iPhone 4 on VM (Smart Move or Disaster Waiting to Happen)

[lennyj17]

Now I really know i need to start playing the Lotto

Prepaid iPhone coming to Virgin Mobile USA

Apple’s ever-popular iPhone will be coming to yet another prepaid wireless carrier this summer, according to a new Market Watch report. Citing unnamed sources, Market Watch’s Thomas Gryta Tuesday reported on Tuesday that Virgin Mobile USA licensee Sprint would announce this week that Virgin Mobile subscribers will be able to use the iPhone as their device of choice for prepaid voice and data services. Gryta didn’t say exactly when Virgin Mobile would start offering the prepaid iPhone but said it could start as soon as July. Earlier rumors have indicated that Sprint also plans to bring the iPhone to Boost Mobile, another of its prepaid wireless carriers. Regional carrier Cricket, owned by Leap Wireless, was the first carrier to officially offer the iPhone alongside its prepaid plans and is charging users $399.99 for the 8GB iPhone 4 and $499.99 for the 16GB iPhone 4S.

http://www.bgr.com/2012/06/05/apple-...-prepaid-july/

[503ducati]

These prior rumors so far have come true with Cricket, I wonder when we might see an official announcement from Sprint?

[503ducati]

I found the "unlocked" version of that WSJ article requiring subscription, this is where today's story that's bee widely reported is sourced / initially started.



By THOMAS GRYTA And GREG BENSINGER

Sprint Nextel Corp. S -0.39% is set to become the second U.S. mobile-phone carrier to offer Apple Inc.'s AAPL -0.26% iPhone on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Sprint will announce this week it will offer the popular smartphone on its Virgin Mobile pay-as-you-go brand as soon as July 1, according to people familiar with the company's plans. The Overland Park, Kan., carrier follows Leap Wireless International Inc. LEAP +1.08% in selling the device with prepaid service.

Offering the iPhone may help Sprint satisfy its commitment to Apple to buy $15.5 billion of the phones over four years, an aggressive bet as more carriers are getting access to the once-exclusive device. Sprint's prepaid service, which also includes the Boost Mobile brand, has been the carrier's lone area of growth as contract customers have fled.

Sprint added 489,000 prepaying customers in the first quarter, though it lost 192,000 contract customers, which are considered more profitable. It began offering the iPhone on its Sprint brand in October, and has sold 3.3 million of the device over the past two quarters.

Pricing for the Virgin Mobile iPhone couldn't be learned, and it wasn't clear whether Boost would ultimately carry the device.

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

The availability of the prepaid iPhone allows Sprint to sell the device to broader pool of customers. Aside from having no contract, there are no credit checks for customers.

The addition of the iPhone to Virgin Mobile also leaves Deutsche Telekom AG's DTE.XE -1.14% T-Mobile USA at a greater disadvantage. It is the last of the largest carriers without the device, which Chief Executive Philipp Humm has said is a major reason it lost 1.7 million contract customers last year.

The prepaid iPhone from Virgin would be more widely available than Leap's Cricket brand because Cricket is only in smaller markets. Although Cricket users can use their iPhone anywhere, it can only be purchased if they live within its network that covers about 60 million people, or 20% of the U.S. population.

Sprint's network, used by Virgin, claims to cover about 278 million people or almost the entire country.

Leap will begin selling the phone on June 22 and charge $499.99 for a 16-gigabyte iPhone 4S and $399.99 for the older 8-gigabyte iPhone 4. Those prices are about $300 more than those sold by the major carriers, but $150 less than what Apple charges for an unlocked 16-gigabyte iPhone 4S.

Sprint already offers various models of the iPhone at the same prices as the other major carriers when customers sign a two-year contract. That includes an 8-gigabyte iPhone 4 at $99.99 and a 16-gigabyte iPhone 4S for $199.99.

In order to carry the phone, Leap struck a three-year deal with Apple under which it agreed to spend $900 million in volume purchases.

Virgin Mobile USA has prepaid plans that begin at $35 a month and offer unlimited data, although speeds will be throttled after the user consumes 2.5 gigabytes a month. It is unclear if the iPhone will be allowed to work on the current plans.

In comparison, Leap is charging $55 for unlimited talk, text and data, with a similar limit on full-speed data, while plans with other wireless carriers are frequently $100 or more, and users are locked into two-year contracts.

