In addition to releasing a new touch-screen phone this week, U.S. Cellular also added a new overage protection service for customers. It's a simple concept, but it should come in handy for chatterboxes hoping to avoid costly fees for going over their monthly anytime minutes. The service will work for your text message bundles, as well.
When your minute or message use reaches 75 percent of your monthly allotment, you'll get a text message advising you of the news. If you keep talking or texting, you'll get a second message when you reach your maximum number of messages and texts. You then can decide to put down your phone, change your plan, or suffer the overage fees. The service is free, but you must sign up for it by contacting U.S. Cellular.
Motorola Crush
(Credit: Motorola)It's far from the Droid, but Motorola added a new touch-screen phone to U.S. Cellular's lineup on Thursday. The Crush runs Moto's standard operating system on a 2.8-inch display. Features include messaging, a music player, a 3.5mm headset jack, a 2-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, and a microSD card slot.
The Crush costs $89.95 with a two-year service agreement (regular price $249.95), but a $50 mail-in rebate will knock the price down to an affordable $39.95.
Samsung Caliber
(Credit: Samsung)
Samsung Trill
(Credit: Samsung)Samsung is launching two new phones with U.S. Cellular dubbed the Samsung Trill and Samsung Caliber. The Trill reminds us of the Samsung Trance due to the similar design and features. It has sound technology by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower, a music player with an external music player control, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a speakerphone, stereo Bluetooth, support for microSD cards up to 32GB.
The Caliber, on the other hand, is a touch-screen phone complete with Samsung's TouchWiz user interface. It measures 4.55 inches by 2.23 inches by 0.47 inches and has a 3.2-inch display. Features include a full HTML Web browser, stereo Bluetooth, a speakerphone, a 3-megapixel camera, and a video and music player.
The Trill retails for $219.95, and the Caliber will run you $319.95. It sounds expensive, but U.S. Cellular does not require a contract.
LG Bliss
(Credit: LG)U.S. Cellular has just announced that it will offer the LG Bliss, a phone with a 3-inch touch screen, stereo Bluetooth, a 2-megapixel camera, camcorder, music player, microSD card slot that supports up to 16GB flash cards, full HTML browser, e-mail, GPS, and more. The Bliss is available now for $99 after rebates and a new contract.
The Axle lands at U.S. Cellular
(Credit: Samsung)With the Palm Pre and Apple iPhone 3G S grabbing so much attention in the last couple of weeks, you might think that basic phones are becoming extinct. But don't worry, as that is far from the truth. Even this week when fancy smartphones are all the rage, Samsung and U.S. Cellular have got your back.
The new Samsung Axle has a minimalist flip phone design in simple gray. Cell phone watchers will recognize that the Axle shares its shape with MetroPCS' Samsung Byline. Features are low-end, but functional. You'll find Bluetooth, a speakerphone, voice commands, messaging, a VGA camera, and a personal organizer. You can get it for as low as $40 with service.
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Alltel)
Last week, Alltel announced that it has added the LG Tritan to its lineup. A sideways slider phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, the Tritan is a messaging phone with a 3-inch touch screen display.
Features include a 3-megapixel camera with flash and autofocus, a camcorder, stereo Bluetooth, GPS, a microSD card slot, EV-DO Rev. A, GPS, a HTML browser, and more. Alltel is charging $99.99 for the phone after a $100 mail-in rebate and a one-year service agreement.
It also seems the LG Tritan might make its way to U.S. Cellular, as these leaked photos on Boy Genius Report indicate.
(Via PhoneScoop)
Text away with the Samsung Gloss.
(Credit: Samsung)Square phones like the LG Lotus may look rather peculiar, but it appears the trend is beginning to catch on. On Tuesday, Samsung launched its own square phone, the Gloss for U.S. Cellular.
Like the Lotus, the Gloss (aka the SCH-U440) has a square shape and a full QWERTY keyboard for texting. It comes in gray and pink and each color has a unique design on the front face.
Features include a 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, a music player, a personal organizer, a wireless Web browser, GPS with navigation services, voice recognition, a speakerphone, and a microSD card slot.
The Gloss is available immediately for $29.95 with a two-year contract and a $50 mail-in rebate. We'll review it just as soon as we can get a model.
As of Tuesday, U.S. Cellular is offering a free Battery Swap program at its stores. All you need to do is bring a dead or dying battery to a U.S. Cellular store and you can change it out for a new charged one.
The carrier says it created the program to help customers who need a fully charged battery right away or want to replace an older battery that doesn't hold a charge. Of course, there's a catch: you will need to be a U.S. Cellular customer who has purchased a U.S. Cellular phone in the last 18 months. But even so, I approve of the program. Cell phone batteries don't last forever and Battery Swap will save you the $40 that new batteries typically cost.
HTC Touch Pro for U.S. Cellular
(Credit: HTC)Regional carrier U.S. Cellular doesn't quite have the robust smartphone lineup as the big guys, but it's been slowly beefing up its offerings. Its latest acquisition is the HTC Touch Pro, which is available now for $249.95 with a two-year contract and after rebates.
Like we said when Verizon recently launched the HTC Touch Diamond for Verizon, the HTC Touch Pro is a little late to come to U.S. Cellular, considering it's been out for a few months now and the HTC Touch Pro2 is on its way. However, the chances of the latter coming to the carrier is far less likely than one of the big four (Sprint, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile) so the Touch Pro isn't a bad addition.
The Windows Mobile smartphone offers a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, HTC's TouchFlo 3D interface, Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi, and EV-DO Rev. A support. For more information, check out U.S. Cellular's Web site.
(Source: PhoneScoop)
LG Banter now available from U.S. Cellular.
(Credit: U.S. Cellular)We mentioned that the LG Banter would be available from U.S. Cellular back at CTIA 2009, but U.S. Cellular just made it official with pricing. The design is similar to that of the LG Rumor 2, and is pretty identical to the LG Banter for Alltel.
It has the number keypad on the front like on a candy bar phone, plus it has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for easier messaging. Features are about the same as the Banter for Alltel; it has a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, music player, GPS, and changeable faceplates. It is available for $49.95 after a two-year contract.
