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EE tries to upstage its rivals with improved pay-as-you-go tariffs
When you're the biggest 4G player in the UK, logic dictates that you don't let your rivals hog the limelight for too long. EE's well aware of this, so just a few days after Vodafone finally joined the 4G pay-as-you-go party, it's decided to improve the value of its pre-paid top-ups in an attempt to distance it from the competition. The new options cover three categories -- Talk and Text, Data and Everything -- letting you decide which of those usage models fits your needs best, possibly stopping you from paying for services you won't use. It's also dropped the lowest PAYG top-up to £1, which includes 100MB of data lasting seven days, in the hope it'll lure in even the most budget-conscious mobile user. Finally, it's ensuring you're rewarded for your loyalty by throwing in an extra 250MB of data, 50 minutes of calls to any network or 250 additional texts to customers who've not missed a top-up for three months. It's even created a comparison guide detailing how its new packs perform against rival offerings, just in case O2 and co. weren't already looking on enviously.
Vodafone UK switching to per-minute call charging on PAYG, stiffing you out of seconds
Benefits of pay-as-you-go handsets and SIMs include having complete control over your spend, and knowing how much call time is left before the next top-up is due. Well, if you PAYG with Vodafone in the UK, prepare to start seeing those available minutes diminish a little quicker than you're used to. You may have been unaware that calls are currently charged by the second, but come August 1st, the network will begin pricing calls by the minute. Basically, this means calls will be rounded up to the next minute, so a natter lasting just over a minute will be charged as two, losing you precious seconds. Voda says this is to make things simpler, so "you'll always know exactly how many minutes you have left" -- or don't, as the case may be. In a statement, the carrier was keen to point out that several "competitors already offer price plans charged in this way," and that top-up extras (like free minutes and cake) "continue to offer our customers great value." Nice try, Voda. Full statement after the break.
Three UK simplifies pay-as-you-go tariff, offers data at 1p per MB
Three UK is tired of networks offering pay-as-you-go packages with numerous caveats and bolt-ons, and so has decided to go back to basics. The network is now offering a single tariff for all of its fair-weather mobile users, pricing calls at 3p per minute, texts at 2p per minute and data at 1p per MB. Three UK has also promised that your credit won't expire as long as you do something on the account once every six months. The change takes place from today, and existing customers will also be switched over to the new system -- just in time for that trip across the North Sea.
FreedomPop's pay-as-you-go data service launches in beta, offering 500MB of free WiMAX per month
It was almost a year ago that we first heard about FreedomPop, a startup built on the manifesto that every American (yes, you) should have access to free wireless broadband. Ten months later, the pay-as-you-go service is launching in beta, with "free" meaning 500MB of data per month. For the time being, the touted 4G service will come courtesy of Clearwire's WiMAX network, but FreedomPop says it will switch to Sprint's LTE spectrum sometime in early 2013. In the meantime, though, you can expect speeds anywhere between 4 and 10 Mbps down, and 1 to 2 Mbps up. To take advantage of the service, you'll need to either buy or rent some compatible hardware. Your options include the "Freedom Spot" hotspot capable of serving eight devices simultaneously, or the "Freedom Stick," a USB dongle. Both of these are free, but require that you put down a refundable deposit ($89 for the hotspot and $49 for the stick). As we previously reported, too, the company will be selling $99 iPhone and iPod cases that double as hotspots, though these won't actually be available for another four to six weeks. The iPhone version, in particular, does triple-duty as a charging case. If you do venture past that 500MB data cap you'll pay $10 for every subsequent gigabyte. Packaged deals will also be available. As we had heard, though, FreedomPop is hoping to recoup the costs of that free data by selling premium services, with three to start and more coming later. At launch, these add-ons will include device protection (24/7 customer service and replacement service within 48 hours) and notification alerts if you're about to hit the data cap. You can also pay for speedier 4G, though the company's claim of "up to 50 percent faster" performance is a vague one, given that the range of possible speeds is so broad to begin with. There's one last piece about how FreedomPop works, and it might help if we drew a comparison to Dropbox, or Zynga, even. As you would in Farmville, you can earn extra Farmville cash free data by following through on certain tasks. Watch a 20-second ad, for instance, and you win three megs of data. Sign up for a Netflix trial and you get 1.2GB added to your coffer. And, similar to Dropbox, if you recommend a friend, you get 10MB for every month that pal stays on with the service. Finally, you can share data with a friend, but it really does have to be a friend: that person's email address has to be in your contact list.
iPhone 5 coming to Cricket September 28th, keeps the pre-paid faithful happy
Well, there wasn't any word about it from the stage yesterday, but we're happy to report that the iPhone 5 will be going pre-paid from (almost) day one. The contract-free Cricket will be first to offer the latest from Cupertino in a pay-as-you-go format, repeating its claim to fame with the 4S. Price is still up in the air, but we expect the 16GB iPhone 5 and 4S to land at the same price points already on the books for pre-paid iOS handsets -- $499 and $399, respectively. It doesn't look like there will be a pre-order period, so you'll just have to carry yourself down to your local Cricket shop on September 28th if your want your 4-inch iOS without the commitment. You'll find the exceedingly brief PR after the break.
Virgin Media unveils quartet of new SIM Only plans for data-focused Brits
It was only in June that we saw Virgin Media shaking up its regular mobile plans for UK residents. The carrier is back for another round, this time to serve the SIM Only customers who thrive on unlocked phones. Four plans starting from £12 ($19) a month all provide unlimited data and text messaging for bring-your-own-phone subscribers, with voice as the only real separating factor: the thriftiest callers get 150 minutes per month, while higher £15, £17 and £25 ($24, $27 and $40) tiers ramp up to a respective 250, 1,200 and 2,500 minutes for chattier customers. The chief gotcha is a lack of bundled landline calling for all but the priciest plan, although existing Virgin Media subscribers can knock an extra £5 off of that rate. If you're the sort who can't bear the thought of a contract, Virgin now has you better covered.
RadioShack No Contract Wireless rate plans leak, $60 will get you everything
We're just about a week out from the rumored launch of RadioShack's Cricket-based No Contract Wireless plans, and more details are beginning to trickle out about the prepaid service. Specifically, we've just received information concerning how much The Shack intends to charge on a monthly basis, and it's just about what you'd expect: you can choose between featurephone and smartphone options, with the former hooking you up with unlimited messaging and your choice of 300 minutes for $25 or 1,000 minutes for $35. As for the smartphone plans, you'll get unlimited voice, messaging and Muve Music downloads on both selections; the $50 option will get you one gigabyte of 3G data (before throttling ensues), while $60 bestows you with 2.5GB data and mobile hotspot use, Visual Voicemail access, unlimited international text and all-you-can-eat directory assistance. As a comparison, Cricket's $35 featurephone plan will give you unlimited voice and SMS, compared to 1,000 minutes and unlimited SMS / MMS / 1X data on The Shack. The carrier's basic smartphone option is $55 and offers unlimited voice, messaging and 3G data (throttled at 2.5GB); this may seem like the better deal -- unless you're interested in using Muve Music. Since you have to pay an extra $10 to add the unlimited music service into the mix on Cricket, you'll see a monthly savings of $5 if you waltz into The Shack for the top-tiered plan. We're still waiting for RadioShack to come clean and acknowledge the existence of the NoContract service, but we'll continue to reveal more details as they come down the pipeline. Check out the featurephone rate plans after the break. [Thanks, Anonymous!]
Tencent reveals how it gets users to pay for its service
We've all seen those "OMG! Don't make us pay for Facebook" fake petitions, but App.net and The Social Network raise questions about how our social services raise their moolah. Tencent's Sophia Ong has revealed that it's in the unique position of having users happy to pay for services that we take for granted. While signups for QZone (Facebook equivalent) is free, users have to use QBs, the site's virtual currency, to buy and clothe their avatars. While 1 QB = 1 yuan ($0.16), there are 30 million paying customers on the site -- meaning that the company can count on around $50 million in monthly payments. It's not stopping there either, sensing a slowdown in the local economy, the company has an eye on opening up its eCommerce platform to ensure it can continue to rake in the cash.
Avanti launches prepaid, Ka-band satellite internet access, wants us Yelping from the Alps
Avanti has been beaming satellite broadband to Europe for awhile, but it's been tied to a subscription through carrier deals. That's a tough sell to customers who, by definition, don't want to be tied to anything -- which is why the company just launched prepaid satellite internet access for the continent. Although the Ka-band service's 4Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream speeds won't have anyone dropping their 330Mbps fiber anytime soon, the pay-as-you-go strategy will let travelers and rural dwellers get broadband in a pinch, no matter how spotty terrestrial access might get. Imagine Skype calls during Swiss ski vacations and you've got the gist of it. Carriers will resell the data in healthy doses of 1GB or larger, and Avanti is adamant that there won't be any nasty throttling surprises waiting in store. While exact prices will depend on partners, the provider isn't waiting for those details before it covers much of the Old World: its upcoming HYLAS 2 satellite (what you see above) will share the speed with Africa, the Caucasus region and the Middle East as of August 2nd, making it almost too easy for us to update Google+ in Georgia.
Now TV launches in the UK, brings pay-as-you-go streaming to Mac, PC and Android
Sky is going online and ditching the contracts... sort of. The UK TV provider is launching a new service called Now TV that will take on more established properties like Lovefilm and Netflix. The streaming video service will initially be available on OS X, Windows and Android with iOS to follow shortly. By the end of the year it will also be available on Xbox, PS3, Roku and Youview. Initially Sky Movies will form the backbone of the service, with titles costing anywhere from £0.99 to £3.49 for playback, or you can purchase unlimited monthly access for £15. Eventually Now TV will expand to include Sky Sports, Sky 1 and plenty of other BSkyB owned properties. For more, check out the PR after the break.
Virgin Mobile may be next up for pay-as-you-go iPhone parade on July 1st
It might be that Cricket's iPhone deal is just the tip of the prepaid iceberg: insiders reportedly say that Sprint's pay-as-you-go brand Virgin Mobile will be taking the Apple plunge as well. Details of what it will cost are still very much unknown, although we'd look to Cricket's $500 unsubsidized iPhone 4S and $35 monthly plan as strong clues. If the WSJ's connections are accurate, though, we could see a Virgin iPhone for the US as soon as its northern neighbor Canada blows out the birthday candles, on July 1st. At this rate, the only American carrier of any kind without an iPhone will be T-Mobile, and it's clear that this glaring exception is eager to hop onboard.
UK's Bemilo pay-as-you-go mobile service gives greater control to worrisome parents
Operating on Vodafone's network, Bemilo is a new pay-as-you-go mobile service in the UK that aims to give parents greater control over their child's use of a mobile phone. Among the features, one can specifically set which hours during the day that the phone can be operated (the only exception being calls to mom or dad), which websites can be visited and who the child may contact. Further in the name of safety, all picture and video messages are disallowed from the get-go, and parents can even review their children's text messages -- even after they've been deleted. The Bemilo service runs £2.95 per month, on a month-to-month basis, whereas calls and voicemail access are charged at 10 pence per minute. Text messages run a similar 10p, but data usage will be levied at a steeper 25p per megabyte -- cost-conscious parents may wish to nix this usage entirely. Bemilo's required SIM card may be purchased either directly through the company's website or its partner, Carphone Warehouse. As for the company's mascot, Milo, that's one cute character that your kids will surely resent.
Pay-per-unit appears to go MIA on AT&T for some iPhone users
In April, AT&T ended a policy of offering data feature packs to its lowest end Pay as You Go plans (specifically, the $1/day and the $0.10/minute plans). At that time, TUAW was told by an AT&T spokesperson that customers on those plans could still pay a pay-per-unit (PPU) rate for data, approximately a penny for 5Kb, if I have my numbers right. Although most users would not welcome paying $1536 for a 750MB movie, PPU data would allow them to at least check their email on the go, albeit at a more expensive rate than they'd been used to. Yesterday, TUAW started hearing that users were unable to access PPU data on their handsets. We are unsure if this is because users need to update their configuration profiles or if the PPU system itself is experiencing difficulties. I personally tested on my 3GS handset with both 3G and Edge access (10c/minute GP01 plan) and was unable to access the Internet at all. TUAW has contacted AT&T and asked for them to look into the matter. If and when they reply, I will update this post. Are you able to access PPU data on your PayGo phone without opting into monthly plans? Let us know in the comments.
Cheap data just got cheaper at AT&T [Updated with bad news]
I just got the nicest surprise on my iPhone. I don't know how long this has been going on, but my AT&T Pay as You Go feature packs just got much, much better. If you're a PayGo customer for an old iPhone like I am (I use PayGo with my 3GS), your $5 now buys you 50MB. Here's a quick comparison of the old and new allocation amounts. Feature Pack Cost Old Allocation New Allocation $5 10 MB 50 MB $15 100 MB 200 MB $25 500 MB 1 GB If you want to learn about putting a PayGo SIM into your GSM iPhone, hop on over to this older post that describes all the details. Update: Looks like bad news along with the good. I have not seen this myself. This screen shot is courtesy of @techclimb. I cannot confirm this policy change but I've reached out to AT&T for comment. Here's the message I received today: Further Update: An AT&T spokesperson confirms: "Yes, customers on certain GoPhone voice plans ($2/day and the $0.10/min option) need to subscribe to a monthly plan in order to use a data package. (Customers on those two plans can still pay a PPU rate for data, of course...) Qualifying monthly plans are the $50 Unlimited Talk & Text nationwide plan for GoPhone smartphones and the $25 Unlimited Text with 250 minutes nationwide GoPhone plan. "
T-Mobile adds new daily and monthly plans for true commitment phobes
If you're of the ilk who vehemently hates contracts, yet adores T-Mobile, read on. Alongside its existing pay-as-you go plans, Little Magenta has introduced a new $60 choice, offering unlimited minutes, texting and data -- though the latter is throttled after consuming 2GB. If a month of commitment is too rich for your blood, how about about one of three new "pay by the day" plans? The priciest option's three bucks for all the minutes and texts you could ever want and 200MB of data at full speed. A dollar less still gets you unlimited talk time and texts, but slows that all you can eat data buffet down to 2G speeds. True cheapskates (or those who only communicate via the written word) will love the dollar daily plan, which grants boundless texting, but dispenses the data altogether and runs ten cents per minute for phone calls. If any of that's up your alley, head on over to the source for more.
iPhone 5 appears temporarily on Cincinnati Bell website (Updated)
TUAW reader Cory L. sent us an image today that he had captured from his web browser while perusing the i-Wireless prepaid cell phone section of the Cincinnati Bell website. The screenshot shows a placeholder for an iPhone 5 with no image and no "Add to basket" purchase button. A quick look at the site now shows that the placeholder has been removed. There are some fascinating things about this -- first, Cincinnati Bell is a regional carrier in the US, not a major carrier like AT&T or Verizon. Second, the website is for a pay-as-you-go program. Finally, the specs that are listed for the phone show an 8MP camera, 4G speeds (Cory notes that Cincinnati Bell's network uses HSPA+), and a 4" screen. Those specifications align with most of the previous rumors that we've heard about the device. Whether or not this all means something will be determined on Tuesday, when Apple will hold its iPhone event in Cupertino. Be sure to join us on Tuesday beginning at 1 PM EDT / 10 AM PDT for our liveblog of the event. Update: Another reader, Randy K., sent in another screenshot from the same site. This one shows a low-cost iPhone 4S device with different specifications than the rather expensive iPhone 5 shown above. Update 2: A different website is claiming that only the iPhone 4s will be announced, based on strings that were allegedly found in a pre-release beta of iTunes. A source close to TUAW revealed that no such text strings were found in any of the recent beta releases of iTunes. While we're excited about the screenshots shown here, it should be noted that as with all information that appears ahead of a new product announcement, they should be not be considered as reality until such announcements are actually made ... or not.
Unofficial iPhone PAYG app lets you monitor usage
A few days ago, I posted about using AT&T's inexpensive Pay as You Go services on newer out-of-contract equipment. One of the commenters on that post pointed me to Dynamically Loaded's Pay As You Go Balance and Feature Pack Monitor. For US$0.99, the application scrapes the account balance and feature packs from the PAYG system, reporting it to you from a one-click app. The app offers a handy way of checking your usage. It also enables you to subscribe to a local notification that reminds you when your balance is due to expire. For a dollar this is not a bad little utility, but it really left me wanting more. For one thing, it would be nice to have a series of reminder choices -- remind me a week before and a day before, for example. It also doesn't offer reminders for feature packages, and that is honestly far more important to me than the account expiration. There were other issues as well. The settings are located in the Settings app, which sounds like an awful criticism to dump on a poor little iPhone utility, but as developer after developer has discovered that's precisely where you don't want items to be accessed and updated. Put them in-app and make it obvious how to change them. It took me minutes (which is hours in user time, also called "one star" in the vernacular) to track the settings down to test it with another account. Yes, it's App Store safe and an approved way to go about things, but hopping out of your app to change two lines of information (the phone number and the PIN) wasn't the user experience I was hoping for. Another issue: I had to keep force quitting the application in order to test it against AT&T's 611 information line. Turns out if you're logged into an active session, you cannot use 611. Because the app didn't log out after calls, the 611 line thought it was still in control and wouldn't allow me to access my account properly. So what you have here is a decent app that has the potential for being a much better app, but which is so specialized that the devs probably don't have an active interest in updating it with its current user base. Should that base grow over time, maybe we'll see more development there, but I'm guessing the numbers would have to be in terms of thousands of units sold, not tens or hundreds. For now, what you see is what you're going to get. It's an okay app, and I think it was worth my dollar. I just wish it were a better app.
Dear Aunt TUAW: What is this cheap iPhone data plan you speak of?
Dear Aunt TUAW, What is this "cheap" AT&T SIM with data for the iPhone that you often speak of? You've written about it numerous times. Please dish. Fondest regards always, Mister Humann Dear Humann, Auntie is talking about AT&T's standard PAYG plans. She usually buys the US$100 cards which offer a full year of air time -- that is, the balance will not expire for a year, regardless of how much of the balance is used. Plus, dear Auntie can use that airtime balance to buy data. That's sweeter than a bowl full of Werther's Original. You may want to start out with a $25 airtime investment (won't expire for 3 months) to make sure that the set-up does, in fact, work on your iPhone. Auntie is currently using this approach with her 3GS. The model is important because pre-iPhone 3G units won't accept a SIM as-is. They must be jailbroken and activated first. Auntie's 3GS, however, is not currently jailbroken and it's working fine with her AT&T SIM. Here's what she did. Setting up a PAYG iPhone Account You can purchase air time for any SIM by visiting an AT&T retail or calling AT&T at 1-800-331-0500. Unlike the Best Buy $10 no-data SIMs ($5 of air time, expires after 90 days) that you can buy, activate with a phone call and pop into your iPhone, PAYG SIMs cannot be set up anonymously. You need that PAYG account to load affordable data onto your iPhone and, much like Auntie on Pinochle night, AT&T is a little more buttoned-up. To get started, you'll need a home address, a credit card, and a non-iPhone AT&T phone with a valid IMEI identifier and, of course, the SIM number. These allow you to register an account with AT&T. You will not have to leave that credit card on file, however. This will be a one-time payment of $25 or $100 (or however much you want to use to get started). Now you're pre-paid, baby! When your money and time run out, your account dies and you're never charged again unless or until you choose to add more money and time. If you're planning to use the account primarily for data, make sure to choose the per-minute plan ($0.10/minute, $0.20/text), not the per-day plan. (Your other option is a $2/day unlimited plan, which allows you to pay only on those days you talk on the phone.) Once your account is charged and you're given a new phone number, head on home (if you didn't do this all by phone, like Auntie does) and put the SIM into your iPhone. It should be recognized immediately and you'll be able to place and receive phone calls. Adding data Next you'll want to add data. Auntie recommends starting with a $15 100 MB data package. As you'll see, her recommendations change once you get all the kinks worked out, but starting with 100 MB for 30 days at $15 lets you buy in and test the system for under $25. Plus, that leaves you $10 with which you can call Mom and tell her you love her every day, approximately 3 times per day over that 30 day period. If Auntie has her math right. And she usually does. To add your data package, call the irritating robot at 611 from your iPhone. This is a free call, which is small recompense for having to interact with the unpleasant, robotic beastie. Make sure to turn on the speaker and flip to the number pad. When you're allowed to speak, say "Buy features" and then "Data Packages." Work your way through the robotic menu to select the 100MB plan for $15. The 'bot will helpfully tell you when your data package expires and how it rolls over. That roll over bit is the good part. Take note of that. Also take note of how you check your data balance (Call 611 and say "Check my feature packages"). Configuring Your iPhone for 3G Data Next, you need to update your iPhone to work with prepaid data. Auntie's favorite how-to write up can be found over at amirnaor.com. Here are the steps you need to take. Download Apple's iPhone Configuration Utility and run the installer. The application is placed into your /Applications/Utilities folder. Launch the application with your iPhone connected. Create a new configuration profile (File > New, Command-N). Edit the name to AT&T PAYG (arbitrary) and add an identifier, e.g. com.sadun.payg (also arbitrary). In the Advanced settings (scroll down), click configure and set the following fields: APN: wap.cingular User Name: wap@cingulargprs.com Password: CINGULAR1 Proxy wireless.cingular.com port: 80 Locate your device on the left source list column. Click it. Click Install next to the profile you just created. On your iPhone, the Settings app launches. Tap Install on the profile. Disconnect the iPhone, disable WiFi, and test the data connection in Safari. Annual Data Planning Leaving aside the $25 airtime proof-of-concept, here's how you can think about budgeting airtime purchases for inexpensive data over a year. AT&T's feature plan buckets currently go for $25 for 500 MB / $15 for 100 / $5 for 10. Best of all those feature package balance rolls over if renewed before expiration date. That means if you refill the feature plan before the end of the month (i.e. 28 or 29 days -- you can set your iPhone to alarm you), the data rolls over, so you can keep adding $5 for another 10 MB so about a total of $25 + 5 * 11 = $80 for a years data, with $20 left over for the occasional phone call and a budget of 610 MB for the year. 610 MB. Total cost $100. You can always add more during the year for $25 for another 500 MB, taking away the $5 you would have spent for 10 MB. So let us say that you use 100/month and need at least 1.2 GB of data for the year. You could buy, say, all that data at the start of the year, or (more likely) start with a $25 buy-in of 500 MB and then go for 3 months at $5 for 10 MB each. That means each four month period (approximately, since the "months" are going to be 4 weeks...say 28 days), you will pay $40 for 4 months, for a budget of 530 MB. That fits comfortably into the 100/month data budget. If you find you have lots of data left over, you can even skip one of the three $25 payments for a $10 one. Auntie uses the savings for new doilies, but that's up to you. 1.59 GB. Total cost $120 Assume you go with the $25/5/5/5 plan. You'll need to re-fund your account about 8 months in, assuming you haven't made lots of phone calls and need to refund sooner. At that point, let's say you add about $50. Month 1 $40 Month 5 $40 Month 9 Add $50, spend $40 (Month 13, new year -- Add in at least $100 so you're guaranteed a full year) You will have spent $150 for the year total, including about $30 of airtime available. If you want, you can use $25 of that for another 500 MB data bump if you really don't talk much; less if you talk & text. Auntie's Downside: You must remember to refill on time. Using a 4-week schedule, and a calendar reminder program, helps. It means you always refill on the same day of the week -- and keep in mind you will have to refill 13 times for the year, not 12, which throws off the math a tiny bit. Auntie is, honestly, really bad at this. Scheduled calendar reminders help. Auntie's Upside: Compare and contrast that cost with *normal* iPhone talk and data plans. Outside of the fact that you have a contract with a $375 cancellation penalty, it will cost you $55-ish or more per month for standard service. This provides data and voice for about $10/month. Discussion: This kind of data is *not* explicitly approved by AT&T (big surprise, but also no big deal) and, no, this isn't the old style Pick Your Plan that AT&T cracked down on, forcing people to move to standard contracts (Auntie was on a PYP on her original iPhone and it was a really good deal with rollover credits for unused airtime), but you're using it with an out-of-contract unit, so why should it matter if you're doing so on an iPhone versus, say, a cheap Nokia? Who is this for? Anyone who wants to be able to Google on the go, check e-mail and do very light web surfing. The 100 MB/month calculation is similar to iPad plans. But even if you end up using, say, double the data, for approximately $200/year (that's because the 3 times at $25 doubles to $50, but not the $5 maintenance costs), it's still very affordable. Here are a few purchase scenarios you might consider. 3 $25 buckets, 9 $5 buckets: $120 + $30 airtime: 1.6 GB costing $150 6 $25 buckets, 6 $5 buckets: $180 + $20 airtime: 3 GB costing $200 9 $25 buckets, 3 $5 buckets: $240 + $10 airtime: 4.5 GB costing $250 12 $25 buckets: $300 + $25 airtime: 6 GB costing $325 For comparison, the expected per-year cost for really basic iPhone service at $55 per month: $660 (Auntie thinks that's the lowest available, you might want to check). So that's how you get cheap iPhone data plans. Best of all, you can keep adjusting your bucket purchases over the year to match your usage. Hugs, Auntie T.
T-Mobile's You Fix gives budget-minded Brits a new approach to pay-as-you-go
If you're a Londoner who's struggling to live within your means, T-Mobile is hoping its latest You Fix plans are the solution to your budgetary woes. The Magenta-clad carrier's UK arm promotes You Fix as the ultimate hybrid of pay monthly and pay-as-you-go. Customers sign a 12 month commitment to one of three plans that range between £15.50 ($25) and £26 ($42) per month, and the most expensive plan brings 300 minutes and texts. Once the allotment is met, consumers can top off their accounts based on T-Mobile's traditional PAYG rates, or bide their time until the new month rolls around. Additionally, You Fix'ers may choose between one of seven free add-ons each month, including options to add data or unlimited texts. Subsidized phones are also on the menu, with the BlackBerry Curve 8520, HTC Wildfire S, and Samsung Galaxy Gio leading the pack. Looking to save a few quid? Check the full schedule of plans in the PR beyond the break.
Unlocked iPhone FAQ, including AT&T plan info (updated)
Updated with information about AT&T plans. As we posted earlier, Apple is selling an unlocked version of the iPhone in the US starting at US$649. To help clarify questions about this development, we've put together this little FAQ. We'll explain what the unlocked iPhone means to you as a customer and how you'll be able to use it both at home and abroad. This TUAW unlocked iPhone FAQ is a work in progress. You can help us out by correcting any errors you see. Just leave a comment or send us feedback on our contact page. What is locking? Locking (also called "SIM locking") is a limitation of some phones, preventing their use outside of the issuing carrier; it is generally implemented in software and phones can be 'unlocked' either by the carrier or by third parties. Until now, the US GSM iPhone has been exclusively locked to AT&T. Another iPhone model, which uses CDMA technology, is available from Verizon in the States; there is already a second US carrier (Cricket) supporting those phones via unlock. What has changed is that Apple now offers a GSM iPhone to US buyers that is not locked to a specific carrier. Many overseas carriers have offered unlocked iPhones before now; in fact, we're told that in the UK it is the act of selling the phone with a SIM on the same order that tags the phone's unique identifier as 'locked,' but the phone itself is unlocked at the factory and then locked in the sales process. The availability of unlocked US iPhones is likely to accelerate the worldwide liquidity of the device, as Horace Dediu puts it, since an unlocked iPhone can be taken to any GSM system worldwide. Is unlocking the same as jailbreaking? Jailbreaking is a process that opens the full underlying iOS operating system to end-user control ('breaking out' of the chroot jail, hence the term). It has been a pre-requisite for running third-party unlocking software until now. The new Apple unlocked iPhone does not require jailbreaking or third-party unlocks to be used with non-AT&T carriers. What carriers can you use with the unlocked iPhone? For right now, AT&T is a given for full iPhone compatibility. You can sign up for an AT&T plan with no term commitment with an unlocked unit, meaning that frequent travelers now have at least one officially-sanctioned option for temporary service; simply cancel your plan at the end of the month, and re-up on your next trip. AT&T spokesman Seth Bloom tells TUAW: You can, of course, buy an unlocked iPhone from Apple and use it on the AT&T network. If you do, there's no term commitment – and customers may choose any current voice and data plan. AT&T offers data plans starting as low as $15 per month for 250 MB of data. (You do still need to have both a voice and data plan.) Will the unlocked phone work with T-Mobile? Definitely on EDGE; not on 3G. Here's why. The iPhone uses SIMs, little cards that identify you as a carrier subscriber. For calls (rather than data), you can use any carrier that offers compatible GSM SIMs, including AT&T and T-Mobile. For data, it's not just about SIMs. It's about frequency. The iPhone 4 supports the following frequencies: UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA: 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz GSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz AT&T uses the 850 frequency for 3G. T-Mobile uses AWS; 1700 MHz for uplink, 2100 MHz downlink. The iPhone 4 doesn't do 1700 MHz, so you're stuck on EDGE if you put a T-Mobile SIM into it (or if, like our own Rich Gaywood, you roam onto the network when traveling). This is hardware antenna design, it's not firmware patchable in the iPhone. While future iPhones may be truly universal, the iPhone 4 is not. Where do I get SIMs? The iPhone 4 uses a microSIM, not a full-size (technically known as a 'mini') SIM. Carriers provide SIMs at their stores when you sign up for plans. You may need to use a SIM cutter in order to convert your full-sized SIM for iPhone 4 use if the store will not provide you with a microSIM. For developers who don't really need full phone and data plans, who just need a SIM that they can make a few incoming calls to test their apps, the very best plan is H2O Wireless. Their SIMs are for sale at Best Buy. For $10 you get $5 of airtime billed at very low rates, lasting for 90 days. You will have to cut the SIM down to fit it into the iPhone 4. As OS X Daily points out, you can also get an AT&T PAYG SIM (but you may be better off not telling the salesperson you have an iPhone). For information on prepaid SIMs available across the globe, this wiki is probably the best available reference. Who is the primary customer for the unlocked iPhone? This phone is perfect for frequent travelers, who want to use their iPhones when visiting other countries. They'll be able to buy and use local SIMs with locally-priced calling and data plans. You may want to carry a cutter with you, however, or buy one locally/have it shipped to you if you don't think you'll get the stapler-sized device through airport security. Our friend & former colleague Nik Fletcher has this handy guide to using your UK iPhone in the US; it's covering the use of the 3G iPhone but it should work just fine with the 4. AT&T has not yet confirmed whether any current pay-as-you-go plan is approved for use with the unlocked iPhone, so right now the only official option for US call and data with AT&T is a standard voice + data plan (you must have both; data plans start at $15 for 250 MB and voice plans at $40 for 450 minutes of call time). Because AT&T is not subsidizing the unit, you have no term commitment and can cancel your plan at any time. See below for Pay as You Go plans. We have contacted T-Mobile for comment but have not yet heard back about possible plans. If you are a subscriber of another US GSM carrier, like Cellular One, please let us know what they say about iPhone support. Developers will also buy the unlocked iPhone as a contract-free unit, allowing them to purchase a device for development without committing to a plan. What about Pay-As-You-Go? AT&T's tacit support for PAYG data plans on the iPhone ended in 2009, so keep that in mind as you read the following section. Right now AT&T's data plans for PAYG are not confirmed as available for the iPhone. The 100 MB data pack costs $15 if you buy it atop a prepaid plan. You can swap a PAYG SIM into an unlocked iPhone 4 (or, for that matter, a locked one) but there may be some hoops to jump through to get data. All that to say, there's no official support for PAYG on the iPhone 4, but it mostly works. If you want data, sign up for a normal iPhone contract -- keeping in mind that you cannot get a data-only or voice-only plan from AT&T right now, you must get both. As mentioned, AT&T has not yet clarified its policy on unsubsidized phones, so you may need to negotiate or you will be locked into a 2-year contract complete with cancellation penalties sans subsidies. AT&T has confirmed that there is no term commitment for these plans and you may cancel at any time. It's clearly cheaper to sign up for a $15 monthly data plan than a PAYG data plan, but then you're saddled with a $40 voice plan you probably don't need. TUAW reader Fruit Attack adds: [The] AT&T GoPhone data package has become pretty reasonable, $25 for 500 MB. Expiration is 30 days. The downside is that you have to refill every month to keep the unused data bucket rolling. In theory you can buy a big bucket ($25 for 500 MB) in the first month and refill $5 (for 10 MB) by the end of the month to roll over the unused MBs. It's actually a pretty affordable solution. AT&T does not officially support iPhone on their GoPhone plan, so don't bother going to the AT&T store or phone for any sign-up help and support." He recommends this write-up about activating your data service. Got suggestions for T-Mobile plans? Other carriers like CellularOne? Let us know! Why is an unlocked iPhone almost $700? That's the "real" price of the Apple iPhone. Carriers subsidize that "price," offering you contracts in exchange for a much lower price tag. When you buy without a contract, you pay full freight. You may ask what the real price differential is between the equipment in an iPhone and, say, an iPod touch, but that's not the way that carriers work. They have a "price." They have contracts. They have you. Can I unlock my AT&T iPhone 4 when I am out of contract? AT&T's website says: "iPhone cannot be unlocked, even if you are out of contract." We have contacted AT&T for more details in case this information has changed. Got more questions? 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