Sprint says its Virgin brand is directed toward "subscribers who are device and data-oriented." Sprint acquired Virgin Mobile USA in 2009 for about $480 million.

[503ducati]

It's official via Sprint:

http://newsroom.sprint.com/article_d...rticle_id=2305

[bigsnake49]

I like it! No subsidy but also cheap data. Way to go Virgin! Now of course if the Sprint 3G network is really slow in your area you're SOL until NV comes to your town.

[billm261]

I like it! No subsidy but also cheap data. Way to go Virgin! Now of course if the Sprint 3G network is really slow in your area you're SOL until NV comes to your town.

At 550 & 650 for the device I don't think that network will get that overloaded.

[johncase3]

At 550 & 650 for the device I don't think that network will get that overloaded.

You'd be surprised how many people with bad credit can manage to get $550 together for something they want badly enough...Especially if it's a status symbol... The rent can wait...

(Any "rent to own" places that are also Virgin dealers? )

[IsLand_BoY]

You'd be surprised how many people with bad credit can manage to get $550 together for something they want badly enough...Especially if it's a status symbol... The rent can wait...

(Any "rent to own" places that are also Virgin dealers? )

Ha ha, while I agree, don't forget there are also a lot of people on "monthly prepaid" now, who have great credit but don't want to be locked in. One of my family members just cancelled her T-Mo family plan and switched to prepaid til the iPhone 5 comes out.

I just sold my white Galaxy S II for $450 and will be buying the S III at full price when it's released. I'm hoping around $600 but we'll see.

[ninjastyle]

Does anyone know if it will be unlocked for use with SIM cards outside of the U.S.? (The reason I ask is because I travel overseas quite frequently. I would like to be able to use the iPhone on the VM network in the U.S. and then on other GSM networks when I am traveling outside of the U.S.)

[akayareal]

Does anyone know if it will be unlocked for use with SIM cards outside of the U.S.? (The reason I ask is because I travel overseas quite frequently. I would like to be able to use the iPhone on the VM network in the U.S. and then on other GSM networks when I am traveling outside of the U.S.)

I would put money on it that it will be the same as the Sprint 4s. Its not like they really need to do any real changes to have it run on VM.

There are those who buy this phone now unsubsidized on a contract plan, with data caps on every other network, im sure they would rather pay less monthly if they have good 3g in their area.

[Game619]

I would put money on it that it will be the same as the Sprint 4s. Its not like they really need to do any real changes to have it run on VM.

There are those who buy this phone now unsubsidized on a contract plan, with data caps on every other network, im sure they would rather pay less monthly if they have good 3g in their area.

if it wasnt for Sprint SERO plan, i would of jumped on that wagon, and gone after iPhone 4S for $650 with a plan of 30 bucks a month is a steal. Virgin Mobile does decent here in San Diego, i know cause of my lil brother's motorola triumph and i paid close to $300(250 plus shipping 15bucks) bucks for it on amazon at the time it was a better deal than buying it straight thru virgin mobile

[ninjastyle]

Does anyone know if it will be unlocked for use with SIM cards outside of the U.S.? (The reason I ask is because I travel overseas quite frequently. I would like to be able to use the iPhone on the VM network in the U.S. and then on other GSM networks when I am traveling outside of the U.S.)

I guess I just found out the answer to my question:
insidesprintnow.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/prepaid-virgin-mobile-iphone-qa-internal-doc

Q: Is the International SIM locked or unlocked for Virgin Mobile iPhone 4Scustomers?
A: iPhone sold by Virgin Mobile will be locked to their network and will not be able to be used when located outside the US.

[Evan702]

Well that's stupid, but there are unofficial ways to get around that, right?

[Extraordinary]

Competition is great, I hope AT&T and Verizon lose tons of customers and eventually bring back unlimited data at a reasonable price point

[monkeyboy]

You'd be surprised how many people with bad credit can manage to get $550 together for something they want badly enough...Especially if it's a status symbol...

anyone else think that with all the 12year olds running around with $550 iphones, etc that there is going to be a significant uptick in iphone thefts and robberies? its a pretty big shift between $100 contract cell phones being ubiquitous to $200 contract smartphones, to now iphones that folks are now AWARE that they actually are worth $550 sans subsidy. I just hope people don't get hurt...