I bought a Samsung Galaxy Nexus from Google for $300 unlocked and have been using $70 T-mobile plan. When I'm in coverage, the HSPA speed can get pretty close to LTE speeds. Unfortunately, coverage blows outside of major metros. Even my wife's AT&T coverage is better, which is amazing, as I always found AT&T coverage to be nearly as atrocious as Sprint for coverage.

When the phone dies, I very well may just bite the bullet for a new CDMA/LTE Galaxy and go with Verizon's overpriced no contract plan.

The net is that if you spend most of your time in major cities, it's a really good deal.