Verizon Wireless retiring New Every Two's Early upgrade option?

[Bateluer]

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/04/verizon-wireless-nixing-early-upgrades-and-new-every-two-program/

Fan of the early upgrade? Hope you're not on Big Red, then. Android Central's obtained what's purported to be a slide from Verizon's training material, one that says customers on a two-year contract "will no longer be able to upgrade in months 13 - 20 of their 24 month contract as a standard policy" after January 16th. As for the the New Every Two deal, pared down once already in February 2009, new customers won't be enrolled if they activate or upgrade a line, also after the 16th. In other words, the program would be effectively dead in the water, but we don't know if this slide is gospel or a cruel forgery, and we may not know for about another two weeks... you know, after the deluge of exciting phones that'll be revealed at CES this week. Them's the breaks.

Whaa? Wonder how this will pan out.

 

[notposting]

Still holding onto the one on my wife's line from 2005. The rep at Costco about crapped his shorts when I came into pickup a Droid. I had been buying phones used or new through forums and ebay for 5 years. Then he saw my wife's line as well.

Profits must be running low for VZW.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Let's hope this isn't going to become the norm for the other carriers.

 

[Bateluer]

Let's hope this isn't going to become the norm for the other carriers.

If it does, how are they going to convince people to buy new 600 dollar phones ever year? People will hold onto their current device until it falls apart, then go to eBay.

 

[Zargon]

good lord that would suck

that last 6 months usually sucks for my phone before upgrade

 

[Anubis]

was talking with a buddy at work about this today and neither of us could figure out why thy think this is a good idea

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

was talking with a buddy at work about this today and neither of us could figure out why thy think this is a good idea

Save money.

 

[Bateluer]

Save money.

What happens when people now buy fewer phones less often?

 

[s44]

Sounds like a policy designed for iPhone buyers.

Ugh.

 

[Cuda1447]

What happens when people now buy fewer phones less often?

.... uh they save money! You do realize Vzw LOSSES money when they sell phones. They want you to pay for service... buying that droid for $150 costs them a ton of cash.

 

[her209]

.... uh they save money! You do realize Vzw LOSSES money when they sell phones. They want you to pay for service... buying that droid for $150 costs them a ton of cash.

How do you figure?

Customer buys a subsidized phone. They make the money back by charging more per month. They make that back within a year while having the customer on contract for 2 years. If the customer cancels prior to contract expiration, customer pays an early termination fee.

They can't lose.

 

[Anubis]

How do you figure?

Customer buys a subsidized phone. They make the money back by charging more per month. They make that back within a year while having the customer on contract for 2 years. If the customer cancels prior to contract expiration, customer pays an early termination fee.

They can't lose.

this is how i was going to reply

 

[snewdle]

Its nice to have two parents on the same plan that never upgrade their phones.

But in response to this topic, I always looked at the ability to upgrade well before the expiration of your contract as a sort of extra courtesy. If you need to have a phone significantly more often than every 24 months, either take better care of your current one or stop being such a cell phone whore!

 

[Bateluer]

If you need to have a phone significantly more often than every 24 months, either take better care of your current one or stop being such a cell phone whore!

With the development of smart phone technology, we are basically taking about a computer in our pockets. At the staggering pace of development, I don't always want to wait a full 2 years for an upgrade.

This policy does sound like something catered towards iPhone users. If I keep a given device for the full 24 months, then I want a new one, will they be charging the full price of the phone? Heck, if I have to pay the full price for a phone anyway, why bother to sign a contract at all? No more ETF fees?

 

[boomhower]

How does new every two work. Tried reading the Verizon FAQ and just got confused. Sprint's Premier is decent, full upgrade every year but my wife get's jealous because it only counts for the main line not add a lines.

 

[Bateluer]

How does new every two work. Tried reading the Verizon FAQ and just got confused.

Pretty much just like it sounds. You're eligible for a new phone, at the subsidized pricing, every 24 months. You're often allowed to upgrade after the 13th month, with the signing of a new two year contract.

If I have to pay full price for a phone, then I want non-contract pricing, ie, cheaper monthly bill.

