http://www.slashgear.com/samsung-gal...y-99-09178609/
"Walmart is taking pre-orders for $99."

Well it is something like $50 X 24 months so possibly $1299, not $99. But as always they just ignore the real price.

People will obviously understand what they mean.

They obviously expect to pay the full monthly amount as well - they don't do "SIM only" in the US.

Although we get the occasional UK poster who thinks they'll be able to get the latest phone for $99 while they are on holiday.

Of course they do PAYG Sim only Dave.

I imagine because most of them are the likes of Virgin, use CDMA and get ignored by their far more commercial media. They don't have impartiality like the BBC. I also imagine the US data plans are a bot more cartel like too.

The cost and restrictions of US data plans seems obsurd to me.

Around $80 per month with "unlimited" (read 500MB) data. Isn't that around £50 per month! Plus they don't quite seem to get the same subsidised phone deals that we get over here.

For example, I pay £20 per month for a T-Mobile contract with unlimited text, calls and data (well, 3GB) and I paid an additional £30 upfront for my HTC Desire HD. I've never seen anything close to that kind of deal for the USA.

I wasn't talking about PAYG, nor was the OP.

Generally "unlimited" in the US means unlimited.

AT&T for example allows people to download upwards of 5GB per month on their unlimited plans, and the only thing they don't allow is tethering.

They do get ripped off in a lot of ways though.

e.g. Paying to receive a text message

Obviously they do both, just not the big corporates who often insist on you paying $600 or so a year.

And to recieve phone calls. I understand they don't have the same level of standardisation as we Europeans that adopted the GSM standards but paying to RECIEVE basic services just seems bizarre!!