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Virgin Mobile USA Launching iPhone on June 29 with Plans Starting at $30
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not sure I would buy a FULL price iPhone and have it locked to VM.
If it's locked then it should be subsidized.
Yeah, this is kind of a dealbreaker for me.
not sure I would buy a FULL price iPhone and have it locked to VM.
If it's locked then it should be subsidized.
This is one of the reasons I don't think the iPhone will do that well on VM at the current prices.
hello mcfly
Seriously, the first 2 pages are posts of people asking:
"Doesn't virgin use sprint's network?"
"how much does it cose?"
"is it unlockeD?"
READ THE FRACKING ARTICLE. IT IS RIGHT IN YOUR FACE.
Moment of passion nearly over... but I'm more vexed at those who answer these comments. You can lead a horse to pasture, but you can't make it drink... if it doesn't drink, let it be thirsty
and yes, vote me down for being a jerk... but seriously, hookedonphonics.com
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Because they... well, probably got off their keister and typed into their webbrowser http://www.virginmobile.com
Clicked the lovely US flag... and read the answer, which i refuse to give you.
http://virginmobileusa.custhelp.com...sion/L3RpbWUvMTMzOTExODU2NC9zaWQvUXI3V2s2LWs=
You'll actually have to read. And it took less time to fid that answer than it did for you to post about it.
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I agree totally with your thought. This is where Sprint would have a big win, as they own Virgin Mobile and Boost and their network. It would only make their product more attractive... and that alone might keep Verizon and AT&T at bay for awhile. (Same can be said for TMobile's prepaid products.)
At the end of the day, the wireless market it very tapped out. It's more people moving around from carrier to carrier than it is having opportunities for growth.
That sounds like UMA technology. What you were told is true (using UMA to make phone calls doesn't deduct minutes from your plan), but the iPhone doesn't support UMA.
Also remember that in some markets, the frequencies that T-Mobile uses for its 3G data network aren't supported by the iPhone, which means your iPhone would run on the slower EDGE data network. I know T-Mobile's been shuffling their frequencies around to mitigate this, but if you use data lot of your iPhone, you might want to ask about your specific market before you switch.
Not that it matters, but you're still required to pay taxes, even if you pay your bill online. T-Mobile may give you a monthly discount to your bill (for paying online) that's the same amount as taxes, but rest assured that those taxing you are still getting their money.
Thanks to you and the others that responded to my post and corrected a few things. I had no idea that the iPhone didn't support UMA since I did download Viber, which lets you make phone calls over Wifi. The only problem is that you can only call people that have Viber installed as well. So too bad for that and I guess my best option is the $50 plan. And yeah, I know the taxes will still be paid, I just like the fact that the bill is a very nice round number.
Luckily for me, I normally use my phone either at home or at school(WiFi), so data speeds should be fine in both of those places. Edge doesn't bother me too much and the main selling point is the price difference. If my wife and I can both have phone service and get to keep our iPhones for $100 total, then I save $50 over AT&T, and that's pretty awesome. Plus, the T-Mobile plan offers more data as well.
$30/month is great, but...
... but then I remembered that the iPhone 4/4s for Sprint (which network Virgin Mobile uses) does not have a micro-SIM card slot. Which means that the $649 iPhone would be useless outside the country (not even to make phone calls).
Now if T-Mobile would do the same thing at the same prices, then maybe I'll fork the $$$ for an iPhone.
Or if the iPhone 5 will have both Sprint and GSM coverage... like the new Verizon iPad. Then it won't be a brick when you travel.
... but then I remembered that the iPhone 4/4s for Sprint (which network Virgin Mobile uses) does not have a micro-SIM card slot. Which means that the $649 iPhone would be useless outside the country (not even to make phone calls).
Now if T-Mobile would do the same thing at the same prices, then maybe I'll fork the $$$ for an iPhone.
Or if the iPhone 5 will have both Sprint and GSM coverage... like the new Verizon iPad. Then it won't be a brick when you travel.
I hope this puts pressure on AT&T, Verizon, T-mobile and Sprint to offer sanctioned prepaid plans for iPhones, if your out of contract and/or buy your phone outright.
Yeah, you were right about all that and I guess the salesperson wasn't fully aware of the restrictions. All those were bonuses anyway since what I really care about is saving more over At&T.
I probably should have done some more research as well, but when I saw that I could save money, I just got excited.
Check your facts: it does have a micro-SIM slot. The only problem is that it might be locked to Virgin Mobile, but if its not, you'd be free to use it anywhere.
Technically, it is prepaid.
You are paying in advance for services that you are about to use.
That's why there's no credit check. You will never be in debt to the mobile operator. If you fail to pay by the service renewal date, your cellular service will be cut off. Your phone will stop working.
For a postpaid plan, you are paying for what you already used. If you don't pay, you are still in debt to the service provider for services rendered. That's why postpaid plan customers are typically subject to a credit check.
