Stay on Contract, or NOT stay on Contract? That is the question.

[ohioDroid]

My two-year contract with Verizon is up at the beginning of January 2012. I'm already eligible for the 'early upgrade' discount on a new phone (which will be the Galaxy Nexus, unless I pick it up and find some flaw that really bothers me).

Question is, should I buy it on contract and save hundreds of dollars initially, or buy it retail? As far as I know, my monthly bill won't go down out of contract, and I don't think any of the other American network's LTE are on the same frequency bands as Verizon, so it's not like I could take this phone to another carrier. Is there any advantage (other than no Early Termination Fee) to buying my next phone retail and out of contract?

[JSM9872]

As far as I know the only true benefit to buying off contract is you will not fall victim to the termination fee should you cancel with your carrier. That and you keep your upgrade active for when you do want to use it.