prepaid

Ahead of iPhone launch, T-Mobile launches GoSmart prepaid brand nationwide

Ahead of the official iPhone launch on its network later this year, the nation's fourth-largest carrier T-Mobile USA on Tuesday said a new GoSmart prepaid service is now available via some 3,000 reseller stores nationwide. According to Reuters, users can purchase a SIM kit and simply bring their own GSM device to the service. Unlimited voice and messaging costs $30 a month.

For an additional five bucks, you get to browse the web. A $45 plan with five gigabytes of 3G data is also available. These are all month-to-month plans, meaning you can cancel the service anytime without getting penalized...

Analyst predicts Apple moving from tech titan to dinosaur within a year

Psst. I've got a tip for ya: Apple's going down. Yep, the iPhone maker is set to become a tech dinosaur about a year from now, according to one analyst. I'd blame the whole thing on Hurricane Sandy, but the analyst opinion was released last week, just after Apple announced lower-than-expected profit margins. "Apple's time to turn from tech titan into a dinosaur will come, but we still think that we are at least a year away", Berenberg Bank analyst Adnaan Ahmad recently told investors, according to Daring Fireball and cited by Fortune...

The iPhone remains America’s best-selling handset, but Apple must double down on prepaid

Though Android is peaking in the United States, globally Google's platform is widening its lead over the iPhone and in the second quarter of this year accounted for an IDC-estimated two-thirds of all smartphones sold, mainly thanks to Samsung whose Android handsets represented 44 percent of all Android smartphone shipments.

A new survey by NPD sheds more light on market trends. See, postpaid smartphone units remained flat in Q2 2012 compared to the year-ago quarter. All of the growth in smartphones came as a result of prepaid smartphone unit volume almost doubling on an annual basis...

Prepaid iPhone lands on Virgin Mobile, also available via Best Buy and RadioShack

Confirming earlier reports, prepaid iPhones are now available at Virgin Mobile, a Sprint-owned carrier in the United States. The 16GB/32GB iPhone 4S will set you back $649 ($549 for the 8GB iPhone 4) with one of Virgin's no-commit plans priced between $30-$50.

The plans offer unlimited data and messaging and you can also get a $5 discount if you sign up for automatic monthly payments. The devices is available at Virgin's ten brand spanking new retail stores (their first retail outlets in the U.S.), but also over at Best Buy, RadioShack and select local retailers...

Virgin Mobile opens its first 10 retail outlets tomorrow to showcase prepaid iPhone

We reported three weeks ago that Virgin Mobile will become yet another U.S. carrier to sell unlocked iPhones with month-to-month prepaid plans. It seems Virgin means business as a new report by Bloomberg Businesweek has it that the carrier will open its first ten retail stores in Chicago tomorrow, on the eve of its prepaid iPhone launch. These stores could lead to a national rollout and are said to be "aiming to profit from the iPhone’s expansion into the prepaid wireless market"...

Prepaid iPhone 4 and 4S now available on Cricket

As expected, Apple's smartphone went on sale at Cricket Wireless this weekend. The carrier is the first to offer a prepaid, no-contract iPhone here in the US.

The company says that the launch is generating quite the buzz, with customers lining up outside of several of its retail stores to buy the handset...

Straight Talk: the silent iPhone partner

Carrier options for US iPhone customers have dramatically multiplied over the past two years. The handset, which was once only available from AT&T, is now offered on nine wireless providers across the country.

Actually, 10 carriers if you count Straight Talk. You may or may not know this, but the nationwide prepaid provider is compatible with the GSM iPhone. You don't even need to unlock your handset to switch to it...

Cheaper iPhone Would Have to Be an “Innovative, Category-Killer Experience,” According to Apple

Since the beginning of this year, rumors have been heating up that Apple will release not one, but two iPhone models this year. One of these devices would be the next flagship iPhone 5 based on the the current pricing structure, while the second device would be a cheaper (possibly pre-paid) "Nano" handset.

Apple's COO and CFO have chimed in on what it would take for the company to release a cheaper iPhone. They describe that the product would need to be an, "innovative, category-killer experience."

Virgin Announces Data Throttling Starting in October, Prepaid iPhone to Blame?

Hold on to your hats, 9to5Mac has submitted another piece of evidence that points to an October release of the next iPhone. This time around, the information also suggests that Apple could be launching a prepaid device this Fall.

Virgin announced yesterday that it is going to be making some plan changes to its Sprint-based prepaid network this fall. Unlimited data plans will go up to $35, and users who cross 2.5GB during their bill cycle will see a significant decrease in speed. When does all of this start taking place?