Prepaid Reviews Blog » AT&T

AT&T adds ZTE Avail to GoPhone lineup

Joe — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:00:35 +0000

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AT&T GoPhone will further enhanced its lineup with the addition of the ZTE Avail. It’s the second Android handset that GoPhone has introduced. As with most prepaid Androids, it’s nothing special, but it gets the job done with a 3.5-inch touchscreen and a 5-megapixel camera. AT&T didn’t mention a processor speed in its press release, so figure between 600 and 800 MHz — in other words, good enough, but certainly not high end. There was no word on pricing or release date, which makes me wonder why they even announced it in the first place.

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AT&T GoPhone adds low-cost ZTE Z221

Joe — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:00:08 +0000

Prepaid customers seeking a cheap handset on AT&T GoPhone will find solace in the ZTE Z221, the newest handset on GoPhone. It’s a basic flip model that features a VGA camera, a music player, and little else. It can browse the web, send text messages, and take advantage of most GoPhone services. Its best feature, of course, is the price: $39.99. You can get the Z221 and a GoPhone prepaid plan at AT&T’s website.

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AT&T looks to MetroPCS, Cricket to save T-Mobile deal

Joe — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:30:35 +0000

How far will AT&T go to save its acquisition of T-Mobile? According to a recent Bloomberg report, they’re talking about selling off assets to smaller carriers, namely MetroPCS and Cricket. This is in response to the Department of Justice’s move to block the deal. Additional spectrum will certainly be of use to Cricket and MetroPCS, but will it be enough to outweigh the negatives that this deal poses for the two companies?

If a recent report from Chitika Insights is any indicator, only an overwhelming amount of spectrum will convince these companies to play ball. According to the report, a merged AT&T and T-Mobile could wipe out smaller competitors. That is, the combined entity, even with divestitures, would command almost half of the U.S. wireless market. The other major player, Verizon, has about a third. That leaves just a small sliver for all those other companies. Since no one wants to be in a sliver when one company is in the majority, Cricket and Metro could refuse the deal outright.

Both companies have voiced their cases against the merger — MetroPCS here and Cricket here. It would seem odd, then, to see them take what amounts to a bribe that lets the deal go through. We should learn more later this week, when AT&T and the DOJ meet in court.

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Would a combined AT&T/T-Mobile consume prepaid carriers?

Joe — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:30:23 +0000

As if this title weren’t provocative enough — AT&T/T-Mobile merger could put Sprint out of business — it actually undersells the opinions set forth in the post. Boy Genius Report picked up an item from analysis firm Chitika Insights, in which the latter claims that a merged AT&T and T-Mobile could wipe out carriers such as MetroPCS. The combined company, Chitika explains, would cover 51 percent of mobile subscribers, though they do neglect to mention that possible divestitures would probably knock that below the majority point. But all it takes is a few defections to bring them back over, and once a single company has the majority it can call the shots.

There’s enough at stake here that I still believe that the merger will go through. That could create an interesting, though possibly destructive, mobile industry in the next few years.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for Tracfone Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T adds $25 GoPhone plan for messaging

Joe — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:30:01 +0000

AT&T GoPhone has bookended the summer with a pair of excellent new plans. In June they introduced a $50 unlimited GoPhone plan, which covers voice minutes, messages, and web surfing. Now they’ve added to their lineup with a $25 plan that includes 250 anytime minutes, plus unlimited messaging. This is something like Virgin Mobile‘s Beyond Talk plan, which includes 300 minutes, plus unlimited messaging and data for $30 per month (previously $25 per month). It will be available starting September 18th at AT&T’s website.

AT&T made a few more announcements to go along with this one, which we’ll detail after the break.

Also launching on September 18th is an international long distance features. That will provide customers with 250 minutes of talk time per month to over 50 countries. It will cost $10 as an add-on to any GoPhone plan. This mostly covers calls to international landlines, though mobile numbers in Canada, and a few other countries, are also included.

