Prepaid Phone News

Jelly Bean Update Rolling Out to Virgin Mobile Samsung Galaxy Reverb

2013-05-17T10:52:00.001-07:00

It's raining jelly beans on Sprint's Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile prepaid brands. On Tuesday users of Boost's LG Venice reported that their phones were getting updated from Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Then yesterday a Jelly Bean update started rolling out to the Boost Mobile Samsung Galaxy Rush.

Now comes word from several AndroidForums users that their Virgin Mobile Samsung Galaxy Reverb has been updated to Jelly Bean. Like the Elite and Rush updates, this is an over the air update. Your phone will get a notification that a system update is available with a link or button to start the update. You can also manually check for the update by going to Settings > About phone > System updates.

JellyBean includes Project Butter, which is supposed to make the user interface smoother and faster, and Google Now an "intelligent personal assistant" that provides personalized notifications of things like traffic delays on your commute, upcoming restaurant reservations and stock price alerts.

Related posts:
Boost Mobile's Samsung Galaxy Rush Getting Jelly Bean Starting Tomorrow
Boost Mobile Pushing LG Venice OTA Jelly Bean Update to Users

Verizon Increases Data Included With Prepaid Monthly Plans

2013-05-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

Verizon announced today that users of its two prepaid monthly smartphone plans will be getting more data.

The $60 Smartphone Plan will include 2GB of data/month, instead of the current 500 MB.
The $70 Smartphone Plan gets its data allotment bumped up from 2GB to 4GB.

The changes are effective immediately for current customers and will be available to new customers starting June 6.

This news reflects the increased importance of prepaid in the US mobile market. According to a FierceWireless post by Recon Analytic's Roger Entner, new wireless subscribers chose prepaid over contract plans by a margin of 10 to 1 in the first quarter of 2013.

Tracfone, which includes Straight Talk, NET10, Telcel America, Simple Mobile and SafeLink, gained 839,000 subscribers in Q1, making it the fastest growing US of all US operators whether prepaid and postpaid. Sprint and T-Mobile also made big gains in prepaid. On the other hand, AT&T lost 143,000 prepaid customers and Verizon only gained 43,000.

Verizon and AT&T seemed to have woken up to the fact that they are in danger of being left behind by the shift of customers to prepaid. Last week AT&T launched Aio Wireless, a new value priced unlimited prepaid brand. Today's move by Verizon is both a reaction to Aio and a recognition that it needs to become more competitive in the prepaid space.

Source Verizon via FierceWireless

Boost Mobile's Samsung Galaxy Rush Getting Jelly Bean Starting Tomorrow

2013-05-15T10:58:00.001-07:00

Hot on the heels of yesterday's release of Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean for Boost Mobile's LG Venice comes word that another Boost phone is getting JB. This time it's the entry level Samsung Galaxy Rush. The news comes in an email from Boost Customer Care that an AndroidForums member received.

Thank you for contacting us through boostmobile.com.

On May 16th - May 23rd there are planned over-the-air Android JellyBean software release for Samsung Galaxy Rush and other phones. Customers using these phones will be receiving Software Update.

It's interesting that Boost says "other" phones will be getting Jelly Bean. Last month the Boost Website briefly said that Jelly Bean was coming to the Venice, Rush and the ZTE Warp Sequent. Boost quickly retracted that statement but it's turning out to be true. So I expect the Warp Sequent will be one of the other phones getting the JB update this week. If the Boost email is correct at least one other device is due to get JellyBean this month. I think likely candidates are Boost's two LTE phones, the ZTE Force and HTC One SV.

Update 5/17/2013: Jelly Bean has started rolling out. An AndroidForums user reported that he got the update yesterday, May 16. The updates are staged with only a portion of users getting it each day so if you have a Rush and haven't been updated yet, be patient. You can force the phone to check for the update by:
Go to the Application Manager's, "All" tab
Select "Google Services Framework" and tap "Force stop"
Go to Settings > About phone > System Update

Related Posts:
Boost Mobile Pushing LG Venice OTA Jelly Bean Update to Users
Boost Mobile Backtracks on Jelly Bean Updates
Boost Mobile Says Jelly Bean is Coming to Three More Phones
Boost Mobile Announces the LG Venice - 4.3 Inch, ICS - Available Oct. 10 for $219.99

Boost Mobile Pushing LG Venice OTA Jelly Bean Update to Users

2013-05-14T12:39:00.001-07:00

It looks like the Boost Mobile LG Venice is getting an over the air update to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Two AndroidForums users reported getting a notification that the update was ready. One accepted it and got Jelly Bean but lost root. The other is holding off to see if a root exploit for the new version is found.

The Venice was only recently rooted and their are no custom ROMs for it yet so getting JB on it is a nice treat, although if root is important to you, you might want to hold off a bit.

The user who updated posted a screenshot (image) of the Venice's Software information screen showing that it is indeed Android 4.1.2.

The Venice is one of three phones that the Boost website described as upgradable to Jelly Bean in last month only to retract that claim a couple of days latter. It will be interesting to see if and when the other two phones, the Samsung Galaxy Rush and the ZTE Warp Sequent get Jelly Bean.

The main new features in Android Jelly Bean are Project Butter which improves performance and smoothness and Google Now an intelligent personal assistant that displays personalized information based on your Google search history, things like upcoming concerts and events flight and package tracking notifications and boarding passes for your next flight.

