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Looks like it’s time for yet another phone to hit Cricket wireless. This is the TXTM8, which you can see at mycricket.com. It looks like a reissue of the Verizon Blitz, which is the UTStarcom TXT8010. Behind the stubby face is a full QWERTY keyboard which supports mobile Web, email, games, and Cricket navigation. Also featured: stereo Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and an MP3 player with 4GB microSD expansion. There’s no word on when it will drop or how much it will cost. We’ll be sure to pass those along in due time.

Posted in Cricket on June 23rd, 2009
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Much discussion lately has circled around whether prepaid wireless is here to stay, or if it’s an ephemeral trend which will dissipate as the economy strengthens. Obviously, those who work for prepaid wireless companies think that it has staying power. We’ve already heard executives from Boost Mobile and MetroPCS say as much. Now it’s time for Cricket wireless’s CEO to get a crack at it. Marguerite Reardon of CNET sits down with Doug Hutcheson to see what he thinks of the current landscape.

Posted in Cricket on June 19th, 2009
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For people living in the Baltimore down to the Northern Virginia area, Cricket is headed your way. Word comes from the Washington Business Journal that the flat-rate, unlimited calling prepaid carrier will launch service in select markets on June 23. These include Baltimore, the western shore and southern Maryland, Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Frederick, Maryland. This will include D.C. There are plans for 100 retailers and dealers in the area, including 10 corporate stores.

Posted in Cricket on June 15th, 2009
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That’s the Samsung MyShot II, the newest offering from Cricket wireless. It’s not a bad offering, a mid-range clamshell with an external display and a few bells and whistles. The camera is 1.3 megapixels, which is a bit disappointing since the phone’s name makes it seem like a camera special. It does have Bluetooth, mobile Web access, and a music player with 8GB microSD expansion, so that’s all good news. The data only runs on 1x speeds, a bit disappointing because of Cricket’s broadband capacity, but not a huge deal because of the phone’s nature (it’s not really designed for heavy Web browsing). It’ll cost $140, and you can nab it at Cricket’s website.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Posted in Cricket on June 15th, 2009
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When news like Leap Wireless’s recent stock offering hit the wires, the standard procedure is to open it read it and throw it away. Yeah, it’s prepaid company-related news, but it’s not of real note as far as the end user is concerned. This time, though, perhaps it could foreshadow some future developments. After all, offering additional shares of stock means the company is trying to raise money. Perhaps they have something interesting in the offing.

Posted in Cricket on June 1st, 2009
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It’s been nearly two months since we first learned of the Motorola Evoka QA4, which would be launched by Cricket wireless. The release appears to be around the bend, as the company has set up a pre-order website for the device (via Phone Scoop). The only subsidy is a Web-only discount of $20, making the device $279.99. However, what’s strange is the monthly add-on Cricket will charge for the Evoke. Apparently a $50 unlimited voice, messaging, and data plan does not include what Cricket terms the HTML Data Feature. This is not only an additional $15 per month, but it is required for the Evoke. I wonder if it will negatively affect sales.

Posted in Cricket on May 26th, 2009
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This sounds like just a rumor for right now, but the word late yesterday was that AT&T might be considering an acquisition of Leap Wireless. That’s really it, though. It comes from The Wall Street Journal’s “Heart on the Street” column, and the only evidence is that both companies canceled appearances at investor conferences. Correlation does not imply causation, though, and there are plenty of reasons why such an transaction does not make sense.

Posted in Cricket on May 20th, 2009
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Despite the overall economic climate, prepaid carriers fared rather well in the first quarter of 2009. The latest to report their subscriber numbers is Leap Wireless. No on expected them to do as well as rival MetroPCS — Leap didn’t, after all, begin offering service in two of the nation’s largest markets. Even so, Leap did fine in their own right, adding 493,000 subscribers, which more than doubled their net adds from the same quarter 2008. It gives Leap 4.3 million subscribers at the end of the quarter, up 1.2 million from the same time last year. So things are looking good for Cricket.

