Huh? What country are you from then? Every country I know a bit about in this regards (which covers a sizable part of Europe) has 'get a cheaper contract but still get a more expensive phone by paying up front for a part of it' options.
Alright, I wasn't entirely clear - yes, you can get a cheaper contract and pay a bit upfront for the phone - but I don't know literally anyone who does that. At least in the UK since you can get pretty much any phone model for 30-35 pounds a month people just do that rather than get a 20 pounds/month contract and pay anything upfront for the phone.
