I’m always curious to discover what innovations manufacturers have brought to the market when they announce new smartphone devices. Fortunately for my budget, I can’t purchase all those that make my eyebrows rise. Like most, I am on a standard payment plan that limits me to upgrade every two years. However, smartphones have hit a level where innovation has slowed down. At this point, they all flaunt beautiful screens and high-quality cameras. The new models don’t differ drastically from their previous versions, and this decreases the urge to purchase newer ones more frequently. Fewer and fewer consumers are upgrading year after year. Obviously, this is not so good for the business and the big players in the US know it, so they decided it was time they took action. First it was T-Mobile USA who announced their new plan called T-Mobile Jump. It entails an upfront payment for a smartphone followed by a period of monthly payments. This action can be done twice a year and the down payment amount is quite decent – $146 for an iPhone 5. AT&T followed with their AT&T Next, a plan that encourages customers to upgrade their phone once a year instead of every two years. They’re proposal is more of a phone rental than a phone purchase – there will be no upfront payment, just monthly installments for a year that vary based on the device. In the case of “renting” an iPhone 5, the customer would pay zero upfront, followed by $32.50 every month for a year. Once the period is over, the customer can upgrade to a new smartphone. Verizon is said to be coming out with the VZ Edge, a plan that supposedly allows the users to upgrade their phone once they’ve paid off...