by George Heymann
techeadlines@gmail.com
With developments in mobile technology accelerating at a break-neck pace, I realize that no matter how carefully I choose a device today, I’m forever destined to be behind the “handset upgrade curve.”
That got me thinking: what if we could lease our cellphones the way we do cars? Let’s say, a 6-month lease at $25-$40 a month equipment cost, depending on the handset, plus service. Would you do it?
Of course, I just pulled those figures out of the air. The costs of the handset would have to amortized over the cost of the lease and the residual value of the device would have to be calculated into that equation.
If you think about it, presently in the U.S., you basically have two choices. You can get a subsidized phone for a substantial discount, typically $199 with a two-year service agreement. Or you can pay the full retail price for the phone: $499-$699.
Personally, I don’t want to be locked in to a two-year service contract. I like to update my mobile devices frequently. Most technology enthusiast would fit into this category.
Buying the devices without a contract does offer flexibility. But is very costly — especially if you upgrade frequently.
Perhaps a carrier or some trusted third party could step in and offer us a third choice. A short-term phone lease in which we could change devices every 6 months to a year — for less than the cost of paying full retail for a device and having to try to sell the device in the used market to recoup some of the initial investment. If so, I’m in.
If you are worried about having to deal with new phone numbers or having to port your number every time you changed devices or carriers, fear not. If you use a solution like Google Voice, that wouldn’t be an issue. Just forward your calls through the service and you’ll never have to worry about changing numbers again.
If available, would you consider a phone lease a viable option?
