News & Rumors

Verizon Offering Early Upgrades to Current Customers?

by Adam Zeis

on 12 Nov 2009 01:04 PM

165

It looks like some of you original BlackBerry Storm owners that are looking to upgrade to a new Storm2 may be in luck. It seems that Verizon is sending out emails to some customers letting them know that they can upgrade early at no extra cost to a shiny new Storm2 to or a even a DROID (if you want to defect to the dark side). No major details on the promo or who exactly can upgrade, but good news regardless. The new device will be subject to a 2-year contract and come with a $100 mail-in rebate. Thanks to everyone that sent this in.

Filed Under: News & Rumors;

165 Comments

Posted by phonemaster123 Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

why you got to attack our droid like that

Posted by AngryChineseDriver Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

Dark side = COOL SIDE.

Posted by angels728 Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

LOL

Posted by myth90045 Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

Now they do it..oh well

Posted by Freeze Gopher Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

Here we go! This should be good...........

Posted by xxcatcher16xx Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

hmm the decision to upgrade might end up being there, but 179.99 for a new storm or 199.99 for a droid is still a little high ... I can hold off on my storm for now :)

Posted by idle0095 Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

Sounds like a great deal. Same thing AT&T did. If you had the iphone 2g you could upgrade to the 3g for the discount price. Way to go verizon. Now just loose the $350 ETF.

Posted by JeffB2002 Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

From what I can tell, if you order online and you are eligible for the upgrade, you get the discounted price without the mail-in rebate.

Posted by scuebydue Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

Maybe now the Storm1 users will stop complaining.

Posted by erickh Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

I did it, got myself a Droid. The Storm2 *yawn* as far as I'm concerned, same old, same old.

You can also get the discounted price at Best Buy. They don't do mail in rebates on phones there, you get it straight out.

So, now I sell my old Storm on eBay and make up some of the difference.

Posted by rbrodeur Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

The BlackBerry OS is getting stale and outdated. Sure it looks a bit more flashy than it used to but does it really do much more than OS 4.5? Is the 5.0 UI a vast improvement over 4.5? I haven't played around with 5.0 yet myself but from everything I have seen, it doesn't look a whole lot different. Can you completely customize your home screen, move items around wherever you want, etc? No. Can you navigate the BB OS as fluidly as on the Droid or Pre? No. The media player leaves something to be desired on any BB I've used and the browser is horrible. Hopefully RIM's acquisition of Torch Mobile improves the browser.

The Droid I think is going to be a game changer and a worthy competitor to the iPhone. IMO the Droid has a much better UI than the iPhone and any BlackBerry. I've used the iPhone and really, I didn't like it all that much. I've tried out the Pre and liked the UI of it much better than the iPhone. I've tried the Storm and it doesn't improve much over any other Blackberry. The Droid UI looks like it takes the cake though and I can't wait to try one out.

Posted by blacktoothberry Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

speak for yourself

Posted by rbrodeur Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

Wow! Great argument!

Posted by karlac Friday, Nov 13, 2009 822 days ago

Yours is equally tired.

Posted by StudioDraven Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

Take note, Vodafone.

Posted by eazid Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

Same company. Vodafone pretty much owns half of Verizon.

Posted by djrdan6 Friday, Nov 13, 2009 822 days ago

I hope they do

Posted by bdhanf Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

i've had storm 1 since last Nov and I didn't get this email.

Posted by blackbms Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

I was talking to a manager at the Verizon store last week and he mentioned that at the 1 year mark they are now letting people upgrade. This does of course extend your contract another 2 years from the date of the upgrade, but now you no longer have to wait until you are close to the 2 years.

Posted by Bodero Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

I, too, have heard this from the mouths of a few VZW employees. Apparently, if your plan is high enough (the number I've heard is $59.99/mo), you can upgrade your equipment 12 months into a 24 month contract for 2 year pricing.

Posted by milrtime83 Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

You can, but your new every 2 credit resets as well, you have to wait until 20 months into a 2 year contract to get the new every 2 credit.

With family plans only the primary line can upgrade every 12 months, but again, you won't get the new every 2 credit.

Posted by Acousticfish Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

all the lines get new 2yr contract pricing annually it has been that way for the 6 years I have been with Verizon. They sent me a similar email for the whole second year of my contract on the primary line but advertising the storm 1 for 50 bucks and something else.

Posted by t_storm Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

You must be lucky because I called twice and couldn't get a yearly upgrade. In purchasing a Storm on the family plan delivered Dec. 1st I am eligible to upgrade August 1, 2010. Unless I add a line and do a switch-a-ro on lines and phones.

Posted by mpuchalski Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

I just got a text from VZW about this today.

Posted by ravenlore Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

I got the promo mailer yesterday. FWIW, I got my Storm 1 in February of 2009.

