03:50 PM, said:

I wouldn't call the Galaxy Nexus a great deal, with the Nexus 4 being only $350 (16GB) unlocked. That said, I'm hoping I can get a Samsung 830 cheaply on sale. (maybe not an 840, since TLC is fairly new)

Hmm... free VS $350. Yep, that Nexus 4 sounds like a much better deal.

[Win7boy]

Or be smart,get one of those Galaxys or if you Really wanna Have a AMAZING Screen get a Droid DNA like I Did yesterday

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 22 November 2012 - 04:53 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 22 November 2012 - 03:50 PM, said:

I wouldn't call the Galaxy Nexus a great deal, with the Nexus 4 being only $350 (16GB) unlocked. That said, I'm hoping I can get a Samsung 830 cheaply on sale. (maybe not an 840, since TLC is fairly new)

Hmm... free VS $350. Yep, that Nexus 4 sounds like a much better deal.

But when you pair it with a prepaid plan, you end up spending far less over time. Even with the older Verizon plans (now discontinued), not factoring in how my family already has a Verizon plan, I figured that the unlocked option (with the unlocked phone at $400 as well) would still be cheaper over 2 years. Show me a Verizon or Sprint smartphone plan that's $30. Yep, didn't think you could. And that's not factoring in how the carrier doesn't get to slow down updates for no reason (sitting back and watching to see how long it takes Verizon to bring 4.2 to the Nexus, which I've had for at least a week now), and you're not locked to one carrier. The Nexus 4 sounds like a good deal to me.

AND, that's not factoring in how the Nexus 4 has a much faster processor than the Galaxy Nexus, better build quality, better camera, etc. Now why would I go with Verizon or Sprint again?

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 22 November 2012 - 06:18 PM

[waldojim]

Win7boy, on 22 November 2012 - 06:06 PM, said:

Or be smart,get one of those Galaxys or if you Really wanna Have a AMAZING Screen get a Droid DNA like I Did yesterday

I thought about the DNA... and I figured, maybe next year, it will be free!

Though to be frank, the reviews I have seen paint the DNA's screen as being so-so, not amazing. Namely poor color, and poor brightness.

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 22 November 2012 - 06:16 PM, said:

But when you pair it with a prepaid plan, you end up spending far less over time. Even with the older Verizon plans (now discontinued), not factoring in how my family already has a Verizon plan, I figured that the unlocked option (with the unlocked phone at $400 as well) would still be cheaper over 2 years. Show me a Verizon or Sprint smartphone plan that's $30. Yep, didn't think you could. And that's not factoring in how the carrier doesn't get to slow down updates for no reason (sitting back and watching to see how long it takes Verizon to bring 4.2 to the Nexus, which I've had for at least a week now), and you're not locked to one carrier. The Nexus 4 sounds like a good deal to me.

AND, that's not factoring in how the Nexus 4 has a much faster processor than the Galaxy Nexus, better build quality, better camera, etc. Now why would I go with Verizon or Sprint again?

That depends on the plan, and the usage. There is no pre-paid plan that will compare to what I have. None. Go bitch in another thread, this one is about free - or nearly free BF deals.

EDIT: I am tempted to down-vote your ass for wasting NO TIME AT ALL taking this thread off topic.

This post has been edited by waldojim: 22 November 2012 - 07:54 PM

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 22 November 2012 - 07:53 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 22 November 2012 - 06:16 PM, said:

But when you pair it with a prepaid plan, you end up spending far less over time. Even with the older Verizon plans (now discontinued), not factoring in how my family already has a Verizon plan, I figured that the unlocked option (with the unlocked phone at $400 as well) would still be cheaper over 2 years. Show me a Verizon or Sprint smartphone plan that's $30. Yep, didn't think you could. And that's not factoring in how the carrier doesn't get to slow down updates for no reason (sitting back and watching to see how long it takes Verizon to bring 4.2 to the Nexus, which I've had for at least a week now), and you're not locked to one carrier. The Nexus 4 sounds like a good deal to me.

AND, that's not factoring in how the Nexus 4 has a much faster processor than the Galaxy Nexus, better build quality, better camera, etc. Now why would I go with Verizon or Sprint again?

That depends on the plan, and the usage. There is no pre-paid plan that will compare to what I have. None. Go bitch in another thread, this one is about free - or nearly free BF deals.

EDIT: I am tempted to down-vote your ass for wasting NO TIME AT ALL taking this thread off topic.

Say what you want, but I've been awfully happy paying less, not having my updates slowed down for no reason, and getting comparable service, for the most part. And if I decide to upgrade to, say, the Nexus 4, it's easy - just buy the phone, put the SIM card in it, and maybe ebay the old one. Even if the phone were available on Verizon (note how Google decided not to make another Nexus phone for them because of all the hassle they had before), it would still be a MUCH bigger hassle there. Hey, to take a page from your book, I have to warn others before you mislead them. And remember - free is not really free when you pay far more per month. Speaking of which, did you know you can get FREE money by taking out loans? (ignore the monthly fees in the same way you're ignoring the reduced monthly bills that you get with a prepaid phone) Do the math. I did, and what was better became obvious. Share everything only pushes things even further away from being in Verizon's favor.

