Why shell out a large bundle of dosh up front when you want a new smartphone, when you can get the latest smartphone tech with minimum barriers, no up front cost, and no long term commitment by renting a new smartphone from O2, as O2 has now announced the first smartphone leasing program for UK customers called O2 Lease.

O2 Lease enables a new or existing customer to lease a new handset for over a period of one year without that up front cost for 55-quid per month including insurance, for which you’ll get 750 minutes, unlimited text and 500MB of mobile data.

O2 Lease aims to provide “certainty and predictability of costs” for customers in this new way of engaging with those that want the latest smartphone every year but can’t afford the high up front costs associated with gaining the latest handset on a 12 month agreement or do not wish to be tied to a two year contract.

Here’s how O2 Lease works…new customers can simply walk into an O2 store while existing customers can do it over the phone, and lease a 16GB smartphone on a one year term with no up front cost, although the customer will not own the device by will be leasing it from O2 and once their contract ends they return the handset and can take a new device along with a new lease of one year.

With the O2 Lease program smartphone insurance is also included in that £55 per month payment and thus the customer is protected if they should lose or damage the handset.

Furthermore, if you don’t want a 16GB smartphone via O2 Lease for £55 a month you can opt for a 32GB smartphone with a monthly outlay of £65 and along with those minutes, texts and data the customer will also get a choice of Bolt Ons, unlimited UK WiFi with BT Openzone, and International Traveller Service.

So there you go, you can now rent the latest smartphone from O2 UK without incurring an up front cost, so what do our UK readers think of this new smartphone renting scheme from O2?

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