Maybe you guys can give me some advice....
Myself: Has 1st gen Evo 4G; cracked the screen; has Sprint's unlimited 450 mins plan ($69+10), with a 15% corp discount + TEP plan; not too techie a guy, but I get by.
Question: I took the phone to the local Sprint store and they told me that they could not just replace the cracked screen on-site - needed to call the insurance company and they would replace for $100 co-pay. OK, fine. Realizing that I could technically get out of my Sprint contract due to changes in the terms and conditions this month. That would make me a free agent. But, I guess I'm not sure if there is another reliable provider who can match Sprint for service and quality of phone.
What bugged me is that they could have fixed the screen on-site, hassle-free. Instead, they make me go through the insurance company, which is a hassle. They are offering the same Evo 4G to new subscribers for the same $100. So, if a new subscriber can get the same deal that I can get - after having paid the insurance premiums for the last year and change, it would seem that I could get a similar phone elsewhere as a new customer, no?
I went to a Verizon store today and their phones seem much more expensive than the Sprint equivalents. Their HTC Thunderbolt (closest thing to Evo) was $249 with new subscriber agreement, and the monthly service would be about $20 more than I am paying now - for "less" service, even though I don't use the "unlimited" nature of my data/text plan to their fullest. Their new Motorola handset was $300, with new agreement, while Sprint's Photon (seemingly equivalent) is $200.
So, my questions are this....
(a) Should I just suck it up, pay the $100 and keep Sprint?
(b) Try to find something else equivalent from another provider? Who might that be?
(c) Get the new $100 Evo; port my number to a pre-paid company; get new phone from Sprint (Photon? Evo 3D?) and sell the new $100 Evo on Ebay/Criagslist?
Honestly, from a financial perspective, (c) sounds like the best of all options - but, it sounds like a hassle. I would be interested in the most hassle-free option, as well. I travel for a living and am currently in Austin, TX, but based out of central Florida. So, hassle would also have to fit into an aggressive, on-the-road work schedule.
Any insight would be much appreciated.
Thanks!