Short On Cash For That Smartphone? T-Mobile Has You Covered

T-Mobile this week unveiled a plan that lets qualified device buyers pay for a new smartphone or mobile phone in installments. Dubbed the Equipment Installment Plan, the initiative lets current and new T-Mobile customers pay for handsets and accessories over four monthly payments. The payment plan is geared toward users who want more flexibility when choosing a new device and may not have several hundred dollars to spend on a phone in one fell swoop.

And, according to T-Mobile, there isn't really a catch. The carrier has said there won't be any added interest or financing charges or other fees for customers that pick the Equipment Installment Plan.

Essentially, the plan establishes an Equipment Credit Line for qualified customers that can be used to buy smartphones and other products through four monthly payments. It was unclear if there is a credit limit. Customers must qualify to be enrolled into the program, meaning they have to have decent credit.

Here's how it would work: Say on Feb. 11 you are new to T-Mobile and would like to buy the BlackBerry Curve 8900, which goes on sale that day. If the device costs $200 for a new subscriber, the payment would be spread out over four months, adding $50 per month to that customer's T-Mobile wireless bill until it's paid off.

T-Mobile is launching the program just in time for the release of the BlackBerry Curve 8900, the first major BlackBerry released from Research In Motion this year.

The program is also designed to entice current subscribers to renew their contracts and pick up new devices, which are usually pricier than they are for new customers because the device isn't subsidized. For example, a BlackBerry Curve 8900 that costs a new subscriber $200 would cost an existing customer with no upgrade rebate credits more than $400.