Multi-year wireless contracts make it hard for mobile enthusiasts like us to get our fill of the latest handsets. Carriers are quick to subsidize new mobile phones when purchased with a long-term contract, but if you want to upgrade your handset mid-contract, you’ll be left paying full retail. There’s got to be a better way to stay on top of the mobile world without having shell out a month’s rent everytime the upgrade-bug takes a bite.
Enter Rentobile.
Rentobile is a new cellphone rental service that caters to the mobile-obsessed. The company buys the latest in high-end mobile phones and rents them out on a monthly basis, giving helpless addicts a chance to get their fix on the (relatively) cheap. Rentobile charges anywhere from $20 to $50 a month for handset rentals, depending on the phone. Premium members pay an up-front fee to get access to reduced rental rates. So, if you’re going to be renting your handset for more than a couple months, you might want to grab yourself a Rentobile membership.
The Rentobile stable includes notable handsts like the Nokia N96, BlackBerry Storm, Samsung Omnia, and Apple iPhone 3G, ensuring that even the most fickle of mobile enthusiasts will see something they want.
It should be obvious that the Rentobile business model will only appeal to small niche – those with the desire and wherewithal to pay about $35 extra per month just to put the latest mobile technology in their pockets. You know, people like us.
[Via: RCR]