The Gadgetress ~ TV, mobile and Internet: Covering technology's monthly bill

Archive for the 'T-Mobile' Tag

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

Are $50 unlimited plans latest trend? T-Mobile follows Boost

February 19th, 2009, 12:29 pm by

Just a month after Irvine’s Boost Mobile launched its $50 unlimited plan, T-Mobile is toying with the same idea. 

The nation’s fourth largest mobile service provider told Reuters that it will test the plan in San Francisco and offer unlimited service for $50 a month. It is unclear whether the service will also include unlimited text and web. Currently, T-Mobile’s unlimited plan is $99.99 per month and includes talk, text, video messaging and Instant Messaging. 

Whether or not consumers use their monthly allotment of minutes, unlimited plans are appealing because you don’t have to worry about overage fees.

Boost Mobile’s plan takes it a step further — the $50 price tag includes almost everything, including taxes. It targets users who don’t want to be stuck in a contract and offers talk, text, walkie-talkie, some Web and taxes for $50. That plan, launched in January (see “Boost Mobile adds ‘tax-free’ $50/month unlimited plan,”) has exceeded expectations, said Matt Carter, Boost’s president. 

“We are very pleased with the performance of Boost Monthly Unlimited.  Currently we are seeing many times more customers porting into Boost than porting out,” Carter said. “… The response has been so great we’ve ordered more handsets and we’ve added call center agents to fill the orders for the first quarter because the demand is there to pay for it.”

Meanwhile, other smaller carriers have offered unlimited plans much longer. MetroPCS, which specializes in budget-minded unlimited plans, priced its most expensive plan at $50 a month. For that price, customers get unlimited talk, text, global text, picture messaging, e-mail access, web access and mapping.

Cricket’s $50/month unlimited plan includes talk, text, picture text, text to Mexico and mobile web. 

Both MetroPCS and Cricket offer service in certain areas of the U.S. so roaming charges apply.

T-Mobile’s service would be offered to existing customers who have been with the company for at least 22 months. New customers could qualify for a $135 credit if they switch from a competitor, according to Reuters. 

One analyst cited by Reuters believes T-Mobile will roll out the unlimited service nationwide, “in coming weeks,” said UBS analyst John Hodulik.

UPDATE: T-Mobile doesn’t officially comment on products and services in test markets but a call to a San Francisco T-Mobile store confirmed the $50 unlimited service is on the way. However, customers must go to a store to get more information. I guess they’ve been notified not to tell anyone about it over the phone.

More cell-phone news: Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services. Latest mobile-news headlines:

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

Verizon copies T-Mobile, adds own ‘Fave 5′

February 12th, 2009, 5:46 pm by

Jealous of T-Mobile’s Fave 5? Now, Verizon Wireless has its own version of the favorite-friends calling plan, called Friends & Family, an uninspired moniker that the company has trademarked.  Verizon users can pick any five numbers — including non-Verizon friends and landlines — and call those same 5 numbers anytime without using up monthly minutes. Family plans get 10 numbers.

To qualify, customers need either an individual Verizon plan with at least 900 minutes or be on a family plan with at least 1,400 minutes. Users can add the plan for free at any time and the numbers can be changed at any time without penalty. New numbers will go into effect the next day.

The phone numbers must be regular 10-digit U.S. numbers and can’t be directory assistance, 900 numbers or customer’s own wireless or voice mail access number. 

The Friends & Family plan, which is available beginning this Sunday, is definitely not as catchy as T-Mobile’s ‘Fave 5′ name, which has inspired some entertaining commercials. But Verizon’s is more flexible. T-Mobile’s Fave 5 lets you change each of your “friends” just once per month.

Hmm … is Verizon becoming a me-too company? Today’s friend plan comes a day after Verizon began offering unlimited plans for its prepaid users, a feature smaller players like Boost Mobile and Cricket Communications already offer. What’s next? Verizon rollover minutes? Let’s hope!

More cell-phone news: Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services. Latest mobile-news headlines:

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • | 6 Comments »

T-Mobile: Best customer service?

February 4th, 2009, 9:49 am by

Customer-service gurus at JD Power and Associates released their rankings today for wireless phone services. T-Mobile outshone the competition for “overall customer care performance.”

For those following the JD Powers studies, this shouldn’t be too surprising. T-Mobile has been the highest ranked wireless company in seven of the past eight studies (Verizon Wireless won top honors last year). Responses were based on 13,423 wireless customers between July and December 2008.

Companies were ranked by consumers based on in-store help, on-the-phone service and online support. Higher ratings were given to companies that seamlessly transferred customers from an automated system to a live person, and didn’t make customers wait on hold for too long.

JD Power praised T-Mobile for having the lowest average hold times (less than 2 minutes), and performing well with consumers in stores. 

While T-Mobile topped the charts, others were not far behind. Out of 1,000 points, T-Mobile scored 755, with Verizon Wireless at 749 and Alltel at 744. 

My own bit of analysis: T-Mobile is the smallest of the big four (Verizon, AT&T and Sprint). Also, the company didn’t start rolling out its 3G Internet data service until the fall, giving consumers one less thing to complain about. The other three have offered 3G service for more than a year. One other note: How is it that all the companies except for the lower-rated Sprint landed around the 720 to 750 range? Wouldn’t this be considered a “C” grade in school?

According to the study, 64 percent of customers used a telephone to get help. Other factoids about wireless customers discovered by JD Powers:

  • Customers who visited the store for service waited an average of seven minutes before getting helped and spent 25 minutes in the store.
  • 53 percent contacted customer service in the past year, up 6 percentage points from the prior study.
  • Of those who needed help, 40 percent had a service or equipment question, 39 percent had a billing issue.

