re: Sell me on Verizon Edge...

You obviously think that the Next plan is a rent-a-phone plan and that your plan is cheaper. It is not. You will pay more for service than I will pay for service. That additional amount you pay for service covers the overall cost of the phone. Even if you got the phone at ZERO cost, the service you pay for will include the cost of the phone spread out over the two years of your contract.

I will pay less for service but more for the phone.

It ends up being about the same cost either way, except that I have an option you don't. I can dump the phone at 12 months and you can't.

This might explain it, unless you just can't understand the math.