Retailers may have the corner on crowds, lines, and crazed shoppers but carriers are no slouch when it comes to pre-Thanksgiving Day sales Black Friday deals. Most of the major carriers in the U.S. are slashing prices on handsets and offering tantalizing voice and data plans to encourage shoppers to kick off the holiday shopping season with a bang. Below you will find the current deals and specials being offered by each wireless carrier in the U.S.
Check back often, we will be updating this post as additional sales are announced.
AT&T Black Friday Sale
From Friday, Nov. 26th – Monday, Nov. 29th
AT&T will kick off its Black Friday sale at 12:01 a.m., ET, on Friday, November 26th. The wireless carrier will offer a series of rotating promotions that will run through Monday, November 29th. Each day will feature a different theme and items will be available online while supplies last.
- Friday, November 26, 12:01 ET – Touch screen devices. AT&T slashes prices on its most popular touch screen devices.
- Saturday, November 27, 12:01 ET – Refurb Devices for One Penny. Select refurbished devices, including the BlackBerry Torch, will be available for only $0.01.
- Sunday, November 28, 12:01 ET – Free Quick Messaging Device Sale. Choose from the Pantech Link, LG Vu Plus, Sharp FX and the Pantech Pursuit for free. Unlimited messaging plan is required.
- Monday, November 29, 9:00 ET – High-end Smartphone Sale for One Penny. Just one penny for some of the most sought after smartphones. Devices will rotate every three hours and will include: HTC Aria, BlackBerry Curve 3G, Motorola Flipout, Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 and the Motorola BRAVO.
AT&T is also teaming up with Microsoft to offer a trio of Windows Phone handsets on a buy one, get one sale. The handsets include the following:
- HTC Surround – FREE with purchase of another AT&T Windows Phone handset
- Samsung Focus – FREE with purchase of another AT&T Windows Phone handset
- LG Quantum – FREE with purchase of another AT&T Windows Phone handset
U.S. Cellular Pre-Thanksgiving Day Sale and Black Friday Deals
From Monday, Nov. 22nd – Monday, Nov. 29th
In addition to its Black Friday Android handset sale listed below, U.S. Cellular is also offering a $150 credit for customers who purchase a smartphone. The promotion applies to new customers who purchase a smartphone and existing customers who add a smartphone line to their Belief Plan. Customers will receive the $150 as a credit that is applied to future bills.
- Samsung Mesmerize – $99.99 after an $80 mail-in rebate with any new 2-year agreement.
- HTC Desire – $49.99 after an $80 mail-in rebate with any new 2-year agreement.
- LG Apex – Free after an $80 mail-in rebate with any new 2-year agreement.
- Samsung Acclaim – Free after an $80 mail-in rebate with any new 2-year agreement.
T-Mobile Pre-Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday Sale
From Friday, Nov. 26th – January 18th, 2011
T-Mobile will be running a Buy One, Get One free sale for select smartphones. Starting on Black Friday, customers with a new or existing family plan can purchase a new featured smartphone and receive a second featured smartphone or affordable Android handset for free. The sale is available in-store only, includes mail-in rebates, and requires data plans with the smartphones.The list of featured smarthphones and affordable Android handsets is impressive and includes:
- Featured Smartphones:
- T-Mobile myTouch 4G – FREE with purchase of another featured smartphone
- T-Mobile G2 – FREE with purchase of another featured smartphone
- HTC HD7 – FREE with purchase of another featured smartphone
- Samsung Galaxy Tab – FREE with purchase of another featured smartphone
- BlackBerry Bold 9780- FREE with purchase of another featured smartphone
- Affordable Android Handsets:
- Motorola Defy – FREE with purchase of a featured smartphone
- Motorola Charm – FREE with purchase of a featured smartphone
- LG Optimus T – FREE with purchase of a featured smartphone
- T-Mobile Comet – FREE with purchase of a featured smartphone
T-Mobile also prepared for the holiday shopping season by introducing several new handsets, voice and data plans, and a new tethering option for pre-Thanksgiving Day sales. T-Mobile’s current additions are listed below.
