Prepaid Reviews Blog

Virgin Mobile picks up Samsung Ring

Joe — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:30:30 +0000

Virgin Mobile customers looking for a decent smartphone at an affordable price point can now check out the Samsung Galaxy Ring. It’s smaller than the Galaxy S series phones, measuring just four inches. But it also features a 1.4GHz processor, plus Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Given its other decent features, such as a 5MP camera with 1080p video capture, and it’s a decent bargain. You can bring it home for $179.99 from Virgin Mobile’s website.

Via Phone Scoop.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for Tracfone Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T unveils new GoPhone plans

Joe — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:25:26 +0000

*This is what you miss when you skip town for a few days

When we heard last week that AT&T GoPhone was dropping its data add-ons in favor of new plans, you could excuse us for being skeptical. In the past AT&T has taken very consumer-friendly plans and eliminated them wholesale. This time, though, the alternatives look…not so bad. For starters, they’re allowing GoPhone customers access to their LTE network. That makes the highest-tier plan much more attractive, which was probably the point in the first place.

The $60 monthly unlimited plan, which includes unlimited voice and text, got a bump from 1GB of data to 2GB. Hard to complain about that. Additionally, customers can add additional gigs of data for $10 each. If you have an off-contract LTE phone, this looks like a pretty viable option. I’d pay $80 for unlimited voice and text plus 4GB of LTE data.

The other plans offer less data and charge more for overages. The $40 plan includes 500 minutes, unlimited messaging, and 200MB of data, with additional data costing $5 per 100MB. Previously AT&T charged $5 for 50MB and $15 for 200MB. The $25 plan includes 250 minutes and unlimited messaging, with data costing that old rate of $5 for 50MB.

So, basically, the more expensive your base plan the cheaper your data add-on. Customers on the $60 plan who had to pay $15 for 200MB or $25 for 1GB now get that 1GB for $10. There might be some instances where customers don’t get what they want, but overall these new plans look like an improvement — especially with the introduction of LTE on GoPhone.

Via FierceWireless.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for Tracfone Prepaid information on the web!

Samsung Galaxy SIII available from Virgin, Boost

Joe — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:30:08 +0000

Keen to take advantage of parent company Sprint’s 4G LTE network, both Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile have both launched the Samsung Galaxy SIII, last year’s best-selling Android handset. Furthermore, it’s a perfectly adequate device even aged a year, in my opinion topping nearly every competitor on the market. It costs $399.99 on both carriers, though their plans differ. With Virgin you can get a $35 plan that covers 2.5GB of data, unlimited messaging, and 300 anytime minutes. Their plans go up to $55 per month for unlimited everything (with the data restriction in place). With Boost you can get only the unlimited everything plan (with the 2.5GB data limit) for $55 per month, but every six months of on-time payments reduces that bill by $5, with a floor price of $40 after 18 months.

You can get the Galaxy SIII at Boost Mobile’s website or Virgin Mobile’s website.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for Tracfone Prepaid information on the web!

Consumer Cellular now offering in-home phone service

Joe — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:30:32 +0000

The traditional landline is all but obsolete, and now even modern VoIP home phone lines are being challenged. While they still present the best option for many families, others simply don’t use the home phone enough to justify the monthly cost of VoIP service. For them, home phone service from a cellular provider might make sense. Last year Straight Talk announced and then launched a home phone service that costs $15 per month. Yesterday Consumer Cellular announced its own in-home phone service. It includes a phone device, dubbed Wireless Home Phone Device, which costs $35. It works anywhere you have an electrical outlet and Consumer Cellular service. The service itself costs $10 per month when added to a Consumer Cellular account. And yes, you can use your current home phone number with it. You can sign up for the service at Consumer Cellular’s website.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for Tracfone Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon prepaid adds LG Optimus Exceed and Optimus Zone

Joe — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:00:24 +0000

Pictured above is the LG Optimus Exceed, one of two new Optimus that Verizon prepaid just added to its smartphone lineup. The Exceed is pretty standard, featuring a 4-inch display with Gorilla Glass, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, and a 5-megapixel camera with 1080p video capture. Essentially this is last year’s mid-range option, which still isn’t all that bad. The price is right, too, at $129.99 with no contract. The other smartphone, the Optimus Zone, costs only $79.99, but is hardly worth discussing because it still runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. There might be a $50 difference in price, but the difference in performance is astronomical. Both are available on Verizon’s website.

Via Phone Scoop.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for Tracfone Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T GoPhone eliminating data add-ons in favor of new, unannounced plans

Joe — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:30:09 +0000

If you’re an AT&T GoPhone user on the $25 or $50 monthly plan and use a data add-on, you’ll soon be out of luck. Currently AT&T offers three tiers of data add-ons: $5 for 50MB, $15 for 200MB, and $25 for 1GB. On June 20, according to a company statement, only the $5 50MB add-on will remain. For its part AT&T does plan to replace those add-ons in the coming weeks, but it’s unclear how exactly they will proceed. There is some speculation out there, and it’s tough to dismiss, that AT&T will push people both towards their $65 unlimited prepaid plan, which includes 1GB of data, and eventually to their new Aio Wireless brand, which should expand to more markets in the near future. The company left out so many details that it’s hard to speculate further, since we don’t know what will replace those add-ons. We should know more before they’re eliminated on the 20th.

Via CNET.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for Tracfone Prepaid information on the web!

