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No-contract $30 / $45 Straight Talk wireless plans storm Walmart

by Darren Murph posted Oct 14th 2009 at 1:16PM

Remember when TracFone horrified the world with its Straight Talk phone selection back in July? Clearly the suits in Bentonville weren't so scared, as now Walmart is latching on to that very plan and claiming it as its own. In over 3,200 of the outfit's retail stores across America, consumers will be able to snag an admittedly pathetic cellie and a rather decent calling plan for just $30 a month. Three Hamiltons gets you 1,000 voice minutes, 1,000 texts and 30MB of mobile web access, not to mention nationwide coverage and free 411 calls. If that's not quite enough, a $45 per month option provides unlimited everything (voice / SMS / mobile web). Of course, the price of using an antediluvian LG 220, LG Slider 290 or Samsung 451 can't be measured in mere dollars, but hey, humiliation's only temporary -- right?

Gallery: No-contract $30 / $45 Straight Talk wireless plans storm Walmart

NTT DoCoMo might just enter the US cellphone market, MVNO graveyard wishes it luck

by Darren Murph posted Sep 6th 2009 at 10:08AM

If you've paid any attention whatsoever to the goings-on in the American cellphone market, you'd know that ponying up the dough to start an MVNO here is probably not your best shot at striking it rich. One after another has fallen flat, even ones that had millions (and millions) in marketing dollars behind 'em. That said, Japan's own NTT DoCoMo is mulling the possibility of fully entering the US cell market next year, offering up smartphones and "other high-performance handsets with its i-mode mobile internet service." We're told that the operator may start as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator), leasing capacity from T-Mobile USA or AT&T until it decides on its next move. Call us crazy, but we're guessing it just might have a shot here on US soil if it snags the iPhone, enables all those 3G services that have been running for years on other platforms and only charges one (as opposed to three or four) human limbs for a monthly plan.

[Thanks, shinbunboi]

HP to sell contract-free, WWAN-equipped PCs in Japan

by Darren Murph posted Aug 11th 2009 at 6:48AM

In a presumed effort to shake up the Japanese wireless industry and provide consumers with 3G-equipped PCs that aren't tied to multi-year contracts, Hewlett-Packard has quietly announced a deal with Japan Communications that will allow its machines to be sold with SIM cards that can be used on a pay-as-you-go basis. For those unaware, JCI leases network space from NTT DoCoMo, and as part of the agreement, HP will not only get to choose which devices can connect, but it'll get to keep a nice slice of the mobile data revenue as well. Here's the crazy part: the initial wave of netbooks will be sold for between $50 and $100 sans contract. That's about what users pay in America now for subsidized WWAN-ready netbooks, but there's a two-year contract tagging along. If all goes well, we could even see full-sized laptops, smartphones and digital cameras hop on the same bandwagon, but for now, we'll be keenly watching how brisk sales are when things kick off next month.

Sprint acquires Virgin Mobile USA for a cool $483m

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jul 28th 2009 at 8:39AM

Remember Virgin Mobile? Sure you do -- not long ago the last-man-standing MVNO snapped up Helio, and seemed ready to take its place as one of the few boutique prepaid operations still... er, operating. Well that appears to be all but done and done, as Sprint has just announced a "definitive agreement" to purchase the company for $483 million worth of sweet, succulent stock (which looks to be right about what it was valued at to begin with). It looks like Sprint will pair the acquisition with its Boost Mobile brand, which till now was in direct competition with VM. It's not quite rival city, however, Virgin Mobile USA was launched as a joint venture with Sprint, and the MVNO glides on Dan Hesse's network as it is. Still, it does seem to be another indicator that the days of the MVNO are certainly on the wane, though Sprint now looks to own the space -- what little there is.

Zer01 Mobile's a nomad, will roam with a variety of carriers

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 24th 2009 at 5:56PM

It won't make much of a difference to the end user -- all they'll care is that they're getting unlimited voice and data for under $70 a month -- but it turns out that Zer01 Mobile's upcoming VoIP-based service won't be using AT&T alone to provide service. Instead, it'll have service agreements in place with a number of GSM carriers -- nationals and regionals alike, we'd imagine -- in an effort to keep its costs low. Because all voice calls will travel over VoIP instead of GSM or UMTS proper, it seems like things could get a little dicey if you find yourself on a crappy EDGE (or worse yet, GPRS) connection, but hey, just keep telling yourself: "$69.95."