 

[sswingle]

New every 2 pricing is different from contract renewal pricing people....

 

[Bateluer]

New every 2 pricing is different from contract renewal pricing people....

Really? Seemed the same to me last time I let my contract run out. Damn Chocolate, wish I'd upgraded that POS sooner.

 

[sswingle]

Really? Seemed the same to me last time I let my contract run out. Damn Chocolate, wish I'd upgraded that POS sooner.

You can get a contract renewal at subsidized pricing on every line in your plan. Officially you can do this 4 months early on a 2 year contract, which according to the OP is NOT going away.

New Every Two is an additional $50(I think its 50) off at time of contract renewal but only applies to the main line.

For example I login to my verizon account, I have 4 lines. 3 of them say I can renew contract and get a subsidized phone. However on my main line I have a bar showing me how long until I qualify for new every two.

 

[Spoooon]

Don't remember from when I last upgraded: does the contract renew from the date you upgrade your phone if you upgrade early? Or do they tack 2 years on to the end of your current contract?

 

[sswingle]

How do you figure?

Customer buys a subsidized phone. They make the money back by charging more per month. They make that back within a year while having the customer on contract for 2 years. If the customer cancels prior to contract expiration, customer pays an early termination fee.

They can't lose.

Yea, but if someone has a Droid now, and they upgrade early to a Droid X or similar, VZW doesn't make any extra per month.

So yea, this is obviously a money saving move since customers will be getting a new subsidized phone less often.

 

[Bateluer]

5 things to know:

1. All customers who activate / upgrade on a qualifying plan prior to January 16th, 2011 are enrolled in NE2 (New Every 2) and eligible to use the NE2 discount for up to six months from the date they become eligible.

2. Any customer who uses an NE2 credit or Annual Upgrade after January 16, 2011 will no longer be eligible for either program. On March 6, 2011, VZW systems will be updated to reflect this.

3. All customers who exercise the NE2 or Annual Upgrade option on or after January 16th will receive a letter notifying them that it was their last NE2 or Annual Upgrade.

4. Business customers continue to receive either the two-year corporate matrix tiered device pricing or two-year retail device pricing per contract.

5. Customers will now be eligible for promotional pricing after 20 months on a 2-year contract and 10 months on a 1-year contract.

More details from Engadget.

 

[Bateluer]

Yea, but if someone has a Droid now, and they upgrade early to a Droid X or similar, VZW doesn't make any extra per month.

So yea, this is obviously a money saving move since customers will be getting a new subsidized phone less often.

I don't follow. If I have a Droid, and I upgrade early to a Droid X, I sign a new 2yr contract, locking myself in.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Yea, but if someone has a Droid now, and they upgrade early to a Droid X or similar, VZW doesn't make any extra per month.

So yea, this is obviously a money saving move since customers will be getting a new subsidized phone less often.

Exactly. They were charging $200 for nice featurephone sbefore. Those featurephones used to run for $400 on eBay or so. Now you want a $600 smartphone for the same price. Good luck.

You wonder how AT&T deals with iPhone upgrades EVERY YEAR. It's like the housing crisis really. New iPhones every year for only $200, but you're still paying $30/month for data plan. By the time the Apple fanboy's iPhone 2G is paid for, he's already moved onto the iPhone 4. What about his 3G and 3GS? AT&T's losing serious cash, and it's preventing them from doing upgrades.

Same with VZW. People seem to expect they have a right to a new smartphone every 6 months for some ridiculously low price. And of course OP is none other than the guy who hypes every new Android phone like it's a revolution. Evolution my friend, not revolution. Last year's Android phone is still just as capable as today's. In fact a D1 overclocked does just fine. Slowdowns in daily operations are not going to be remedied by the Nexus S' more powerful GPU.

 

[bucwylde23]

This sucks, currently since our bill is above 79.99 or whatever, we can get an upgrade on the main line every year at the promotional price (just without the NE2). I've been using my upgrade plus my wife's upgrade (she's the main line) for the last couple of years in order to keep my phone current.