More cell-phone news: Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services.

Talk is Cheap? Finding a cheaper cell phone plan: (Pub. Dec. 2008)
Part I: Cheapest family plan for texters
Part II: Cheapest family plan
Part III: Are prepaid plans for you?
Part IV: MetroPCS’ cheap, unlimited service

Latest mobile-news headlines:

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • | 13 Comments »

Improve cellular coverage inside your own house

January 28th, 2009, 12:21 am by

If mobile service is awful when you step inside your house, there are now more options for mobile users everywhere that improve cellular signals indoors. T-Mobile offers its Hotspot@Home, while Sprint has the Airave. AT&T? Well, see more about this and the others below.

What spurred this post is the latest comes from Verizon Wireless, which just launched a femtocell or “mini cell site” for customers living on the fringe of the Verizon network. The new “Network Extender” device looks like a router. Plug it into your Internet connection and the Verizon signal will improve within a range of 5,000 feet. It reroutes cell phone calls over the Internet.

You don’t need a special Verizon phone and it’s not limited to your personal numbers (this can be managed online). Anyone with a Verizon phone will get better coverage — but it can only process three calls at a time within the 5,000-foot area. A second box is not recommended because of potential interference.

Technically, the extender creates a licensed spectrum CDMA network signal within the house. When a person starts talking indoors using the network extender, the calls are sent over the home’s Internet connection. But when the user steps outside, the call switches to Verizon’s mobile network. Calls, texts, data and Verizon’s other services are enhanced indoors when using this technology. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

Are prepaid phone plans for you?

December 25th, 2008, 12:40 am by

Note: This is part of a series on finding cheaper cell phone plans.

I never thought much about prepaid cell phone plans. I didn’t want to mess with phone cards or  high per-minute fees. And I wanted a cool phone that didn’t deplete my bank account.

But since my T-Mobile contract was over months ago, I decided to look at all my options. Pre-paid plans are quite attractive these days and not just because they can save oodles of money.

At prepaid carriers like Virgin Mobile, you can get started for $10 for the phone and $20 a month if you talk less than 200 minutes. Per-minute charges range from $0.10 to $0.33.  And no contracts, no early termination fees and no credit checks. But coverage areas can be limited, phone choice mediocre and, as the daughter of an OC Register Mom blogger discovered, phone cards expire. 

So why go prepaid? Consumer Reports recently explored the niche in a reader survey, finding that 76 percent chose prepaid because it cost less than a monthly plan, 70 percent went prepaid because they make calls infrequently and 47 percent said they like the no contracts. 

Consumer Reports’ conclusion: A family with 2 phones and a 700-minute plan could save $220 a year by going prepaid with Virgin Mobile. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • | 6 Comments »

Finding the cheapest mobile phone plan for families

December 24th, 2008, 12:23 am by

Note: This is part of a series about searching for cheaper cell phone service.

As part of my ongoing series looking into cell phone plans this week, I wanted to find the cheapest family plan out there.

I gathered information from the four top companies plus two pre-paid companies that offer familiy plans. While this isn’t a comprehensive report, it offers a glimpse into what is out there and an idea of how low you can go. Chart of the details and fees that were calculated is below. 

Based on two users, the cheapest famiy cell-phone package is from … TRACFONE.

TRACFONE is one of those pre-paid service providers. I hadn’t paid too much attention to the company until my colleague Marla Fisher wrote about it (read “Mommy, I’m still in your uterus, but can I have a cellphone?“). She bought her kids a TracFone for $9.99. Ultimately though, she ditched them because of “abominable” customer service.

Because of that, plus other negative user reviews, I’m also highlighting the second cheapest: A tie between AT&T and T-Mobile. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

Battle of the text-messaging plans: Who is the cheapest?

December 23rd, 2008, 12:29 am by


Note: This is the first in a series this week about finding cheaper cell phone service. Find earlier posts and get more cell-phone info HERE.

A recent pitch from Sprint hyped its family messaging plans – and how they can save families “at least $240 and up to $1,000 annually.”

It goes on, talking about the tough economic times and then it compares its ‘Everything Messaging Family” plan to similar versions at AT&T and Verizon. But it left out T-Mobile, MetroPCS and all other mobile carriers.

Then I get an e-mail from T-Mobile saying that its plan “saves a family $120 a year over Sprint’s.”

Family plans are a great way to save money on cell phones. So I’m always shocked when I hear couples or families tell me that they use separate cell-phone companies. Then again, cell phone plans are some of the most unncessarily complicated offers out there. AT&T Wireless alone offers 16 family plans!

I decided to once and for all, sort through the mess and figure out which is the cheapest and which offers the best value. This is the first of a series this slow holiday week. Today, I tackle family text messaging plans.

This isn’t comprehensive and I didn’t include limited-offer deals. But this is a start. I’m sure I’ll hear from some of you asking, “What about X?” Let me and others know about better deal by commenting below. I’ll expand the list as time and interest permits.

And the cheapest family messaging plan is … T-Mobile.

I compiled the chart below gathering prices from each company’s site.  Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • • | 9 Comments »

Unlock your Google phone

December 8th, 2008, 4:50 pm by

It’s official. Google is offering unlocked G1 phones to developers for $399. Free shipping too! It’s meant for developers all around the world who don’t live in T-Mobile’s territory so other SIM cards will work. 

You can buy the new phone at the Android Market.

Of course, if you’ve already bought a G1 and want to unlock it, there is a way, although the big warning is that if you mess up on the procedure, it could kill your phone. But if you’re searching around for a way, here is more information.

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • | Comments Off

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »
SEO Powered by Platinum SEO from Techblissonline