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Rdio matches Spotify with its own family plan price cut
Spotify's family plans went live this week, and today Rdio reduced the cost of its subscription sharing to match. The latter streaming option revealed new rates for spreading access to its massive library amongst your relatives at $5 for each additional person. If you aren't looking to do the math, that's $15 for two, $20 for three, $25 for four and $30 for five. Those prices look familiar? Well, they should: they're now exactly the same as Spotify's sharing plans that also save you 50 percent over the regular monthly cost for each additional subscriber. Rdio began offering family options back in 2011, with two accounts starting at $18. They were initially limited to just three people, but the company bumped the allowance to five last summer.
Netflix is charging new subscribers a bit more for streaming 4K content
Similar to the upcharge to get Blu-rays in the mail over DVDs, Netflix is implementing a higher price for 4K streaming too. New subscribers and folks who already weren't using their UHD screen to watch House of Cards in 4K will have to jump into the $11.99 per-month family plan, according to HD Guru. Following its tradition of rewarding loyal customers though, if you were using 4K streaming prior to early October, you're grandfathered in at $7.99 a month. As Variety tells it, that lower subscription rate will continue indefinitely, and that the price change actually took effect on August 12th. So what will the very specific crowd that this affects get to watch? Well, aside from mainstays like the full run of Breaking Bad, there are a few new additions too including Ghostbusters and its sequel, the nature doc Moving Art, NBC's Blacklist and, uhh, The Smurfs 2 -- you know, for the kids. [Image credit: Photo by AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez]
T-Mobile offers more data to tablet users and the budget crowd
T-Mobile isn't about to stop tweaking its phone plans any time soon; in fact, it just overhauled three of them with data in mind. To start, you'll get twice as much full-speed data on your phone plan if you add a tablet to the mix from September 3rd onward; if you currently get 3GB, for example, adding the $10 monthly tablet access fee will give you 6.2GB (including the 200MB of free tablet data) to play with. It's potentially a much better deal than what rivals offer if you intend to use your tablet a lot while on the road. On Sprint, you'd be paying $75 per month for both phone service and 4GB of shared data.
Sprint family promo lets you share at least 20GB of data for $100 per month
T-Mobile has lately enticed families by giving them a big, 10GB bucket of mobile data at a relatively low $100 rate, but Sprint isn't about to take this competition laying down. Big Yellow has just unveiled a Family Share Pack promotion that lets you split a minimum of 20GB of data (and unlimited voice/text) for a relatively modest $100 per month, plus $15 per line. You're almost certainly getting more than that, too. Sprint throws in another 2GB for every line, so a family of four will have 28GB to play with. If you max out the plan with 10 people, that's a pretty hefty 40GB. You won't get the carrier's signature unlimited data, but this may eliminate worries that Snapchat-happy kids will chew up all your bandwidth.
Sprint will pay you to switch from a rival carrier to its Framily plan
T-Mobile may have stolen the spotlight earlier this year by paying customers to switch, but it looks like Sprint is cooking up a similar deal in response. An S4GRU leak has revealed a Sprint promo that will pay you to switch from a competitor to the carrier's Framily plan between April 4th and May 8th. Much like T-Mobile's offer, you'll get up to $350 to cover early termination fees at the provider you're leaving; you'll also get up to $300 in service credit if you trade in your old phone at the same time. While we doubt that the month-long campaign will do much to reverse Sprint's losses, it might just give fence-sitters a stronger incentive to change networks.
New AT&T plan makes it cheaper to share smartphone data off-contract
AT&T's current Mobile Share plans can be quite expensive for families and small offices that don't want to be tied to a contract. However, service is potentially more affordable through a new plan launching Sunday. The tier starts at $130 per month with two off-contract lines for new customers (existing contract customers can also sign up) and 10GB of shared data, but it costs a more modest $15 per extra line instead of the regular $25; the carrier reckons that a family of four could save anywhere from $40 to $100 per month over the regular rates. You can go for more than 10GB of data if your clan craves extra bandwidth, too. It's not clear if AT&T's deal will be enough to lure families away from low-cost carriers like T-Mobile, but it's certainly a better offer than before.
