Virgin Mobile USA to Launch iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on October 1

MacRumors · Sep 27, 2013

Earlier this week, we noted that a number of regional carriers in the United States and Canada had begun announcing plans to begin selling the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on October 1, representing a coordinated expansion of availability for the device even as iPhone 5s supplies remain extremely tight.

One notable exception to the list of carriers launching the new iPhones on that date was Virgin Mobile, but in a pair of Tweets issued today the company has announced that it too will be part of that October 1 rollout.

Virgin Mobile, a prepaid brand from Sprint, first began carrying the iPhone in June 2012 with the iPhone 4s and iPhone 4. The carrier did not begin selling the iPhone 5 until June of this year, some nine months after the handset debuted on the major U.S. carriers.

Article Link: Virgin Mobile USA to Launch iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on October 1

Will do good · Sep 27, 2013

I don't want a contacted iphone 5S, this is perfect.

hexor · Sep 27, 2013

Too bad they don't have better coverage. Northern Minnesota has some coverage but can't get service at my house and the dakotas have almost no coverage.

dpace32 · Sep 27, 2013

Their plans are amazing... $30 a month for their Beyond Talk plan for an iPhone user to get unlimited data, unlimited text and 300 minutes.

840quadra · Sep 27, 2013

hexor said:
Too bad they don't have better coverage. Northern Minnesota has some coverage but can't get service at my house and the dakotas have almost no coverage.

Sprint just put up 3 4g towers near my home in the southwest metro area. It is nice to see them pushing forward a bit on tower deployment!

SoIsays · Sep 27, 2013

Are their phones... unlocked?

PsstGreek · Sep 27, 2013

SoIsays said:
Are their phones... unlocked?

You wouldn't be able to use them with AT&T/T-Mobile.

malman89 · Sep 27, 2013

SoIsays said:
Are their phones... unlocked?

Fairly certain they're still locked tight just like any other Sprint device. And they wont accept unlocked devices brought to their service.

I have Virgin Mobile and love it, but the unsubsidized cost of an iPhone isn't worth it compared to other VM alternatives. I got my current phone, the HTC One V, on sale for $50 around Christmas. What a steal to replace my LG Optimus V.

Even the 4S 16GB is going for $382 currently. It's just too much of an entry fee to try out a new phone/OS.

I'd really prefer a Windows Phone flagship spinoff to test out. If a WP came out for $100-200 on VM, I'd be all over it.

RexXX · Sep 27, 2013

when can I get my 32G gold from AT&T

phytonix · Sep 27, 2013

While their plan is cheap, you have these drawbacks:

1. You will never be able to unlock this phone. Therefore dramatically reduce its resale value, or limit yourself if you want to change provider.

2. They do not allow roaming. So you are stuck with Sprint coverage forever. Unlike T-Mobile prepaid, which allows roaming for voice and text.

Tiger8 · Sep 27, 2013

Too big of an investment

Unfortunately Sprint coverage is spotty at best, and unlike T-Mo and AT&T you can't just take your phone and use another SIM.

When they debut the 5, they had a fantastic deal: $550 base (Already $100 off), plus 20% off, plus $100 credit for people who switch. It literally made the then-current 5 $340! If it was anyone else I would have bought it, but not Virgin

osofast240sx · Sep 27, 2013

malman89 said:
Fairly certain they're still locked tight just like any other Sprint device. And they wont accept unlocked devices brought to their service.

I have Virgin Mobile and love it, but the unsubsidized cost of an iPhone isn't worth it compared to other VM alternatives. I got my current phone, the HTC One V, on sale for $50 around Christmas. What a steal to replace my LG Optimus V.

Even the 4S 16GB is going for $382 currently. It's just too much of an entry fee to try out a new phone/OS.

I'd really prefer a Windows Phone flagship spinoff to test out. If a WP came out for $100-200 on VM, I'd be all over it.

I think you need to be in the alternative section

skiltrip · Sep 27, 2013

I used Android on Virgin Mobile USA for a few years. great prices, but network speeds are dreadfully slow, unless you happen to be in one of their 4G covered areas.

Jschultz · Sep 27, 2013

skiltrip said:
I used Android on Virgin Mobile USA for a few years. great prices, but network speeds are dreadfully slow, unless you happen to be in one of their 4G covered areas.

We've got really good Sprint coverage in Chicago. My GSM iPhone 4 was a hand-me-down, so I migrated away from my HTC One V on Virgin Mobile to AT&T. Before my switch, I never had a single hiccup. My wife's still on it and gets 3G speeds at what is expected. I don't have any experience with 4G yet.

EDIT: If Virgin offered the 5S for as competitive of a price as they did for the 5 (as mentioned above) I would probably migrate back over from GoPhone to VM. This is relevant to my interests.

Grant1210 · Sep 27, 2013

I have virgin mobile and I cannot wait for the 5s, i am stuck with my stupid android and still waiting......

Aye · Sep 27, 2013

Whoa.

Sprint owned? ew.