Posted in Cricket on May 8th, 2009
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Customer service doesn’t have the most sterling reputation in the prepaid sector. In reading through the user reviews in our pay as you go cell phone provider reviews, it is evident that many people become frustrated when issues arise because customer service cannot aid in solving them. While this is no guarantee of better customer service, Cricket wireless has hired Sitel to take care of its bilingual customer service and tech support needs. This will be for both Cricket’s traditional cellular and mobile broadband services.

Posted in Cricket on April 30th, 2009
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Phone subsidies have forever been an issue with prepaid. The mainstream postpaid cellular world has made us accustomed to getting good phones relatively cheap. But because carriers like Cricket wireless don’t require contracts, they also don’t offer subsidies. This leaves their phones on the expensive side, at least relatively speaking. So when they have a sale, we’re all ears. This time they’re discounting the Samsung MyShot from $149.99 to $79.99. That’s after instant Web savings and a mail-in rebate. Click the link to get the details on the model. The sale runs through May 31.

Via Wireless and Mobile News.

Posted in Cricket on April 27th, 2009
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Apparently, today is Earth Day. In celebration, Cricket wireless has announced a cell phone recycling program. This is certainly an important issue that extends far beyond Earth Day. Not only can the parts used to make cell phones be reused, but the presence of these and other electronic devices in landfills is hazardous to the environment. So why not take an easy measure and recycle your old phone instead of throwing it away? Collectively it can make a big difference.

Posted in Cricket on April 22nd, 2009
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Didn’t we just see this device a few days ago? On Wednesday, MetroPCS launched the Motorola Hint, a slider QWERTY phone. Today, Cricket has followed suit, rolling out the device on their own network. This is the third carrier to launch it, so we’re pretty familiar with the specs, including MP3 player and 2 MP camera. The price is the same as on Metro: $249.99. It’s ready to go on Cricket’s website.

Posted in Cricket on April 17th, 2009
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When I talked to Cricket’s Greg Lund at CTIA, I asked him about ways Cricket could expand given their limited network coverage. After all, it’s not like a company can just go out and buy spectrum (if they could, there’d be a lot more competition in the wireless space). He told me that beyond finishing the rollouts of their remaining AWS markets, that they’d get creative in how they expand business. Yesterday we heard one example. Cricket will be the third carrier to offer service on Chicago’s subway service.

Posted in Cricket on April 14th, 2009
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In an effort to provide customers with more calling options, Cricket wireless introduced a daily PayGo plan in the latter part of last year. For $1, $2, or $3 dollars per day, only on days when the phone is used, customers can enjoy a varying number of unlimited calling and messaging features. The service launched as an experiment in limited markets, but now is ready to expand to all of Cricket’s markets. Now all of their 80 million-plus covered POPs will have access to both their flat-rate, unlimited monthly calling plans and their pay per day PayGo plans.

Posted in Cricket on April 6th, 2009
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As if March wasn’t a busy enough month for Cricket wireless, they kicked off April with a brand new service. It is dubbed MyPerks, and that’s really what it is: a set of perks for mobile subscribers. This includes information and deals on products and services, from various retailers and restaurants in your local area. From the FAQ: “You’ll receive everything from daily specials at local restaurants and sales at your favorite stores, to prize giveaways for merchandise, food and tickets to sporting events, concerts or movies. You will also receive timely and useful information such as weather and fun information from the world of sports and entertainment.” To get MyPerks on your phone, just head to cricketmyperks.com, where you’ll find the FAQ, instructions, and more information about the specifics of the service.

Posted in Cricket on April 2nd, 2009
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One thing I wondered when Cricket wireless started expanding and introducing mobile broadband was whether they’d move into high-end phones. It makes sense from a geek perspective, but from a low-cost carrier which doesn’t subsidize phones perspective it can go either way. Apparently they’re giving it a shot with the Motorola QA4. It’s a touchscreen with a slide out standard 12-digit keyboard. For features it sports a 200×400 LC touch screen, Bluetooth, 256 MB memory expandable to 16GB, a 2 megapixel camera, a full HTML browser, and video streaming capabilities. It’s looking like a May release with Cricket, though a price is not yet set. Expect a few hundred.

