These days there is more talk of using prepaid carriers than ever before and the Nexus 4 certainly sparked a debate about it when it launched for as little as $299, making it feasible to buy the handset outright and then go get a cheaper deal from somebody like Straight Talk. That’s all fine and well however the device only supports GSM networks so if you live in an area with little to no coverage on T-Mobile or AT&T – or networks that run upon theirs- then you’re out of luck when it comes to the Nexus 4.
For those out there in CDMA areas, there’s a new option opening up as prepaid carrier Ting is getting ready to kickoff a campaign to entice you over to their network. How might they do that? With cold hard cash and easing the pain of the dreaded ETF (Early Termination Fee). Kicking off February 1st, Ting is prepared to give you as much as $350 towards the ETF of a line, and you can bring as many lines over to the carrier as well. Ting is an MVNO working off the back of Sprint’s network and so if you have a Sprint device you an bring that over without having to buy a new device. Where problems might arise however is when you’re coming from another carrier, such as Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T as you’ll have to buy a new device. Having said that, you are getting your ETF paid for and you’ll have a device to sell on eBay or Swappa and depending on its age you might stand to actually make money.
Normally, prepaid carriers either don’t offer any devices r those that they do offer aren’t too good but, with Ting there an array of decent smartphones on offer such as the following devices: Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, the Galaxy Nexus, the LG Optimus G. Perhaps now is a good time to switch? Only if you know you get good Sprint coverage in your area, otherwise there’s little to no point in getting a good deal on coverage you can’t tap into.
Fine print? We glad you asked, there is a little in the way of fine print when it comes to the offer. First of all, the offer is only valid for February so don’t miss out and secondly, they only have $100,000 set aside to bring in people looking for help with their ETFs, which is around 285 users at the full $350 mark. The offer may well turn into a first come, first served sort of thing. If the offer interests you, head over to Ting’s website for more info.