Nothing unusal here, but it seems to be different in the States apparently. Or am I missing something? Cory writes:

The oddly named Reestit Mutton site catalogs the cash-back and discount deals offered by UK mobile phone companies, figuring out all the angles -- follow their directions and assiduously apply for all the rebates and suchlike and you can get your phone and service for free (apparently in some cases, you can double-up on rebates and actually get paid to acquire a mobile and a year's service).

Link to 0 £ phones.

T-Mobile CEO Obermann had also a say about it in 2005:

"We are at the crossroads between device cost and usage cost. Drop subsidy and we can cut tariffs. Customers want lower tariffs. They drive usage and loyalty. Subsidy needs to be cut, then removed."

By the way: René Obermann will also be at the Web 2.0 Conference in St. Gallen on October 4. (and Rebell will hopefully video it;)