Finally, GoPhone will now support roaming in Canada. Voice minutes will cost 39 cents each, and text messages are 25 cents per message send and 20 cents per message received.

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AT&T adds $50 GoPhone monthly plan

Joe — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:30:06 +0000

Not content with its three unlimited talk and text plans, AT&T GoPhone has announced another one. This one comes in a bit cheaper than the other three, at $50 per month. As with the other plans, it provides unlimited talk and text. In addition, the plan includes unlimited web and unlimited text and IMs to Mexico and Canada, among 100 other countries. GoPhone customers with smartphones can choose this plan and add one of AT&T’s data potions, which range from $5 to $25. The odd thing is that this appears comparable to the current $60 plan, so this might amount to a price reduction more than a new plan. It will be available on June 26. You can sign up at AT&T GoPhone’s website.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for Tracfone Prepaid information on the web!

AT&T announces smartphone, new GoPhone data plans

Joe — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:44:38 +0000

Pictured above is the LG Thrive, an Android smartphone recently announced for release on AT&T GoPhone. It’s a standard mid-level Android handset, featuring a 3.2-inch screen, 600MHz processor, WiFi, Android 2.2, and 3G data speeds (up to 7.2Mbps). In addition, AT&T rolled out a new data plan and revised its existing ones. The new one includes 500MB for $25 per month. The old ones are now $5 for 10MB and $15 for 100MB. These plans also get users access to AT&T’s WiFi hotspots, which will help cut down on data usage. The Thrive will be available at retail outlets and AT&T’s website on April 17th. It will require one of the aforementioned data plans.

Via Phone Scoop.

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With AT&T, press End after 30 seconds or lose a minute

Joe — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:45:03 +0000

When do you get charged for a prepaid minute? That will depend on the carrier. Each one has a set of rules it implements when determining billing practices. You can find these in your customer agreement, though I’ve yet to meet someone — other than a wireless professional — who has ever read one. If there is one takeaway from Christina Bonnington’s recent story on Wired.com, it’s that you should look for this provision. Otherwise you might be getting charged for airtime when you’re not even connected to another user.

This example involves AT&T GoPhone, which starts charging for calls after 30 seconds. That’s not 30 seconds after connection to another party, but rather 30 seconds after you press the Send button. That might appear a bit limiting, and in many ways it is. But I don’t think there’s reason for outrage here. While consumers would appreciate AT&T being more up-front about this issue, they do at least make it clear in their customer agreement. It’s not as though they’re imposing this limitation with no indication whatsoever.

That said, you might want to start hanging up before the 30 second mark when you’re making a call. This can be a pain when the call takes some time to connect, but you can always place the call again. It might be annoying for the other party, but what’s more important, the nerves of the person on the other side of the line, or your dime?

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AT&T picks up the ZTE R225 for GoPhone

Joe — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:49:19 +0000

If the phone above doesn’t appear all that impressive, well, it’s not. It’s your run of the mill candybar handset. Made by ZTE, the R225 has really no advanced features. It’s for the cell phone user who wants to talk and text but little more. It can access the mobile web and access messaging services such as AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo! Messenger. The simple handset has a simple price: just $20. You can get the R225 at AT&T’s website.

Via Phone Scoop.

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AT&T GoPhone gets two Samsung handsets

Joe — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:30:18 +0000

I’m not sure how long ago AT&T GoPhone made available these two Samsung handsets, but they’re ready for the buying right now. The first, pictured above, is the SGH-A187, which is a low-end QWERTY device. It’s basically a messaging phone, though you can take advantage of GoPhone’s data allotment with the web browser. It also has a 1.3 megaplixel camera. The A197 might be a higher model number, but it’s just a basic flip phone with a VGA camera and little else. You can get the A187 for $79.99 and the A197 for $49.99 at AT&T’s website.

Via CNET.

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