Got a deal for you...

If you've been reading this blog, you probably know by now that I periodically work with a few prepaid airtime sellers online. One of them has come to me with the following deal. I'll be putting it permanently on here so everyone knows about it..."permanently" meaning until the deal runs out...

Special Offer: Use promo code 70003 at PrepaidWireless to save $3 on your first Tracfone order + cash discounts, Reward Points and pay no sales tax. Just great savings!

Three Tracfones Show Up On Activation Site

Looks like I was wrong and The Turk (from the forums) was right...the Samsung t101g, t201g and t301g have now shown up on Tracfone's (and Net10's) activation pages. The pictures are somewhat low-res, however here's the scoop so far, from what I can gather...which is pretty much exactly what The Turk predicted:

• t101g - basic candybar with a color screen
• t201g - basic flip phone with an external display but no camera
• t301g - slider phone with Bluetooth...and a camera?

This will be Tracfone's fifth phone brand for recent history. Looks like companies are offering them cheap phones that are right down the alley of their customers, while pushing the envelope just a bit to deliver more features to low-use coverage-sensitive customers that Tracfone is great for. Aside from being the first Samsung phones available, the t301g is Tracfone's first slider.

Let's hope things keep getting more interesting at this rate...

More Boost Mobile Phone Details

Another hit from the forums: Boost Mobile's upcoming lineup:

• Motorola Mako (replacement for the i335), $90, coming October 1...probably Bluetooth and a camera for that money
• Motorola i465 (aforementioned texting phone), $110, coming June 15...looks a bit better than I thought
• Motorola Banfi (slider with ?WiFi? to ameliorate subpar iDEN data speeds), $140, coming August 2...quite nice, and WiFi on an iDEN phone is an interesting concept

Granted, the launch date for the i290 was a few months off, but that just means that the above handsets will be released sooner. In any case, Boost is building a strong phone selection with these items. That's a good thing when you want to get people signed up for unlimited service on a data-poor network. Or, for that matter, pay-per-minute service.

Virgin Mobile Leaks X-tc

Once again, the forums are abuzz with the most cutting-edge of phone news, this time about the Kyocera VMM200. What does the "VM" stand for? Why, Virgin Mobile of course! Who, by the way, prefers to call this Qwertyphone the "X-tc".

The spec list is relatively impressive for a prepaid phone:

• 1.3 megapixel camera
• Bluetooth (not sure about stereo Bluetooth but it's likely)
• Media player
• MicroUSB port (data transfer only, no charging)
• Slide-out QWERTY keyboard

I'm asuming this phone, like the Audiovox...um...UTStarCom...um...PCD Shuttle, will have EvDO but I'm not sure on that one. It does however have the distinction of being unusable for typing in phone numbers unless it is slid out in horizontal mode. Fine on a touch-screen device, somewhat baffling on something that doesn't fit the profile.

Still, the phone looks to be a quite nice model, and a worthy successor to the Wild Card and the Switch_Back, for about the same price: $99.99. Or at least that's what Virgin Mobile had up on their website before they took pricing info down.

Boost Intros Motorola i9 "Stature"

On first glance, the Motorola i9 Stature, press-released a few days ago for a cool $300 if bought on Boost Mobile ($200 if bought with a Sprint contract), could be confused at first glance with a portly Motorola Razr2. However, a contract-length after the introduction of the Razr2, you're looking at a better phone. Much better. If a bit inhibited data-wise by the iDEN network it runs on.

First off, you've got push-to-talk...of course, since you're looking at an iDEN phone. Second, a 3.1 megapixel camera with flash and video recording puts even the iPhone to shame. Third, there are more touch-sensitive multimedia controls on the front of this baby than you can shake a stick at. Fourth, GPS...but that's again standard on iDEN phones.

The bottom line: high-end, high-dollar Boost Mobile phones are back, with features untouchable by even most contract-bound "dumb phones" and even some smartphones. Plus, with iDEN thin is now in and this flip is no exception.

One more thing: I got some PR pix of the phone, hence the first pictures on this blog in...I dunno...forever?

Tracfone: New on Samsung, Old on Page Plus

Looks like Tracfone is getting some Samsung handsets, all GSM. The model numbers: t101g, t201g and t301g...

http://s7.zetaboards.com/Go4Prepaid/topic/8064361/

No details on the t101g at the moment, though it showed up on the FCC's website in October. Probably will be a low-end flip phone, judging by similarly-named models (like the T-Mobile-branded t109).

The t201g is only slightly less mysterious. According to some very basic FCC documents, the phone looks to be a rounded flip style reminescent of the m300 on CDMA. Anything more than that, and SAR ratings, are veiled by a 180-day NDA. Since the FCC filing was in October, the phone will likely come out before the FCC shows internal and external drawings of the phone.

The t301g, submitted to the FCC in November, is the least mysterious of the three phones Tracfone is about to introduce, though a search only reveals three disclosed documents related to the phone. This squarish flip phone will have a 3.7V, 500 mAh battery and, more importantly feature-wise, Bluetooth. Beyond that it's anyone (well, anyone except FCC and Samsung peeps') guess.

In other news, looks as though you may be able to take Tracofnes and put them on Page Plus, if said Tracfones are CDMA models. Specifically, the Kyocera K126c has made it to the Verizon-based low cost provider with a bit of coaxing, see here:

http://s7.zetaboards.com/Go4Prepaid/topic/8064641/

Boost To Intro iDEN Razr and Keyboard Phone

Want to get Boost Mobile? Don't like the rather lackluster phone selection currently available? Soon, there will be a solution...

http://s7.zetaboards.com/Go4Prepaid/topic/8059299/

The "iDEN Razr" i9 is comparable to a Razr2 on other networks, however it'll be a bit thicker due to the iDEN technology. But it's nice to have a high-end thin phone n a network that was made for near-isntant communications. On the other hand, iDEN internet is slow...very slow...

Additionally, it looks as though Motorola iDEN engineering has hired on the folks that brought you the "iPod chubby", to bring a functional but ugly-duckling Qwertyphone to Boost Mobile: the i465...

http://s7.zetaboards.com/Go4Prepaid/topic/8063199/

It's nice to have a phone with a keybard on Boost Mobile other than the iDEN BlackBerries, even if it looks rather "meh".

AT&T Intros 100MB plan for the price of "unlimited"

According to the link in the title of this post, AT&T is replacing their "unlimited" $20 per month prepaid internet plan (which they discontinued a few months ago) with a 100MB plan. Also, no more $10 plan...it's $5 for 1 MB or $20 for 100. 1MB is hardly enough for anything...and 100MB is not enough if you're using a smartphone for more than light activity. Plus, no more $20 aircards. Ah well, c'est la vie when it comes to telecom advancements as dictated by telcos.