[Devlyn16]

The worst thing about wanting to upgrade if you have a phone with a Canadian carrier though, is the fact that we have 3-year contracts, so we have to be locked into our phone for a full year longer than just about any other cellular company in the world, and we still pay the same amount that everyone else does, except everywhere else, it's 2-year pricing. Even worse is that we generally don't get access to the full 3-year pricing bonus again until we're 6 months from the end of our contract, meaning we have to wait 2 1/2 years from our initial signing date to upgrade, or pay a small fortune to do so otherwise.
It's really a huge pain, but it sure discourages me from wanting to upgrade more than once every two years.

Well you can take solace int eh fact 99% of Canadian beer is better than 90 % of "American" beer.

BAck to topic:

the current average price of a NE2 phone seems to hover around $200.

I wonder would folks agree to a contract where they pay $100 a year for the latest and greatest of the phoens offered but are then stuck in contract for 2 years after their that upgrade?

$100 every year with a (comparativly) moderate technological increase?

or $200 every 2 years witha more significant technological increase?

[papped]

I wonder would folks agree to a contract where they pay $100 a year for the latest and greatest of the phoens offered but are then stuck in contract for 2 years after their that upgrade?

$100 every year with a (comparativly) moderate technological increase?

or $200 every 2 years witha more significant technological increase?

Another factor is smartphone data plans (which are a rip off). You cannot get anything but a carrier branded phone with upgrade pricing, which means mandatory $30 a month data plan. Non carrier branded phones can use $15 a month data plan (you can combine unlimited data + unlimited text for only $30 though). BB's are the exception, since you need BIS regardless

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

The OP is putting a natural advancement of technology in perspective for some. Its the same with my laptop. I had a two year old toshiba that was recently replaced with a new HP and there is a load of difference because standards change every year. The thing with storm two is that it will probably be more consumer friendly compared to storm 1 where a lot of folks had to go to crackberry to love their phones. The storm two will be what everyone wanted in storm one. The animosity surrounding the storm 1 will dissipate as people move on to the device that should have been what everyone wanted.

You are right in that aspect. The Storm has given many users trouble, so I can see how that upgrade would be necessary. There may (we won't know until it comes out) be a performance enhancement, but looking at the projected specs, there isn't going to be much of a difference. The addition of wifi will be great, but everthing else will be about the same.

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[dwaynewilliams#WN]

I'm really wondering if the onyx will eventually come with a trackpad. If it shis with a trackball, I think all bold users should hold off. The upgrade isn't worth it at all. If the optical trackpad comes with the Onyx, that hardware enhancement may be enough to warrant an upgrade - if it works properly.

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[Clavs1]

Well said. Good thing that I'm going from 8320 to an onyx

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

Well said. Good thing that I'm going from 8320 to an onyx

Now that's an upgrade!

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[ekyle125]

As a VIP customer with Verizon, they push me well before my two years are up to upgrade. I have a Tour now, but technically wasn't eligible for an upgrade until this October, they were pushing me to get a new device toward the end of February, right at one year...

I didn't even realize what the VIP program was until I brought it up at the store. Suddenly they were asking me what I would like to upgrade to. I figured I give BB a shot and bought my Storm, 1 year early

LOL My first phone was the motorola teletac. That was like a brick. I then moved on to the startac. LOL ahhh the memories. LOL

I just talked my father in law into upgrading from his Startac last year. He'd use them until the battery died then buy a new battery off of ebay.

[AndrePrev]

My problem is that I want something different with my bold... Sounds gready and dumb I know, but the new storm looks real nice and I might get it, maybe in december if its out... That is my 1 year into my contract.

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

My problem is that I want something different with my bold... Sounds gready and dumb I know, but the new storm looks real nice and I might get it, maybe in december if its out... That is my 1 year into my contract.

That doesn't sound greedy at all. I actually understand. However the OS updates and new apps keeps me interested in my Bold. I think the 5.0 update along with the new apps will keep me busy for another year until my contract is up.

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[jahoobob]

Cheaper than buying a new car or motorcycle every year.

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

Cheaper than buying a new car or motorcycle every year.

Who does that?

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[SevereDeceit]

I didn't even realize what the VIP program was until I brought it up at the store. Suddenly they were asking me what I would like to upgrade to. I figured I give BB a shot and bought my Storm, 1 year early

Exactly, glad it all worked out for ya...

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

What is the VIP program? Does it allow you to upgrade every year?