Zer01 is the new, contract-less MVNO that will bring VOIP to the mobile masses

by Tim Stevens posted Mar 13th 2009 at 7:59AM

2008 marked the end for many a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), most going under in a flood of bankruptcies or getting consumed but their parent networks. It sure seems like no company in its right mind would want to wade back into that graveyard, but Zer01 is thinking differently, pledging to launch a new network within a network next month at CTIA 2009. Its services will be provided by AT&T, but it'll undercut the competition with a combination of a $69.95 monthly unlimited voice and data plan and a complete lack of contracts, as well as unlimited international calling (to 40 countries) for just an extra $10. What's the catch? The company will rely on a VOIP application for routing of all calls, and right now that app only works on Windows Mobile. That'll be a roadblock for many, and given AT&T's somewhat limited (and generally flaky) 3G data coverage we're a little concerned about call quality, but just the same can't wait to see how this one turns out.

[Via Unwired View and PC Magazine]

Helio Ocean 2 finds itself in Mr. Blurrycam's hands

by Ross Miller posted Jan 21st 2009 at 9:27AM

Our friend Mr. Blurrycam has come through once again, this time with a handful of Helio Ocean 2 snapshots. Aside from a blurry close-up of the on-screen calendar, there isn't much here that we haven't already seen in finer detail from the FCC. It's apparently got a 3 megapixel camera, which is what we reported initially but not what was listed in the FCC-submitted user manual. Our tipster says it's expected to launch early or mid-February for release, which jives with other rumors we've heard. Hit up the gallery for more pics.

Gallery: Helio Ocean 2 in the wild

Helio's Ocean 2 could set sail next month

by Darren Murph posted Jan 18th 2009 at 2:51AM

Right in line with reports we heard earlier, it looks like Helio's second iteration of the Ocean could be going on sale as early as next month. Silicon Alley Insider has it that the Ocean 2 could be loosed in America "sometime this quarter," though sooner rather than later is looking mighty promising. It's still unclear how much Helio plans on charging for this long, long, long awaited handset, but we'd say it'll have to lowball pretty hard if it plans to distract anyone already focused intently on a G1, iPhone or Palm Pre.

[Via UnwiredView]

What's going on with Sprint?

by Nilay Patel posted Dec 9th 2008 at 5:16PM

We first caught wind of Sprint's plans to launch a couple dual-mode CDMA / WiMAX devices under the "Sprint 4G" brand a couple days ago, but we're thinking about it a little more, and we're struck by the carrier's decision to run its 4G services as an MVNO on Clearwire's new Clear network. Sprint's balance sheet is basically upside-down at the moment, so we sort of understand why it's not eager to directly invest in a build-out of 4G infrastructure, but at the end of the day, leasing access to a network for general voice and data services is a totally failed business model -- there's a reason we have an MVNO graveyard. We're not saying Sprint's turning itself into the next Helio, but you just don't see the other major carriers doing things like selling off almost all of their existing towers and then letting a spinoff handle their 4G buildouts. We'd say there's some deep juju going on behind the scenes here, and with company spokespeople saying things like "nothing's off the table," it feels like some radical changes are about to hit Overland Park. We'll see how it shakes down soon enough, we think -- the status quo doesn't seem like it can last much longer.

Nokia pulls out of Japan, nobody notices

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 27th 2008 at 3:51AM

It's not like Nokia was dominating sales in Japan anyway -- far from it. So it's not too big a loss to walk away from its near 1 percent market share when it's sitting atop a (dwindling) ~~40%~~ 39% share globally. According to Nokia vice president Timo Ihamuotila, "We have judged that we cannot continue to invest in product development just for Japan amid the current tough economic conditions." Nokia will continue to sell its luxury Vertu branded phones though, presumably on that MVNO Nokia is rumored to be rolling out this spring.

Nokia tying up with NTT DoCoMo for Japanese MVNO?

