Hasta La Gadget!

FreedomPop delivers free smartphone service each month.

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Oh, hell. FreedomPop might really be onto something this time. The company best known for doling out 500MB of free mobile data per month to hotspots, iPods and home routers will step up its game later this summer with a free phone service for Android users… with a few caveats, that is. To get by on the cheap, you’ll need to make do with a relatively scant 200 voice minutes and 500MB of mobile data in order to avoid overage fees, but to FreedomPop’s credit, it’ll include unlimited texting as part of the mix. What’s more, if you happen to go over your minute allotment, you’ll be charged a rather reasonable $9.99, which brings unlimited voice to the table. As you might’ve suspected, data overages are the biggest caveat to FreedomPop’s service, which can cost between $10 and $20 per gigabyte.

The service will operate over Sprint’s network, which brings access to EV-DO and WiMAX, and also leverages VoIP for calls. While it won’t be available at launch, FreedomPop tells us that LTE may eventually worm its way into the offering. Sadly, the company isn’t ready to discuss which Android phones will be offered (or at what price points). As another sticking point, there’s a chance that number portability won’t make it into the beta launch, but FreedomPop assures us that it’s in the works. Even with the constraints and risk of overages, it seems that FreedomPop could still be a workable (and very inexpensive) solution if you lean on WiFi for most of your data usage. In fact, company reps tell us that 50 percent of its customers are able to get by without incurring overages or monthly fees. Think you have the self-restraint to be among them?

Filed under: Wireless, Mobile

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Source: FreedomPop

FreedomPop has been promising to bring mostly free 4G internet access to the masses for over a year now, but those ambitions have been hampered by partner Clearwire’s spotty WiMax coverage — there are sizable swaths of the country where you just can’t get service. That won’t be the case for much longer though, as FreedomPop has just started taking orders its first Sprint-friendly wireless hotspot.

Granted, it’s not exactly a new one. The $40 Overdrive Pro first hit Sprint shelves back in early 2011, but at least the dual-mode device allows FreedomPop users to tap into Sprint’s sizable nationwide 3G network when WiMAX isn’t available. As always, FreedomPop users are given 500MB of free wireless network access per month, but the company offers a slew of monthly rate plans and features in hopes of generating some additional revenue. It seems to be working well enough so far — FreedomPop CEO Stephen Stokols told FierceWireless that nearly half of the service’s existing users have made some sort of additional purchase.

Frankly, it’s about time. FreedomPop first announced that it would migrate to Sprint’s CDMA/LTE service last July, and since then the Niklas Zennstrom-backed company has dutifully pushed out WiMAX devices while talking up the eventual switch.

In the event that you’ve already thrown down some cash on one of FreedomPop’s earlier doodads, you can contact customer service to coordinate a swap, though you should know that the company is also hoping to roll out some devices capable of running on Sprint’s growing LTE network in the months to come. Among those forthcoming LTE devices is a nifty clip that physically attaches to tablets, and FreedomPop previously confirmed that it plans to flesh out its existing hardware lineup with a slew of wireless data cases for Android devices like Samsung’s Galaxy S III. It’s worth noting though that the iPhone sleeve that garnered plenty of early attention in the company still hasn’t seen the light of day because the FCC has qualms about its design, so these sorts of device-specific hotspots may need some more fine-tuning before FreedomPop pushes them out the door.

If you didn’t get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we’ve opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought a new smartphone to Cricket, insights from Verizon about its forthcoming AWS deployment and even a rugged accessory from Nokia. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that’s happening in the mobile world for this week of March 11th, 2013.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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FreedomPop tempted users with the prospect of free home internet access — free after buying the hardware, that is — back in December. If you’ve been champing at the bit ever since, you’ll be glad to know that the more stationary service is at last live. As promised, you’ll get 1GB of free data per month after picking up the $89 Hub Burst modem and router combo. That allotment won’t be useful for much more than emergency access on the desktop, but customers will have multiple avenues for raising the ceiling, whether it’s agreeing to join in promotions or simply paying for more. A starting $10 per month subscription nets a more reasonable 10GB cap, and additional plans boost the peak speed from a pokey 1.5Mbps to 8Mbps at $19 per month. We’d think carefully about leaping in when FreedomPop hopes to switch to LTE this year, but the price is low enough that the early adopter tax will be low.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking

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Source: FreedomPop