When we covered the Samsung Admire last, we gave you a rundown of the specs. Now we know the price. MetroPCS will be getting in on the increase in school shopping by offering the Samsung Admire for as little as $129 on plans of $50 or more. To sweeten the deal, they will even throw in a mail-in coupon for $15 off at the Amazon App store. Not too shabby for a Gingerbread 2.3 device.
[via ac]
If you are a big music fan, you might want to look at MetroPCS. They are offering a new plan called Rhapsody Unlimited Music for Android phones which features unlimited talk, text, web, multimedia streaming and downloading access, and of course, music. You will have access to the 12 million songs that are in the Rhapsody library which you can stream or download for listening without a connection.
All of this will cost $60 per month which is not bad, but with $50 to $55 unlimited plans offered elsewhere, the Rhapsody part of the equation does not feel like that much of a bonus. It’s is not a bad deal if you happen to be a fan of Rhapsody.
[via metropcs]
Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo tells us at a presentation in Boston of their new $50 unlimited prepaid offering, citing its profitability even though it is only currently in a small test market.
“The trial has gone very, very well for us,” he said. “It didn’t cannibalize the base and we actually evaluated our prepaid business and took some share.”
What Shammo is referencing, of course, is the new plan called ‘Unleashed’, which is currently being tested in small markets around Florida and California. The plan is in direct competition with Sprint Nextel and MetroPCS. Verizon’s prepaid share has been fairly low, even losing 3.4% in the course of a year. By contrast, Nextel and MetroPCS saw increases of 5.% and 19%, respectively.
Verizon hopes to restore their prepaid share with this plan, and it certainly seems that they are on their way to doing just that.
[via wsj]
If Samsung were a ninja… well, let’s just say that he’s not a very good one. It isn’t like we didn’t see the Admire’s release on MetroPCS from a mile away, but regardless, we’re excited to report this news. The Admire features a tried-and-true 800MHz processor, 3.2MP camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and a handful of other features you would expect to find on any other phone released in the past two years. This phone is being released just in time for back-to-school, so you can bet it won’t be more than $150-$200. Regardless if this was a “surprise” or not, the Admire should make a decent phone for anyone on a budget.
[via prnewswire]
T-Mobile recently announced they would be carrying the HTC Widfire S, and it just passed the FCC, so expect it to launch soon. We also reported that it will hit US Cellular in October, and it is likely to hit Cricket, MetroPCS, and Virgin Mobile.
[via fcc]
You would think that as our wireless technology advances, it would be made easier for customers use when it comes to roaming technology. Sorry, that is not the case as PCMag has confirmewd from a Verizon Spokesperson that LTE would not be compatible for roaming onto other LTE networks nationwide. The spectrum used for LTE is sold in separate blocks, thus only allowing a small margin of crossover between carrier blocks within that same spectrum. So chances of actually being able to roam is pretty minimal at best. It’s going to get worse before it gets better too, as the ITU has approved twelve different bands to be allocated for 4G/LTE use worldwide, which basically means if you travel, don’t expect to get onto any other 4G/LTE roaming networks. This may be a reason to stick with 3G if you aren’t concerned with speed over having any connection at all.
[via engadget]
MetroPCS just announced that they will be carrying the Huawei M835, which is an entry-level device that sports Android 2.2. It features a 2.8-inch (320 x 240) display, a 3.2MP camera, 1200 mAh battery, GPS, 3G data, and delivers “crisp and clear audio” thanks to DTS Envelo Virtual Sound Technology. It will run you $79 and the $50 smartphone service plan is required.
In addition to launching the M835, MetroPCS also announced special back to school pricing on the Kyocera Torino (retailing for $29), Samsung Messenger III (retailing for $69), Samsung Galaxy Indulge (retailing for $299), and LG Optimus M (retailing for $99).
It looks like things are heating up in the prepaid category. Earlier we told you about Cricket and Virgin Mobile’s offers of the Huawei Acsend II and the Motorola Trimph.
[via intomobile]
We’ve seen the SCH-R910 popping up here and there, and it’s recently been identified as the Samsung Forte, heading for MetroPCS. Finally, through some (intentional?) leaks, we’re starting to see it up close. It’s got the tell-tale TouchWiz UI that Samsung is so fond of lately, and that does nothing to squash rumors that this might be a Galaxy S variant.
Pictures and video at the source link. Still no solid word on a release date, but we’re looking for it. More on this phone as it develops.
[via Engadget]
Sammy appears to be readying another LTE-ready device for MetroPCS, this time in the form of a QWERTY slider called the Forte. The device will feature a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 5MP camera, TouchWiz, and will ship with Android 2.2 with the possibility of a 2.3 upgrade down the line.
Not much else is known, including pricing and availability, so stay tuned.
[via Samsung Hub]
Thanks to “a source”, the guys over at BGR were fortunate enough to get wind of Samsung’s new SCH-R910. As you can see, the tipster has provided an image for us as well. If this is accurate, then we could be looking at MetroPCS’s very first LTE device. The phone definitely looks to be in line with the Galaxy S devices and is reported to have a radio that supports both CDMA and LTE. Thanks to the image, it looks like the device will at least ship with the firmware version 2.2 (Froyo). We’re sure this will no doubt be accompanied by Samsung’s infamous Touch Wiz UI. Other likely specs, but not yet confirmed, include:
If reports are correct, it looks like Metro PCS could be dropping this device as early as within the first quater. Carrier name and price are unknown at this time. Feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you think the device should be called.
[via bgr]