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 22nd 2008 at 5:58PM

So Nokia has a 40-odd percent stake in the world's handset market. You know where that insanely high number isn't coming from? Japan, where the Finnish giant holds less than a 1-percent share of phone sales as it competes against domestic models from Sharp, NEC, Fujitsu, and others who've traditionally ruled over FOMA with an iron fist. We think that we can probably chalk that up to the simple fact that Nokia doesn't produce many (okay, any) wide VGA flip phones with one-seg TV tuners, but they're thinking bigger -- way bigger -- to the tune of a self-branded MVNO that'd operate on NTT DoCoMo's expansive network. A Japanese paper is reporting that the virtual network will launch next spring, initially with high-end models designed to establish name recognition in a market where it currently has none; Vertu is just starting to set up shop over there, so we're assuming they don't mean ridiculously high-end, but high-end in the sense that the spec sheets won't get laughed right out of town.

[Via Unwired View, thanks Robin of Loxley]

Walt Mossberg reviews Autonet: spotty, but still distracting enough to be dangerous

by Laura June posted Nov 13th 2008 at 7:43PM

Chrysler's in-car WiFi, Autonet Mobile, has been around for a little while now, and Walt Mossberg has helpfully reviewed it for us. He found the service (which is basically an in-car 3G WiFi router) to be great for email and basic web surfing, but it was too slow to handle anything much more demanding, like streaming videos. Speed test results ranged from 100 kbps to 500 kbps, with an average of 400-450 kbps... pretty average for 3G speeds, and Walt says the connection never dropped. On the plus side, it appears that Chrysler is willing to mount the ruggedized router in the trunk of any car -- not just their models -- which is great news if, like most people, you have no intention of driving a Chrysler around. The Autonet box runs $499 ($399 for the holidays) with a one-year contract and monthly fees of about $29. That may seem expensive, but can you put a price on your kids checking Facebook rather than asking "Are we there yet" every twelve seconds? Hit the read link for the full review.

Cox to enter cellphone biz, link handsets to other cable-related services

by Darren Murph posted Oct 27th 2008 at 9:54AM

We know, you're just dying to say this is a complete shock, but we're here to inform you that it's not. If you'll recall, Cox dug deep to snatch up a decent block of spectrum in this year's 700MHz auction, and it even went so far as to promise a differentiated product that would eventually integrate with its other content and services. Sure enough, it's keeping its word. After spending $500 million on wireless capacity in its markets, president Pat Esser says it's time to turn things on. By relying on Cox's own 3G network (along with Sprint's, initially), the carrier will offer up an undisclosed amount of handsets that will "include a network address book that automatically synchronizes with home PCs" and allow remote programming of one's DVR. Furthermore, users will be able to access e-mail and voicemail that they receive at home right on their mobile, and ideally, subscribers could watch TV shows right on their handsets. Get ready for an awkward new rival in the wireless space beginning, um, anytime now.

Helio is dead, long live Helio

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 9th 2008 at 4:20PM

The deed is done, and Virgin Mobile is wasting no time giving its fresh acquisition a giant bear-hug to welcome it to the family. Helio is now "Helio by Virgin Mobile," tagged with the line "Plan To Have It All" -- hopefully a nod to the fact that Virgin plans to keep Helio's offerings distanced from Virgin as a higher-end, feature-rich carrier that can compliment Virgin's typical lineup of ultra-cheap prepaid goods. To kick things off, Helio is now offering an upgrade to its $80 A La Carte plan, boosting the 1,500 included minutes to a limitless bucket -- nice, we'll take it -- and Virgin is stealing some of Helio's mojo to offer the Shuttle, a new handset marketed under the Virgin name that'll integrate Helio's Buddy Beacon service. Just stay on track with the Ocean 2, fellas, and everything's cool by us.

Peek email-only handheld gets reviewed

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 3rd 2008 at 6:33AM

For some reason, we're quite taken with the Peek email-only handheld, and Gadling's followup review of the love-it-or-hate-it device mostly reinforces that positive impression. The squared-off, Ideo-designed unit did its one task admirably well, sending and receiving emails using T-Mobile's network with only slight delay, and the OS is minimal and easy to use. Sure, at $99 and $20/mo it's still way too expensive for the typical gadget nerd who's already packing a phone data plan and maybe a data card as well, but if you're trying to keep things on the prepaid tip or looking to get a Luddite friend or relative on the mobile email bandwagon, the Peek is certainly worth a second, uh, peek.