Try before you buy by renting that hot cellphone

Imagine that you get wind of an exciting new cellphone that you really want, but you don't want to pay the full retail price. You can't take advantage of any special offer from your carrier because you're stuck in the middle of your 2 year contract.

You can have the phone you want and not pay the full retail price. Thanks to a start-up company called Rentobile, you can rent a cellphone for $20 to $50 a month depending on which device you choose. Sign up for a membership and your rental fees are reduced. The selection of phones for rent come from Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T. Rentobile has purchased two to five different handsets from each of the four networkers. While phones cannot be exchanged between carriers, some devices that work on T-Mobile's GSM network can be used on AT&T's GSM network and vice verse, without having to break your contract. Those signed up with CDMA based carriers like Verizon and Sprint have to call to get their phone number ported on to the new phone. If a phone is still renryted out after a year, Rentobile will take the phone back and have you try a different device.

If it came down to paying the full retail price or renting that hot new phone, what would you do?

source: RCRWireless