Xbox Live Family Plans get converted to individual memberships starting August 27th
Microsoft just detailed how the Xbox One's "Home Gold" will spread the Xbox Live Gold love across multiple users of a particular system, but what about those with the current generation's Xbox Live Family Plan? The folks in Redmond stopped accepting new subscribers to the $99 / year package back in March, and now users are receiving an email (included after the break) with details about what happens next. First, the good news: As of August 27th, if you have the family plan then each one of your activated subaccounts get full Xbox Live Gold status for the duration of your remaining subscription, plus three extra months. Prior to the conversion, you can still add sub accounts to the maximum total of four, and if you're set to auto-renew prior to conversion then that will still happen. The conversion may not happen exactly on that date, but subscribers can expect another email a week before it actually occurs. Now the downsides: Activity reports and Microsoft Points allowances are going away, with reports disappearing at the time of conversion and the latter with the next system update. Another issue will apply to those who used it to game on multiple consoles in or across multiple households, since they'll need multiple individual XBL Gold subscriptions to do so -- one of the big problems the Family Pack resolved when it launched back in 2010. That could make sticking with the Xbox 360 or upgrading to an Xbox One more expensive going forward, check out the FAQ for all the details and run the numbers for yourself. [Thanks, Corey]
Cricket intros $40 per line family plan with unlimited talk, text and data, updates iPhone plans
Cricket's already firmly established itself as one of the more budget-minded carriers in the US, and it's now tweaking some of its plans a bit further in the hopes of attracting more customers. Leading those changes is a new family plan that will give you two lines for $40 apiece per month, each with unlimited talk, texting and data -- the catch, as is becoming increasingly common, is that the data gets throttled to a slower speed after 1GB. On top of that, the carrier has also now brought its iPhone plans in line with its Android offerings, giving folks the same options as that family plan for $50 a month. More demanding users can also opt for 2.5GB of unthrottled data for $60 or 5GB $70, both of which also add unlimited international messaging to the mix.
AT&T unveils Mobile Share, lets you add 10 devices to a single plan
We knew it was coming and even Ralph de la Vega himself publicly admitted that it was in the pipeline, but today AT&T has whipped the covers from its new shared data plans. Mobile Share will enable customers to use a single data allocation across all of their devices, with unlimited calls and text. You're entitled to use up to 10 devices on a single plan, of which at least one must be a smartphone. Users can pick how much data they expect to use each month, paying an additional levy to add the rest of their family's handsets (or just your own, if you're Steve Wozniak). Fortunately, tethering is included as part of the plans. The new plans will roll out in late August and will sit alongside the current individual and family offerings, with the company allowing current customers to make a switch without forcing them into a contract extension. AT&T also noted that those lucky customers that are still on a grandfathered unlimited data plan can stay on those plans, even if they upgrade to a new phone at the subsidized on-contract cost. We've got the pricing structure and PR for you for you after the break if you're sweaty-palmed in anticipation for the launch.
AT&T prepares internal systems for shared data, launch date still TBD
We've known AT&T's had shared data plans in the works for a healthy amount of time, as the GSM carrier let the cat out of the bag many seasons ago. And while Ralph de la Vega hasn't hid his company's aspirations from view, the network hasn't exactly been forthcoming about when the party is going to get started. If the above and below screenshots are any indication, however, AT&T has already added support for group data into Telegence, the internal system employees use to manage customer accounts. According to the memo seen above, Telegence has been tweaked to include a new group-level data feature node "in preparation for the launch of Shared Data." This verbiage seems to suggest the new plans are coming in the very near future, but the communication is quick to point out that the launch date has yet to be determined. Unfortunately, since the new adjustments aren't functional just yet, it could simply mean the company's beginning the first wave of crucial internal testing. Regardless, its presence in AT&T's systems is a great step forward, and a welcome one that's been a long time coming. The question is, will the new plans arrive before Verizon can push its version out to the masses? [Thanks, anonymous]
T-Mobile, Walmart do another kumbaya with contract-free unlimited family plan for 3G users
Remember that 4G plan that T-Mobile and Walmart started collaborating on last year? Well, the two companies are making yet another announcement, teaming up on an improved Family Mobile Plan with unlimited 3G talk, text and web. For those who like cheap dates with no long-term commitments, the news gets even better at $45 per month for the first line ($35 for each additional line) with no contract necessary. There is a bit of a catch as your data speed gets throttled after you exceed your cap -- 5GB if you sign up before March 16 and 250MB if you sign up after that. But, hey, that's still better than being charged overage fees. You also have to pay a one-time $25 Starter Kit fee for each line.
