Its that time of year for folks to go goo-goo over new tech toys, and especially new phones.  But be careful that your purchase doesn’t bite you back.

Verizon has kept to its word and raised their early termination fees from $175 to $350.

The ETF will apply to advanced devices,   Advanced devices are smartphones, but also devices that have HTML capabilities, cameras, WiFi, and operating systems like Palm, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and Android.

It would also cover netbooks that have Verizon’s mobile broadband  service, though modems will retain the existing $175 ETF.

The ETF will be applied to consumer and business customers who purchase a one- or two-year contract. The fee will decrease by $10 for each month of service completed.

So, make sure you REALLY want to leave Verizon for greener mobile pastures.

Thanks to Engadget for the news!