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AT&T's prepaid GoPhone service now gives you much more data
AT&T is clearly bent on turning its ho-hum GoPhone prepaid service into more of a well-oiled machine. Just a couple of months after the carrier tweaked GoPhone pricing, it's upping the amount of full-speed data you get with two of its plans. The $45 tier is jumping from 1GB per month to a decidedly healthier 1.5GB; if you were paying $60 for 2.5GB before, you now get 4GB. The higher-end plan now has unlimited calling and texting to Mexico, too. The move was arguably necessary between higher data ceilings at Cricket (AT&T's other contract-free offering) and stiffer competition from T-Mobile, but it's hard to object to getting a lot more for the money. [Image credit: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan]
T-Mobile will soon offer no-frills Simply Prepaid plans
T-Mobile really wants your prepaid business, so it's expanding its offerings with a new lineup of affordable plans. Big Magenta calls it Simply Prepaid, and it might be the better option for people who don't need another line for family or friends, since it'll cost every customer a minimum of $40 a month for unlimited talk and text and up to 1GB LTE. That data allowance increases to 3GB for $50 and to 5GB for $60. According to the carrier, the lineup was designed to be as straightforward as possible, so it "has fewer bells and whistles" than the Simple Choice plans. T-Mobile didn't exactly list which features won't cross over, but these might include music streaming, tethering, international data and texting, and unused data rollover. That said, these new options still come with WiFi calling, so check them out on January 25th when they become available if fancy features aren't your thing anyway. [Image credit: JeepersMedia/Flickr]
Cricket replaces its music service with one you're more likely to use
Heard any good tunes on Cricket's Muve Music lately? No? We won't blame you. While the all-you-can-listen service has been easy to get on Cricket's phones, it's not all that compelling when powerful alternatives like Rdio and Spotify exist. However, you'll soon have a good reason to use the budget carrier's app of choice -- Deezer just bought Muve Music, and Cricket is unveiling an exclusive deal that brings Deezer's streaming music service to US phones for the first time. If you're a Cricket customer, you can subscribe to Deezer's unlimited access plan for $6 per month instead of the $10 you typically pay for rivals. That's a good enough bargain that even Google Play Music's $8 promo plan looks a tad expensive by comparison.
AT&T refreshes its GoPhone lineup with $45 option and unlimited data
AT&T is expanding its GoPhone prepaid choices by adding a $45 tier for those who think the $60 plan's offerings are too much, and the $40's not enough. The company originally launched this option back in April, though you could only get it at Walmart. Now the $45 plan is officially listed on the company's website, and it comes with unlimited talk, text and data. In fact, even the $60 option also comes with unlimited data now, but it's not as "unlimited" as we'd all like. You only get 1GB of high-speed data for the $45 tier and 2.5GB for the $60 per month, after which AT&T will throttle your connection. Sure, it's no fun browsing the internet on speeds reaching only 128kbps, but having a connection no matter how slow beats having none at all, especially in times of emergency.
Sharp's all-screen AQUOS Crystal arrives at Sprint
We knew the Sharp AQUOS Crystal was coming, but we weren't exactly sure when. That's all changed thanks to news from Sprint. The handset, packing a nigh edge-to-edge display, has just reached Sprint Prepaid and Boost Mobile (either at Best Buy or a Boost Mobile retail store) for $150. If you'd rather run Sharp's latest attempt at breaking into the US smartphone market on traditional service using a $10 per month payment plan, you'll have to wait an additional week until October 17th. There's yet another option, although it sadly won't put the phone in your hands any sooner. Quite the opposite, actually. Should you rather buy on the Sprint Prepaid from Radio Shack -- it'd surely love the business -- you'll have to wait all the way until October 21st to drop your cash. Need help deciding if it's for you? Check out our hands-on video after the break.
T-Mobile's new Pay as You Go plan is simpler and (sometimes) cheaper
Pay-per-use cellphone plans are sometimes befuddling -- the rates can change depending on whether you're calling or texting, or how much cash you put on your account. T-Mobile thinks it can end this confusion with its new, much simpler Pay as You Go plan. As long as you plunk down at least $3 per month, it costs 10 cents for every text message or minute's worth of talk time; you won't have to guess how much credit you have left after a long call. It should be cheaper in some cases, too. Previously, you had to pay as much as 33 cents per minute for voice if you only bought small Pay as You Go refills.
