Samsung Code for MetroPCS
(Credit: Samsung)On Monday, MetroPCS introduced its first Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone, the Samsung Code. Though it's not running the latest , the Code does give MetroPCS customers another smartphone choice, which is a bit lacking to say the least (the carrier's only other smartphone is the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330).
The Code offers the standard WinMo features, including Outlook synchronization and the Microsoft Office Mobile Suite, as well as 3G support, stereo Bluetooth, and a 2-megapixel camera. It also has a full QWERTY keyboard, up to 32GB expandable memory, and an optional WizPro interface, which lets you customize the home screen with various shorcuts.
The Samsung Code (SCH-i220) is available now for $299.99 with a $50 prepaid monthly plan, which includes unlimited voice, text, and data.
Motorola VE440
(Credit: Motorola)Motorola is no stranger to MetroPCS and Monday the manufacturer tightened the relationship even further with the new VE440. Positioned as a low-end music phone, the VE440's candy bar design and functional feature set won't amaze you, but it offers a few welcome goodies like stereo Bluetooth and a 3.5mm headset jack.
Besides the music player and the aforementioned features, the VE440 also has a micsoSD card slot (for cards up to 8GB), a 1.3-megapixel camera, a speakerphone, a personal organizer, messaging, a WAP browser, and support for GPS. The CDMA phone is priced at $129, which may seem expensive until you remember that MetroPCS doesn't require contracts.
The Messager II offers a full keybaord.
(Credit: Samsung)Update: On Wednesday, August 26, Cricket also announced that it would offer the Messager II for $199.
A product with one of the most head-scratching names in cell phone history got a boost this week when Samsung announced an update to one of its messaging phones. The Samsung Messager II (that's right, it's not a typo for messenger) is an update to the original Samsung Messager that we reviewed earlier this year. Also called the SCH-R560, it's now on sale at MetroPCS for $149 (MetroPCS doesn't require contracts).
Like its predecessor, the Messager II offers a full QWERTY keybaord in a slider, though slightly tweaked, design. Features are also upgraded. You'll get a 2-megapixel camera with video recording, organizer features, a speakerphone, messaging, stereo Bluetooth, and support for EV-DO networks.
(Source: MetroPCS via Phonescoop)
(Credit:
MetroPCS)
MetroPCS recently released the Samsung Tint, a simple clamshell with features like GPS, voice recognition, a camera (we're guessing VGA), text and multimedia messaging, e-mail, Bluetooth, and a speakerphone. It also supports MetroPCS's "push-to-talk social networking tool" called ChatLink.
The Tint comes with interchangeable faceplates as well, in case you want to jazz up the look of your phone. No word on pricing yet, but we'll check on that once the Tint goes live on MetroPCS' site.
(Via Engadget Mobile)
When compared with other Samsung touch-screen phones like Alltel's Samsung Delve and T-Mobile's Samsung Behold, the Samsung Finesse isn't too remarkable. But it is the first ever touch-screen phone for MetroPCS, which is great for MetroPCS aficionados. The Finesse is quite a sleek handset in its own right, with a nice 3.2-inch touch-screen display, a responsive interface, plus Samsung's unique TouchWiz tray of drag-and-drop widgets.
Features include a 2-megapixel camera, GPS, a full HTML browser, stereo Bluetooth, and more. We didn't quite like that it doesn't have Wi-Fi or an accelerometer, but it's otherwise a very good handset. The Finesse is available from MetroPCS for a rather hefty $350, but bear in mind MetroPCS doesn't require contracts.
Check out our review of the Samsung Finesse and the Finesse's photo gallery for a closer look.
Motorola's texting phone Hint has made the journey from Alltel to regional budget carrier MetroPCS. The square slider offers a full QWERTY keyboard and a midrange feature set that includes stereo Bluetooth, USB connectivity with PC syncing, a music player, a microSD card slot, 140MB of internal memory, personal organizer options, support for 3G, a speakerphone, and a 2-megapixel camera.
Once an exclusive purveyor of basic phones with minimalist designs, MetroPCS has made its handset lineup a bit more interesting in recent months. First it introduced the Samsung Messager, another QWERTY messaging phone. Then last month it offered its first smartphone, the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330, and just two weeks ago at CTIA it got its first touch-screen phone when it launched the Samsung Finesse.
Since the company does not offers contracts, the Hint QA30 will be more expensive from MetroPCS than from other carriers. But even at $249, it's not a bad deal.
Just a few weeks after it introduced its first smartphone, the RIM BlackBerry Curve, MetroPCS went even more high-end (relatively speaking) by adding its first touch-screen device, the Samsung Finesse, aka the SCH-r810 resembles Alltel's Samsung Delve. It offers a large, 262,000-color display with a virtual QWERTY keyboard and numeric dialpad. Just one physical control below the display completes the Finesse's front face.
Features include a 2-megapixel camera, speakerphone, personal organizer, messaging and e-mail, microSD card slot, Bluetooth, GPS, music player, full HTML browser, speakerphone, and support for 3G data networks. The Finesse is $350; MetroPCS does not require contracts.
The BlackBerry Curve is MetroPCS's first smartphone.
(Credit: MetroPCS)MetroPCS landed its first smartphone this week when it introduced the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330. The handset has all the features you'd expect from a BlackBerry device, which is to say it goes far beyond the majority of MetroPCS phones. Inside you'll find messaging and e-mail, a personal organizer, a 2-megapixel camera, a music player, 3G support, voice commands, a memory card slot, and stereo Bluetooth. Only the red model is available, but you get the same roomy keyboard.
Since MetroPCS does not require a contract, its Curve is more expensive than the Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular versions. Currently it will run you $449.
MetroPCS will require a special plan for its Curve. For $50 per month you'll get unlimited local and long distance voice calls, text and multimedia messaging, personal e-mail, GPS, and Web access. Corporate e-mail is available for an extra $10 per month and unlimited directory assistance is $2 per month.
(Credit:
ZTE)
The wonderful and torturous thing about GSMA Mobile World Congress is that you get to see handsets from a number of international manufacturers that are beyond imagination but will most likely never make it Stateside.
Take ZTE for example. It may not be a recognized cell phone brand in the United States, although the company does offer a couple of its handsets through MetroPCS, including the ZTE C79 and the ZTE C88, but it happens to be one of China's largest handset manufacturers.
ZTE will, once again, make the voyage to Barcelona this year and revealed on Tuesday that it will unveil a full portfolio of smartphones at Mobile World Congress. The company said it will display 10 different designs, ranging from low end to high end, and the highlight of the show will be the VF 1231 Windows Mobile smartphone, which was developed specifically for Vodafone.
We'll be sure to stop by ZTE's booth at GSMA to get more information about the smartphones and snap some photos, so be sure to check out our full coverage when the show starts on February 16.
Wednesday morning on Today, I figured there was a reason someone stood behind Matt Lauer in Rockefeller Center and waved a MetroPCS sign. An odd assortment of characters is continually showing up in those outdoor segments, but this was particularly strange.
But after I got to work and read the news, it all made sense. Wednesday, the no-contract, low-cost carrier activated service in New York City and Boston.
In New York, service will extended outside the city to Newark and Paterson, N.J., while Boston service will include Worcester, Mass.; Providence, R.I.; and Manchester, N.H. MetroPCS already has 5.4 million customers in Los Angeles; San Francisco; Dallas; Philadelphia; Atlanta; Detroit; Las Vegas; Miami; Sacramento, Calif.; and Tampa, Fla.