T-Mobile lauches new individual and family plans right on schedule
As rumored, T-Mobile overhauled its individual and family plans today and simplified your options to just three tiers of voice service. Individuals can choose between 500, 1,000 or unlimited minutes, with unlimited text messaging adding $10 and data add-ons ranging from $10 for 200MB to $60 for 10GB. Family plans come in 1,000, 2,000 and unlimited minute varieties while the sharable data and text services cost twice as much as their individual counterparts. There are some odd restrictions, such as the inability to add texting or data to the mid-tier plans and no choice for unlimited voice service without SMS tacked on. We do, however, like the overage-free data options that simply drop to 2G speeds when you reach your plan's threshold instead of shocking you with huge fees at the end of the month. We can also confirm that restocking fees have been bumped from $10 regardless of device to $50 for smartphones, $75 for tablets, and $25 for USB modems and "basic phone devices." Check out the sources for all the details and fine print. Update: Just a few hours after debuting its new individual and family plans T-Mo unleash a pair of new no annual contract choices. $50 gets you unlimited voice, text, and 100MB of 4G or 3G data while $70 pushes the high-speed data cap to 5GB. And, just like the on-contract options, these are overage-free. PR is after the break. [Thanks, Neal]
T-Mobile throws in up to three extra lines for free on family plans
It doesn't last forever, but T-Mobile's throwing big families a bone for the moment with a deal that makes the third, fourth, and fifth lines free on family plans (typically, only the first and second are offered at no additional charge). They're only free through 2012, but that gives you well over a year of cost-free bliss for your tykes' BlackBerrys; 200 minutes are included with each additional line and you can pay to upgrade them to unlimited if you're a "cool" parent. You are a cool parent, aren't you? Follow the break for T-Mobile's full press release.
T-Mobile's Motorola Charm to go for a big, fat zilch on family plan activations?
The poster here that we've received today kind of speaks for itself, we'd say. By all appearances, it seems that T-Mobile intends to continue its tradition of making family plans attractive with blowout handset pricing -- and the next model to get the free treatment will be Motorola's upcoming Charm featuring Android packed into a form factor that you rarely (well, never see) for the platform. Realistically, $100 is probably the high end of the reasonable range for something with the Charm's specs, but at $0, it's a downright bargain compared to the typical free-on-contract dumbphone fare. Now let's just extend this offer to non-family plans, T-Mobile -- and go ahead and make it permanent while you're at it. [Thanks, Justfinethanku]
Xbox Live family subscription plan available starting in November for $99
Microsoft's just dropped details on its new Xbox Live family subscription plan. Starting in November, it will offer the Gold Family Pack, enabling up to four users to have Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, for $99.99 a year. It'll also debut the Family Center, a new menu accessible from the dashboard for customizing account settings. We've certainly wished for something like this in the past, and the pricing sounds like a pretty good deal to us -- we'll be able to afford a new cap for our avatar, afterall! Full press release is below.
T-Mobile confirms free phone offer for family plans this Saturday
Yes, it's happening: T-Mobile is looking to drum up some serious foot traffic in T-Mobile stores ahead of Father's Day this weekend by making every single one of its phones free on Saturday only -- but naturally, there's a catch. You can only get in on the offer by switching to a family plan or adding another line to your existing family plans, so anyone flying solo is pretty much out of luck. Clearly, the idea is to get daddy that new HD2 or myTouch 3G Slide he wants without paying a dime out of pocket -- but what about the Galaxy S, hmm? Follow the break for T-Mobile's full press release.
MetroPCS sees huge influx of customers, intros GroupLINE
We'd already heard that right about now was a great time to be in the prepaid cell business, and that's being proven quite definitively by MetroPCS' Q1 subscriber results. We're told that the firm saw a net addition of 684,000 customers in the first three months of 2009, representing an astounding 51 percent increase year-over-year. While celebrating mightily, the company also saw fit to introduce a "one-call communication solution targeted at families and friends who are trying to save money in today's economy by 'cutting the cord' and replacing their landline telephones with wireless phones." Said "landline replacer" is called GroupLINE, which enables up to five MetroPCS Family Plan subscribers to receive calls on a shared GroupLINE number while still maintaining their individual mobile numbers -- all for just $5 per month. So, anyone looking to tighten the belt by going prepaid? Your options are getting good.[Via GigaOM]Read - MetroPCS resultsRead - GroupLINE launch
Sprint retools plan pricing structure, aims to keep things simple
There's just nothing worse than trying to piece together a calling plan -- particularly for families -- and being overwhelmed by nickle 'n dime type add-ons along the way. Okay, so maybe that's an exaggeration, but Sprint's hoping to key in on folks who don't disagree with a new "simplified" pricing structure that does away with free incoming calls. Put simply, individuals and families alike can simply pick the amount of minutes they need and whether they want unlimited messaging or unlimited messaging and data. That's it. The prices actually aren't half bad for those ready and willing to put "unlimited" to the test, so hit up the read link to see if any are a fit for you.[Via GottaBeMobile]
