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GameStop Mobile launches as AT&T virtual carrier, gives us rare bring-your-own GSM in US (update)
Here's an expansion of mobile competition in the US that comes out of left field, even for us: GameStop as a cellular provider. GameStop Mobile, as it's called, is that rare bird of an AT&T-based MVNO that relies on a bring-your-own-device strategy. As long as your hardware works on AT&T's 850MHz and 1,900MHz bands and isn't locked to another carrier, you can bring any GSM- and HSPA-based phone (or data-only device) and use it contract-free: rates start at anything from a strictly pay-as-you-go $5 through to a $55 monthly plan with unlimited voice and text, if just an anemic 500MB of data. Tablet owners and other data-only fans can pay the same $55 for 1GB per month -- a bit stiff considering that those on AT&T proper can get 5GB of data for slightly less. No doubt this is to take advantage of iPad and iPhone trade-ins, PlayStation Vitas and the overall rise of unlocked devices. We're just wondering whether GameStop will catch a few customers subscribing as they pick up their Diablo III pre-orders or else face the uncertain future that befalls many MVNOs. Update: As our friends at Joystiq have pointed out, the GameStop Mobile website is no longer publicly accessible. Looks like someone may have pulled the switch a bit too early.
Lightsquared signs deal with AirTouch, creates its first MVNO
LightSquared added another name to its list of allies yesterday, with a wholesale agreement allowing AirTouch products to dabble in the world of wireless. The phone manufacturer, which makes telecom devices that work with voice, data and video, looks set to become the first newly created MVNO to use LightSquared's 4G goodness. Of course, all this is assuming that the nascent network actually gets off the ground. But now that it's supposedly solved that pesky GPS interference problem, what could possibly stop it?
Simple Mobile springs to life with $40 unlimited voice plan?
The once-burgeoning MVNO industry may be down, but it's not out -- apparently -- on news today that newcomer Simple Mobile is planning to offer GSM-based contract-free plans ranging from $40 for unlimited voice to $50 for unlimited voice and text plus a meager 20MB of data per month (you can upgrade to 40MB for another $5 a month). In theory, it sounds brilliant -- all-you-can-eat minutes, no contracts, bring your own phone (if you don't want one of the six snoozers they offer directly) -- but we can't find a way to sign up for the service, so this might devolve into another Zer01-esque debacle unless we actually hear of people using and enjoying it. It's clearly not for data-heavy folks, but if this pans out, we can see it stealing some business from the regional value leaders like Cricket at the very least. [Via Phone Scoop]
Virgin Mobile looks ready to euthanize Helio brand, Ocean 2 vanishes
Back in our day, the kiddies all ran around with Helios, VK Mobile looked like it could be the next Pantech, and "Kickflip" was a phone, not a skateboarding move. Okay, fine -- we knew like one or two people that used Helio, VK Mobile never even made a dent in the US market, and skateboarding had a lock on kickflips long before the wireless industry did -- and actually, that perfect storm of bad news may have ultimately led the once-promising MVNO to the sad situation we have here today under Virgin Mobile's stewardship. Virgin has now all but erased the memory of Helio from its website, leaving just the Ocean and Mysto to soldier on -- and the phones now go by their ODM's names (Pantech and Samsung, respectively) rather than Helio proper. The strangest part is that the Ocean seems to have outlasted its replacement, the Ocean 2, which is now gone -- unless you hit up Virgin Mobile's Korean language site, a sub-brand in itself that it inherited from Helio and has a track record of giving members of the community better, faster access to hot devices. Any way you slice it, though, it never made sense for Virgin to run two brands -- Helio's fate was sealed the moment the sale was finalized, but considering the company's spot-on mantra of "bring awesome Asian phone tech to North America," we'll always have a soft spot in our hearts for these guys. [Via MobileCrunch]
No-contract $30 / $45 Straight Talk wireless plans storm Walmart
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-75572%
Qwest's wireless service says goodnight on October 31
They've taken their time, but Qwest is finally winding down its Sprint-based MVNO offering and kicking subscribers off the last shreds of its network over the next couple months. To be exact, every last customer will have be off the airwaves by October 31 -- and to really drive the point home, outgoing calls will be rerouted to customer service for friendly reminders starting next month (don't worry, you're allowed to complete your call after the reminder's over). The good news is that Qwest is waiving ETFs for folks porting away -- they frickin' better be -- and the company has hooked up with Verizon as an affiliate, so you can still work with 'em to manage your wireless life if you're so inclined.
Sprint acquires Virgin Mobile USA for a cool $483m
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.