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 22 November 2012 - 08:08 PM

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 22 November 2012 - 07:51 PM, said:

Win7boy, on 22 November 2012 - 06:06 PM, said:

Or be smart,get one of those Galaxys or if you Really wanna Have a AMAZING Screen get a Droid DNA like I Did yesterday

I thought about the DNA... and I figured, maybe next year, it will be free!

Though to be frank, the reviews I have seen paint the DNA's screen as being so-so, not amazing. Namely poor color, and poor brightness.

I have to wonder how much 1080p is actually noticeable there. At that point, isn't it just an item on the spec sheet, and a waste of battery, more than anything else? 720p there would still be 294ppi, and given that I can't see the pixels on a 330ppi iPhone at all, I doubt it's really an issue. I would like to see desktop and laptop displays get higher resolutions though - having the same resolution on a 5" phone as a 23" desktop monitor is ridiculous.

I'm still not a fan of any of the custom skins though.

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 22 November 2012 - 08:04 PM

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 22 November 2012 - 08:00 PM, said:

I have to wonder how much 1080p is actually noticeable there. At that point, isn't it just an item on the spec sheet, and a waste of battery, more than anything else? 720p there would still be 294ppi, and given that I can't see the pixels on a 330ppi iPhone at all, I doubt it's really an issue. I would like to see desktop and laptop displays get higher resolutions though - having the same resolution on a 5" phone as a 23" desktop monitor is ridiculous.

I'm still not a fan of any of the custom skins though.

Most of the reviews give it very high praise for having much smoother text, but poor brightness and color accuracy. Battery life is remarkable on that phone. You don't have to see individual pixels to be able to see the EFFECT of the pixels. This is a concept many people have a hard time with. Such as with audio - just because you can't hear sounds above 20Khz, doesn't mean you don't hear the EFFECT 24Khz sound is having on the audio.

Now - please BACK TO THE TOPIC. If you have free stuff to add, add it. If you want to whine/bitch, make a new whine thread.

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 22 November 2012 - 08:11 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 22 November 2012 - 08:00 PM, said:

I have to wonder how much 1080p is actually noticeable there. At that point, isn't it just an item on the spec sheet, and a waste of battery, more than anything else? 720p there would still be 294ppi, and given that I can't see the pixels on a 330ppi iPhone at all, I doubt it's really an issue. I would like to see desktop and laptop displays get higher resolutions though - having the same resolution on a 5" phone as a 23" desktop monitor is ridiculous.

I'm still not a fan of any of the custom skins though.

Most of the reviews give it very high praise for having much smoother text, but poor brightness and color accuracy. Battery life is remarkable on that phone. You don't have to see individual pixels to be able to see the EFFECT of the pixels. This is a concept many people have a hard time with. Such as with audio - just because you can't hear sounds above 20Khz, doesn't mean you don't hear the EFFECT 24Khz sound is having on the audio.

Now - please BACK TO THE TOPIC. If you have free stuff to add, add it. If you want to whine/bitch, make a new whine thread.

I dunno - I can't exactly discern pixels on my 23" monitor from a typical viewing distance (~60cm or more away), but I can definitely tell the difference on my dad's retina 15" mbp. (though if I shove my nose into it, I can actually see pixels... barely) But then again, an iPhone (with a dpi that's just a bit higher than a 5" 720p screen) already has very crisp text. I'm not certain you can get much better than that. (from a perspective of sharp text that is)

[waldojim]

Guys, just to mention it - the Corsair CX 430 is $17 at newegg after the idiot rebate card. Can't go wrong with sub $20 power supplies from a trusted vendor!

To be honest I do like the PSU deals they have, with a TX 650, and Silencer 500 modular in the list for $50 they actually have something of value in there for a change.

[LiveBrianD]

Nice. Haven't they been selling it for $45 -$20 rebate for a while though? (still a nice discount)

One of the monitors I was looking at has also been on sale lately (HP 2511x) - $200 for a $300 product? Sweet... (only problem is, newegg wants $9 shipping and it's free on amazon, same price otherwise, but Amazon's site is a pain so I'd rather not support them)

I've also been seeing the 840 256GB for ~$160 on new egg, though the 120GB version is $90 - not that cheap. I was hoping the 830s would be cheaper since they're older models.

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 23 November 2012 - 08:11 AM

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 23 November 2012 - 08:02 AM, said:

Nice. Haven't they been selling it for $45 -$20 rebate for a while though? (still a nice discount)

One of the monitors I was looking at has also been on sale lately (HP 2511x) - $200 for a $300 product? Sweet... (only problem is, newegg wants $9 shipping and it's free on amazon, same price otherwise, but Amazon's site is a pain so I'd rather not support them)

I've also been seeing the 840 256GB for ~$160 on new egg, though the 120GB version is $90 - not that cheap. I was hoping the 830s would be cheaper since they're older models.

It has been running about $25 after the MIR.

And Brian, if you want to start another whine thread, I will show you why you are wrong. But I am trying to keep this thread on topic. Now DROP IT or make your own damned thread.

This post has been edited by waldojim: 23 November 2012 - 08:20 AM

[rgreen4]

GENTLEMEN, (I USE THIS TERM LOOSELY) LET'S COOL IT. THIS FORM IS NOT FOR TRADING SOPHMORIC INSULTS. IF YOU WANT TO DO THAT, PLEASE TAKE IT TO ANOTHER FORUM AND ONLY POST CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS HERE, NOT PERSONAL SLAMS.