Verizon Edge Plan for Early Upgraders Announced

Now that AT&T and T-Mobile have created cellphone plans that make it somewhat less painful for early adopters to upgrade to a new phone earlier than the usual two years, Verizon has jumped on the bandwagon, unveiling its own early-upgrade program it calls Verizon Edge.

The Verizon Edge "no-contract plan" starts Aug. 25, and it's a recycling program of sorts. It lets you upgrade to a new phone after six months. But there's a catch — you're still required to pay for half of the cost of your old phone, and you must trade it in for the new one

As Verizon wrote in its press release on Thursday, "Every six months, as long as 50% of the cost of the phone has been paid, you can upgrade to the newest basic or smartphone available."