Posted by 2repou Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

I want this deal with Telus! PLEASE TELUS!!!

Posted by pipotobe Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

Telus should wake up for sho.

They are always last...

Posted by webmastir Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

they should do it for BB Tour owners too.

Posted by Bazooka Joe Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

I just call to upgrade. Got my Storm 1 in March. Verizon rep just call me back to say my new Storm2 will only cost $100.

Posted by sqlgeek Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

Did you call a specific store or the main Verizon number? I purchased my Storm around the same time. Were you a new customer then or did you do an upgrade?

Posted by Bazooka Joe Friday, Nov 13, 2009 822 days ago

I call the 1-800 number listed on in the email. I'm not a new customer, upgraded to the Storm 1 on the NE2 on March 31. the Verizon rep said this was only being offered to a limited number of people.

Posted by snowwy66 Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

phones are even cheaper. storm 1 for $.01. storm 2 for $149.99. the brand new tour 9630 for $49.99.

i would be tempted to buy storm 1 if i could get an internet only plan.

Posted by BoneHead Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

I stood in line overnight for the original Storm when it first came out. So far I have yet to get this offer. I really don't care though, as I'm content with my Storm.

I'd really love to have the Droid (haven't played with the Storm2 yet though), but at those prices it's not worth it to me.

Posted by Kpageisgreat Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

Maybe a stupid question but is it for current storm owners or for anyone that bought a storm thru verizon but have since put another phone on that line? Would be nice.

Posted by blacktoothberry Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

I just called Verizon and they say say no nothing about this

Posted by TheMax7 Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

Lets see if I buy the Droid I have to get a new charging stand base for the phone. If I get the Storm 2 I can , no wait I have to buy a new stand for it also as my Storm 1 stands won't work. Thanks RIM! So lets see, be a Beta Tester for Motorola or for RIM again. I think aftermarket support will be much better for the Droid, so the Droid it is!

Posted by blacktoothberry Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

its a different phone what do you want

Posted by kermalou Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

I just got the Storm 2 even though my upgrade date was in January. Got in on the Buy 1 Get 1 Free.

Posted by DustoMan Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 823 days ago

How early are we talking here? You can already upgrade early if you do the "New Every Two" program. I can upgrade in Apr 2011 even though I started my contract in Aug 2009.

Posted by nexustx Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

I just called VZW and the rep had no idea what I was talking about. Guess some of you are just lucky!

Posted by SeattleReign Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

The Storm2 isn't much better than the first gen. Storm2 still has tons wrong with it. I think the best upgrade is the screen and 4 button contact. Forget upgrading at that price.

Posted by DJ G.MAC Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

I got the flyer in the mail 2 days after a Verizon rep told me that I wouldn't be eligible until late December, and even then I'd have to pay a $20 upgrade fee! When I received the flyer, I went straight to Verizon to see if it was legit, and it was! The rep said, "I don't know why you're so special, but not everyone gets one of these." In any event, I now have my new Storm 2 (which I L-O-V-E!) and have sold my 2 week old newly replaced (for free) Storm! Life is good sometimes!

Posted by jason.e Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

im so done with my storm. how can i sign up for the early upgrade to get a droid?? i will even give them this pos back for free!

Posted by MrB123 Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

I dont think this is worth it, i played with my buddy's storm2 and it's nice but it just isn't better than the first storm on 5.0 (by a large enough margin) to make it worth it to buy one. The ads i've seen for the storm 2 around my area (LA county) are just storm 1 adds reposted. It's a bummer that RIM lost its momentum with the storm 1 issues that they had to slide the storm 2 in with little advertising.

Posted by richardpandy Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

Completely agree. I commute from West Covina to Santa Monica and every sign that I see is the same Storm 1 advertisement. It even says Storm1 on the billboard. Also one is Pomona on the 57S @ Temple with the same Storm1 advertisement. Their marketing is trash.

Posted by Djairman Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

The Droid does not have Blackberry Messenger. That feature kills all phones by far. Say what you want about the Storm family but they are awesome. I still have my original Storm from Nov 08 with 5.0 and I love it. I do want the storm 2 now since it has so much more memory. :o)

Posted by richardpandy Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

Blackberry Messenger is the ONLY reason why I have not left the blackberry family. I'm on my 9th blackberry (3rd tour) all gone back because of poor quality control/design.

Posted by ThePerfectStorm Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

me and my wife use bbm quite a bit (or at least try) and half the time it doesn't work. I got a message from her one day that she had sent TWO OR THREE days prior! On top of that she had sent others over those few days that I did recieve.

I don't know how many others have this issue, but to us bbm is very unreliable.

Posted by ricoe320 Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 822 days ago

HI ALL JUST CALL THE VERIZON REP AND ASK THEM I DID