Virgin Mobile Phones, anything goes thread.

[billm261]

They shouldn't care, and just let it open up, allow Sprint phones to be used, or even Verizon phones, it's to their benefit because they're selling the monthly service, more device options should only make them more attractive.

They can't do it without the threat of cannibalizing post paid where the value of that subscriber is worth 3-4 times the value of a prepaid customer according to most analyst who follow the industry.

Verizon has prepaid plans that offer most all Android phones (no LTE or iPhone) but your looking at 94.99 a month. AT&T will allow it by selling you a measly 500MB of data for 25.00 additional. It's both companies protecting the cash cow.

We can look at T-Mobile as the only national carrier that allows any compatible device on their prepaid monthly 4G plans. How long will it last is anyone's guess but since they are shedding subscribers on the postpaid side and with AT&T's proposed acquisition DOA, they may need to continue out of survival. It will be interesting to see if they take aim at Metro, Cricket, Virgin etc to become a dominant force in the prepaid sector.

[geekboarder]

i would love to see some cdma mvno's get windows phones. compared to android on prepaid i think its a better value. its the same os across all windows phones and all the bloatware can be removed if you want. and there is not really a reason not to have these. i mean they have an unlocked lg quantum on amazon.com brand new for $160. but i dont really know if it costs more to make cdma radio's than gsm ones or is it about equal?

[billm261]

i would love to see some cdma mvno's get windows phones.

I used a Samsung Focus on AT&T for a bit. I wasn't impressed but from what I have read the Mango update really makes it a formidable device.

With Nokia going to bed with Microsoft maybe they will get aggressive. Why not roll one out for Boost or Virgin? Even if scaled down spec wise, Nokia makes a good device.

Throw in a Blackberry (rumored summer 2012) and they will have 3 out of the 4 operating systems covered.

[geekboarder]

it surprises me that out of all carriers apple choose c-spire/cellular south to be the next company to carry the iphone 4 and or 4s

[billm261]

it surprises me that out of all carriers apple choose c-spire/cellular south to be the next company to carry the iphone 4 and or 4s

Maybe US Cellular didn't want to meet Apples demands and T-Mobile had too much uncertainty?

I certainly see one of those 2 getting it before VM or Boost.

[user3477]

It is my guess that most Virgin Mobile customers are on the Beyond Talk 25.00 plan. Maybe we should do a poll? It's cheap and there is nothing close. Since Sprint has a measly 27.00 per month ARPU in its Q3/2011 report it makes sense.

It would not surprise me to see Boost Mobile start getting the better Android devices for the simple reason they must be on either the 55.00 monthly or 2.00 daily unlimited plan. They are not going to break their backs to offer a higher end device for those paying 25.00 a month.

Maybe they don't think we're worth it, maybe the bean counters think a 25.00 a month customer would never pay 400 for a phone. How many people have posted in the forum that if it wasn't for the fact they only pay 25 a month they would leave? They know that too.

If Virgin Mobile came out with a real legitimate contender but made it that you have to be on the 55.00 a month plan who would abandon their grandfathered plan?

I really think that if your looking for a high end phone, VM is not going to be the carrier.

When you look at pricing with Boost vs Virgin mobile in the end Virgin mobile users pay more then boost mobile customers. After 18 months Boost users only have to pay $40 month if they have an android smart phone and $35 for a regular phone which is much cheaper then Virgin mobile users which have to pay $55 a month for unlimited or $40 for 1200 minutes with no price drop.

[billm261]

When you look at pricing with Boost vs Virgin mobile in the end Virgin mobile users pay more then boost mobile customers. After 18 months Boost users only have to pay $40 month if they have an android smart phone and $35 for a regular phone which is much cheaper then Virgin mobile users which have to pay $55 a month for unlimited or $40 for 1200 minutes with no price drop.

No doubt, it's why I am willing to bet the vast majority of Beyond Talk users are on the old grandfathered 25 a month plan and next in line the new 35 offering. Unless you absolutely have to have one of Virgins mediocre devices, it makes no sense to be with them in the long run if you need the higher minute plans.

Since you will never pay 25 a month on Boost, it's why I think the more expensive, higher end phones will end up there.
Now that could change down the road if they were to offer a higher end device but yet offer it on the unlimited plan only. But, you can bet your bottom dollar the complaints about it would overtake the forum.

I wish we knew the breakdown percentages with plans. It would help in understanding why some phones may or may not be released on the VM side but yet Boost.

[billm261]

I just got back from my annual visit to the mall (yuk) and out of curiosity stopped by the Metro PCS booth.

I played around with the LG Esteem and walked away fairly impressed with the device.
Quick, responsive, a nice bright display, 5MP camera with flash. 1.3MP front facing camera, gorilla glass and most everything that would be a hit here on VM.

349.00 with a 100.00 rebate. A real good looking phone for 249.00
Metro PCS won't work for me but I walked away wishing that it did.

I hope Virgin has something up its sleeve that is comparable, I'd give up my EVO 3D in a second.

[RawhideYeeehaw]

MetroPCS has a slew of phones better then any of VM's offerings. Too bad their home areas are so sparce. Really, the only thing keeping me with VM at this point is my grandfathered $40 plan. I don't want to pay the extra $180 over the next 18 months with Boost Mobile to get back down to $40/mos. I'll probably change my mind if VM doesn't come out with a decent mid-range phone in the next 4 months.

