Sprint Looks To 'One Up' Its Services By Joining the Crowd Of Early Upgrade Plans

Image that. Just in time for the release date of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, Sprint has introduced its early-upgrade program, called Sprint One Up.

The program, now in competition with similar plans from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless, will allow customers to upgrade their smartphone every 12 months instead every two years.

Starting on Friday, September 20, existing Sprint customers, as well as new customers, will be able to sign up for the One Up program (ostensibly, while they pick up their new iPhone). Current Sprint customers are eligible to sign up if they are signed up for the Unlimited, My Way, or My All-in plans.

The Sprint One Up costs $65 per month. For that rate, which Sprint touts as $15 per month less than the Unlimited and My Way standard rate plan, Sprint says "participating smartphone customers get unlimited talk, text and data." The plan is also available for smartphones on the My All-in plan, and also on tablets as an add-on to tablet plans that cost a little as $5 per month.

"Sprint One Up is the best value in wireless," said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. "The new program gives Sprint customers the ability to upgrade every 12 months and unlimited talk, text and high speed data for just $65. And, unlike other carriers, Sprint guarantees the unlimited talk, text and data for life. No other plan can compare."

In order to sign up, customers just buy an eligible smartphone or tablet and agree to pay 24 monthly installment payments on the device. If you cancel early or change carriers, you're stuck with those payments. But if you stay with Sprint, you're given the opportunity to give back that device after 12 months and upgrade to a new smartphone or tablet.

Right now the One Up program is only available to customers that go into Sprint brick-and-mortar stores in person, but it will be available online at Sprint.com "soon," according to PC Mag.

Other carriers already have a similar 12 month trade-in program, including AT&T Next, Verizon Edge, and T-Mobile's Jump! Plan, which started the whole one-year early upgrade trend with mobile carriers in July.

Stacked against each other, Verizon Edge, AT&T Next and Sprint One Up are all very similar. All of them allow you to buy a device on a 20 to 24 month installment plan (which, to be fair, is a lot like the conventional two-year agreements that all three run on anyway), and then trade in your smartphone after 12 months and sign up for another 20-24 month installment plan. AT&T Next allows you to get the new device with no money down, while Verizon requires the first installment payment immediately.

Out of all of these plans, T-Mobile Jump! is perhaps the most advantageous - as long as you have the cash to drop right at the store. That's because T-Mobile requires you to pay the full (subsidized) cost of the device up front, while you can upgrade that phone in as little as 6 month by simply paying an extra $10 monthly fee on your current plan.

Have you tried one of these early upgrade plans? And if so, which do you think is the best? Tell us in the comments.