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AT&T cutting returns and service cancelation period from 30 to 14 days, starting tomorrow? (update: confirmed)
Prone to bouts of buyer's remorse? Well if you were planning an AT&T flavored purchase, you might want to start the car. A tipster has sent in what appears to be a notice to staff advising that the returns period for equipment and service cancellations will be shrinking from 30 to 14-days -- effective tomorrow. Purchases made today would benefit from the longer period, and our tipster claims that there may be a grace period until November where returns could be processed as if still under the original scheme (what sounds, to us, like a courtesy for those who didn't read the fine print). We don't have all the fine print, but head past the break for a little more on the specifics. [Thanks, Anonymous] Update: AT&T has confirmed the policy change to us, noting that it'll indeed go into effect tomorrow, but won't affect certain business customers. You'll find the full response after the break, while we're getting word on how this will work in California, where 30 return periods are required by law.
New Virgin Canada Smartphone plans give you six of one thing, take half a dozen of another
It looks like Virgin Mobile Canada could be rolling out a new set of tariffs, which seem to take as much as they give. According to the blurry promo materials received by Mobile Syrup the new Smartphone plans offer slightly fewer minutes, in exchange for an extra hour's slice of "evening" time. The current $50 per month plan gives 200 anytime minutes, with unlimited weekends and early evenings from 6pm. Under the new scheme, you'd only get 150 minutes, with the evenings rolling in at 5pm instead. The $60 plan gets the same loss in minutes in exchange for the extra daily hour, plus a 500 MB data allowance bump. A new $55 option has also been created for those that still want a nice round 200 minutes. The plans are said to arrive tomorrow, so if you think you prefer things as they were, better get on it.
MetroPCS tweaks LTE plans: $40 gets you unlimited talk, text, and web*
Ah, there always has to be fine print, doesn't there? Don't get us wrong -- $40 for unlimited talk and text alone is still a pretty fantastic deal in the scheme of things -- but in tweaking its LTE service plans today, MetroPCS has made the data situation just a little confusing. Technically, the $40 plan also includes unlimited web access plus YouTube... but at the $50 price point, you get 1GB of "additional data access" for features that aren't covered under MetroPCS' definition of "web browsing." You also get turn-by-turn navigation, international text messaging, access to corporate email accounts (another arbitrary distinction that we'd kind of like to see go away), and audio / video features through the carrier's MetroSTUDIO service. At $60, you get unlimited access to MetroSTUDIO including 18 channels of on-demand video content. MetroPCS' lowest-cost LTE offering had previously been $55, so it's a step in the right direction -- but pro-net neutrality? Yeah, not so much. Follow the break for the press release.
Telstra's landlocked T-Hub tablet phone launches in Australia (update)
A few years back, Telstra -- synonymous in Australia with "communication" -- told Apple it had no business making a cellphone. Look how that turned out. To make a long story short, the company has since repented, and is on the verge of releasing an app-filled touchscreen phone of their own, the Telstra T-Hub, on April 20th. Thing is, this tablet stays plugged into your wall. Marketed as a "family organizer," the T-Hub stores contacts, surfs Facebook, plays YouTube, displays photos, accesses personal bank accounts and even sends text messages like a smartphone, but does it all while connected to a landline telephone jack. While existing Telstra customers can get the device for $300 AUD, the company would of course prefer you get it for $35 with a 24-month service agreement... for a minimum total cost of about $1980 AUD with 2GB data per month. We're not Australian, but compared to US iPhone pricing, that doesn't sound terribly fair. Update: Telstra spokesman Craig Middleton tells us the T-Hub isn't permanently tethered to your wall. While the phone's base station does connect to a landline telephone jack, the tablet assembly itself is a portable cordless phone with WiFi for web-connected apps. He also adds that the aforementioned 2GB data plan isn't just for the T-Hub, but rather your entire home internet connection.
Rumors: iPhone with Prepaid service
So would an iPhone that you could buy outright with prepaid service appeal to you? If priced attractively, would it make the difference in your buying decision? BoyGeniusReport has tracked down some curious iPhone codes: "We can infer from the 3 codes received that the iPhone will be available to...postpaid users...[S]ince the masters of prepaid can purchase these, anyone will be able to snatch one up, whether they are in contract or not." Of course, we have no idea how much these plans will cost and what the final cost of phone + plan will turn out to be but surely the idea of a contract-free iPhone is appealing, right? Electronista thinks AT&T may have reconsidered it's in-network-only stance.
Sprint boosts protection plan fee, early out for contracts?
Major carriers' contracts have had the sticking power of Teflon lately, what with everyone suddenly deciding that 15 cents is the fair market value for text messages (no price fixing there, of course). Sprint's about to open the floodgates one more time, though -- this time with a bump to the monthly fee for its TEP (Total Equipment Protection) plan. The service goes from $6 to a whopping $7 on February 18 for both new and existing subscribers, giving folks partaking in the plan one more 30-day window to jump ship penalty-free and move to greener pastures (perceived or actual). Samsung i760, anyone?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Update: We're getting intermittent reports that this price hike may not lead to a get-out-of-jail-free card, possibly due to the fact that the TEP is not managed by Sprint proper but by a third party. As with past ETF skating opportunities, mileage often varies from day to day and from customer service rep to customer service rep; ultimately, we may not know until February 18 rolls around and reports start filtering in from the field whether folks are having any luck.