SPNarwhal · Sep 27, 2013

Are these phones locked no matter what?
No buying outright?

I mean, I know it's a pre-paid plan, so you have to buy the phone outright in any case.. But seems weird to have it locked if you are buying the phone before activation? I thought they all shipped the same, just were locked by carrier while they set it up. ?

Tthomas612 · Sep 27, 2013

Aye said:
Whoa.

Sprint owned? ew.

The one good thing about Sprint is they are now guaranteeing that by January all of there towers will be up to date. I know they've been promising forever now, but if they aren't being honest this time I'm thinking of switching. Which would be sad considering I ce been with them since 2004

I will say that in the city I live in I do get LTE and it's not awful ... 15 Mbps down and between 7-11 up. The speeds are pretty good

tongxinshe · Sep 27, 2013

Their plans are very attractive, but I cannot use them even if both my house and office are at good coverage area, because they don't allow unlocked phones brought into their network, and their phones can never be unlocked, so, I will have to buy another phone anyway for my travel time.

Also, since their phones can never be unlocked, they can never be resold when I upgrade.

Sodner · Sep 27, 2013

Great news for those wanting Virgin Mobile.

But with the current shortages online, at Apple Stores and other carriers is it really time to add more to the mix?

macguy360 · Sep 27, 2013

Heres the deal and Sprint has confirmed it.

Sprint doesn't have enough spectrum for good LTE like Verizon and ATT.
Therefore, Sprint customers have crappy LTE speeds.

Think of spectrum like lanes on a tollway. You can buy an ez tag for ATT, Verizon or Sprint.

Sprint sells the cheapest ez tag but their tollway only has 2 lanes each direction and tons of poor people driving on it because they can't afford the more expensive ez tag.

Now think of Virgin Mobile and Boost mobile like an additional ez tag restriction forcing those customers to use only 1 lane of the 2 lane tollway.

In addition to being jampacked on that single lane, Sprint customers get priority for data throughput which essentially means someone throws a yield sign up on that tollway to allow Sprint customers to use both lanes while making boost mobile and virgin mobile customers wait (i.e. go slower)

Meanwhile ATT and Verizon customers are driving corvettes and ferraris down their 8 lane tollways with not a speed limit sign in site.

calaverasgrande · Sep 27, 2013

it would be kind of nice if they would deliver product to people who already paid for their phones instead of going after more customers.
I understand it's capitalism. But there is also this thing called cultivating brand loyalty.

macguy360 · Sep 27, 2013

calaverasgrande said:
it would be kind of nice if they would deliver product to people who already paid for their phones instead of going after more customers.
I understand it's capitalism. But there is also this thing called cultivating brand loyalty.

Virgin Mobile's only concern is that poor people keep paying their bills on time and that new poor people use their service. I don't think current poor people that are VM customers can afford new phones.

Jschultz · Sep 27, 2013

macguy360 said:
Virgin Mobile's only concern is that poor people keep paying their bills on time and that new poor people use their service. I don't think current poor people that are VM customers can afford new phones.

I'm not even sure if they care that you pay on time. I was incredibly slow to port my Virgin Mobile number over to AT&T - something like 90 days or so. And they still had not deactivated the account.

I'm actually surprised that companies like Boost and Virgin have come as far as they have in terms of product offerings. You used to only be able to buy absolute garbage or 'top of the line' from 2 years ago. Now, you're at least able to buy an iPhone 5C/S not that long after launch.

As far as unlock/locked, this won't bother many people. Some just care that they can buy the phone outright and pay a much lower monthly rate, with very little concern that they are unable to hop between carriers.

12vElectronics · Sep 27, 2013

macguy360 said:
Heres the deal and Sprint has confirmed it.

Sprint doesn't have enough spectrum for good LTE like Verizon and ATT.
Therefore, Sprint customers have crappy LTE speeds.

Think of spectrum like lanes on a tollway. You can buy an ez tag for ATT, Verizon or Sprint.

Sprint sells the cheapest ez tag but their tollway only has 2 lanes each direction and tons of poor people driving on it because they can't afford the more expensive ez tag.

Now think of Virgin Mobile and Boost mobile like an additional ez tag restriction forcing those customers to use only 1 lane of the 2 lane tollway.

In addition to being jampacked on that single lane, Sprint customers get priority for data throughput which essentially means someone throws a yield sign up on that tollway to allow Sprint customers to use both lanes while making boost mobile and virgin mobile customers wait (i.e. go slower)

Meanwhile ATT and Verizon customers are driving corvettes and ferraris down their 8 lane tollways with not a speed limit sign in site.

This made me LoL

Virgin Mobile USA to Launch iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on October 1

macrumors bot

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502

macrumors regular

Moderator

macrumors regular

macrumors 68040

macrumors 68000

macrumors newbie

macrumors 6502

macrumors 68020

macrumors 68030

macrumors 68030

macrumors 6502a

macrumors member

macrumors regular

macrumors 65816

macrumors 65816

macrumors 65816

macrumors 68020

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 65816

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 68040

Our Staff