Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung has officially announced that it is going to launch its Exynos 5 Octa processor next week. At this point in time the company hasn’t revealed many details about these new processors. It only says that they are more enhanced […]

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Earlier this week we heard rumors that Verizon was going to unveil a new device financing plan called Edge. During the conference call with investors, Verizon CFO had confirmed that the carrier was going to launch this plan. They’ve now […]

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During a conference call with investors and the media, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo revealed that the carrier activated 7.5 million smartphones in Q2, adding that 27 percent of those activations were new Verizon subscribers. He also added that 3.8 million […]

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While companies like T-Mobile and AT&T aim to lead the way with new and improved ways of being transparent with smartphone customers, Verizon Edge (introduced today) brings big red into the fold. This “flexible equipment payment plan” allows users who would otherwise have had to pay a relatively large fee to switch from one phone to another on the same payment plan to upgrade instead inside 6 months. This after having spread the cost of the phone over 24 months and paying off at least 50% of the phone in the first place.

It’s rather simple, really – Verizon is cutting the contracts out of smartphone sales. This plan appears to be really, really similar to what T-Mobile began offering earlier this year, aiming to expand the number of choices consumers have in how they pay for their phone. While any phone that’s “subsidized” by the mobile carrier it works with, the cost remains – if you pay $199 for a smartphone that’s $599 “off-contract”, the additional cost is rolled in to your 2-year contract monthly payments, whether you can see them or not.

“Here’s how it works: Choose the phone you want and sign up for a month-to-month service plan, it’s as easy as that. The full retail price of the phone will be divided over 24 months and you’ll pay the first month at the time of purchase. If you want to upgrade after 6 months, just pay off 50% of the full retail price of the phone and you can choose a new phone and start all over again.

There are no long-term service contracts, finance charges or upgrade fees with Verizon Edge. Every six months, as long as 50 percent of the cost of the phone has been paid, you can upgrade to the newest basic or smartphone available.” – David Samberg for Verizon

This all comes not long after both Verizon and AT&T pushed their upgrade time requirements to 24 months, one after the other.

Have a read of our looks as T-Mobile “Jump” article for more information on the carrier’s efforts to allow switching of smartphones while their Uncarrier plans lead the way with up-front and clear pricing on the hardware itself, in the first place.

Meanwhile AT&T’s latest efforts include Yearly updates and device trade-ins. T-Mobile quickly responded to AT&T’s announcement of their “Next plan” earlier this week with a declaration that it was “all wrong.” We’ll be expecting something similar from the carrier now that Verizon has revealed something similar.

Verizon Edge brings “flexible equipment payment plan” to battle T-Mobile is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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My dad’s car broke down on a mountain road when we were on our way to the family vacation house. Suffice it to say, my sisters and I spent a few hours sitting on rock-hard boulders while he tinkered with the engine. Let me just say that those were the two most uncomfortable hours of my life.

Few would be excited at the prospect of having to sit on boulders. But if they happen to be the cushy boulders on the Quartz Armchair, then I’m fine with sitting on them. Heck, I’d even sleep on one of these, if I could.

Designed by CTRL ZAK and Davide Barzaghi, the boulders on the Quartz Armchair are actually cushions. I think that was obvious, ever since I described them as “cushy.” Each piece fits into the spaces on the wooden lattice of the chair. The best part about it is that you can remove individual boulders and use them as stools. They’ll come especially handy when you’ve got house guests or visitors.

Unfortunately, the Quartz Armchair is priced at whopping $14,000(USD) – and that’s a discount off of its $20,000+ retail price. Perhaps sitting on actual rocks is a better idea.

[via Geekologie]