One of the knocks against unsubsidized wireless plans — those plans where you pay full price for your phone but get a discount on monthly service — is that the discount isn’t enough to justify paying upwards of $600-$750 for a top-of-the-line new phone, and that the monthly installment options are really just de facto contracts. But AT&T’s newest plan stretches out payments long enough so that you pay just about the same price — if not lower — than you would under contract. [More]
early upgrades
Verizon Allowing Some Early Upgrades During iPhone 6 Frenzy
By 9.15.14
Verizon is trying to sweeten the pot in its bid to retain customers looking to upgrade to one of the new iPhones. The nation’s wireless company has confirmed that it will allow customers who are on the precipice of upgrade eligibility to take advantage a couple months earlier than their contracts allow. [More]
Sprint Launches Yet Another Early Upgrade Program, This Time With No Monthly Discount
By 1.16.14
Only days after Sprint pulled the plug on its 4-month-old One Up early upgrade program, the wireless company is unveiling yet another promotion aimed at people just feel compelled to constantly upgrade their devices. This time, however, Sprint has basically removed the main reason for signing up. [More]
Sprint Pulls Plug On Early Upgrade Program After Only 4 Months
By 1.13.14
Last fall, Sprint was the last of the four major wireless providers to launch an early upgrade program that required subscribers to pay full price for their phones in order to be able to upgrade those devices after 12 months. We didn’t think it was such a great deal at the time, and apparently neither did many others, as Sprint quietly “retired” One Up last week. [More]
Does T-Mobile’s “No Money Down” Deal Make JUMP Worth The Extra $10/Month?
By 7.26.13
T-Mobile was the first of the three national wireless carriers to introduce a pay-for-early-upgrade program when it unveiled JUMP earlier this month. We questioned the worth of JUMP because of its $10 monthly fee and T-Mobile’s requirement that customers make hefty down-payments on their phones. But with the carrier ditching down-payments, at least temporarily, does that change the math? [More]