Posted in Cricket on March 31st, 2009
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Does it matter to the consumer if a company is considered good to work for? I’m not so sure. A happy employee might be a helpful employee, but even then that employee might not be able to help you. So while it’s nice to hear that Cricket has been named a top 100 company to work for, I’m not so sure it means a better experience for the end user. It certainly doesn’t hurt, though.

Posted in Cricket on March 30th, 2009
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At CTIA last year we learned that Nokia unveiled the 3606, an AWS-band phone. We played the guessing game at that point: which carrier would it land on? We finally got the answer: Cricket wireless. It’s a music phone, which is always a nice feature these days. You’ll need to take advantage of the microSD card, as the phone only comes with 15MB of internal memory. It is also Bluetooth ready, a 1.3 megapixel camera, , and a 262k color internal display. You can get it for $179.99 from Cricket’s website.

Posted in Cricket on March 20th, 2009
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A phone so big you have to dial like you’re Vanna White. Via Engadget, we learn that Cricket and Samsung have teamed up to create the world’s largest cell phone. It’s a Samsung Messenger, and boy are those keys big. They’ll officially unveil it today, and I can only hope they can transport it to CTIA. You can check out the process at getsomerespekt.com. Video after the jump.

Posted in Cricket on March 11th, 2009
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It’s all about keeping up with the Joneses, right? All the way back in July, MetroPCS expanded their network to the greater Philadelphia area. With new networks in New York and Boston, this gives them a large footprint in the Northeast. Now it’s time for Cricket wireless to present itself to the region. They’ll begin offering services in Philadelphia starting today. The City of Brotherly Love will now have access to Cricket’s unlimited voice and data plans, plus Cricket’s wireless broadband service.

Posted in Cricket on March 10th, 2009
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It looks like we have another member of Cricket’s entry-level phone club. This time it’s the Samsung r211, a candybar phone with a minimal feature set. There’s no Bluetooth, but there is a WAP browser and a USB input. And really, that’s about it. Cricket has added a few of these phones in the past month or so, with the Kyocera S1300 and the Cricket A100. It’ll cost $90, which is right in line with those devices.

h/t Phone Scoop

Posted in Cricket on March 6th, 2009
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Talk about a surprise. Imagine walking into a Cricket wireless dealer, expecting to find a plan and phone that fits your needs. You’ve done your research, and you’re prepared to lay down cold hard cash for the device an service. Imagine then being told that you will receive the phone and the service — plus a broadband modem and broadband service — free for one year. That’s what happened to one Syracuse resident. He went to sign up for a Cricket plan and became their four millionth customer. Congratulations to Jeffrey Sodja, who took home the grand prize.

Posted in Cricket on March 3rd, 2009
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Last year, we saw Cricket wireless not only expand their own network, but they helped other networks grow. They helped get out the vote and promote election awareness, which certainly falls outside the normal scope of a wireless company. We now receive news that they’re working with Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit working to preserve homeownership and revitalize communities. Kudos to Cricket for lending a hand, especially during these trying times.

Posted in Cricket on February 23rd, 2009
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Looks like Cricket wireless is trying to get Chicagoans to test out some new phones. Yesterday we learned they launched the Cricket A100. Today (or, rather, yesterday), we find out they’ve launched the Kyocera S1300. Sifting through the specs, the only upgrade it seems to have over the A100 is picture caller ID. Again, there’s no mention of Bluetooth. Like the A100, it costs $89.99 and you can get it from a Cricket outlet in the greater Chicago area.