- T-Mobile Comet – FREE after a $140 online discount and $59.99 web-only discount. New 2-year agreement required.
- LG Optimus T Black – FREE after a $160 online discount and $79.99 web-only discount. New 2-year agreement required.
- LG Optimus T Burgundy or Titanium– $29.99 after a $160 online discount and $50 web-only discount. New 2-year agreement required.
- Motorola Defy – $99.99 after a $230 online discount and $50 web-only discount. New 2-year agreement required.
- Motorola Charm – $49.99 after a $170 online discount and $50 web-only discount. New 2-year agreement required.
- New Web-200MB Mobile data plan – $10/ monthly with a new two-year service agreement or contract extension. Also available for $15 per month on plans without a contract. The Web – Unlimited plan will be remain and will be available for $30 per month.
- Tethering and Wi-Fi Sharing service plan – $14.99. monthly A new tethering service plan that enables select smartphones to function as wireless modems for tethering to a laptop, tablet or netbook. The Tethering and Wi-Fi Sharing plan can be added to an Unlimited $30 monthly plan only.
Verizon Pre-Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday Sale
From Monday, Nov. 19th – Friday, Jan. 7th, 2011
Verizon has only two announced promotions, thus far. The new Smartphones Talk Free promotion cuts the price on voice plans for ech smartphones added to a Family SharePlan. Anyone who buys a new smartphone between November 19th, 2010 and January 7th, 2011 will be eligible for a $9.99 discount per line over the entire course of the 24-month contract. The promotion requires a new two-year contract and a $29.99 monthly data plan.
The wireless carrier is also giving away a free Jawbone ICON “Hero” Bluetooth headset for free with the purchase of select mobile phones. The promotion begins and ends on Friday, Nov. 26 and is available in Verizon Wireless stores.
Last but not least, Verizon is offering a Black Friday discount on a variety of handsets including:
- BlackBerry Bold 9650 – $49.99 with new two-year contract and $29/monthly data plan.
- LG Cosmos Touch – FREE with new two-year contract and $29/monthly data plan.
- LG Vortex in Violet – FREE with new two-year contract and $29/monthly data plan.
- Samsung Continuum – $99.99 with new two-year contract and $29/monthly data plan.
- Samsung Intensity II – FREE with new two-year contract and $29/monthly data plan.
Sprint Black Friday Sale
From Friday, November 26th – Holiday Season
Sprint is kicking off its holiday season off with a free handset promotion that will let you snag the following handsets with minimal up-front expenditure. The sale is broken down by in-store and online sales as each promotion has different terms and conditions.
- Online
- LG Optimus S – FREE with a new two-year service agreement or eligible upgrade beginning Nov. 26 through Dec. 5 only
- Samsung Restore – FREE with a new two-year service agreement or eligible upgrade beginning Nov. 26 through Dec. 31
- LG Rumor Touch – FREE with a new two-year service agreement or eligible upgrade beginning Nov. 26 through Jan. 8
- Sanyo Vero by Kyocera – FREE with a new two-year service agreement or eligible upgrade beginning Nov. 26 through Dec. 25
- In-Store (From Nov. 26 through Nov. 28)
- LG Optimus S – FREE after a $100 mail-in rebate and a new two-year service agreement
- LG Rumor Touch – FREE after a $50 mail-in rebate and a new two-year service agreement
Clear Black Friday Sale
From November 25th – November 30th
Clear is offering its Clear Spot 4G at an 80% discount. The mobile hotspot will be available for $20 with a two-year customer agreement. The Clear Spot 4G requires an on-the-go internet plan which starts at $45 monthly. If you buy two Clear Spots during the promotion, pricing on the internet plan will be reduced to $60 monthly for both devices; a $30 monthly saving.
MetroPCS Holiday Promotion
From Now – the Holiday Season
MetroPCS has not yet announced its Black Friday sales. While you wait, you can check out MetroPCS’ Facebook page which has a special offer for folks that “Like” the wireless carrier. MetroPCS is offering an exclusive Holiday Gift Finder that provides a shopping guide and offers a free accessory pack for everyone who makes a Gift Finder purchase. You can visit MetroPCS’ Facebook page here.