prepaid

As unlimited data plans from traditional wireless carriers go the way of the flip phone, savvy bargain hunters have another option: prepaid services that offer cool new smartphones with cheap unlimited data plans.

After months of anticipation, Verizon Wireless is expected to introduce a new pricing scheme July 7, which will eliminate its unlimited data plan. AT&T did something similar a year ago. While Sprint and T-Mobile USA, the smaller of the four national carriers, still offer unlimited data, there are signs that pricing will increase. Sprint already charges customers $10 more a month for phones that can … Read more

Today, AT&T introduced a new GoPhone prepaid calling plan that includes unlimited talk, text, and Web for $50 per month. Unlimited text and instant messages to Mexico, Canada, and 100 other countries are also part of the deal. The new plan will be available starting June 26 and applies to quick messaging phones, such as the Pantech P7040p, which will also launch on the same day.

A $50 per month plan will also be available for smartphone customers. However, it will only include unlimited talk and text; to add data, users can choose from one of three data … Read more

Apple may be plotting a low-cost iPhone--most likely the 3GS--in a move to tackle emerging markets, prepaid plans, and midmarket customers. If this working-class iPhone hits the market it will be disruptive to Android as well as Research In Motion, which is living off its low-cost Curve.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek works through the math and concludes that Apple can hold profit margins as it increasingly tiers its iPhones. At Apple's developer powwow next week, the company is expected to highlight the iPhone 4S update. An iPhone 5 will come in mid-2012. However, the most disruptive move would … Read more

Welcome to the 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

Question: I've never had a cell phone in my life. I know that's hard to believe! But I just never saw the need for one -- landlines have been just fine for me. I don't need to be in constant contact all the time. Recently though, I've received some pressure to get one. I just feel like I really don't need it, but maybe a temporary one is ok. Is there maybe a phone I can get that I can only use every once in awhile, that doesn't require a plan? Thanks! -- Beau, via email.

This might come as a shocker coming from a cell phone reviewer, but I don't necessarily think everyone in the world must get a cell phone. If your lifestyle is such that you don't need it, I don't see the problem of not having one. However, it does make life a lot more convenient, and it tends to be cheaper if you make a lot of mobile-to-mobile or long-distance calls.

You can get cheap and disposable phones if you want something temporary, especially if you go the prepaid route. Virgin Mobile's payLo service, for example, offers cheap $15 phones and the basic service only costs $20 for 400 minutes. If you lapse payment, however, it's likely that your phone number will expire, so you might have to keep reupping every month or so to keep the number alive. But if you really only need a phone every once in awhile -- like on vacations -- then maybe you don't care so much about changing your number. Readers, please let us know of other alternatives that Beau can consider.… Read more

Not everyone needs, wants, or can afford a super-fancy smartphone. And a two-year contract costing upwards of $100 per month? Ouch!

If you're looking for mobile communication on a shoestring, AT&T has the Samsung SGH-a107 GoPhone for $9.99 shipped. No activation fee, no contract, just 10 bucks out the door for a simple cell phone.

Simple, and prepaid. Although you can spend $60 or $70 per month for unlimited talk/data plans, AT&T also lets you pay as you go: $2 per day for unlimited talk and texting, or just 10 cents per minute … Read more

Verizon Wireless planted a bigger flag in prepaid this week with the announcement of its new "Verizon Unleashed" plans. Though only available in Southern California and most of Florida for the time being, the plans offers unlimited services for $50 per month.

Verizon Unleashed will offer subscribers unlimited calling minutes regardless of time of day, unlimited calls to other Verizon subscribers, unlimited domestic messaging, and unlimited messaging to select carriers in Canada and Mexico. Unlimited mobile Web is a feature as well, though the plan is not available on handsets that have full HTML browsers.

Verizon has long … Read more

A couple of months ago I posted a query in my 411 column about prepaid GSM Android phones and the lack thereof. What I failed to mention was that you can of course use any GSM phone as a prepaid handset, as long as you're willing to pay full price for the phone up front. All you have to do is pop in a SIM card and you're good to go. After you do so, however, AT&T continues to charge you the usual high monthly rates, and even though T-Mobile does offer a cheaper Even More … Read more

Welcome to the 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

Question: Which prepaid GSM Android phone and carriers would you recommend? -- mr maund, via e-mail

Surprisingly, there really aren't that many GSM Android phones that are available prepaid. There are only two GSM carriers here in the U.S.--AT&T and T-Mobile--and the only Android phone that we could find on a prepaid plan was the T-Mobile Comet, a relatively basic Android handset. It's priced at $119.99 without a contract.

The other prepaid Android phones--the LG Optimus V, Optimus M, and Huawei Ascend, for example--are on CDMA networks like Virgin Mobile and MetroPCS. Verizon also offers several of its high-end Android phones under its prepaid plan. If you need to get a GSM Android phone, then your only option is the aforementioned T-Mobile Comet. If you're willing to switch to a CDMA carrier, you have many more options.

I am thinking about buying a Samsung Galaxy S to replace my Nokia N85. What is the best way to transfer my contacts from the Nokia to the Samsung? The Symbian OS allows a lot of contact data to be stored, but I have never found it easy to export all the stored data, even to Outlook or Google contacts--so I am quite anxious about how I should do it when I switch phones. -- chana, via e-mail

There are a few ways to transfer contacts from the Nokia N85 to an Android phone like the Samsung Galaxy S.… Read more

The Federal Communications Commission adopted this week new rules intended to protect consumers from nefarious broadband providers who in the future may monkey with rivals' network traffic to boost usage of their own services.

But what do these so-called Net neutrality rules mean for consumers? In this week's Ask Maggie column, I try to answer a reader's question about what protections the new rules provide for certain applications, such as Skype and Netflix.

I also break the bad news to another reader that he will not be able to use a Verizon iPhone, when it's eventually released, … Read more