If Jelly Bean has made the LG Venice more attractive to you, it's on sale now through Thursday May 16 on the Boost Mobile website for $152.99 with using bonus code FIESTA. The regular price is $179.99.

Related Posts:
Boost Mobile Backtracks on Jelly Bean Updates
Boost Mobile Says Jelly Bean is Coming to Three More Phones
Boost Mobile Announces the LG Venice - 4.3 Inch, ICS - Available Oct. 10 for $219.99

New Sprint Prepaid MVNO Zact to Launch next Month With Flexible, Sharable Plans and Roaming

2013-05-14T10:24:00.001-07:00

Calling itself "the industry's first smart mobile service" provider, a startup named Zact announced yesterday that it plans to begin offering prepaid service next month. Zact will use the Sprint network and there will also be off network roaming. It looks like there will be no extra charge for roaming but as is typical whenever roaming is offered, there will be limits on the "amount of minutes, number of texts, and amount or speed of data services used while roaming".

Zact is a lot like Ting in that it lets users build a custom plan by choosing from different sized buckets of minutes, texts and MBs of data. Also like Ting, a Zact plan can work as a family plan with multiple phones sharing the same bucket of minutes, texts and data. Zact offers parental controls that lets parents set curfews and block specific apps or contacts

With Zact, account management, including adjusting your plan size, is done on the phone using an app. While that's convenient, it apparently prevents Zact for letting you bring your own phone. You must use a Zact phone. It looks like billing is governed by the usage monitored by the app. Zact's terms of service say that removal or hacking of the software constitutes fraud.

Right now handset choices are limited to the LG Optimus Elite for $199.00 or the LTE capable LG Viper 4G for $299.00. According to Zact, more phones, including high end models, are coming soon. They will all be Android phone as the special software only runs on that platform.

Zact's pricing seems pretty good with minutes priced at 1.9¢ to 3¢ each, texts at 2.4 to 3c apiece and data at 3.8¢ to 2.2¢ per MB depending on the size of the bucket. Zact has a huge number of buckets to choose from, there are about 50 voice buckets, 50 text buckets and 30 data buckets. That virtually eliminates my biggest gripe about the Ting pricing model which has only seven buckets with gaps of up to $18 between them. With both Ting and Zact you pay for a whole bucket even if you only use a little bit of it, but Zact's pricing is much more granular reducing over-buying.

There are some fees including a $5 per phone monthly service charge and unspecified additional "taxes fees and surcharges". There's also a $10 account activation fee plus a $5 per phone activation fee.

Zact looks promising. I'm a little concerned about the lack of a bring your own phone option and limited selection of pricy handsets. I'd also like to see more transparency about those additional fees, taxes and surcharges.

Theres more information on the Zact site including details of all the rate plans and several videos. You can preorder a phone with shipping and the start of Zact service expected for the week of 6/3.

Related posts:
Sprint and Sprint MVNO Prepaid Plans Compared
Prepaid Operator Profile: Ting

Straight Talk, NET10 and Telcel America's Bring Your Own Verizon Phone Options Are Back

2013-05-13T10:15:00.002-07:00

America Movil's three US unlimited brands; Straight Talk, NET10 and Telcel America have relaunched their CDMA BYOP (Bring Your Own Phone) web sites at www.straighttalkbyop.com, net10byop.com and telcelamericabyop.com respectively. These sites are supposed to allow you to activate CDMA phones on the three brand's $45 to $65/month Verizon based unlimited plans.

Wording on the sites suggests that any CDMA phone can be activated, with the exception of LTE capable phones and BlackBerrys. That means that, contrary to earlier reports, CDMA iPhones can be activated with the exception of the iPhone 5 which is an LTE device.

The three CDMA BYOP sites were initially launched in early April. They were taken offline after about a week, reportedly to fix technical problems with the sites and the activation process.

Although the sites are up again, I haven't heard of anyone successfully activating a phone using them yet. All attempts seem to fail with an error at some point.

The sites don't say that activation is limited to Verizon phones so I tried several times to activate a Sprint HTC EVO 4G that had previously been used on Verizon MVNO PagePlus. I consistently got the error;

"We are experiencing technical difficulties at this time. Please wait 5 minutes and try again."

Immediately after entering the required information (MEID, make, model, zip code and whether the phone is currently active). I suspect this error means that only Verizon CDMA phones can used.

I had better luck with a Verizon Palm Pixi Plus where I got as far as a page where I needed to enter my credit card details. I didn't go any further because I don't actually want to activate the Pixi. However I've seen several reports by users that activation failed with an error after they submitted their credit information.

If anyone successfully activates a CDMA phone online with Straight Talk Net10 or Telcel sites please let us know with a comment.

Related stories from Prepaid Phone News:
Updated: Straight Talk, NET10 and Telcel America Bring Your Own Verizon Phone Option Canceled
Update: Straight Talk's Bring Your Own Verizon Phone Site is Now Working
NET10 Launches Bring Your Own Verizon Phone Site

Updated - Straight Talk's "Bring Your Own Verizon Phone" Option is Back Online!

2013-05-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

Update May 12, 2013, the Straight Talk CDMA BYOD site at www.straighttalkbyop.com went back online this evening,

Unlike the Walmart option described below, it looks like iPhones are allowed when activating online. The only CDMA phones that the site says aren't permitted are "4G LTE technology phones, Blackberries or branded Straight Talk, TracFone, Safe Link, NET10 Wireless, and Telcel America phones.".

