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Rogers lets Canadians upgrade phones with no money down, plus a few catches
Where American carriers go, so goeth their Canadian counterparts. Rogers has revealed an upcoming Next program that, like its AT&T parallel, will let early adopters get new phones every 12 months for less cash than it would take using the standard upgrade path. As long as the contract price for a phone is $250 or less, you won't have to pay anything for it up front; you'll just shell out a flat $25 per month ($30 with insurance) and trade in your older Rogers hardware. The math potentially makes sense if you just have to get a new device every year. However, there are some big caveats you'll want to consider. You'll still be signing a two-year agreement when starting out, and you'll have to subscribe to "select" plans. We'll learn more about Next's true value when it's available in the near future, but those who despise contracts (or prefer their grandfathered plans) aren't likely to change their minds.
Verizon's Edge trade-in program now lets customers upgrade after just 30 days
Sick of your new phone already? Verizon would like a word with you. Over the weekend, the company made some changes to its Edge upgrade program, drastically reducing the amount of time customers need to wait before pursuing an upgrade. The plan originally allowed trade-ins for devices that were half paid off and about six months old; now the waiting period has been reduced to a mere 30 days. Verizon told CNET the tweak was technically a promotion, but it's not actually much of a deal. Although the wait-time has been reduced by a factor of six, the amount due hasn't changed a penny: users seeking a new device still need to pony up at least 50 percent of the phone's value, even if they've only been using it for a few weeks. While it's always good to have options, maybe it's a better idea to sort out your buyer's remorse during your carrier's return window.
Sprint launches its 'One Up' plan for early upgraders
Sprint's "One Up" early upgrade program, Big Yellow's offering in the style of Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T, has just gone live. While it's currently only available in-store, customers can upgrade to a new smartphone every year, while snagging unlimited talk, texts and data for $65 per month. There's no down-payment to speak of, instead the cost of the latest tech will be spread out as an additional charge each month. Now, of course, we just have to wait for some shiny new phone launch that'll compel people to make the switch. [Thanks, Dirk]
Sprint early upgrade program in the works, promises to 'One Up' the competition
The Now Network is finally ready to join the early upgrade party, and plans to launch its own smartphone installment program later this month. According to CNET, Sprint One Up will launch on September 20th, giving consumers the option to split the cost of a new device into 24 monthly payments. Partaking in the program puts customers on a slightly discounted version of one of Sprint's new Unlimited, My Way or All-in plans -- a savings of up to $15. It's not a bad concession, considering the fact that a $649 device tacks an extra $27 on your monthly bill. A chart uncovered by CNET pits the program against Sprint's competitors, literally illustrating how the upgrade deal "One Ups" the competition. Cheesy, but effective marketing. Take a gander at the pricing table above, or see CNET's full report at the source link. [Image Credit: Roger Cheng, CNET}
Verizon Edge early upgrade program officially unveiled, will begin August 25th
Quickly following AT&T's footsteps, Verizon Wireless is throwing its hat into the early upgrade ring with a few unique twists and turns of its own. The program, known as Edge, will offer you the ability to pay the full retail price of your phone on a month-to-month basis, with the cost spread out over 24 months (as opposed to AT&T Next's 20 month). However, you'll also be able to upgrade your phone via trade-in after the first six months, provided you have paid off at least half of your phone's total price. Unfortunately, also like Next, you won't see any change in how much the standard wireless plans cost, so while you're saving the upfront cost and switching phones more often, you're also paying a lot more per month for the privilege. We've got Verizon's blog post past the break if you're looking for more details.
Sprint reportedly cancelling its early upgrade program June 1st (update)
Like dominoes, Sprint's consumer-friendly policies continue to fall one at a time. Citing "high costs," the Now Network will begin discontinuing its practice of allowing customers to upgrade their phone 10-14 days prior to the official date of eligibility. According to the memo leaked by TechnoBuffalo, the program will cease to exist as of June 1st. It sounds like this policy change is an unfortunate consequence of the company's large investments in iPhones and its still-dormant LTE network. It may not be enough to convince many Sprint customers to jump ship, but this isn't the first cost-cutting measure put forth by Dan Hesse's team -- and we have a hard time believing it will be the last. We've reached out to Sprint for official comment and will update you as soon as we have word. Update: Sprint sent us a statement about the matter, which you can read below. Apparently, no actual changes to the policy are taking place -- rather, a "reason code" used by customer care representatives to justify early upgrades was removed. Here's Sprint's statement on the policy: We are not making any policy change regarding our phone upgrades. In fact, the 14-day upgrade window was never a program or a policy to our customers - so there is nothing to cancel. We are removing a 'reason code' that made it possible for care reps to sometimes offer an early upgrade - but that code in the system was redundant with the early upgrade benefit we already offer customers. The reality is we already provide customers an early upgrade benefit when they sign up for service by rolling their upgrade eligibility back to the first day of the month. So, if you purchase a phone on the 31st of the month - your upgrade eligibility is rolled to the first of the month (after 20 months). So, that is a 30 day early upgrade advantage. If you bought your phone on the 18th of the month - you would have an 18 day early upgrade advantage, etc. And, if customers have an issue with an inoperable or broken phone before the upgrade date, there are several options they can check into - depending on if they have insurance, they can work with our Service & Repair, or they can buy a refurbished phone, or, in some cases, we can buy back the customer's phone.