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[victorythagr8]

If you look at the specs of the upcoming Storm 2, they are very similar to the device that you already have. With the 5.0 OS update, the two phones are going to be strikingly similar with the exception of minor differences.

I can see you never use the storm before. The much improve surepress, wifi and bigger app memory alone is a good enough reason to upgrade to the storm 2. Storm biggest problem was App memory, lack of wifi and the surepress for typing and the OS. And i know OS 5 wont free up my app memory, add wifi, andd give 4 imput button instead of 1 for the storm 1.

[papped]

Yea the Storm 2 is drastically different from the Storm 1...

[godofdeath]

its not upgrading, if my 1 year contract runs out and i want a new phone, thats the advantage of tmobile, and tech gets old after a year anyway

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

its not upgrading, if my 1 year contract runs out and i want a new phone, thats the advantage of tmobile, and tech gets old after a year anyway

Do they really? My Bold is a year old and is still considered the best BB to date. What technology are the other BBs using that my Bold does not?

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[dwaynewilliams#WN]

Yea the Storm 2 is drastically different from the Storm 1...

Is it drastically different? I looked at the specs. Outside of it offering wifi, it looks like the same phone. Also, I think you are making a mistake of assuming that the performance will be that much better on a device that no one has used yet. When the Storm 2 releases its likely that it will have some issues. Leaving the only real difference of wifi. Wait for the next Storm, then you will see a suitable upgrade.

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[gots2beme]

Well said. Good thing that I'm going from 8320 to an onyx

I'm going from an 8310 to the Onyx so I've been waiting for a long time. Started to get the Bold but decided to hold out a little longer.

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

Its going to seem like lightyears of difference for you.

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[jgaspar89]

Good post. I have the iPhone 3G, was tempted to get the iPhone 3GS when I first heard about it, but after looking it over I realized that I'd just save my money for something else. Then I heard about the Onyx/Storm2..

[boomhower1820]

Cell phones are one of my few vices, I upgrade every year. Before I did it via ebay but now that I have Sprint Premier I can do it with a new one. I just love having the latest and greatest phones.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jahoobob
Cheaper than buying a new car or motorcycle every year.
Who does that?

A guy at my local Chevrolet dealership trades for a new $80,000 Z06 every six months. And he lives in the county with the highest unemployment rate in the state. He owns a bunch of gas stations in the area.

[dwaynewilliams#WN]

Cell phones are one of my few vices, I upgrade every year. Before I did it via ebay but now that I have Sprint Premier I can do it with a new one. I just love having the latest and greatest phones.



A guy at my local Chevrolet dealership trades for a new $80,000 Z06 every six months. And he lives in the county with the highest unemployment rate in the state. He owns a bunch of gas stations in the area.

Got a question for you. You say you have Sprint Premier? So you can upgrade every year and only pay the discounted porice of a new phone? How did you get that. My wife has Sprint and we are only eligible for a $150 discount. What did you do to get such a hook up?

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[dwaynewilliams#WN]

There is another reason why I think it is unnecessary to upgrade every year. It seems to me that when a new device is released there are some issues. Over the course of the device's first year, there are numerous updates that make it better (kinda like living up to its potential). I couldn't see myself sticking it out with a phone and going through all the updates, then after the first year when I finally have my device working the way it should, trade it in for a new device that may have issues. Anyone feel that way? A lot of posters have stated that their 8300 series curve is solid. My guess is that it because its been out for awhile and all of the issues have been fixed. I have read about the issues of the Tour and Storm owners. I wouldn't want to have to go through that every year. My Bold is reaching a year old, and it has become very stable.

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[mensahdemary]

I think, as others have pointed out, it depends more on the user's current model than anything else. Granted, we all want the latest and greatest...I know I do lol...but sometimes the upgrade is worth it, independent of the elapsed time from the last purchase.

My first BB was the Curve 8330 with Verizon...as anyone with VZW will tell you, to get a Blackberry meant the Curve, the Storm, the Pearl or the 8830 World Edition. I figured a new model was coming soon, but I was sick of my LG Voyager (a dumb phone with high aspirations, no doubt). The Curve made the most sense for me, even though I knew its life cycle was nearing its end.

So six months later I upgraded to the Tour. I could've stuck with the Curve...no problems whatsoever. But the model is old...and its going to get older quicker once OS 5.0 drops (never mind more memory, better processor, etc). I didn't need to get it, but I had an upgrade available and this should do very nicely for me until 2011 (when I upgrade again, perhaps with another carrier).