MetroPCS Intros Motorola v3s, Huawei M328, ZTE C79

The other carrier that's big in the news on the unlimited scene? MetroPCS; they've introduced a few phones, given people a way to bring their own phones to the MetroPCS party, and brought service to yet another area...

First, the new phones:

Huawei M328 - This $109 upgrade from the Huawei M318 is the second Huawei phone to hit the US market. It's the fourth consumer device total; Alltel has two Huawei data cards, and has had them for awhile. Anyhow, the M328 is nothing to write home about; its most notable feature is AWS spectrum compatibility (MetroPCS, like CricKet, has some of those airwaves). Next most notable is the possibility of having Bluetooth...it might or might not depending on where Google takes you. Details are sparse on MetroPCS's website at the moment, so you can't tell for sure.

Motorola Razr v3s - At $179 you'd think this is just a Motorola v3a "Razr Lite" with a spun-metal finish. You wouldn't be far from the truth, though this phone also sports AWS band compatibility. Keep in mind that the v3s is nothing special; there's no music player, no high-speed data and no megapixel-plus camera (it's just VGA...if you're thinking "original GSM Razr except for CDMA" you've got the picture) but at least there's a phone that might qualify as high-end on MetroPCS' AWS service. CricKet has the phone too, but only in AWS-only markets. In the meanwhile, MetroPCS is offering a free case and charger with purchase of the v3s, so you might want to buy now if you're into that sort of thing.

...but wait! One more phone is available only in AWS-only areas: the ZTE C79. At $169 the phone shows that Chinese manufacturers have one big advantage: they're cheap, and you can pass on the non-expense to customers. As far as phone features go, the C79 has plenty, ranging from a MicroSD-powered media player with Stereo Bluetooth to a 1.3 megapixel camera to a high-res 2" screen. No wait...the phone is out of stock...or, more likely, not quite in stock. But once the ZTE trucks roll in, MetroPCS should wind up with a full-featured multimedia AWS phone on their hands, which is a good thing for customers in such places as Vegas and Philly whose only choice for MetroPCS are AWS-capable handsets.

...but what about Philly and MetroPCS? See the next post...