Verizon Wireless has confirmed the date of April 17 for the ending of its one-year contract plans.
Verizon says the change is due to the fact that a greater majority of customers sign up for the two-year contract to take advantage of subsidized promotion prices.
There will still be options of month-to-month, prepaid, or two-year contracts.
Tech enthusiasts are disappointed because, as we noted earlier, the usual life of an advanced smartphone like the Droid X or HTC ThunderBolt is about one year, before a much better model comes out.
The one-year contract allowed buyers to pay a lower price than the full
price, which was still subsidized. Now, Verizon Wireless customers will
either have to sign up for a full two years for the discount or pay the
full price. For example, an HTC ThunderBolt with no contract commitment costs $599.99 as opposed to the subsidized price of $249.99.
The
change may be due to Verizon wanting to keep customers for two years
so they don't carrier jump as different model smartphones come into
style.
There are also rumors that Verizon will launch a $50 a month prepaid unlimited talk, text and web plan.