How to future proof your Thunderbolt...

[SMD]

So today is day 14 and I love my TBolt so I'm keeping it for sure. But many of us are locked into this phone until 2013. So today I called Verizon and switched my 2 year contract to a 1 year contract for $70. That's all it costs. Now 2 weeks ago an extra 70 bucks was too much to add to the already large purchase price and crazy tax. But I love knowing that this time next year I can get a new phone if I want. Or I can keep it and transfer my new phone upgrade to my wife who will still be stuck with her update-fearing Samsung Fascinate.

Technology changes so fast and while there's a good chance I'll still love this Tbolt 2 years from now...I think an extra $70 is worth the feeling of not being "stuck" in anything.

Lovin' this phone and this forum...thanks!

 

[superskaterxes]

is there a certain time frame in which you can switch to 1 year?

 

[FrankXS]

So today is day 14 and I love my TBolt so I'm keeping it for sure. But many of us are locked into this phone until 2013. So today I called Verizon and switched my 2 year contract to a 1 year contract for $70. That's all it costs. Now 2 weeks ago an extra 70 bucks was too much to add to the already large purchase price and crazy tax. But I love knowing that this time next year I can get a new phone if I want. Or I can keep it and transfer my new phone upgrade to my wife who will still be stuck with her update-fearing Samsung Fascinate.

Technology changes so fast and while there's a good chance I'll still love this Tbolt 2 years from now...I think an extra $70 is worth the feeling of not being "stuck" in anything.

Lovin' this phone and this forum...thanks!

That's fine, but not everyone is qualified for a one year contract. Specifically, if you used an early upgrade "aka annual upgrade" or a New Every 2 discount to purchase the phone, a 2 year contract is required to use either one of those programs. The alternative would have been full retail.

-Frank

 

[TreyDaPrince]

That's fine, but not everyone is qualified for a one year contract. Specifically, if you used an early upgrade "aka annual upgrade" or a New Every 2 discount to purchase the phone, a 2 year contract is required to use either one of those programs. The alternative would have been full retail.

-Frank

This and I future proofed mine by getting a Xoom. Dual core, honeycomb tablet + LTE Phone = Ultimate Android Experience.

Sent From My Xoom or Thunderbolt, pick one

 

[terrain]

My plan to futureproof the TB is to buy a Bionic.

 

[VideoEngineerAJS]

My plan is to give it to my mom and take her upgrade since I'm the owner of the account.

 

[sicario666]

My plan to futureproof the TB is to buy a Bionic.

I hope the bionic turns out to be an awesome device. I had both the D1 and DX. They were nice at first but for some reason just didn't perform as well as HTC devices. I have nothing against Motorola devices. But I had bad luck with them. I wish all of you bionic followers the best of luck.

Tbolt meatclaws via talkatap

 

[the one and only M]

It's one year contracts from here on out. It's even better for those that were able to get the bolt for $220 on the one year. The best way to future proof your device is to replace it.

 

[mc21]

i'm assuming the $230 one year contract must have been a corporate price then?

 

[DJBeanPole]

Specifically, if you used an early upgrade "aka annual upgrade" or a New Every 2 discount to purchase the phone, a 2 year contract is required to use either one of those programs. The alternative would have been full retail.

-Frank

You make it sound like if you get a new phone under the pretense of NE2 that you HAVE to get a 2 year contract as well.

My NE2 is 4/24.

I went into VZW on the Bolt's release and said "gimme one on a 1 year contract there, friendo." They said we can't do a 1 year for you UNTIL you get to your NE2 date.

So... I'm confused.

 

[theGman911]

You make it sound like if you get a new phone under the pretense of NE2 that you HAVE to get a 2 year contract as well.

My NE2 is 4/24.

I went into VZW on the Bolt's release and said "gimme one on a 1 year contract there, friendo." They said we can't do a 1 year for you UNTIL you get to your NE2 date.

So... I'm confused.

Its prolly cause you called him friendo.... Prolly thought u were gonna flip a coin and kill him

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[SMD]

That's fine, but not everyone is qualified for a one year contract. Specifically, if you used an early upgrade "aka annual upgrade" or a New Every 2 discount to purchase the phone, a 2 year contract is required to use either one of those programs. The alternative would have been full retail.

