Reuters: Technology News: AT&T follows T-Mobile US with more frequent device upgrades

Reuters: Technology News Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

AT&T follows T-Mobile US with more frequent device upgrades Jul 16th 2013, 12:01 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Microsoft aims to power mobile effort in major overhaul Thu, Jul 11 2013 Sprint promises a lifetime of unlimited data service Thu, Jul 11 2013 Nokia pins recovery hopes on advanced camera smartphone Thu, Jul 11 2013 T-Mobile US to allow phone upgrades every six months Wed, Jul 10 2013 Samsung Electronics' second quarter misses forecast as smartphone worries deepen Fri, Jul 5 2013 Analysis & Opinion Why mobile payments will never take off AT&T is all dressed up with nowhere to go The AT&T logo is pictured by its store in Carlsbad, California, April 22, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake NEW YORK | Tue Jul 16, 2013 8:01am EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - AT&T Inc (T.N) said on Tuesday it plans to allow its customers to make annual device upgrades and pay via monthly installment plans to compete with a similar option by smaller rival T-Mobile US (TMUS.N). AT&T, the No. 2 U.S. mobile provider, said that starting on July 26, customers could pay monthly installments for their phones or tablet computers and upgrade every year. This compares with its previous requirement to stick with the same device for about two years in exchange for a discount. No. 4 U.S. mobile provider T-Mobile US recently announced a plan under which its customers could upgrade their smartphones as often as twice a year. The operators, which tried but failed to merge in 2011, are grappling to filch each others customers in a market where most people already have smartphones. AT&T said that under the new plan - branded AT&T Next - it will not charge an upfront device fee, but will instead charge customers $15 to $50 per month depending on the device. For example an AT&T customer buying the Samsung Electronics' (005930.KS) Galaxy S4 would pay $32 per month for the device along with a monthly service fee and have the option to trade in the phone after 12 payments. In comparison, T-Mobile US does charge an upfront fee for the device on top of $10 per month to sign up for its Jump upgrade option, and installments of up to $20 per month as well as its monthly service fee. AT&T said customers who prefer to stick with the old model of keeping a phone for two years could still do so. (Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Maureen Bavdek) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions