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Leaked Verizon Unleashed pricing sheets detail $50 unlimited talk / text plans
Just in case you're still dissatisfied after taking a peek at one leaked Verizon screenshot today, well... here's numero dos. The folks at Droid-Life managed to get their paws on a couple of monochrome sheets that look more like VZW promotional material than anything else, and if Sprint's Simply Everything plan thought it had the whole market locked down, it might just have another thing coming. Best we can tell, the impending (?) 'Unleashed' pricing options will allow customers to choose a contract-free $50 / month unlimited calling and texting plan, with "Mobile Web" access thrown in as well for featurephones. 'Course, you'd have to pony up extra for legitimate data on a legitimate smartphone, but it's hardly a bad place to start -- particularly for those who are growing increasingly tired of locking themselves into two-year agreements. Hard to say if the carrier is planning to actually implement any of this, but why waste the intern's time mocking it up, right? [Thanks, Mio]
Sprint's Dan Hesse differentiates between unlimited and 'unlimited' in latest TV spot
We're not the biggest fans of new tiered data plans that are slowly but surely becoming the norm, and if the latest ad from Sprint is any indication -- that particular carrier isn't either. CEO Dan Hesse takes the offensive, reminding viewers that the word 'unlimited' shouldn't include things like metering or throttling, while touting the company's "Simply Everything" plan that actually does include, uh, everything. With customer gains on the upswing, the move is probably a good one -- though that whole 'premium data' thing is a little iffy. Full PR after the break.
Sprint increasing 3G data plan pricing by $10/mo, calling it 'premium data'
Oh, Sprint, you sneaky devil. The nation's third-largest carrier just announced that it's tacking on an extra monthly $10 "premium data" charge to its 3G Everything data plans -- in effect, charging 3G phone owners the same total price that Evo and Epic owners pay now for 4G service. It's especially weird because Sprint's hidden the price increase in a press release entitled "Smartphones Drive Wireless Data Explosion" that initially appears to be about increased use of data before shifting abruptly into a defense of the additional charge and potshots at tiered data plans -- we know no one wants to talk price increases, but let's have some gumption, guys. Existing 3G Everything plan holders won't see their rates go up until they "upgrade or activate another smartphone," which doesn't sound great for family plans, but we'll get some clarification on that and let you know. Either way, we'd say picking up a non-4G Sprint phone just got real silly. PR after the break.
Cricket launches new wireless plan with unlimited music for $55 a month
Stop us if you've heard this one before: a cell phone comes with an unlimited music subscription. Now, flip it on its head and say the cellular carrier was the one offering the all-you-can download audio buffet -- built right into a totally unlimited data, text and voice monthly slate -- and you've basically got the new $55 Muve Music plan from Cricket Wireless. Cricket doesn't have the reach of the big four US carriers and may not even have coverage in your area, but that didn't keep it from tempting Universal, Warner, Sony and EMI from signing over millions of songs. It'll debut on the new Samsung Suede featurephone pictured at right, which comes with a "special" 4GB Sandisk encrypted flash memory card (et tu, slotRadio?) that will likely protect the music from prying pirate claws... at least for the weeks or months it takes the open-source community to rip it a new one. The Suede will reportedly hold about 3,000 songs, which (barring antics) will be irrevocably tied to the phone and only play there, and disappear entirely if users stop paying for the Muve plan. PC Magazine got a brief hands-on with an early version, and says there's a bit of irksome audio compression, but also some Zune-like social networking features, too. The service will debut at CES on January 6th, and spread to other devices and other markets over the course of 2011. PR after the break!
Walmart Family Mobile enters the postpaid war, reselling service from T-Mobile
Walmart's already firmly entrenched in the prepaid cellular business, offering handsets and service via Common Cents (Sprint) and Straight Talk (Verizon Wireless), but according to Greg Hall, vice president of merchandising at Walmart US, there's a "perception among customers that prepaid service doesn't offer access to the best phones or the best network quality." In order to combat that, the outfit will be launching a new postpaid service today dubbed Walmart Family Mobile. The actual fine print is somewhat confusing, as it offers the best of both the pre- and postpaid worlds; users will still pay their monthly bill at the end of the month, but no subsidization will take place on the phones themselves due to this being a no-contract ordeal. It'll cost $45 per month for unlimited calling and texting for the first line, and $25 per month for every extra line; unfortunately, data will be a pricey addition at $40 per month for 1GB... but at least that rolls over each month in case you don't use it all. Initially, Wally World will offer five handsets, with the flagship phone being Motorola's Cliq XT at $249. Frankly, we aren't too impressed at what's on offer here -- get unlimited data bundled with calling and texting for the same $45 / month, then we'll talk. Update: Official PR is now after the break, and that's a September 20th launch date, so next Monday. Update 2: So, Walmart's PR team contacted us to flesh out the data plan details that the AP sort of glossed over. Thankfully, the full skinny is far more attractive than what we were led to believe. In short, each line comes with 100MB of data (one-time); after you use that up, you've got a trio of prepaid 'WebPak' options to keep you going. $10 buys you an extra 200MB, $25 gets you 500MB and $40 gets you 1GB. Good stuff! [Thanks, Ksadd]
Boost Mobile adds $2-a-day unlimited everything option
For voice and data alike, "unlimited" is a major buzzword among value carriers like Cricket, Virgin Mobile, and Boost Mobile lately -- and when they can offer it for $10 or $20 less than the big guys, why shouldn't it be? Boost is slicing the unlimited option in a new way this week with the announcement that it's now offering unlimited nationwide voice, messaging, web, IM, email, and information for $2 a day, which if our rough math is correct, works out to $60 a month. That's $10 a more than you pay if you just bite the bullet and prepay on a monthly basis, but obviously it's a heck of a lot more flexible, too -- and with these prepaid guys, flexibility is king. Follow the break for the full press release.
Virgin Mobile USA foretells unlimited prepaid mobile broadband for $40 a month (update)
Whereas AT&T's move to tiered smartphone data pricing signaled "the end of unlimited" to some, Sprint subsidiary Virgin Mobile USA has just defied that notion with an all-you-can-eat broadband buffet priced at $40 per month. First reported by IntoMobile and confirmed today on the carrier's Facebook page, the plan will replace existing $20, $40 and $60 monthly offerings that currently top out at just 5GB, so only those accustomed to paying $20 a month (for 300MB) won't get a totally sweet deal. As you can see above, the $10 for 100MB over 10 days plan will still stay pat, so you can still choose whether to sip or gulp down Sprint network packets when the plans purportedly go into effect on August 24th. Update: Virgin Mobile's PR department just let us know that there's been a slight delay with that spiffy new unlimited plan, namely that the company's website hasn't been updated to allow you to purchase the new service quite yet. They're telling us the offer should be up within the next 24 to 48 hours, and appear in retail stores in the weeks after that.
Verizon testing a $99 unlimited plan that simply matches Sprint's famous offering
Carriers test the waters on new plans all the time, but this new one from Verizon seems -- at least at cursory glance -- squarely aimed at its CDMA competitor. According to research from Current Analysis, the nation's top carrier is trying out an unlimited Nationwide Talk & Text plan for $69.99 in San Diego and Los Angeles retail outlets. That's $20 less than the current price, and coupled with a $29.99 data plan, we're looking at a monthly fee that's within pennies of Sprint's Simply Everything plan. As with other network trials, this one may never expand beyond certain test markets -- but needless to say, this seems to indicate Verizon's taking its smaller CDMA rival a whole lot more seriously. Amazing what a quarter of positive subscriber growth can do, isn't it?
Boost Mobile sweetens unlimited plans with free 411, adds Samsung Rant this month
Boost is already known for offering up one of the more aggressive prepaid unlimited plans in the industry, pushing all-you-can-eat voice, messaging, and web for $50 a month -- but it's upping the ante just a tad today on news that customers of both its $50 plan and its $60 BlackBerry plan now have free access to 411 information, instant messaging, and email. Then again, it seems like we're past the point where carriers should be differentiating between types of data, but the fact that Boost offers dumbphones almost exclusively across its range gives it more leeway than most for this sort of stratification. Oh, and to take advantage of the new hotness, Boost would like to cordially invite customers to take a look at the Samsung Rant, a device that actually launched a good long while ago on Sprint but now makes its way over to Boost on May 19 for $149.99 (contract-free, of course). The landscape slider's got full QWERTY, EV-DO, a 2 megapixel cam, microSD support up to 16GB, and an analog of Sprint's own One Click UI. Like red? Good, 'cause it's launching in red. Follow the break for Boost's full press release.
US Cellular launches national unlimited plan for $70
US Cellular's sounding like it wants to play with the big boys on news that it'll be charging a full $69.99 for its just-introduced unlimited individual plan -- the exact same that AT&T and Verizon are charging now that they've just slashed pricing. It's pretty interesting to see one of the smaller regional carriers dare to suggest that it can charge the same as the two typically regarded as the States' "premium" networks -- but then again, US Cellular's got a battery swap program, so there's your value-add right there. Along with the individual deal, there's also a new family unlimited plan for $119.99; in both cases, you'll need to tack on text and data packages separately.
AT&T lowering cost of unlimited voice and data for iPhone users
The battle of snarkiness between AT&T and Verizon is resulting in benefits for subscribers. Yesterday, AT&T announced a new unlimited voice and data plan for smartphone owners, including those who use the iPhone, that offers unlimited voice and data service for $99.99 per month. The change was the result of Verizon lowering the cost of its unlimited plans earlier in the day, and consumers are the beneficiaries of the battle of the cell phone titans. Prior to the announcement, iPhone users paid $100 monthly for unlimited voice, then tacked on another $30 a month for unlimited data. Starting on Monday, January 18th, 2010, a combined unlimited voice and data plan is available for $99.99. That's a savings of $30 per month. For a Family Talk plan with two iPhones, the deal is even better -- $179.99 per month. Unfortunately, AT&T still charges for text messaging separately, so if you want to add on an unlimited texting plan it'll be another $20 per month. Beginning on Monday, existing AT&T customers can change to the new plans without penalty or a contract extension by using the online account tools at www.att.com/wireless.
AT&T messes with plans in wake of Verizon's moves, slashes unlimited voice pricing
Sprint's talking about it, but AT&T's straight-up doing something about Verizon's plan adjustments this morning with a series of its own tweaks this afternoon. Starting Monday, January 18 (conveniently the same day that Verizon's changes go live), unlimited talk will run $69.99 on individual plans, a nice little cut of $30 against the $99.99 the carrier charges today; family unlimited, meanwhile, comes in at $119.99. Unlimited talk and text costs another $20 on top of unlimited talk alone -- no change from the current add-on pricing. Similarly, unlimited talk plus smartphone data goes for $99.99, meaning that you're paying $30 for the data package -- exactly the same as you're paying now, so really, this all boils down to a big adjustment in what carriers across the board are charging for voice. The principles of Econ 101 have us believe that voice isn't as popular as it used to be -- we are now sending billions upon billions of texts, after all -- and as we ease off the voice infrastructure, it makes sense that these guys would want to upsell everyone into unlimited plans (remember that we're living in an "all you can eat" kind of nation) while still banking big on precious kilobytes and characters. Well played, AT&T; you too, Verizon. Well played, indeed.
Achtung, T-Mobile: if Project Dark is $50 unlimited, you're in trouble
Put yourself in T-Mobile USA's shoes for a moment: rumor has it that the guys who pay the bills aren't happy. History, happenstance, and the realities of electromagnetics have left you with an oddball 3G frequency that literally no other carrier in the world uses (at least, not for HSPA). Larger competitors don't take you as seriously as you'd like, and you don't have smaller ones -- they're all regionals who don't play in the same space you do. So what's your next move?
Virgin Mobile offers up $50 unlimited voice plan
Hey Boost Mobile -- Where U At? Just kidding, we know where you are, but you should probably be aware that Virgin Mobile USA is encroaching all up in your territory. In a move that was undoubtedly made to rival Boost's $50 per month unlimited plan, Virgin Mobile has announced a $49.99 Unlimited Plan with zero roaming charges. Said plan will be available for talkative individuals starting on April 15th, though you should know that unlimited texting will run you an additional $10 per month -- something that Boost includes at no additional charge. Unique to VM's option, however, is the automaker-like "Pink Slip Protection," which offers to pay mobile bills for up to three months if you lose your job (and meet lots of requirements, of course). In related news, the operator is also introducing a new suite of "Texter's Delight" plans, obviously aimed at consumers who don't even understand that they can "speak" into their phone and "hear" other voices from the top.
Zer01 is the new, contract-less MVNO that will bring VOIP to the mobile masses
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]
T-Mobile brings $50 unlimited voice plan to rest of America
Well, that "trial" didn't last long at all, now did it? Just days after teeing up a $50 unlimited voice plan in the great city of San Francisco, T-Mobile USA has reportedly taken said plan nationwide. Users are already buzzing about the widespread availability, though it should be noted that the same "loyalty requirements" from the San Fran pilot are still in effect for the rest of the nation. In other words, you have to have been a T-Mob subscriber for at least 22 months and have been in good standing the whole time. Oh, and being cute probably helps.
T-Mobile USA goes live with $50 unlimited voice plans in San Francisco
We heard that T-Mobile USA was looking to dabble in the low-end arena with $50 unlimited voice plans, and sure enough, the carrier has gone live with 'em in the City by the Bay. In a surprise move aimed to rival similar plans from lesser known providers such as Boost Mobile, T-Mob is offering "loyal customers" the option to move to a $50 flat-rate calling plan. In order to get the offer, you must be located in San Francisco (for now, anyway), have been a subscriber in good standing for at least 22 months and want to save a few bucks on your mobile calling. It's stated that stores in the SF area are actively promoting the new plan, which should be fairly successful given that users won't have to extend their current contracts in order to switch. Toss in unlimited texting, data and Everlasting Gobstoppers, and we're sold.[Image courtesy of Bicycle-Heaven]
T-Mobile rumored to be queuing up cheap unlimited voice plans
We'd ingest this one alongside a heavy dose of salt, but rumor has it that T-Mobile USA is getting ready to counter the economic crisis with some stellar deals. Reportedly, the carrier will introduce a number of low(er)-cost unlimited voice plans for those customers it deems "loyal," which will purportedly equate to having an account that's at least 22 months old and in good standing. Of course, anyone looking for data or SMS will probably not even bother giving the read link a look, but if all you do is yap, yap and yap, you might as well give it a peek. Remember, just keep your expectations low until further notice.[Via Boy Genius Report]
Boost launching $50 unlimited calling / texting plan
Hot on the heels of MetroPCS and Leap Wireless' latest moves to pull in more customers on unlimited plans comes this: yet another unlimited plan, this one from Boost Mobile. Starting on January 22nd, mobile users looking for predictability on their bills can choose a $50 per month plan that allows for unlimited calls and texts. The only glaring omission is data allowance, so those fond of checking eHarmony alerts on the go won't find much to love here. Not that you'd even want to surf for long on Boost's iDEN network, anyway.
MetroPCS expands coverage with Unlimited Nationwide plan
So, you like talkin', do you? What's that? Not a fan of contracts? Looks like MetroPCS may just have something right down your alley with the new Unlimited Nationwide plan. Said plan enables subscribers to chat in an unlimited fashion in over 300 cities in the contiguous United States without any contract whatsoever, and best of all, the expanded network will be included at no additional charge in the carrier's current $45 and $50 service plans. For those on cheaper qualified plans, the luxury can be added for $5 per month. Interested? The go-live date is November 10th.[Via phonescoop]
