Wireless carriers have traditionally made money off lengthy two-year service agreements, rather than physical device sales. In the age of smartphones, however, carriers are footing the bill for expensive handsets that result in smaller margins, while phone makers such as Apple reap the benefits. To combat traditional phone subsidies, carriers in the U.S. have continued to raise monthly rates and employ new and higher fees. In Europe, service providers are taking more aggressive measures, with some carriers re...

Here’s what Big Red is working with: they’ve offered up a BOGO sale on all new BlackBerrys for the holiday buying season, and where some see a great deal, others see a great opportunity. Why not play a game of Flip My BlackBerry? Why not open a second line, get a brand new Tour or Storm 2, pay the cancellation fee on the new line of $175, and sell the device on eBay for $300 or more? Well it looks like Verizon has finally caught onto our the little game. A new connect has emerged with a few docume...

Your phone is beaten down and the battery doesn’t last more than a few minutes – or there is a pretty new gadget and it has everything you could possibly want, even though your current phone is perfectly fine. In either of these situations, if you were eligible for an upgrade, it was sweet as icing to know you’d get your new device at a subsidized price. However, as if it didn’t hurt enough that you had to sign a new contract, there’s that annoying “upgrade fee” to de...