As reported yesterday, a WalMart leak suggests that the Straight Talk CDMA BYOP (Bring Your Own Phone) program is about to resume. Initially launched in April and cancelled after a week, the CDMA BYOP option let you buy a $15 code that allowed activation of most Verizon phones on Straight Talk's $45/month unlimited, voice messaging and data plan. StraightTalk's sister brands NET10 and Telcel America, also launched and immediately canceled CDMA BYOD programs in April.

A HowardForums user discovered a page on the WalMart site listing a "Straight Talk Bring Your Own Phone CDMA Activation Kit Plus Service Plan" that includes a "Network Address Code" and a $45 Straight Talk Unlimited Plan PIN. The webpage says that the kit is only available in stores, not online.

I haven't heard any reports of the kits actually showing up in stores yet but another HowardForum's post, presumably by a WalMart employee, includes a photo (below) of pre-printed $59.88 price stickers for kit. The ST64PBYOPVZSV code on the sticker matches the "Model No." shown on the Walmart online listing. The stickers call it the kit a "SIM" but it seems unlikely that there's actually a SIM included as only Verizon LTE phone's use SIMs and the Walmart site says the program is not compatible with LTE phones.

Also not allowed on BYOD program are phones from "CDMA carriers Sprint or Metro PCS, 4G LTE devices, iPhones, BlackBerry, data only devices, lost or stolen devices, branded TracFone, SafeLink, NET10, Straight Talk or Telcel America handsets." This is a change from the original Straight Talk CDMA BYOD program which did allow the activation of the Verizon iPhone 4 and 4S. I suspect the program was modified to exclude iPhones at Verizon's request.

Prepaid Phones On Sale This Week - May 12 - May 18

2013-05-12T09:13:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Prepaid Phone News' regular Sunday Prepaid Phones on Sale this Week listing of all current US prepaid phone deals in one place.

The deal of the week is the LG L9 4G Android phone for $159.99 with the purchase of a $50 T-Mobile prepaid airtime card in Target stores or for $179.99 with free shipping from ShopCellDeal's Ebay store.

The L9 is thoroughly modern Android phone with great specs, including a 4.5 inch 540 x 960 px screen, dual-core 1 Ghz CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 5 MP camera with LED flash, 1080p HD video recording and a front facing camera for video calls. It will work on T-Mobile prepaid or postpaid plans and most T-Mobile MVNOs without unlocking. T-Mobile will unlock the phone for free for prepaid customers who meet certain requirements. The phone supports AT&T's 3G bands and if unlocked will be fully functional on AT&T and AT&T MVNOs.

The L9 ships with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. An Android 4.1.2 Jelly bean update was released last month but has been suspended to fix issues experienced by some users. The update should resume once the issues are resolved.

Other current prepaid phone deals: (Except as noted all are available both online and in stores).

Amazon (online only)

AT&T Alcatel 510A candy bar $14.99 with free shipping on orders over $25 (reg $19.99)

AT&T ZTE Z431 QWERTY candy bar $29.99 with free shipping (reg $49.99)

AT&T (Huawei) Fusion 2 Android phone $79.19 with free shipping (reg $99.99)

AT&T Samsung Galaxy Appeal Android QWERTY slider $126.58 with free shipping (reg $149.99)

Boost Mobile Kyocera Coast flip phone $19.99 with free shipping on orders over $25 (reg $29.99)

Boost Mobile Sanyo Innuendo QWERTY clamshell $39.99 with free shipping (reg $59.99)

Boost Mobile BlackBerry Curve 9310 $69.99 with free shipping (reg $79.99)

Boost Mobile Samsung Transform Ultra Android QWERTY slider $79.99 (reg $99.99)

Boost Mobile Kyocera Hydro water resistant Android phone $84.99 with free shipping (reg $99.99)

Boost Mobile Samsung Galaxy Rush Android phone $99.99 with free shipping (reg $129.99)

Boost Mobile LG Marquee Android phone $99.99 + $4.99 fshipping (reg $179.99)

Boost Mobile LG Venice Android phone $149.99 with free shipping (reg $199.99)

Boost Mobile ZTE Force 4G LTE Android phone with free shipping $169.99 (reg $199.99)

Boost Mobile HTC EVO Design 4GAndroid phone $184.99 with free shipping (reg $249.99)

Boost Mobile HTC One SV 4G LTE Android phone $254.99 with free shipping (reg $299.99)

Boost Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II 4G Android phone $279.99 with free shipping (reg $329.99)

MetroPCS LG Connect 4G LTE Android phone $249.99 with free shipping (ref $349.99)

MetroPCS Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G LTE Android phone $329.99 (reg $459.99)

Net10 AT&T Compatible SIM Card $4.87 with free shipping on orders over $25 (reg $14.99)

Net10 Motorola EM326g slider $7.99 with free shipping on orders over $25 (reg $19.99)

Net10 LG 620G slider $9.99 with free shipping on orders over $25 (reg $39.99)

Net10 Samsung T401G QWERTY slider $14.99 with free shipping on orders over $25 (reg $49.99)

Net10 LG 840G 3G WiFi touchscreen $34.99 with free shipping (reg $69.99)

Net10 LG L35G Optimus Logic (AT&T) Android phone $49.99 with free shipping (reg $79.99)

Net10 Samsung Galaxy Proclaim (Verizon) Android phone with free shipping $89.99 (reg $149.99)