You are being confused by the notion of prepaid services with set limits (or no limits) versus prepaid services that are metered.
While prepaid cellular services became originally popular as metered service, it does not mean that unmetered service doesn't qualified as prepaid.
In a way, it's a bit like operating a motor vehicle. You prepay your registration fees and insurance; those are basically fixed costs and don't change regardless of much you drive over the upcoming year. Whether you drive 200 miles or 2000 miles per month doesn't matter: you still need valid registration and insurance. If you fail to pay your insurance premiums by the renewal date, then get into an accident, your insurance company won't provide coverage for the damages.
Gas? That's more like metered prepay. You stick some money into an account (i.e., filling your tank) and you deduct from what you have prepaid based on your metered usage (how far you drive).
Just don't get stuck on the notion that prepaid necessarily means metered usage. Quite a few people seem to get this bogus concept stuck in their heads, even though they often prepay for "unlimited" or fixed usage for many things in their lives (e.g., the auto example above, fitness club memberships, Netflix subscriptions).
Note that going into a postpaid arrangement typically stipulates a contract between the creditor and debtor, because creditor wants to get paid for services rendered. Minors are not legally able to sign contracts which is why they can't sign for postpaid cellular services themselves. Minors are perfectly capable of dropping a wad of cash on a prepaid service card to recharge their phones.
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Sadly, AT&T recently removed the ability to buy data packages on their Pay As You Go GoPhone plans.
I was perfectly happy paying for metered GoPhone services for the first six months of my iPhone 4S ownership; I was averaging about $13 in cellular service costs per month. Then AT&T changed their policies, and now Straight Talk is my service provider.
Maybe AT&T will reinstate data packages on the Pay As You Go GoPhone plans, but I'm not holding my breath.
Such a shame.
ATT phone work on Virgin?
I've got an ATT iPhone 4 going off contract in August. Can I jailbreak it and pay monthly on Sprint? I'm paying $80/mo now. $30/mo sounds much better!
I've got an ATT iPhone 4 going off contract in August. Can I jailbreak it and pay monthly on Sprint? I'm paying $80/mo now. $30/mo sounds much better!
No. You must buy the iPhone from Virgin Mobile. That is part of the deal. You buy the iPhone from them unsubsidized, in return you get to pay low monthly rates.
Even if Virgin was willing to accept the phone (which they aren't), the at&t iphone 4 is gsm only.
If you buy a phone from at&t, the cdma side is locked and there are no solutions to unlock it.
Even buying the unlocked phone wouldn't work, because it's only unlocked on the gsm side. People wonder why I hate cdma.
Considering that Virgin isn't willing to do an international unlock and my at&t plan (with discount) works best for me, it looks like I'll be sticking with at&t.
CDMA isn't locked per say. Usually CDMA carriers will refuse to allow ESN activation of unknown devices. It should be possible to have one CDMA carrier activate a phone from another carrier, especially if they carry the same phone.
See... when I hear pre-paid I think of pay-as-you-go... meaning you only pay for what you use.
In the old days... you pre-paid for minutes up front... and you didn't have to pay again until you used those minutes up. You didn't have a regular monthly fee either.
But with this... Virgin Mobile is charging $30 every month and you get 300 minutes, 2.5GB of data and unlimited texts. What if you don't use all the minutes and data you paid for up front? That doesn't sound like pay-as-you-go at all...
The only thing different is that you don't have a contract... which to me is the bigger news here... and the low price.
Whether you pay at the beginning of the month on Virgin Mobile... or at the end of the month on Verizon... you're still paying a monthly fee in order to use your phone. And you still have limits and allowances (the aforementioned 300 minutes, 2.5GB of data and unlimited texts)
That is not pay-as-you-go in my eyes... which was the cause of my confusion. I guess I need to erase the old definition of pre-paid... and substitute it with pay your monthly fee up front and still mind the monthly limits we give you.
I'm not complaining... it's an excellent price. It just seem odd that you have to prepay for 300 minutes that you might never use.
I guess this is how people feel when they pay for 500 channels that they don't watch.
Yes... there is a limit on speed... but no limit on the amount of data. I think the latter is what they are referring to.
It's caps vs throttling. Maybe they should say partial limiting?
Think of it like this... if I hooked a 50 foot chain to your bumper... you cannot drive farther than 50 feet. (data caps)
But if I put a speed limiter on your engine... you can drive as far as you want... just at reduced speeds. (throttling)
Caps and throttling both suck in my opinion.
As a former EVO user..... there is a reason it is that much cheaper.
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I'm sure it is the carriers not the technology that keeps it locked.
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hello mcfly
Moment of passion nearly over... but I'm more vexed at those who answer these comments. You can lead a horse to pasture, but you can't make it drink... if it doesn't drink, let it be thirsty
I think you were looking for you can lead a horse to water....