T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon are all about to offer new cell phone plans that will allow customers to pay a higher monthly rate in exchange for the opportunity to upgrade their smartphones more often. In this brief — yet lively — video discussion, our experts ponder whether or not this is a good thing.
What about you, readers? Would you pay a higher monthly bill if it meant you could upgrade your smartphone more often? Tell us in the comments section below.
Front page photo credit: Holiday Matinee
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It's easier to buy an unlocked smartphone at retail price or on ebay, go with a no-contract plan, pay less for it and make it easier. If you want to latest and greatest phone, sell your current smartphone online and use that money to buy the new one.
T-mobile normally charges you the full price of the phone - payable as an up-front fee, and $20/mo.
If you buy the premium insurance($12/mo) + $10/mo, you can swap in 6mo & pay a new up-frot+finance. NO CONTRACT for service or this plan. It's Insurance + buyers remorse for $10 more.
So if you pay $150 down and keep it for six months, you have paid off around $250 on phone + insurance (about $72) + additional $60. Then you can just make a new down payment on an new phone & start over.
That works out to be around $63/ mo for an insured phone that you change out evey 6 months. An uninsured phone is about $27/mo, and a phone with just premium insurance is about $39 /mo. So if the option to upgrade is worth around $34 a month (in addition to insurance) for the first 6 months or so you own your phone, you might consider this... especially if you think that next Motorolla may blow the doors off th Huwaii you just bought :)
I'd NEVER sign up for another contract...EVER. Everyone else gets "suckered" into signing-up for a new, "in-vogue" phone..(for the "Keeping-Up-With-The Joneses" crowd, am not one of 'em ). No offense... :-)
With iPhone you are better off actually selling your old phone unlocked and buying a new one. A used 4S was selling for $350 - $400 when the 5 was announced.