Blyk hooks up with Vodafone in Holland
Talks had apparently been going on for a while to start a Blyk-branded Dutch MVNO, but to better align with its revised business strategy, the company is switching up its strategy and working with Vodafone to use its existing infrastructure exclusively. With the new plan, Blyk will be responsible strictly for the ad delivery technology, but either way, the result is pretty much the same: young'uns in the Netherlands will be able to get some voice minutes and texts every month in exchange for being delivered targeted advertising on their phones. The company claims that an "overwhelming" number of carriers in Europe and Asia are asking Blyk to take over their mobile advertising businesses entirely, so it seems the start-up could have a very successful future despite the slow start it's gotten with its own-branded MVNO in UK. We're still not sure we'd be willing to get blasted with frighteningly well-targeted ads (robots, console emulators, pizza joints, you know the drill) in exchange for a pittance in minutes, but for teens just getting their start, it could still be a power play.
Blyk hooking up with Orange in UK?
Blyk's efforts to bring its ads-for-minutes business model to new carriers seemingly continue, but one market where we really wouldn't have expected it to concentrate its initial push is the UK. The company's British MVNO is, after all, its first live network anywhere in the world -- and seeing how they already have that infrastructure in place, the payoff for signing a carrier deal seems lower. That said, there are some synergies here: the MVNO already runs on Orange's airwaves, and rumor has it that the deal -- which has apparently been in the negotiation phase for months now -- would include a transfer of Blyk's sales team. Interestingly, the current buzz has new subscribers being offered £15 worth of credit (about $24) in exchange for receiving ads, a shift from Blyk's original strategy of trading a fixed number of voice minutes and texts. That would give Orange more flexibility to adjust voice and text charges without shifting the value of its Blyk-based customers' deals, and considering that Blyk was apparently unable to garner enough advertiser interest in its original plan, it'll be interesting to see whether the tweak ends up working out in Orange's favor.[Via mocoNews]
TracFone's $45 Straight Talk unlimited plan punishes you with brutal hardware
They say "there's no such thing as a free lunch." They also say "there's no such thing as an unlimited contract-free $45 monthly unlimited plan that offers awesome phones," so we're not terribly surprised to see that TracFone's new blowout offering -- dubbed Straight Talk -- is rife with ancient Motorolas (with a RAZR V3a thrown in for good measure, of course) and an LG flip that we're pretty sure we saw McClane use in the first Die Hard. Then again, the plan becomes the one of the cheapest for unlimited voice and text anywhere -- and if you're less heavy on the minutes you can even step down to 1,000 minutes and 1,000 texts for $30 -- so we'll let it slide. But seriously, TracFone, we expect a V9 by 2012.[Via Phone Scoop]
Samsung Mantra comes to Virgin Mobile
When you first click over to the Mantra's product page, your immediate thought is "why the hell would I pay $59.99 for this?" But then, it all comes back to you -- the fact that Virgin has no contracts, for example -- and you realize that it makes perfect sense that the MVNO would be charging a hair under $60 to get Bluetooth, a pair of color displays, and a VGA camera. In an age where heavy subsidies have become the norm, we bet it can be a tough sell for anyone coming from the world of postpaid, but then again, there's definitely something to be said for having the freedom to walk away after a couple months if you like. The Mantra's available now, and if you buy, don't bother bringing your signin' pen -- you won't need it.
Blyk looking to partner with a carrier for Indian launch
We'd just recently heard that Blyk was getting out of the business of starting its own regional carriers, but at the same time, the company said that it would continue to pursue partnerships with other carriers who already have infrastructure and subscribers in place -- and the first country to benefit from the refreshed business model might be India. A company spokesperson has told Mint that they "do intend to enter India but cannot comment yet on timing," saying that discussions with potential launch partners are still ongoing; additionally, it's rumored that the local division is already stocking up on senior execs to lead the business. Blyk's ads-for-minutes model seems to be seeing some success in the places where it's launched so far, and with India's hundreds of millions of mobile users just waiting to be tapped, this could be a gold mine if the local advertising market is ripe.[Via mocoNews]
Virgin Mobile USA launches prepaid Broadband2Go 3G service
Virgin Mobile's just announced a prepaid 3G service under the Broadband2Go moniker, which will offer customers a contract-free internet option. The Novatel MC760 USB dongle -- which will be available exclusively at Best Buy -- will run $150, with fixed data rates of $10 for 100MB, $20 for 250MB, $40 for 600MB and $60 for 1GB. The $10 bundles will expire ten days after purchase, while the rest of them will expire after 30 days. Pretty pricey if you ask us, but then -- most things with no strings attached are, right? The new service will be available starting late June.[Via Electronista]
Jitterbug updates sole model with Jitterbug J, not just for old folks anymore