Net10 LG Optimus Extreme (AT&T) Android phone $117.26 with free shipping (reg $149.99)

Net10 Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T) Android phone $299.99 with free shipping (reg $349.99)

Telcel America (T-Mobile) SIM Card $0.68 with free shipping on orders over $25 (reg $14.99)

T-Mobile Alcatel Sparq QWERTY slider $31.12 with free shipping (reg $79.99)

T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Exhibit 4G 4G Android phone 149.99 with free shipping (reg $249.99)

Tracfone LG 800G touchscreen with Triple Minutes for Life $17.99 with free shipping on orders over $25 (reg $49.99)

Tracfone Alcatel 382G big button Double Minutes candy bar $19.99 with free shipping on orders over $25 (reg $39.99)

Tracfone Samsung S390G QWERTY candy bar with WiFi and Triple Minutes for Life $24.99 with free shipping (reg $49.99)

Tracfone LG 505C touchscreen QWERTY slider with Triple Minutes for Life $24.99 with free shipping (reg $49.99)

Tracfone LG 530G QWERTY candybar with Triple Minutes for Life $24.99 with free shipping

Tracfone LG 840G touchscreen with WiFi and Triple Minutes for Life $39.99 with free shipping (reg $59.99

Tracfone LG 800G touchscreen with 1200 Minutes and Triple Minutes for Life $79.99 plus $4.99 shipping

Verizon (use on Page Plus) Palm Pixi Plus WebOS QWERTY candybar $45.99 with free shipping

Verizon Pantech Caper QWERTY candybar $53.78 with free shipping (reg $99.99)

Verizon (use on Page Plus) Palm Pre 2 WebOS QWERTY slider $68.95 with free shipping

Verizon Samsung Intensity II QWERTY slider $69.99 with free shipping (reg $99.99)

Verizon LG Extravert touchscreen QWERTY slider $99.99 with free shipping (reg $129.99)

Virgin Mobile payLo Kyocera Clip S2100 flip phone $15.98 with free shipping on orders over $25 (reg $19.99)

Virgin Mobile payLo Kyocera Brio QWERTY candybar $24.99 with free shipping (reg $39.99)

Virgin Mobile payLo Samsung Montage QWERTY slider $37.99 with free shipping (reg $49.99)

Virgin Mobile Samsung Restore QWERTY slider $41.09 with free shipping (reg $69.99)

Virgin Mobile Kyocera Event Android phone $59.99 with free shipping (reg $79.99)

Virgin Mobile Kyocera Rise Android QWERTY slider $73.99 with free shipping (reg $99.99)

Virgin Mobile LG Optimus Elite Android phone $73.53 with free shipping (reg $129.99)

Virgin Mobile Samsung Galaxy Reverb Android phone $129.99 + $4.99 free shipping (reg $199.99)

Virgin Mobile Samsung Galaxy Victory LTE Android phone $229.99 with free shipping (reg $249.99)

Virgin Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II 4G Android phone $279.99 with free shipping (reg $329.99)

AT&T (online only) The AT&T website offers free shipping on all phones and $5-$30 online-only discounts on most phones. There are some especially good good deals on refurbished phones which are listed below.

AT&T AT&T (ZTE) Z431 QWERTY candy bar $21.99 ($49.99 if new)

AT&T (Huawei) Fusion 2 Android phone $44.99 ($79.99 if new)

Samsung Galaxy Appeal Android QWERTY slider $84.99 ($149.99 if new)

BestBuy Free Shipping

Boost Mobile Sanyo Innuendo QWERTY clamshell $49.99 (reg $59.99)

Boost Mobile LG Rumor Reflex touchscreen QWERTY slider $52.99 (reg $79.99)

Boost Mobile ZTE Warp Android phone $99.99 (reg $129.99)

Boost Mobile LG Marquee Android phone $132.99 (reg $199.99)

Boost Mobile ZTE Force 4G LTE Android phone $179.99 (reg $199.99)

NET10 Samsung 404G QWERTY slider $32.99 (reg $48.00)

NET10 Huawei Ascend Y (Verizon) Android $79.99 (reg $99.99)

NET10 LG Optimus Q Android QWERTY slider $109.99 (reg $149.99)

T-Mobile Samsung t139 flip phone $19.99 (reg $29.99)

T-Mobile ZTE Aspect F555 QWERTY candybar $49.99 (reg $69.99)

Virgin Mobile Kyocera Event Android phone $59.99 (reg $79.99)

Virgin Mobile LG Optimus Elite Android phone $69.99 (reg $99.99)

Virgin Mobile Kyocera Rise Android phone $79.99 (reg $99.99)

Boost Mobile free 3 day shipping on all phones. Free $20 Google Play Store Credit with any Android phone purchase.

Samsung Factor flip phone $24.00 (reg $29.00)

Motorola Theory QWERTY candybar $29.99 (reg $39.99)

Samsung Array QWERTY slider $396.00 (reg $49.99)

LG Rumor Reflex QWERTY slider $59.99 (reg $79.99)

BlackBerry Curve 9310 $59.99 (reg $79.99)

Kyocera Hydro water resistant Android phone $79.99 (reg $99.99)

Kyocera Milano Android QWERTY slider $79.99 (reg $79.99)

Samsung Galaxy Prevail Android phone $89.99 (reg $99.99)

Samsung Transform Ultra Android QWERTY slider $89.99 (reg $99.99)

Samsung Galaxy Rush Android phone $99.99 (reg $129.99)

LG Marquee Android phone $159.99 (reg $199.99)

HTC EVO Design 4G $209.99 (reg $249.99)

Samsung Galaxy SII 4G Android phone $299.99 (reg $329.99)

CowBoom (part of BestBuy) used phones with warranty - free shipping.

