I just posted an item on Prepaid Phone News about using a closeout Palm Pixi Plus on the US prepaid MVNO PagePlus. These phones are going for $65 or less brand new on Amazon and elsewhere. They are Verizon CDMA models and as far as I know won’t work on any operator except Verizon or an MVNO that uses the Verizon network like PagePlus. However, the Pixi Plus has WiFi and it’s possible to use one for app development or … Continue reading
This post is no longer updated! Please visit PrepaidPhoneNews.com to read the latest version. Last update: 26-Nov-2010. What’s new: Prepaid Android phones from Virgin Mobile, Cricket and MetroPCS, T-Mobile Web Day Pass, overpriced monthly prepaid smartphone plans from Verizon, $0.10/min calls on AT&T prepaid. Prepaid mobile plans are a great way to save on voice and SMS but what about data? Using data on prepaid here in the U.S. will require making some compromises. Reasonably priced prepaid data options are … Continue reading
This post is no longer updated! Please click here to read the latest version at PrepaidPhoneNews.com. I get a lot of questions in comments on what options visitors to the US have for using a local SIM to avoid the exorbitant international roaming charges that almost all operators charge. So here’s a break down of the easiest and best value options for visitors. As it’s difficult for travelers to order online and have a SIM shipped internationally, I’ve limited this … Continue reading
This post is no longer updated! Please visit PrepaidPhoneNews.com to read the current version. (Originally published in August 2009), last updated 26-Nov-2010 with removal of Virgin Mobile Texter’s Delight Plan, which is no longer offered. Prepaid mobile plans are finally getting the popularity they deserve in the U.S. This is happening at both the high and low ends of the market. It’s easy to see why. Post paid plans start at $40 after taxes and that’s for a limited bucket … Continue reading
Photo: Neil Crosby Some rights reserved Last week I took a look at data options for users in the fast-growing prepaid segment of the mobile market and found them to be uniformly miserable, thanks to a combination of price gouging and arbitrary restrictions on handset use. This got me to wondering what exactly was a fair price for mobile data, especially on prepaid plans. In the postpaid world the U.S. operators offer data plans for laptop connect cards that provide … Continue reading
Navteq has updated their free mobile traffic site, mobi.traffic.com. The major changes since I last looked at the site are the ability to search for your city by zip code and maps! Traffic.com covers over 50 U.S. metropolitan areas and lets you pick yours from a drop down list. That can be a tedious process on some basic phones that only let you slowly scroll the list one line at a time. The addition of a zip code field makes … Continue reading
One of my biggest complaints back when I used AT&T’s GoPhone prepaid service was the annoying service messages (image) that would constantly pop up and interfere with whatever I was doing. I was paying $20/month for unlimited data. But whenever I did anything with the browser or an app that consumed data like Google Maps or Nokia Email, an alert would pop up saying “The last transaction cost 0.00 USD…” I’d have to press the right soft key to dismiss … Continue reading
Remember the $19.99/month unlimited MediaNet data add-on for AT&T’s GoPhone Pay as You Go (PYG) plans that the carrier launched in April? Well, it looks like the party is almost over. Phonenews.com has confirmed that the widely rumored demise of the plan is true. November 11th or 12th is the last day that you will be able to purchase the feature. You can currently stack up to three $19.99 packages for 90 days of service. Assuming that that Nov 11 … Continue reading