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Sprint 'Upgrade Now' program to offer prorated fees

The carrier is offering discounted upgrades to select users even if it has been less than a year since the last one.

Scott Webster
Scott Webster has spent the better part of his adult life playing with cell phones and gadgets. When not looking for the latest Android news and rumors, he relaxes with his wife and son. Scott also is the senior editor for AndroidGuys. E-mail Scott.
Scott Webster
2 min read
SprintFeed

Sprint is offering select subscribers a chance to upgrade their handset, even if they aren't eligible for the "New for You" pricing.

According to a leaked internal document scooped up by SprintFeed, the carrier is providing prorated upgrade fees that range from the typical $36 on up to $165. Provided the customers meets the criteria, they can renew their plan and pick up a new smartphone at a somewhat reasonable price.

Take, for instance, the Samsung Epic Touch 4G, which Sprint offers for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement. Outright, you would pay a hefty $499.99 if you opted to buy the handset without a contract.

Under the promotional program, though, even the highest upgrade rate of $165 would result in a total price of $365, or $135 less than normal. Depending on how badly you want that hot new device, it would make for a tough decision.

Looking through the finer print it appears that Sprint isn't proactively hunting customers down to tell them the good news. As SprintFeed advises, the deal should be offered only at corporate locations and will run just a month, from February 12 through March 14.

If you're in the market for a new device and can't wait to ride out the rest of your contract, check to see if your local store will honor the "Upgrade Now" program. Though some of the comments on the original SprintFeed blog post indicate that the carrier has turned away a couple of users already, it never hurts to ask. And keep in mind that the promotion will not apply to corporate wireless accounts, Airaves, tablets, or iDen devices.