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Google Play Music family plan gives six people tunes for $15 a month
Family pricing has been all the rage when it comes to music-streaming services. After the likes of Rdio, Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music announced reduced rates for you and your family, Google has a family plan of its own for Play Music. Mountain View is offering access to its library of tunes for up to six people for $15 a month. That's exactly what Apple offers, and it's a much better deal than Rdio and Spotify, which only allow two people to stream for that price. With Play Music, each member of the crew will be able to listen on any device and the app will serve up recommendations that are tailored to each user. Google says it's still "putting the finishing touches" on the family sharing, and it plans to roll it out later this year. Get all the news from today's Google event right here.
Sprint counters T-Mobile with 10GB of shared family data
The battle between Sprint and T-Mobile for the hearts and phone lines of America's families is heating up. T-Mobile recently updated its Simple Choice family plan to give a family of four unlimited calling and text, as well as 10GB of data to each of them for $120 a month. On Wednesday, Sprint fired back with a revamped Family Share Pack. This package offers four lines, unlimited talk, text and 10GB of shared data for $100 to families that switch from another carrier. And if 10GB isn't enough, Sprint also announced that it will sell a 40GB plan for $20 more per month, $120 in total. [Image Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP]
AT&T and Verizon shared data plans compared
With the introduction of AT&T's Mobile Share this morning, the two largest mobile operators in the US (the other one, of course, being Verizon) have officially embraced the idea of pooled data plans. The concept is simple: bundle talk, text and data together in the same family plan, instead of forcing each individual member to pay a separate fee if they want internet access. With the announcement of these plans, we were instantly curious to find out if these new options will save customers money on a monthly basis -- and which company offers the best value. Determined to get some answers, we've broken down AT&T and Verizon's plans and will highlight the pros and cons for you after the break.
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 plans could switch up on May 22, restock fees inflating like a balloon?
As it turns out, T-Mobile could be in need of a mobile makeover itself. Not even three weeks after the carrier announced it lost nearly half a million customers, it's reportedly ready to remodel its monthly rate plans on May 22. We've already heard that its prepaid choices may be getting some overhaul treatment this weekend, but fresh intel from TmoNews gives us the feeling that individual and family plans will probably be scooted around a bit as well. Since we're not even sure these changes will actually occur, we'll spare you the nitty-gritty details for now and go straight to the most interesting tidbits. Individual and family plans were simplified to three options each, but the middle one -- 1,000 minutes for individual and 2,000 family -- is a minutes-only choice with no text offered (read: upsell opportunity). The new data plans would be revamped as well, with monthly fees ranging from $10 for 200 MB up to $60 for 10 GB; data hogs needn't worry about overages, though, because these offerings would still technically be "unlimited" since speeds would just be throttled to 2G once the limit is met. Finally, saving the most shocking for last, whispers in T-Mobile's camp mention that restocking fees will be raised from $10 to a mind-blowing $50 for smartphones and $75 for tablets ($25 for a "phone-first" phone). At a time when retailers are doing away with restock fees completely, we find this move to be the most curious of all. If you're still at the edge of your seat looking for more details, don't hesitate to visit the source links to get the whole enchilada.
