re: AT&T will cut its Next payment plans from 4 to 2 starting on June 9

quote:

---

sure. that totally sounds like you OWN it then...

---

Well, yes. Phones purchased via the next program also remain locked to AT&T until the phone is paid off. In both cases, you own the phone once you've paid the agreed-upon price in full ($200 for the on-contract phones or full retail for the Next phones). The former simply requires an extra step if you desire to sell it to a non-AT&T customer (i.e., use a third-party service to unlock it).

I mean, I'm not trying to upset you or anything. The subsidized upgrade really was a great option before they inflated the costs associated with it in order to promote AT&T Next and later discontinued it on grandfathered plans.