Sprint launches early upgrade promo, wants you to stay and chat awhile
In an industry where customer churn can be likened to the fearsome troll under the bridge, Sprint has launched a program designed to keep its favored subscribers around for another two years. While not everyone is eligible -- those who've upgraded less than eight months ago, corporate outfits and those in collections need not inquire -- the program lets customers buy their way out of their current commitment and become eligible for a new, subsidized handset. The promotion begins February 12th and is set to run through the 14th of April, where the amount you pay correlates to the time since your last upgrade. So if you're currently pining for the Epic 4G Touch or the iPhone 4S, just give your local Sprint store a call this Sunday. They just may be able to hook you up.
AT&T bumps early-upgrade prices for all smartphones, reminds that patience is a virtue
The two year contract is a blessing and a curse, but looking at these updated prices from AT&T we're thinking those upgrading early and doing so to a one year contract are quite simply doomed. AT&T has upped the price on all early-upgrade one year commitment smartphones by a whopping $150. That's painful, but the early-upgrades are at least a little less painful. Smartphones like the iPhone are jumping by a relatively meager $50, meaning a new 32GB iPhone 4 will cost you $549 vs the previous $449. Or you could, you know, just suck it up for another 12 months. Update: As it turns out the $150 premium is unrelated to upgrading -- if you want a one year contract you're stuck with the $150 premium, regardless.
AT&T hikes early upgrade prices
Mobile phone carriers have always had early upgrade pricing. In other words, if you purchase a phone with a two-year contract but want to get a newer model after a year, you generally pay a surcharge to do so. Over the weekend, AT&T quietly raised its early upgrade pricing by US$50 across the board. In a memo to store employees outed on Android Central, iPhone early upgrade pricing jumped from $249 to $299 for an 8 GB iPhone 3GS, from $399 to $449 for a 16 GB iPhone 4, and from $499 to $549 for a 32 GB iPhone 4. AT&T isn't just picking on iPhones, though -- the increase is for all smartphones. For no commitment and one year commitment pricing, iPhones are exempt from AT&T's pricing gun. No commitment pricing for other smartphones will go up $50, while making a one year commitment to another smartphone will cost a whopping $150 more. iPhone prices for no commitment or one year commitments remain the same, giving Apple's device a bit of a price advantage over competing (i.e., Android) smartphones on short commitment deals. [via Electronista]
AT&T jacking some no-contract smartphone prices to keep pace with new early upgrade fee
If you thought that the newly-increased $200 early upgrade fee for existing AT&T customers looking to re-up their handsets was painful enough, turns out the company seems to have swept another price increase under the rug at the same time. In the latest in-store displays valid for the period ending November 6, a bunch of smartphones are showing no-commitment (that is, no-contract) pricing anywhere from $100 to $150 higher than they were previously. Why? To make sure that the early upgrade price is still less than (or equal to) the no-commitment price, since it wouldn't make any sense to charge a current subscriber more for hardware without a contract than it would a new one. Here are some examples: Palm Pre Plus: $299.99 before, $399.99 now HTC Aria: $329.99 before, $429.99 now Sony Ericsson Vivaz: $279.99 before, $429.99 now Palm Pixi Plus: $229.99 before, $379.99 now Motorola Backflip: $249.99 before, $349.99 now Some pricing remains unchanged -- the Samsung Captivate, for instance, which is still $499.99 -- but that's simply because the new line price plus the early upgrade fee are still well less than that rather hefty sum. At any rate, it's a bummer that AT&T is penalizing people who just want to buy a phone without signing up for a contract here... and it's pretty hilarious to see ancient hardware like the Backflip go up by a hundred bucks this late in the game. [Thanks, anonymous tipster]
AT&T bumping its smartphone early upgrade price to $200
While the basics have stayed the same for a while -- $200 for an annual iPhone sweetened by a slowly descending overall plan price -- carriers like AT&T of course have a lot of maneuvering to do in the periphery to make sure they're still getting their margins. Hefty ETFs have of course been the most egregious element of this, and now AT&T is bumping its smartphone early upgrade exception price from $75 to $200, which means if you lost or smashed your iPhone and decided to go Torch instead (we don't know why, it's AT&T's suggestion), that Torch would cost you $400 instead of the $500 unsubsidized price or the $275 tag you could've gotten away with a week ago. This new price only applies only to smartphones, and only non-Apple ones at that, and of course there's always the potential for flex based on how long you've been a customer and how far you are into your contract. So yeah, we doubt this will impact most users, but it's a nice bit of sand in the eye for a select, unlucky few.
O2 offers early iPhone 4 upgrade amnesty in bid to retain customers
Would you look at that. Following in the footsteps of AT&T, O2 has today announced it'll allow current customers to pay off the remainder of their contracts at a discounted rate when they re-up with the network for the iPhone 4. Irrespective of how much you're paying now, the UK carrier will charge you a flat rate of £20 ($29) for each leftover month. Considering most iPhone users rock out at £30 and above, that's a solid 30 percent discount (or contract amnesty, however you wanna view it) for the impatient types. Of course, you'll be trading away your usual 14-day cooling off period if you take them up on this deal, so you'd better make doubly sure you want the iPhone 4 on O2 before taking the plunge.