-Frank

Not true...for me at least. Maybe I got lucky or got a lady on the phone that didn't know better (which is entirely possible given she'd never heard of anyone asking her to switch to a one year before from a two year...hmm), but the reason I switched to a one year contract is because it was only $70 to switch. $249 to $319...BUT, my new-every-two discount STILL applied to the one year contract renewal. At the time I bought my TBolt on March 17th, I was eligible for NE2 which gave me $50 off. So the phone was only $199 plus tax. Today (day 14)...well, technically it was yesterday since its now after midnight...I called verizon and said "can I switch to a new one year contract and still keep my $50 discount?" They said yes. So it was $319 minus my $50 discount (Total: $269)...which means they will be adding the $70 to my next bill and that's it. All done. Future proofed...sort of.

To answer another question, from what I know, you'd have to do this in your first 14 days of renewing your contract which I think for a lot of people was March 31st given many got it on day one.

All I know is...this is a great phone that I don't intend to change anytime soon...but knowing I "can" switch in less than a year if I wanted to is, to me, worth the extra money.

 

[Thundercat]

Its prolly cause you called him friendo.... Prolly thought u were gonna flip a coin and kill him

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

I actually laughed out loud when I read that one!

 

[Guntherm]

You make it sound like if you get a new phone under the pretense of NE2 that you HAVE to get a 2 year contract as well.

My NE2 is 4/24.

I went into VZW on the Bolt's release and said "gimme one on a 1 year contract there, friendo." They said we can't do a 1 year for you UNTIL you get to your NE2 date.

So... I'm confused.

I hear ya DJBean.. was right there with ya.. Myself I just used my son's upgrade credit. LOL He was WTF?.. Hey son I pay the bill, I get to use upgrades as I see fit!

 

[Eclipse2K]

I actually spent $600 for the Thunderbolt as I'm not eligible for an upgrade until September. I guess I could upgrade to a new device with my New Any Two in September as it'll be about the 13th month mark (According to Verizon) but I don't know. I don't see any real point to upgrade (would it even be an upgrade?) to a new device such as the Bionic. After getting my first taste of the Sense interface I think it'd be quite difficult to go back to MotoBlur.

I do like the idea of a one year contract though. I usually have a difficult time sticking with the same device for more than a year because technology changes so rapidly. For example, look at this list of devices.

T-Mobile G1 which was gone when I paid the $200 cancellation fee to leave T-Mobile and get Verizon.
BlackBerry Storm (No Android choice at that moment)
BlackBerry Tour (Multi-Fru exchange from the Storm... went through 8 Storm devices... Damn screen never was right)
Droid (Couldn't stand BlackBerry any longer. Paid full retail)
Droid 2 (New Any Two Upgrade)
HTC Thunderbolt (Full Retail)

I joined Verizon back in April of 2008 and I've been through all of those devices. Granted, it's much easier not to switch from Android to Android as it was from BlackBerry to Android. However, the improved keyboard on the Droid 2 was a big selling factor as was the improved MotoBlur. I just could not resist the HTC Sense interface and the 4G speeds for the times that I need it. I'm such a technology nerd. I just can't help but look back at all the money I spent on cell phones considering each retail was near $600 plus tax. Yikes!

 

[Gscully]

i only paid $20 for an early upgrade. i don't see why you would pay $70 for a one year contract so that you could upgrade early.

 

[shaddix]

Because I don't think they're doing that anymore on contracts signed after Jan of this year. And you can do it after the 10th month instead of waiting a whole year

 

[elai1108]

So today is day 14 and I love my TBolt so I'm keeping it for sure. But many of us are locked into this phone until 2013. So today I called Verizon and switched my 2 year contract to a 1 year contract for $70. That's all it costs. Now 2 weeks ago an extra 70 bucks was too much to add to the already large purchase price and crazy tax. But I love knowing that this time next year I can get a new phone if I want. Or I can keep it and transfer my new phone upgrade to my wife who will still be stuck with her update-fearing Samsung Fascinate.

Technology changes so fast and while there's a good chance I'll still love this Tbolt 2 years from now...I think an extra $70 is worth the feeling of not being "stuck" in anything.

Lovin' this phone and this forum...thanks!

How do you transfer your upgrade to another phone? Do you essentially swap contract terms?

 

[anon(238680)]

That's fine, but not everyone is qualified for a one year contract. Specifically, if you used an early upgrade "aka annual upgrade" or a New Every 2 discount to purchase the phone, a 2 year contract is required to use either one of those programs. The alternative would have been full retail.

-Frank

This is incorrect. I used my NE2 and the price was $159 for the TB. It would have cost $229 for a one year, which I may still do.

 

[rsk2mc]

I paid 220 for a one year