Virgin Mobile lets you customize your family's prepaid phone plan
In the US, prepaid cellphone service tends to be a like-it-or-leave-it proposition that rarely fits perfectly, especially for families. Virgin Mobile may have a smarter approach in store; it's launching Custom, a prepaid family plan that lets you tailor usage to your liking. You can put as many as five people on plans that start at $7 each ($35 for unlimited talk and text) and scale up depending on individual needs. If Mom is a big fan of streaming music but rarely makes calls, she can pile on the data (or use a $5 Unlimited Music plan) and reduce her voice minutes; a chat-happy kid, meanwhile, can have gobs of messages but only minimal internet access. You can change the plans at any time from mobile apps, and built-in parental controls let you declare certain apps as off-limits during specified hours.
Verizon's prepaid plans now let you use LTE smartphones
Verizon got a little more serious about tackling prepaid cellphone service when it unveiled new Allset plans a few months ago, but it was hobbled by the lack of LTE. Why not just go to rival carriers who've had fast data for considerably longer? That won't be a problem after today. Big Red now lets you either bring your own 4G-capable Verizon phone to Allset or buy a fresh device with Allset in mind. You won't have a wide selection of hardware to choose from, but Verizon isn't saving all the good phones for its subscription customers. You can get the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S5 or Moto X if you want something relatively fresh; the Galaxy S 4 and two LG devices, the Lucid 3 and G2, are on tap if you'd rather save money and get something slightly behind the times. The data buckets are still modest at 500MB (included with the $45 base plan), 1GB ($10) and 3GB ($20), but you at least won't have to pair them with outmoded gear.
AT&T's prepaid GoPhone service now gets your tablet online
AT&T may want to think twice about the name for its prepaid GoPhone service -- it's not just for phones anymore. You can now bring your own tablet to the no-contract offering, with pricing similar to what we've seen on the carrier before. Spending $15 per month will get you a (frankly paltry) 250MB of data, while bumping that up to $30 or $50 will get you a far healthier 3GB or 5GB, respectively. Should you need more, you'll pay for it in $10 blocks that give you 100MB, 500MB or 1GB, depending on the existing plan.
AT&T adds more data and a hotspot option to prepaid GoPhone plans
AT&T is adding more data to its GoPhone prepaid smartphone plans without raising monthly fees in the process. If you're currently paying $60 a month for 2GB, your allotment will jump to 2.5 gigs, while those on the $40, 250MB plan will now get 500MB per month. More data is only part of the value proposition for GoPhone customers, though; the new 2.5GB plan will now offer the ability to use your phone as a WiFi hotspot.
Aio Wireless takes a cue from Sprint's Framily plan with new group discounts
Cheesy moniker aside, Sprint's newly minted Framily plan is not one to be ignored. It allows you to save money by sharing an account with, well, friends and family, all while being billed separately on up to 10 lines. Following in similar footsteps, AT&T's prepaid subsidiary Aio Wireless has now announced Group Save, which allows users to get a maximum monthly discount of $90 per account. It's simple, really: the more lines you add, the more cash you save every month on your bill total, not per line. With Aio's Group Save, you can have up to five lines; the first two get you a $10 discount, while lines number three, four and five knock off $30, $60 and $90 per month, respectively.
Sprint's latest prepaid plan offers 2.5GB of LTE data for $60
Sprint has slapped a fresh coat of paint on its prepaid mobile by rebranding Sprint As You Go to Sprint Prepaid and launching all-new plans. The carrier has more attractive pricing too, though there's a caveat. The Smart Plus LTE data plan is $10 less at $60, but the previously unlimited data is now throttled after 2.5GB like plans on Sprint's Virgin and Boost Mobile brands. If you don't need network data, the basic Smart Plan is $45 for unlimited calls and texts (plus WiFi data), a $5 drop over last year. You'll also be able to pick any device you want, as long as it's an LTE Samsung Galaxy S3, LTE Galaxy S4 mini, 3G Moto G or pre-owned Apple iPhone 4s. With T-Mobile having just doubled down on data, we're not sure how tempting that sounds -- but if Softbank gets its merger, it may soon not matter.
Verizon's new prepaid cellphone plans let you buy rollover data
If you don't like commitment, a prepaid phone plan can be appealing -- but not if you have to predict your data needs well in advance. Verizon may offer a lot more flexibility with its new Allset plans, though. While there's only one base $45 per month plan for smartphones with unlimited calling, unlimited messages and 500MB of data, customers can tack on "bridge data" that rolls any unused megabytes over to the next month. If you pay $10 for 1GB of data or $20 for 3GB, you can hold on to any leftover capacity for up to 90 days -- a big help if you know you'll need some headroom during that summer vacation. There's a $5 pack if you only need 500MB of data for 30 days, and basic feature phone users can buy the same bridge packs. Basic feature phone owners can also use Allset, although their $35 base rate caps them at 500 minutes of voice. These aren't the cheapest prepaid plans we've seen in the US (see Virgin Mobile for a good example), but they may make sense if your internet usage varies wildly from month to month.
