Samsung’s new Galaxy Note9 is right on the block, and telco companies have now unveiled their respective plans for the said device. We take a closer look at these and see which has the better value for money.
UPDATE (Aug. 16, 2018): Smart has clarified that the Php8,397 cashout for Option A is 3 months advanced payment of Php2,799 of the monthly bill. We have updated the article to reflect the changes.
Both Globe Telecom and Smart Communications are advertising the Galaxy Note9 (the 128GB variant) on their Plan 1499 offers with different cashout schemes. Here’s a snapshot:
| Globe ThePlan 1499 | Smart GigaX Plan 1499 Option A | Smart GigaX Plan 1499 Option B |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Calls | Unlimited to Globe/TM | 60mins All-net | 60mins All-net |
| SMS | Unlimited to All Networks | Unlimited to All Networks | Unlimited to All Networks |
| Data | 8GB Open Access 1GB Spotify (3 months) | 5GB Open Access 10GB Video Data | 5GB Open Access 10GB Video Data |
| Other Perks | DisneyLife - 6 months Globe Gadget Care | none | none |
| Contract | 24 months | 24 months | 24 months |
| Initial Cashout | Php32,699 (Php1,499 + Php31,200) *Cashout can be broken down into 24 equal payments via credit card, or charge to bill for recontracting | Php8,397 (Applicable for New Subscribers - 3 months advanced payment of Php2,799 monthly bill) | Php32,699 (Php1499 + Php31,200; via cash, installment via card or charge-to -bill for recontracting subs) |
| Monthly Payment | Php1,499 | Php2,799 (first 3 mos. are paid in advance as part of initial cash-out) | Php1,499 |
| Total Cost | Php67,176 | Php67,176 | Php67,176 |
Globe’s ThePlan 1499 has its usual perks such as unlimited Globe/TM calls, 6-month access to Disneylife, Globe Gadget Care, and free 1GB data for Spotify for 3 months, but has a huge cashout to boot. This also goes the same with Smart’s Options A and B, and they both total the same when we computed for the total cost you’ll incur during the 24-month contract.
We laud Smart for offering more data allocations for video and making their calls all-network despite being limited on their GigaX Plan 1499, as well as offering more options for consumers who can pay the huge cashout upfront or get it with a cheaper cashout but higher monthly payments.
With both telcos costing just as much, which side are you on? Check out the available plans for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 on Globe and Smart.
Author’s note: An earlier version of this article indicated a different computation that sent Smart’s Option A to a Php72k total. As clarified by Smart, the Option A with the small cashout is actually just three months advance payment of the said plan, with 2,799 monthly for 21 months under a 24-month contract.