Posted in Cricket on February 20th, 2009
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One day it’s Cricket rolling out service in Chicago. The next it’s the launch of a new handset. That’s the Cricket A100 you see above, a mid-range candybar now available to customers in the Greater Chicago area. Funny, in the description it doesn’t mention Bluetooth capabilities, which I suppose, in this day in age, would send it down to the low-range categorization. There’s honestly nothing to report on the phone, other than it can perform your basic talk/text function, plus handle mobile Web, games, and apps. It’ll cost $89.99, one of the cheaper Cricket handsets, and will be available in other markets soon.

Posted in Cricket on February 19th, 2009
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Bet your bottom dollar you’ll lose the blues in Chicago. Well, you will if you’re looking for a no-contract, unlimited calling phone plan. Leap Wireless has rolled out their Cricket service in the Windy City. This comes as part of their AWS expansion, which is expected to continue throughout this year. Now Chicagoans can experience the benefits of Cricket’s unlimited services, with plans starting at $25. Plus, as the Chicago Tribune says, the company’s PAYgo pay per day plans should be available as well.

Posted in Cricket on February 18th, 2009
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One criticism we hear a lot about prepaid wireless companies is that they don’t offer enough premium services, including multimedia and other Web capabilities. We’ve seen that change in a number of companies recently. This week, Cricket wireless joined the fray as they launched their Mobile Music service to their 3.84 million subscribers.

Posted in Cricket on February 12th, 2009
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The fourth quarter results are rolling in, and things are looking good. Next up is Leap Wireless, parent of Cricket. We knew they gained a significant number of customers, but late yesterday they reported the full figures. The company added 385,000 net customers in the fourth quarter. This brings their total to 3.84 million, or just a tick below Virgin Mobile and MetroPCS. Leap made gains in old markets, expansion markets, and their mobile broadband service.

Posted in Cricket on January 8th, 2009
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This won’t be of note to most prepaid customers, but it’s worth noting that Leap Wireless, parent of Cricket Communications, has agreed to a deal with Convergys for the latter to manage Leap’s new billing system. What this means to the consumer, hopefully, is a stable pricing model. And, you know, peace of mind in knowing you’re getting billed correctly. A few quotes after the jump.

Posted in Cricket on January 7th, 2009
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We know that Cricket wireless is expanding their coverage area, and plan to double their covered POPs by 2009. This will be accomplished by rolling out service in Seattle; Minneapolis; Milwaukee; Chicago; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Richmond and Virginia Beach, Va.; Columbia and Greenville, S.C.; Huntsville, Mobile and Birmingham, Ala.; Biloxi, Miss.; New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, La. One city you don’t see on that list is Atlantic City, New Jersey, but it sounds like the company will offer services in AC next year.

Posted in Cricket on December 3rd, 2008
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Last week, Leap continued its quest to double its covered population by 2009. The parent company of Cricket wireless announced the launch of their network in the greater Milwaukee and Madison markets in Wisconsin. This adds another 2.4 million POPs to their coverage area, bringing their total to 64.1 million. They’re still shooting for 120 million by the end of next year.

Posted in Cricket on November 24th, 2008
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It looks like thins are going as planned for MetroPCS and Cricket. We heard last week that the two companies would roll out nationwide roaming plans this week. MetroPCS did so on Monday. Now we learn that Cricket has gotten in the game. They have roaming partnerships not only with MetroPCS, but with 13 other wireless companies to provide their customers with a wider calling map.

Posted in Cricket on November 13th, 2008
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It was almost a month ago that MetroPCS reported their third quarter subscriber numbers. Now comes word on rival Leap Wireless and their Cricket prepaid service. They added 155,779 net subscribers in the third quarter, nearly 100,000 less than MetroPCS. That’s not the whole story, though. This is a giant leap, pardon the pun, from Cricket’s number from last year, when they added 36,484 net subscribers in the third quarter — though they faced some turmoil about their books. All was corrected, though.

Posted in Cricket on November 6th, 2008
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There is much doom and gloom in today’s economic projections, especially when it comes to employment. Unemployment is up, and that figure will probably skyrocket after the holiday season. However, amid this poor news comes a nice tidbit from our friends at Cricket Communications. As they near their mid-2009 projected launch in Chicago, they plan to hire 2,150 employees in the area starting next week. It seems they want to get this launch right by hiring enough people to handle the workload. This not only benefits them and their services, but also helps 2,150 people who might not otherwise have found work.