[mch]

When you look at pricing with Boost vs Virgin mobile in the end Virgin mobile users pay more then boost mobile customers. After 18 months Boost users only have to pay $40 month if they have an android smart phone and $35 for a regular phone which is much cheaper then Virgin mobile users which have to pay $55 a month for unlimited or $40 for 1200 minutes with no price drop.

True if you really will use all those voice minutes.

[user3477]

No doubt, it's why I am willing to bet the vast majority of Beyond Talk users are on the old grandfathered 25 a month plan and next in line the new 35 offering. Unless you absolutely have to have one of Virgins mediocre devices, it makes no sense to be with them in the long run if you need the higher minute plans.

Since you will never pay 25 a month on Boost, it's why I think the more expensive, higher end phones will end up there.
Now that could change down the road if they were to offer a higher end device but yet offer it on the unlimited plan only. But, you can bet your bottom dollar the complaints about it would overtake the forum.

I wish we knew the breakdown percentages with plans. It would help in understanding why some phones may or may not be released on the VM side but yet Boost.

I don't think the $25 dollar plan really is the deciding factor to why VM doesn't offer high end phones sure there are a lot of people who still have there $25 plan but eventually people will drop the plan because they switch to other carriers or virgin mobile adds plans with new features which people want.

I think right know VM hasn't announced any new phones because they want there current ones to sell and some time in Jan or Feb they will start talking about upcoming phones again.

[JazzJackRabbit]

When you look at pricing with Boost vs Virgin mobile in the end Virgin mobile users pay more then boost mobile customers. After 18 months Boost users only have to pay $40 month if they have an android smart phone and $35 for a regular phone which is much cheaper then Virgin mobile users which have to pay $55 a month for unlimited or $40 for 1200 minutes with no price drop.

If I needed that many minutes and correspondingly was willing to pay that much money I'd go with SimpleMobile. $40 unlimited everything, 3G data (I think up to 2GB) and BYOD. It's much better than Boost with shrinkage. For one you get to bring your own device, and two, you don't have to wait a year and a half before your bill goes down to $40, you pay $40 from the very beginning, thus saving you money instantly. Plus who knows what happens with boost, what if their service goes to crap 6 months after you invest in shrinkage? Meh...

A year ago Sprint was leading the pack by offering cheap prepaid plans with decent android phones, but since then the competition has leapfrogged them.

[Churner]

I think right know VM hasn't announced any new phones because they want there current ones to sell and some time in Jan or Feb they will start talking about upcoming phones again.

Virgin Mobile sells a large percentage of its phones through bricks-and-mortar retailers like Target, Best Buy and Radio Shack. Those retail chains set their displays for the holidays right after Halloween. They don't want to reset their displays to accommodate the introduction of a new phone between Halloween and the end of the year. They also don't want to have to project how that new phone will affect the sales of the other models already on the shelf. The holiday shopping season is hyper-focused on selling existing inventories and keeping shelves stocked with those items. Resetting displays is a major nuisance to retailers during that time.

Thus, the only way Virgin Mobile could introduce a new phone during the last two months of the year is to sell it exclusively online. That would strain relations with the important bricks-and-mortar retailers, so it will never happen.

[Anarchypunk101]

You have made bold predictions of an iPhone arriving on VM and as much as I'd like to see one, I doubt it.
I doubt it even more since you stated a 4S. Apple is not selling those prepaid phones, that's a foolish statement and you know it. What happens in the secondary market is out of their control as is all the cloning going on with Androids on Boost or Virgin illegal or not. You still need a jailbroken device to make everything work.

We here on Ho-Fo and the other forums out there know about all the tricks, hacks, and little known MVNO companies that are out there. Many of them that you only see in your local convenience store.

It's irrefutable that VM owns the 25.00 a month smart phone customer and if that's all they are willing to spend (for what ever reason) they are not going to more than double their bill just for a device. It seems that most of those leaving VM are hopping on that 30 a month T-Mobile plan, not the 60 & 70 variety.
The nice thing is, the can get a Sensation, MyTouch 4G Galaxy S2 and enjoy real good data speeds on a real good device.

Actually, you don't need to have a jailbroken iPhone to use it on Jolt Mobile. I've got a video without my iPhone being jailbroken. And if it's for AT&T, you dont even need to unlock it. I could trade my samsung galaxy s 2 for an iPhone 4S, but I just wont because I'm not an iPhone guy. I use every feature that Android has to offer and the iPhone in no way comes close to being able to out preform the samsung galaxy s 2, as well as being 4G capable. The point of this reply isnt to compare what phone is better than another, it's this:

You can use any AT&T iPhone that is not unlocked or jailbroken, and receive problem free service, without a contract, for only $64.35 a month, with unlimited talk, text, and 2GB of data. You're going to pay over $120 from AT&T a month, plus you get to stay with that 2 year contract. Point being, you can save tons of money by simply switching to Jolt Mobile. If you have any questions please refer to my other postings, or youtube videos regarding any phone and getting it on jolt. I do have a video of an iPhone 3GS on Jolt Mobile here: http://youtu.be/peRZXW_0QOQ

BTW, you can also get any AT&T (Androids, iPhones) on jolt mobile for this same deal. Any other unlocked GSM phones as well.

[billm261]

Actually, you don't need to have a jailbroken iPhone to use it on Jolt Mobile. BTW, you can also get any AT&T (Androids, iPhones) on jolt mobile for this same deal. Any other unlocked GSM phones as well.

While off topic, you still need to jailbreak for MMS and change the ANP on either device.

Point is, if you need more minutes than the 300 plan and/or want a high quality device, the GSM route is your best friend.