Ready for a new phone?  Are you eligible?  How does all this eligibility stuff work anyway?

Everyone knows that you get a good deal on a phone when you start service with a company and sign a two year agreement.  Every so often that same company your with will do the same thing for an existing customer.  This is called an “upgrade.”

Just when a line is able be upgraded varies on a line-by-line basis, but in all cases it will either be 13, 18, or 20 months since you signed your last contract. (all lines are now 20 months)

Read on to learn about the basics of AT&T’s upgrade policy…

This morning, Verizon Wireless announced the launch data and pricing for the Motorola Xoom, a device originally seen among the 4G devices at CES in January.

Much speculation has surrounded the impending release of this device, mostly centered around pricing.  Early on, the “$799″ price was thrown around a bit on many sites, and was quickly followed by disbelief that anyone would pay THAT MUCH for a tablet, let alone an Android device.

The speculation can now end.  Verizon has announced that, indeed, the device will cost $799.99 - without a contract.  It will, however, cost $599.99 WITH a two-year contract.  Both will require a minimum plan of $20/mo for 1GB/mo.   No word on one-year contract availability.

The device will be the first major launch of an Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) device.

Interestingly, while the device was announced as a 4G LTE unit, the Xoom will launch with a 3G radio and be upgradable to 4G in the near future, at no cost.

The Verizon Wireless demo of Xoom can be found here.

Apple recently officially announced the ability to purchase subscription-based content through applications in their popular iTunes market. This feature, which allows app developers to offer subscription based content through the app, is a feature that a lot of developers were looking foreward to; until they saw the cost.

With this change Apple is making it so that content providors who compete directly with iTunes and iBooks will no longer find it profitable to offer content on any of their devices. Not only is this an evil move on their part, but in the end it will be consumers like you and I who will suffer for it.  Join us after the break as we go over some of the biggest changes, and what they mean for you and your favorite iDevice

The editors, writers, and contributors of this site frequent many online forums.  We do this in conjunction with PhoneCan’s mission: to help consumers.

Our long-term goal, both as online citizens and as our own site, is to empower consumers to get the best price, the best phone, and the best experience - all by their own efforts.  We provide insight into the industry, a view of how the business works from the inside, and how to speak the language of “wireless.”  To us, education is the key to getting the best deal and the best situation for your needs.  This has been the personal mission for each of us, even long before we joined up on PhoneCan.  We’ve been a voice of compassion for the consumer, both in our personal and professional interactions, as well as on this site.

Now, we’re going to mix things up a bit.

While we aren’t changing our mission to empower and educate consumers, we’ve decided to add to that education.  We’ve decided that it’s long overdue for a wakeup call to certain parts of the consumer base.

It’s time to tell it like it is.

As bizarre as it may seem that a big company would be giving you something for nothing; letters like these go out semi-regularly.  I frequently see customer questions about these letters in forums.  The first thing people want to know is: what’s the catch?

If you’ve received one of these letters or are just curious as to what these campaigns are all about read on to find out more.

In the wake of the Verizon Iphone announcement and Verizon’s own policy updates AT&T has decided to make some similar revisions to their upgrade policies.

The changes aren’t ending there though.  AT&T is also revising their changing policies on fees, international long distance rates and texting plans along with adding a-la-sprint style “any mobile” calling to the unlimited texting packages.

Read on to learn what’s new and how it may impact your service.