Samsung's Galaxy S5 is coming to Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile
Long gone are the days of prepaid carriers being stuck with low-end smartphones. Need proof? That's easy: Sprint has announced that both Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile will carry Samsung's Galaxy S5 in the second quarter of the year, or sometime around the worldwide launch in April. Neither wireless brand is giving out prices at this stage, although it's safe to presume that the brand new, Spark-compatible flagship will carry a premium. Even so, its presence should be welcome to Boost and Virgin customers who've had to go without high-end Galaxies.
FreedomPop lets you save more by paying up front for cheap cellphone service
FreedomPop has been pushing a free phone plan for the masses since last October, but it's tweaked its paid option for users who need more oomph each month. Now you can pay up front for one or two years of service for $80 or $110 respectively (that's as little as $4.58 a month). In exchange, you get unlimited talk and messaging along with 500MB of data over Sprint's dustbin-bound WiMAX network for way less than what some carriers charge for a single month. Oh, and don't worry: that free plan isn't going anywhere. While the price may sound right, FreedomPop's phone lineup hasn't exactly blown any minds. The carrier just added a $169 Samsung Galaxy S II to the mix, but the only way to use something newer is to bring it yourself. Well, that or wait a few months until FreedomPop finally jumps on the LTE phone bandwagon.
Moto G comes to Boost Mobile prepaid plans for as low as $100
Motorola is starting off the new year right. Yesterday we got word that the Moto G is coming to Verizon as a $100 prepaid device, and today Boost Mobile announced that it's also going to be selling the budget-friendly smartphone through multiple channels. The most eager fans can grab one of their very own today through HSN, which is selling the G for $100 after a $30 mail-in rebate; it'll also be available for $130 on Boost's website starting January 14th and brick-and-mortar stores on the 20th. If you're trying to get a solid Android device and don't mind the 3G speeds, you can't get much better than this.
T-Mobile prepaid offering free data... but only to access Facebook
Look, we understand: You absolutely have to know what Jimmy ate for lunch. And that Marissa is, "Ugh, just so sick of this week already." And Jason's only a "maybe" to the office holiday party? Who does that guy even think he is? Sorry, sorry -- we nearly forgot to tell you that T-Mobile's prepaid brand, GoSmart Mobile, has joined forces with Facebook to offer unfettered access to The Social Network™. Even if you don't pay for data, GoSmart Mobile will still allow Facebook and Facebook Messenger access. You'll never miss another link to "28 signs you've lived in New York City too long" again! Whether the Facebook access will be speedy is another question altogether; it's not actually clear which network users will access it through, and GoSmart is a prepaid service aimed at bringing down mobile costs over offering blazing fast speeds. Either way, free is free, right?
iPhone 5s and 5c come to Straight Talk and Net10 on December 13th
Cost-conscious iPhone 5s or 5c buyers will soon have a pair of fresh choices for prepaid service. Tracfone has announced that both Straight Talk and Net10 will sell Apple's latest smartphones through Walmart on December 13th. As with unlocked devices, you'll be paying at least $549 for an iPhone 5c or $649 for its 5s counterpart; the real savings come from the plans, which start at $45 per month for unlimited calls, (throttled) data and text. You'll still want to visit carriers like T-Mobile or Virgin for the cheapest possible rates, but the new Tracfone options may be ideal for iPhone fans who want full service without a full price.
T-Mobile to launch data-free $35 Unlimited Talk and Text plan on December 8th
T-Mobile's Simple Choice plans are relatively cheap ways to get unlimited voice and messaging, but not everyone is eager to pay for the accompanying data. The carrier is clearly aware of this, as it's launching a data-free $35 Unlimited Talk and Text prepaid plan on December 8th. It's a "limited-time" offer for thrifty customers who still want to chat as much as they like, the company explains to TmoNews. We'd argue that T-Mobile's $30 plan with unlimited data and 100 minutes of voice is ultimately the better deal, but the new rate could be appealing to basic phone owners and those who spend all their time on WiFi.
PayPal now supports prepaid gift cards for online purchases
A prepaid gift card may not be the proper substitute for a well-chosen present, but at least the beneficiary will have an easier time using it online this Christmas. That's because PayPal now supports such cards, meaning they can be used at any online emporium signed on to its Checkout platform -- and that's quite a few, we're told. PayPal says prepaid cards with no associated billing address sometimes create problems when that part of the payment form pops up, which its new service avoids (on PayPal-friendly sites, anyway). Maybe you can just persuade your Grandparents to send their gift via bank transfer and keep it digital in the first place. It's the money thought that counts, after all.