$5 off $50 Use Code COWBOOM5 - New Customers Only, Excludes Deal of the Day, ends 5-31-2013

$10 off $150 Use Code COWBOOM10 - New Customers Only, Excludes Deal of the Day, ends 5-31-2013

$20 off $300 Use Code COWBOOM20 - New Customers Only, Excludes Deal of the Day, ends 5-31-2013

Cricket free shipping and free activation on all phones. Prices and availability are for Cricket native coverage areas. Prices are different and not all phones available in Cricket MVNO areas.

Samsung Chrono flip phone $29.99 ($59.99)

Kyocera Kona flip phone $29.99 (reg $59.99)

Samsung Comment 2 QWERTY candy bar $39.99 (reg $89.99)

ZTE Groove Android phone $69.99 (reg $149.99)

Huawei Ascend Q Android QWERTY candy bar $79.99 (reg $139.99)

HTC Desire C Android phone $79.99 (reg $179.99)

LG Optimus Regard 4G LTE Android phone $109.99 after mail in rebate (reg $249.99)

ZTE Engage Android phone $129.99 after mail-in rebate (reg $249.99)

HTC One V Android phone $139.99 (reg $269.99)

ZTE Engage LT Android phone $179.99 (reg $199.99)

Alcatel Authority Android phone $229.99 (reg $249.99)

HTC One SV 4G LTE android phone $279.99 after mail in rebate (reg $369.99)

Samsung Galaxy S III 4G LTE Android phone $379.99 (reg $549.99)

HSN shipping is $5.95 unless indicated

Boost Mobile Samsung Galaxy Rush Android phone $99.99 with free car charger and screen protector (reg $129.99)

NET10 Samsung Galaxy Proclaim Android phone with one month of free service ($50 value), case and car charger $149.99 (reg $149.99 w/o service or accessories)

T-Mobile ZTE Concord Android phone $79.99 (reg $99.99)

T-Mobile Nokia Lumia 521 $149.99 with free car charger and screen protector $149.99. Free shipping

Tracfone Alcatel 382G Big Easy large key candy bar with double minutes for life, car charger and 400 minutes good for one year 59.95 (reg $39.99 w/o airtime or car charger)

Tracfone Samsung T301G slider with 1200 minutes good for a year, triple minutes for life, case and car charger $79.99

Tracfone LG 840G touchscreen with 1400 minutes good for a year, car charger, earbud and color battery cover $99.95 Free Shipping

MetroPCS 2 day priority shipping is free on all phones.

Huawei Verge candy bar $29 (reg $49)

LG Motion LTE Android phone $99 after mail-in rebate (reg $149)

ZTE Avid 4G LTE Android phone $99 after mail in rebate (reg $149)

Huawei Premia 4G LTE Android phone $99 after mail in rebate (reg $199)

ZTE Anthem 4G LTE Android phone after mail in rebate $149 (reg $199)

LG Spirit 4G LTE Android phone $219 after mail in rebate (reg $269)

LG Connect 4G LTE Android phone $299 after mail in rebate (reg $349)

LG Esteem LTE Androd phone $329 after mail in rebate (reg $379.99)

Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G LTE Android phone $409 after mail in rebate (reg $459)

Samsung Galaxy S III LTE Android phone $449 after mail in rebate (reg $499)

Newegg.com (online only)

AT&T refurbished white Apple iPhone 3GS 16 GB $89.99 after mail in rebate, free shipping

NET10 (online only) Free overnight shipping through 5/13 on orders of $19.99 or more then free standard shipping on orders of $19.99 or more. Not all phones are available in all areas.

Free reconditioned LG 300G bar or Samsung T201G flip phone with purchase of a $25 refill card.

Free reconditioned LG 290C slider with purchase of $30 airtime card

Free reconditioned Samsung T201G flip phone with purchase of $65 unlimited international airtime card

Reconditioned LG 900G QWERTY candy bar $9.99 ($39.99 if new)

Reconditioned LG 500G QWERTY candy bar $9.99 ($29.99 if new)

Reconditioned Samsung Galaxy Precedent (Sprint) Android phone $29.99 ($79.99 if new)

Reconditioned Huawei Ascend II (Sprint) Android phone $29.99 ($49.99 if new)

Reconditioned LG Optimus Net (Sprint) Android phone $39.99 with free $10 gift card ($79.99 if new)

Reconditioned Huawei Ascend Y (Verizon) Android phone $49.99 ($99.99 if new)

Reconditioned Samsung Galaxy Proclaim (Verizon) Android phone $59.99 ($149.99 if new)

Unimax MAXBravo (Verizon) Android phone $79.99 with free $10 Gift Card

ZTE Merit Android phone (AT&T) $99.99 with free $10 Gift Card

PTel Free ground shipping on all orders

25% off your entire order with the purchase of a phone or a SIM together with a $40 or $50 unlimited plan PIN using code: PTELSTUD25

Free SIM Card and $20 off the price of $40 or $50 Unlimited Plan or Real PAYGO Top-up PIN using code: PTELSLICK20

$25 off the price of a $40 or $50 unlimited plan PIN with the purchase of a SIM card using code: PTEL25BRAD

Free Alcatel OT-606 SPARQ QWERTY slider with code PTELFREE606 and purchase of a $40 or $50 Unlimited plan

RadioShack Shipping $6.99 unless otherwise indicated. Free ground shipping on orders over $50. Free Ship to Store.