FreedomPop to offer free smartphone plan this summer

Joe — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:30:44 +0000

In the early days of this blog we often wrote about a free MVNO called Blyk. While they were in the UK and we focus on the YS market, their model was just too intriguing. Instead of charging customers, they served them ads. That allowed customers to get a certain level of free service — just talk and text back then — every month. The service shuttered in 2009, but it had served hundreds of thousands of customers during its time in business. There is now an American MVNO trying for a similar free effect, but they’re going about it in a completely different manner.

FreedomPop has been around for a few years, offering mobile and in-home broadband services to customers on a freemium basis. For those unfamiliar with the term, freemium means that the company offers one level of free service, with a greater level of service available at a cost. FreedomPop offers customers 500MB of free mobile broadband per month, with the option to upgrade: 2GB for $17.99 per month and 4GB for $28.99 per month. That’s quite a bit cheaper than the major providers.

The mobile broadband is no 3G joke, either. When I first heard about it I expected FreedomPop to offer mobile broadband on carriers’ 3G networks, helping them fill the network as they push their own customers to 4G LTE. But FreedomPop mobile broadband works on Clearwire WiMax, which does have quality speeds in most regions. It’s not available everywhere — not where I live, and that’s a pretty large east coast town — but most major metropolitan areas will have it. And most people can certainly benefit from having 500MB of free laptop data per month, just in case.

(They also offer in-home service that includes 1GB of data for free. It can be pretty slow; the 5GB plan offers 1.5Mbps download, but they can get up to 8Mbps which, while not great at all, is not bad for under #$20 per month.)

Their free wireless plan, which will become available this summer on select Android phones, will work on Sprint’s LTE network*, which is a pretty big win in its own right. Customers will receive 200 voice minutes and unlimited text messaging, which is delivered via VoIP. They will also get 500MB of free data, which, if you’re not streaming video or music over the cellular connection can be a nice little allotment.

*It might still involve Clearwire’s WiMax in some instances, since text and voice are delivered over the data connection. But FreedomPop has announced a partnership with Sprint and their LTE network, so the pairing here makes too much sense.

Given FreedomPop’s other offerings, we can expect other plans — more expensive, but with more voice and data provisions — to launch along with the free plan. It’s no mystery why FreedomPop held off on announcing those higher tiers yesterday. They’re sticking with the “free” message, and they’re really starting to catch our attention.

Via FierceWireless.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for Tracfone Prepaid information on the web!

Two T-Mobile phones, plus BYOD, coming to MetroPCS

Joe — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:30:08 +0000

While MetroPCS‘s service plans haven’t changed at all since the merger with T-Mobile, it has still gained plenty. Perhaps this biggest gain is a network that covers 100 million additional people. As we learned yesterday, MetroPCS will soon get a chance to expand and reach many of those potential customers. According to a leaked document, MetroPCS will soon offer the Samsung Galaxy Exhibit and the LG Optimus L9, both handsets that T-Mobile has already released. More importantly, they’ll begin offering a bring your own device program starting in mid-June, which could open up even more opportunities.

The Galaxy Exhibit and the Optimus L9 aren’t the top phones on the market, but they’re serviceable mid-range handsets. The Exhibit is basically the Galaxy SIII Mini, with a 4-inch screen, dual-core 1GHz processor, and a few other bells and whistles. The L9 has a 4.5-inch screen also with a dual-core 1GHz processor. Again, nothing groundbreaking but perhaps two useful handsets in the $200 range. (That’s an estimate, by the way, and not the certain price range of these devices.)

The bring your own device plan for MetroPCS will allow them to take T-Mobile-locked and unlocked GSM handsets. The program will begin on June 12th and will cover a wide range of smartphones and feature phones, including the iPhone. The leaked screen doesn’t mention BlackBerry phones, and Phone Arena explicitly says that BlackBerry devices will not be included.

While these changes won’t have AT&T and Verizon customers flocking for MetroPCS, they do illustrate the many ways that the T-Mobile merger will benefit both companies.

Via Phone Arena.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for Tracfone Prepaid information on the web!

Preorder the Galaxy S4 at Cricket: $529.99 plus rebate

Joe — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 12:30:02 +0000

Cricket customers who want to pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S4 can do so starting now. As noted when Cricket announced the S4, it will cost $599.99, but Cricket has added a few discounts. With instant and web discounts the price falls to $529.99. Customers who order or purchase the S4 between now and June 22nd are also eligible for a $55 mail-in rebate, which comes in the form of a Visa prepaid gift card. To be eligible customers must send in the rebate form within 30 days of purchase, and must maintain service with Cricket for a minimum of 45 days. The phone will ship on June 7th. You can order yours at Cricket’s website.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for Tracfone Prepaid information on the web!

Verizon: 3G is for prepaid

Joe — Fri, 31 May 2013 12:30:02 +0000

The strategy became readily apparent last summer when Verizon prepaid began offering a 3G smartphone plan. It was a rudimentary offering at first, overpriced and with few handset selections. Since then it has expanded, and in a year it went from offering 1GB of data for $80 per month to offering 2GB of data for $60 or 4GB for $70. Since LTE services are not offered on prepaid, it appeared that Verizon was aiming to keep its existing 3G CDMA network profitable by populating it with prepaid users, while using LTE for higher-ARPU postpaid customers. Yesterday CFO Fran Shammo confirmed the company’s plans. So if you’re on Verizon prepaid, don’t expect to use an LTE phone any time soon.

Via FierceWireless.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for Tracfone Prepaid information on the web!