Posted in Cricket on November 4th, 2008
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It’s only a matter of time before Cricket wireless opens business in Wisconsin. They made a grand entrance into Oregon this week, and next week they plan something similar in Wisconsin. As you (hopefully) know, Tuesday is Election Day, and Cricket has done plenty to support voter registration. Now they’re going to help get out the vote. Starting at 7 a.m., the company will hand out 1,000 free bus tickets at Madison’s Metro South Transfer Point. It’s a very nice gesture on the part of Cricket.

Posted in Cricket on October 31st, 2008
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Riddle me this: Why would over 100 people gather around a Cricket wireless store for a grand opening? Are people really frothing at the mouth for flat-rate unlimited calling? Hardly. While it’s a great deal, it’s not something that typically draws a crowd on opening day. Cricket, however, got a little clever. With a sponsorship from the South County Spotlight, an Oregon paper, they handed out $50 in free gas to the first 100 people through the door.

Posted in Cricket on October 30th, 2008
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Here’s a neat idea. Cricket Wireless is teaming up with Portland Trail Blazers star Greg Oden to create the O-Fōn. Yes, it’s pronounced O-Phone, but I guess he (or Cricket) felt the need to be clever. It’s for a good cause, though. Proceeds from the phone will go to Oregon Mentors, a nonprofit group (though it doesn’t say what portion of the proceeds, or if it is all the proceeds). Essentially, we’re looking at a modified Samsung Messenger here, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Pricing and all that will be revealed on the 7th.

Image from flickr user rexb under a Creative Commons license

Posted in Cricket on October 24th, 2008
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No, it’s not much, but it’s another option if you’re thinking about heading to Cricket wireless. The Nokia 1606 is as run-of-the-mill as you get, featuring little out of the ordinary. You can browse the Web, yeah, but there’s no Bluetooth, which is disappointing. The worst part is the unsubsidized price: $129.99. If you’re interested, you can head to a Cricket outlet or go to their website, though the phone is not yet listed at the time of this writing.

Posted in Cricket on October 21st, 2008
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Earlier this month, when Leap announced that Cricket would offer a daily pay as you go plan, they mentioned a few specific markets it would enter. Among them was Savannah/Hilton Head. You might have been wondering how this could be, since Cricket had yet to roll out a network in that area. Well, yesterday they finally did. This will cover Savannah, Georgia and Hilton Head, South Carolina, plus their neighboring communities. This helps further Leap’s aspirations of doubling their POPs in 2009. The nw market adds 600,000 to their total, bringing it to around 62.3 million.

Posted in Cricket on October 14th, 2008
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If you’re looking for the biiiiig handset announcement of the day, check out T-Mobile’s BlackBerry Pearl flip. For us prepaid folk, though, there’s something to tide us over. Cricket prepaid has unveiled the Samsung JetSet (a/k/a Samsung r550), a clamshell phone that has some nifty features. These include a 2.0 megapixel camera, up from the 1.3 or VGA we see from many mid-level clamshells, an MP3 player, and support for microSD cards up to 16GB. Those cards, however, are new and expensive. And yeah, it has Bluetooth.

Posted in Cricket on October 13th, 2008
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Last week, when we discussed Cricket’s new PAYgo plans, we seemingly missed something. It wasn’t until I read this version of the story in RCR News that I found out. Yes, as the title suggests, Leap Wireless is ditching the Jump Mobile brand. This was one the pay-as-you-go arm of Leap Wireless, but apparently the company has decided to ditch that approach in favor of their daily fee, unlimited calling plans.