Free $10 off RadioShack coupon when you spend $30 or more at radioshack.com and participating RadioShack stores (ends 6/1/13)

Boost Mobile Boost Mobile Samsung Factor flip phone $9.99 (reg $29.99) (in store only)

Boost Mobile Sanyo Innuendo QWERTY clamshell $29.99 (reg $59.99)

Boost Mobile Samsung Array QWERTY slider $39.99 (reg $49.99)

Boost Mobile LG Rumor Reflex QWERTY slider $59.99 (reg $79.99)

Boost Mobile ZTE Warp Android phone $79.99 (reg $129.99)

Boost Mobile Samsung Galaxy Rush Android phone $99.99 (reg $129.99)

Boost Mobile ZTE Warp Sequent Android phone $129.99 (reg $149.99)

Boost Mobile ZTE Force 4G LTE Android phone $179.99 (reg $199.99)

Boost Mobile HTC One SV 4G LTE Android phone $279.99 (reg $299.99)

NET10 ZTE Merit Android phone (AT&T) $49.99 (reg $99.99) (in store only)

NET10 LG Optimus Dynamic (Verizon) Android phone $69.99 (reg $79.99)

NET10 LG Optimus Logic (AT&T) Android phone $69.99 (reg $79.99)

Radio Shack Mobile Huawei Pillar QWERTY candybar $29.99 (reg $39.99)

Radio Shack Mobile HTC Desire C Android phone $99.99 (reg $119.99)

Radio Shack Mobile Huawei Mercury Ice Android phone $129.99 (reg $149.99)

Verizon Pantech Caper QWERTY candy bar $39.97 (reg $79.99)

Verizon Samsung Intensity II QWERTY slider $59.97 (reg $79.99) (in stores only)

Verizon Samsung Intensity III QWERTY slider $69.99 (reg $79.99) (in stores only)

Verizon Samsung Illusion Android phone $79.99 (reg $99.99) (in stores only)

Verizon LG Extravert touchscreen QWERTY slider $79.99 (reg $109.99) (in stores only)

Virgin Mobile payLo Kyocera S2100 flip phone $9.99 (reg $19.99)

Virgin Mobile payLo Kyocera Brio QWERTY candy bar $29.99 (reg $39.99)

Virgin Mobile PCD Chaser Android phone $29.99 (reg $49.99) (in stores only)

Virgin Mobile LG Optimus Elite Android phone $59.99 (reg $129.99) (in stores only)

Virgin Mobile Kyocera Event Android phone (red or black) $59.99 (reg $79.99)

Virgin Mobile Kyocera RiseAndroid QWERTY slider $79.99 (reg $99.99)

Virgin Mobile HTC One V Android phone $99.99 (reg $149.99) (in stores only)

Virgin Mobile HTC EVO V 4G Android phone $129.99 (reg $179.99) (in stores only)

Virgin Mobile Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE Android phone $199.99 (reg $249.99)

Virgin Mobile iPhone 4 8GB $299.99 (reg $349.99) (in stores only)

Virgin Mobile iPhone 4S 16GB $399.99 (reg $449.99) (in stores only)

ShopCellDeals (eBay store, online only, free shipping)

Boost Mobile LG Marquee Android phone $99.99 (reg $199.99)

Boost Mobile HTC Design 4G Android phone $179.99 with free shipping (reg $249.99)

Net10 AT&T SIM Card with Activation Kit 2.99 (reg $15.00)

Net10 AT&T Micro SIM Card with Activation Kit 2.99 (reg $15.00)

Net10 Samsung T401G QWERTY slider $15.99 (reg $79.99)

Net10 LG 620G slider with 300 minutes and 60 days service $29.99 (reg $39.99)

Net10 LG 840G 3G WiFi touchscreen $34.99 (reg $69.99)

Net10 Manufacturer Refurbished LG Optimus Q (Sprint) Android QWERTY slider $39.99 ($129.99 id new)

Net10 Manufacturer Refurbished Samsung Galaxy Precedent (Sprint) Android phone slider $39.99 ($79.99 if new)

Net10 LG Optimus Logic (AT&T) Android phone (white or black) $49.99 (reg $79.99)

Net10 Samsung Galaxy Proclaim (Verizon) Android phone $89.99 (reg $149.99)

Net10 Huawei Ascend Y (Verizon) Android phone $74.99 (reg $99.99)

Net10 LG Optimus Logic (AT&T) Android phone with a month's unlimited service $89.99 (reg $149.99)

Net10 LG Optimus Extreme (AT&T) Android phone $119.99 (reg $149.99)

Net10 Samsung Proclaim (Verizon) Android phone with a month's free service ($50 value) $129.99 (reg $149.99 w/o service)

Net10 LG Optimus Showtime (Verizon) Android phone $214.99 (reg $249.99)

T-Mobile ZTE Concord Android phone $74.99 (reg $99.99)

T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Exhibit 4G Android phone $129.99 (reg $199.99)

T-Mobile LG Optimus L9 Android phone $179.99 (reg $249.99)

