Hasta La Gadget!

AT&T hinted that it was shaking up its GoPhone plans later this month, and it’s making good on its word. As of June 21st, customers using the prepaid service will have access to the same LTE service as their subscription peers; AT&T will mark the occasion by selling the Samsung Galaxy Express to GoPhone users at $250 off-contract. The simplified smartphone plans are here as well, although they’re better than previously expected. The carrier is dropping all data add-ons except for the $5 / 50MB pack, which is only available for a $25 monthly tier with 250 voice minutes and unlimited messaging. However, it will only cost $40 a month for a plan with 200MB of data and 500 minutes, and a $60 plan will offer 2GB of data with unlimited voice. AT&T’s new strategy won’t appease some data lovers, but those trying to avoid long contracts and harsh upgrade policies should be happy.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Samsung, AT&T

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Source: AT&T

The big US carriers tend to echo each other’s customer-hostile policy decisions all too often, and that’s unfortunately happening once again. Effective today, AT&T is shadowing Verizon by extending its standard device upgrade interval from 20 months to the full two years of a typical agreement. All of its new contract subscribers, as well as those whose terms finish in March or later, will have to cope with the longer waiting periods. There’s little context for the decision in a corporate memo that we’ve obtained; we’ve reached out to AT&T for some background, and we’ll let you know if we hear more. Whatever the motivations, it’s clearer than ever that habitual upgraders need to either pay the full hardware price or move to more flexible providers.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, AT&T

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Source: AT&T

After adding monthly SIM-only plans to its product line-up last week, EE’s announced a few new subscriptions that people will have access to at some point this summer. One is a shared option, which’ll allow patrons to use their plan “across phones and tablets, or with other people.” The other is a PAYG data-only option, so you’ll be able to buy gigabytes without signing up for anything long-term, and gobble them up on your tablet, laptop, MiFi device or anything else with a SIM slot. We don’t have any firm launch dates or pricing for either of these plans, but more is expected “in the coming weeks.” In other news, the number of customers on EE’s LTE network has exceeded the half a million mark, meaning around 200,000 new subscribers have come on board since April.

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Tablets, Wireless, Mobile

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We’ve seen a few UK carriers show their cards ahead of the Galaxy S 4 launch this weekend, but MVNO Virgin Media has been slightly coy with details compared to bigger peers like EE and Vodafone. Better late than never, we suppose: the provider has outlined just how much we’ll have to spend to get Samsung’s flagship. Customers who have Virgin broadband or TV services can pay the same £31 per month as their EE counterparts, getting a lower £99 device cost and insurance in exchange for a more limited service that includes 200 minutes, 500 texts and 500MB of data. When mobile-only customers have to pay £5 more per month, though, we’d think carefully about signing up just for the sake of the GS 4. There are better deals afoot if you’re not already a loyal Virgin customer.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: Virgin Media

Most people will have some experience of lugging around a tired handset, knowing they’ve an eternity to wait before upgrading. UK carrier O2 has just announced its solution to phone fatigue called O2 Refresh, which splits overall costs into a “Phone Plan” and an “Airtime Plan.” Much like Phones4U’s JUMP plan or T-Mobile USA’s new UnCarrier model, you’re charged for the handset separately, so you can switch whenever you like as long as the current one’s paid off. That price will vary depending on how much you lay down upfront and the Airtime Plan you choose; also, if you’re done with the old one, you can get up to £260 towards the new one using O2’s Recycle option. Unlike the Magenta carrier’s new direction in the US, however, you will still be locked into a two-year contract, with a £12 monthly payment getting you 600 mins, unlimited texts and 750MB of data. Increase that to £17 for 1GB and unlimited calls / texts, or head for the £22 tier to increase that cap to 2GB.

So, you’ve decided on the Airtime Plan, but what about handsets? There’s a solid choice of flagships (and some less exciting models), including the HTC One, Xperia Z, BlackBerry Z10, Note II, Nexus 4 and iPhone 5, with the Galaxy S 4 and BlackBerry Q10 arriving later — hopefully in time for O2’s 4G launch this “summer.” To give you an example of what Phone Plans will be like, an HTC One will set you back £529.99 (around $815) in total with a £49.99 upfront payment and £20 each month. O2 Refresh is launching April 16th in stores, and will expand to online and phone orders “in the coming months.” Head to the source link below to check out the full list of phones available at launch, but don’t blame us if the loathing you have for your current pocket pal is subsequently increased.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Via: Pocket-lint

Source: O2