Posted in Cricket on October 7th, 2008
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Are you looking for an even bigger way to save money on your wireless bill, but can’t stay off the phone? Cricket wireless might have a solution for you. They of the flat-rate unlimited calling plans have added something new to their repertoire: PAYgo. We learn, via Phone Scoop that these plans will still cover unlimited calling, but will be on a pay-by-day basis. So instead of paying a flat monthly rate, you’ll be paying a flat daily rate. Which, depending on how you use your phone, can be a real coup. We’ll drop the details after the jump.

Posted in Cricket on October 3rd, 2008
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There’s nothing we love more than a small company launching in a new market. We’ve seen plenty of this from Leap Wireless and MetroPCS this year, and we’ll surely see more from them in the near future. Yesterday, we got word that Cricket will now offer its broadband Internet service in San Antonio. It’s the same deal as always: $40 per month, $35 for existing Cricket customers. It’s unlimited, too, so you can make it your primary Internet connection.

Posted in Cricket on September 24th, 2008
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Over the past nine or so months, we’ve seen a number of carriers enter the unlimited calling market. This was once a stronghold of Metro PCS, Leap Wireless, and even Boost Unlimited. Now it seems everyone, even Net 10, is in on it. Those plans tend to be a bit expensive, though — certainly more expensive than the plans at Cricket and Metro. Now Cricket’s gone even cheaper, offering a $25 entry-level plan. Head on over to the Cricket website to check out the details. Or just keep reading.

Posted in Cricket on September 23rd, 2008
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Earlier this year, Leap Wireless announced that Cricket would begin carrying unlimited broadband plans. They started at $35 for customers of the Cricket voice service. Now we’re seeing a larger offering. Via PC Mag, we hear that Cricket is now offering unlimited — yes, truly unlimited — wireless broadband access for $40 per month. Like Cricket’s voice services, the wireless broadband access will come without a credit check or a contract. The offering is intended as a primary Internet access medium.

Posted in Cricket on September 15th, 2008
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We know that Leap Wireless’s Cricket service is one of the fastest growing wireless companies in America. Yet, like Ricky Bobby, they want to go fast. So fast that while they’ve double their total covered POPs between 2005 and 2007, they’re aiming for yet another POP double. They finished the second quarter of 2008 covering 61.7 million potential customers. They’d like to make that 120 million by the end of 2009.

Posted in Cricket on September 12th, 2008
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Leap Wireless, parent company of Cricket prepaid, is making good use of their EVDO network. Back in March, they launched a high-speed data card. When we checked in with Brad Houser during the first Prepaid Podcast, he reported positive results in the early going. Yesterday they announced their newest service: mobile video. This will make one- to four-minute videos available to subscribers who opt into the service.

Posted in Cricket on August 28th, 2008
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Update: I’ve been informed that this is, in fact, an AWS phone. They just didn’t mention it in the press release. I’ve been further informed that all new phone releases will be AWS compatible, which are backwards compatible with the PCS network.

Just a day after we heard that MetroPCS picked up the Samsung Messager, we now get word that Cricket will carry it as well. Once again, there’s no mention of it being an AWS phone, so it’s safe to say that this will only work on the PCS network. Since we just talked about the phone yesterday, there’s not much to add today. It will cost $199.99 with both carriers.

Posted in Cricket on August 12th, 2008
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It’s about that time we start looking at the quarterly reports for the second period of 2008. Leap Wireless, parent company of Cricket Communications, bats leadoff, and they definitely come through. In gross customer acquisitions, they beat the second quarter of 2007 by 17.2 percent, going from 462,434 adds to 542,005. This was certainly aided by the acquisition of Hargray Wireless, an under the radar move which doesn’t even show up in a Google News search. However, their net adds were even more impressive.

Posted in Cricket on August 5th, 2008
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Not only is Cricket rolling out a ton of new markets, but they’re also expanding their handset and entertainment lines. Two weeks ago, they added the Motorola RAZR V3m to their AWS handset lineup. Yesterday, they signed a deal with Fox Interactive Media which will provide Cricket subscribers with access to its slew of mobile sites. This means Photobucket, MySpace, IGN, FoxSports, RottenTomatoes, and a few more.

Posted in Cricket on July 31st, 2008
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