News Bits: MetroPCS in LA, Boost gets upgraded

First off, MetroPCS is now in the LA metro. Good for you guys who now have another competitor in the realm of wireless and the largest unlimited carrier in the U.S. as that competitor!

Second, Boost recently upgraded their Unlimited phone and plan lineup. The new phone is the $130 Motorola w385. The new plan adds unlimited pictur emessaging to unlimited text messaging at the same $5 plus regular rate price. See more about that here:

http://g4pp.blogspot.com/2007/09/boost-unlimited-intros-cool-new.html

MetroPCS-Leap Merger\Buyout Anyone?

This link tells all;

http://rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070904/FREE/70904001/1002

Me? I think it's a good idea. Metro and CricKet have always tried to keep out of each other's ways to keep from having to compete with each other so there will be no overlapping problems with getting new service...meaning service will have wider coverage, more subscribers, lower operating costs, etc. Maybe even lower price plans for MetroPCS! I'm all for that...hope it happens...

Pocket Introduces another Phone!

Just when you thought this blog was dead, there's something else to talk about: entering the market at the relatively low price point of $149, Pocket now has the Kyocera K342. This phone isn't carried by anyone major...Phonescoop shows it as cancelled...but it boasts a nice feature set including a megapixel-plus camera, Bluetooth, dual color displays and, in short, the works. While I don't like Kyoceras, this looks to be a decent phone and it's a welcome addition to Pocket on the higher end of the spectrum while still keeping costs decently low.

new Phone from Pocket, Coming Soon!

...the LG xc-4750 to be exact. Not a horrible phone, though it's not high-end by any stretch of the imagination. But hey, they'll be offering it for $89 + tax with a month of service included so I am not gonna complain.

Here are the specs:

http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=527

Pocket - Weekly Plan, Cheaper Razrs

Well, looks like Pocket took a Page out of CricKet's page...except made it cheaper, as usual. They now offer a weekly plan like CricKet's, except $3 a week cheaper. More expensive than their $37 plan (which offers the same features) by a larger amount than CricKet's $18 plan is relative to the monthly plan it micics (if you follow me) but hey, it is cheaper than CricKet's weekly plan by a noticeable margin.

Also, Pocket has shaved $10 off the price of their v3m Razr...it's now $269...and $30 off the v3c so that phone is just $249...though CricKet's...no wait...the Pocket v3c is now cheaper (by $10) than the CricKet v3c! Sweet...

Speaking of SunCom...

...they've amped up their unlimited "UnPlan". And they've added a $150-a-month unlimited nationwide plan...but back to UnPlan...

First off they've got the usual $60-$80 a month unlimited plan depending on what type of contract and roaming you want.

But here's where the fun begins: you can get unlimited local, long distance, text messaging, picture messaging and web access for $70 a month ($50 a month for additional lines) on the SunCom network or $100 a month ($70 a month for additional lines) for an expanded "Regional" area, which includes roaming on other carriers...I suppose that would be AT&T.

Granted, unlimited doesn't come particularly cheap with SunCom, but the wide coverage area may well make up for it.

CricKet: Now in NC, SC and Rochester, NY

CricKet has been expanding, too. And promoting themselves with very-much-discounted phones.

They've expanded coverage to Charleston in South Carolina, Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Burlington (if I remember correctly the "Research Triangle" where Nextel's ultra-fast Flash OFDM network was tested awhile back) in North Carolina and Rochester in New Yourk. Yay unlimited cometition!

Note that I say competition because the regional GSM carrier SunCom also has an unlimited plan, albeit at a more expensive rate and with more pervasive, two-state coverage.

Phone-wise, looks like there's a $50 mail-in rebate on every single phone CricKet has online right now, pretty much everywhere they have service! Making the KRZR $300, the Razr v3c $210, the SLVR $130, the Kyocera K323 $80 (!), the Motorola w315 $60, the UTStarCom 7025 $30 and the Kyocera K132 $20 (!!!). Cheap phone with rebate, anyone? Geesh.