Tracfone LG 800G touchscreen with triple minutes for life $17.99 (reg $49.99)

Tracfone Alcatel A382G "Big Easy" big button double minutes candy bar $19.99 (reg $39.99)

Tracfone LG 505C triple minutes for life touchscreen QWERTY slider $24.99 (reg $49.99)

Tracfone Samsung S390G triple minutes for life WiFi QWERTY candybar $28.99 (reg $44.99)

Tracfone LG 530G QWERTY candy bar with triple minutes for life $29.99 (reg $49.99)

Tracfone Samsung S380C triple minutes for life QWERTY candybar $34.99 (reg $49.99)

Tracfone LG 840G Wi-Fi 3G touchscreen with triple minutes for life $39.99 (reg $48.99)

Tracfone LG 800G touchscreen with triple minutes for life and 600 minutes good for a year $39.99 (reg $49.99 without minutes)

Tracfone LG 800G touchscreen with triple minutes for life and 1200 minutes good for a year $79.99 (reg $149.98)

Tracfone LG 840G touchscreen with triple minutes for life, 1350 minutes good for a year $99.99 (reg $48.99 w/o airtime)

Virgin Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II Android phone $279.99 (reg $329.99)

Straight Talk (online only) Free overnight shipping through 5/13 on orders of $29.99 or more then free standard shipping on orders of $29.99 or more. Not all phones available in all markets.

Free Motorola W418G flip phone with purchase of a $30 All You Need refill.

Free Motorola W418G flip phone or Samsung T528G touchscreen with purchase of a $45 Unlimited refill

Free LG 620G slider or Motorola W418G flip phone or Samsung T528G touchscreen with purchase of $60 International Unlimited refill.

Samsung Galaxy Precedent (Sprint) reconditioned Android phone $29.99 ($79.99 if new)

Samsung R451C QWERTY slider $20.00 (reconditioned - $59.99 if new)

Nokia E71 reconditioned Symbian (AT&T) QWERTY candy bar $49.99 ($149.99 if new)

Huawei Ascend Y (Verizon) reconditioned Android phone $49.99 ($99.99 if new)

Samsung Galaxy Proclaim (Verizon) reconditioned Android phone $59.99 ($149.99 if new)

Nokia E5 Symbian (AT&T) QWERTY candy bar $79.99 (reg $149.99)

Samsung Galaxy Precedent (Sprint) Android phone with free $20 gift card $79.99

LG Optimus Q (Sprint) Android QWERTY slider with free $20 gift card $99.99

Target free shipping on orders over $50. 5% off and free shipping on all orders with Target Red Card

T-Mobile LG L9 Android phone $159.99 with the purchase of a $50 T-Mobile airtime card (in stores only)

TracFone (online only) Free overnight shipping through 5/13 on orders of $19.99 or more then free standard shipping on orders of $19.99 or more. Not all phones available in all markets.

Use promo code FRIEND1 to get $5 off any phone over $19.99.

Free refurbished double minutes for life LG 500G QWERTY candybar with purchase of a $19.99 card

Refurbished double minutes for life LG 500G QWERTY candybar $9.99 ($19.99 if new)

LG 505C refurbished tripple minutes for life touchscreen QWERTY slider $29.99 ($49.99 if new)

LG 840G 3G WiFi refurbished triple minutes for life touchscreen $29.99 ($59.99 if new)

Motorola EX124G refurbished touchscreen $29.99 with free 60 minute card

T-Mobile (online only) Shipping is free on all phones.

Free $50 airtime refill with all smartphones, free $10 airtime refill with all non-smartphones

T-Mobile (ZTE) Concord refurbished Android phone $135.99 with free $50 refill ($155.99 if new)

T-Mobile (Huawei) Comet refurbished Android phone $144.99 with free $50 refill ($174.99 if new)

T-Mobile (ZTE) Concord Android phone $155.99 with free $50 refill

LG L9 Android phone $290.00 with free $50 refill

Huawei myTouch Q 4G Android QWERTY slider $309.99 with free $50 refill

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G Android phone $410.00 with free $50 refill

Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G Android QWERTY slider $419.99 with free $50 refill

Samsung Galaxy S II Android phone $463.99 with free $50 refill

Google Nexus 4 16 GB Android phone $477.99 with free $50 refill

Samsung Galaxy S III Android phone $569.99 with free $50 refill

Samsung Galaxy Note II Android phone $729.99 (reg $699.99) with free $50 refill

Virgin Mobile free overnight shipping on all phones

Kyocera S2100 payLo flip phone $9.99 (reg $19.99) (ends 6/10)

Samsung Entro payLo flip phone $11.99 (reg $14.99) (ends 6/10)

Kyocera Brio payLo QWERTY candy bar $31.99 (reg $39.99) (ends 6/10)

PCD Venture Android QWERTY candy bar $39.99 (reg $49.99) (ends 6/3)

Samsung Montage payLo QWERTY slider $39.99 (reg $49.99) (ends 6/10)

Franklin Wireless U600 3G/4G USB Stick Modem $48.99 (reg $69.99) (ends 6/10)

Kyocera Event Android phone $55.99 (reg $79.99)

LG Optimus V Android phone $69.99 (reg $129.99)

LG Optimus Elite Android phone $74.99 (reg $99.99) (ends 6/10)

Kyocera Rise Android QWERTY slider $79.99 (reg $99.99) (ends 6/3)