Previously billed mainly as a senior-friendly phone backed by a senior-friendly service, Jitterbug has replaced its original device with the very similar Jitterbug J -- a phone that improves on its predecessor in a couple key ways -- and has expanded its target audience to include anyone that wants a no-frills phone that pulls no punches. For $147 contract-free, you'll get new features like Bluetooth support and text messaging (we said no-frills, okay?) plus an improved UI, while unique character quirks of the original -- namely the teardrop shape and rubber cup around the earpiece -- carry over. We'll admit, the fact that it actually emits a frigging dial tone when opened is the coolest feature in years, but the lack of a WebKit-based browser is a deal-breaker for us, guys; calls us when you've muddied your business model by throwing in complicated, hard-to-use features that will appeal to the gadget freak in us, though, okay?[Via CNET]
Jitterbug issues recall to fix emergency calling in "no service" areas
When we first saw this, our immediate reaction was, "trust us, Jitterbug, we appreciate your extra-mile attitude here, but it's not your fault that 911 doesn't work without a signal." Turns out that's not quite the issue, though -- in reality, Jitterbug is recalling phones sold after March 1 of last year because they maybe be unable to place calls to 911 in areas where the company doesn't have MVNO or roaming agreements in place. In other words, the phone is showing "no service," but you've still got a signal -- and whenever a phone's got a signal, it should be able to dial the cops. Jitterbug is offering affected customers the option either of taking their handset into a local Samsung service center or mailing it in, at which point a software update will be applied. Too bad these things don't do firmware updates over the air, isn't it? [Via Phone Scoop]
Virgin Mobile getting contract-free data card next month
Were it not for Helio, Virgin wouldn't be a carrier that we'd associate with anything other than the most basic handsets -- and data cards certainly don't seem like they'd be on any company exec's mind. Thing is, direct competitor Cricket recently got into this game with a $40 unlimited contract-free data plan, so it's a segment that's getting more difficult to ignore -- even in the most heavily value-weighted side of the business. We've nabbed a screen shot out of Best Buy's inventory system that shows a "Broadband 2GO" device (at least, we think that's what it says) scheduled to hit shelves on June 14 for $149.99 -- not the cheapest modem in the world, but again, there's no contract involved here. Data is data, so if the reception's good and the speeds are decent, why not?[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
Blyk shelves plans to expand to other markets, focuses on carrier partnerships
Relabeling its first (and only) live network as a "proof of concept," Blyk CEO Antti Öhrling has told mocoNews that the fledgling MVNO -- which trades a handful of voice minutes and text messages per month for a subscriber's agreement to put up with on-device advertising -- has stopped efforts to expand to other countries. It seems the new game plan involves sacking up with other carriers to license its technology, which'll probably cost Blyk a whole heck of a lot less than setting up new MVNO deals and running operations everywhere they go. That said, users of Blyk's UK network needn't fear; there's apparently no plan to shutter the service, though odds are good they'll be transferred to another carrier should the company find a suitable partner. It's a lot of work for 43 minutes a month, isn't it?
Virgin Mobile post earnings, gets a boost from new unlimited offering
Sound familiar? Ultra-cheap unlimited plans are doing well (in some cases, too well) for everyone that's offering them these days, and it seems that Virgin is no exception to the rule. Following the April 15 launch of its $49.99 unlimited plan, the company announced during its earnings call this week that it's seen a five-times-over boost in unlimited plan adds (yeah, bargain pricing will do that), which dovetails nicely with the MVNO's claim earlier in the year that the crappy economy really set it up for big wins in '09. Notably, the quarter saw income rise 301 percent year-over-year to $19.1 million while operating revenues rose 2 percent to $337.3 million, so things are looking up for these guys just months after financials were looking weak -- so strong, in fact, that they've revised their full year cash flow and earnings upwards. Does this mean we get new Helio gear soon? [Via mocoNews]
Samsung's i7500 Android phone shows up in another, more epic hands-on video
Sure, we already got a pretty decent look at Samsung's first Android device -- the i7500 -- just a few short days ago. Tech 65's video, however, gives the phone a much more in depth once-over, and while the software is still not in its final state, it's looking pretty smart over all. If you've forgotten, the quad-band GSM, tri-band 7.2Mbps HSDPA (900/1700/2100MHz) handset boasts a 3.2-inch, 320 x 480 pixel AMOLED touchscreen, WiFi, GPS, a 5 megapixel camera, 8GB of storage with MicroSD expansion for up to 32GB more, and a standard 3.5mm jack. Hit the video after the break, but fair warning: this video does not have any awesome hair metal.
Bell buys out remainder of Virgin Mobile Canada
Virgin Mobile's sundry networks around the globe are a curious hodgepodge of locally-owned and Virgin-led ventures; in the States, for example, a bunch of random companies have skin in the game, including Sprint and SK Telecom. Up in Canada, the MVNO began life as a 50 / 50 joint venture between Bell and Virgin -- and Bell has now agreed to snap up Virgin's stake in the firm for CAD $142 million, which works out to about $121 million. To make sure the brand stays around for a good, long time to come, Bell has also announced that it has secured an "exclusive, long-term" licensing deal with Virgin to use the Virgin Mobile marque. It sounds like Bell has every intention of continuing to operate Virgin Mobile as a separate entity, though it'll combine some retail efforts and work to streamline operations by jointly acquiring handsets and the like. Considering that Bell's about to flip the switch on its HSPA network, it seems like this could end up working out swimmingly for Virgin subscribers up there. [Via MobileSyrup]