Sierra Wireless Overdrive Pro 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot $83.99 (reg $119.99) (ends 6/10)

Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE Android phone $199.99 (reg $249.99) (ends 6/3)

Samsung Galaxy S II Android phone $279.99 (reg $329.99) (ends 5/26)

Apple iPhone 4 $297.49 (reg $349.99) (discount appears in shopping cart) (ends 6/10)

Apple iPhone 4S $382.49 (reg $449.99) (discount appears in shopping cart) (ends 6/10)

Walmart free ship to store on all items

AT&T Samsung A157 flip phone $14.88 (reg $24.88)

AT&T Alcatel 871A QWERTY candybar $29.88 (reg $39.88)

Cricket Samsung Chrono flip phone $25.88 (reg $29.99)

Cricket Huawei Pillar M615 QWERTY candy bar $29.88 (reg $39.88)

NET10 refurbished Motorola EM326G slider free with purchase of $25 refill

NET10 refurbished LG 300G candybar free with purchase of $25 refill

Straight Talk free refurbished Motorola W418G with purchase of $30 refill

T-Mobile Samsung T139 flip phone $25.88 (reg $29.88)

T-Mobile Alcatel Sparq QWERTY slider $29.88 (reg $49.88)

T-Mobile Huawei Prism Android phone $99.99 (reg $149.99)

T-Mobile Samsung Samsung Galaxy S II Android phone with free $50 airtime card $349.00 (reg $449.99)

Virgin Mobile LG Optimus Elite
Android phone $59.99 (reg $99.99)

Virgin Mobile HTC One V Android phone $129.99 (reg $149.88)

Virgin Mobile Samsung Reverb Android phone $159.88 (reg $199.99)

Mobile Broadband MVNO Internet On The Go Reduces Included Data on Several Plans

2013-05-11T08:11:00.002-07:00

Internet On the Go, a Sprint mobile broadband MVNO sold only at Walmart, is eliminating one plan and reducing the amount of data included with three others. Current customers were notified this week with the following email:

"Thank you for being a loyal Internet on the Go customer. On May 15th, Internet on the Go will be changing some of its plans. This price change will affect some but not all of our customers, in fact many will be unaffected by the change. We wanted to give you a heads up, so that you are aware of this upcoming change.

With increasing costs from our network providers, we need to adjust the number of megabytes offered in some plans and will discontinue one of our 30-day plans. As of May 15th, the plans will be:

“Use Whenever” Plans (megabytes never expire)
$10 - 500MB
$25 - 1.5GB
$45 - 3GB
30-Day Plans (megabytes expire after 30 days)
$25 - 2GB
$45 - 4GB
Refills added to your account prior to May 15 will be honored at the previous prices, regardless of when the plan MB’s are used or the 30-day period expires.

We truly regret that we have to make these changes at this time and will continue to work hard to offer you the best plans in the marketplace. As we provide better pricing in the future, we will immediately make that available to you."

Here's a table comparing the old and new plans:

Internet on the Go Plans
Price	Use Whenever (Never Expires)		30 Day Plans
	Old	New	Old	New
$10.00	500 MB	500 MB	1 GB	N/A
$25.00	1.5 GB	1.5 GB	3 GB	2 GB
$45.00	4 GB	3 GB	8 GB	4 GB

Internet on the Go's old rates on the 30 day plans were the lowest of all the Sprint 3G based brodband providers, so I'm not surprised they went up. The new rates are reasonably competitive, but are no longer the lowest priced. FreedomPop's new 3G/4G plans include more data than Internet on the Go's at every price point. In addition to being less expensive for nationwide 3G on the Sprint native network, FreedomPop includes 4G WiFi in areas where it's available. Internet on the Go's strongest suit is now its Use Whenever plans that let you buy a bucket of data to use as needed when traveling or if your wired broadband goes down.

To use Internet on the Go, an Internet on the Go Mobile Hotspot (a Novatel MiFi 2200) is required.The hotspot is available only at walmart.com. It's priced at $79.88. plus $2.97 for shipping. Internet on the Go airtime can be added online using a credit card or with PIN cards sold at Walmart.

Source: HowardForums

Related Posts:
US Prepaid Mobile Broadband Plans Compared
New Plans from Walmart's Internet on the Go Mobile Broadband

New CallingMart Promo Codes - Up to 10% Off Prepaid Airtime

2013-05-10T08:22:00.002-07:00

CallingMart.com's has posted some new discount codes on their Facebook page. These codes are good through Tuesday, June 4th on orders of $18 or more.

10% Off AT&T GoPhone refills at callingmart.com with coupon code: mom1310.

‎7% Off Net10, Tracfone & Verizon (Net10 family plans excluded) refills at callingmart.com with coupon code: mom137.

5% Off Page Plus, Simple Mobile, H2O, Cricket, Red Pocket and Airvoice refills at callingmart.com with coupon code: mom135.

If you use Ultra Mobile, PTel, SpotMobile, Telcel America or most other prepaid carriers not listed above you can get an extra 3% off Callingmart's already discounted prices using coupon code ca3p-1207. This code does not expire.

To get your discount enter the code in the "Enter Coupon Code" field on the Shopping Cart page and press the "Apply" button.

All the above coupons are good only on purchases of $18 or more.

Sign up for CallingMart's free rewards program to get an extra 1% in rewards credit with every purchase. Rewards credit can be applied to your next order.