Virgin Mobile, the prepaid operator who relies on Sprint’s network for coverage, is soon going to rejigger their monthly plans. At the lowest rung of the ladder, the $25 per month plan that has unlimited text and data and 300 minutes of talk time, that’s due to go up to $35 per month. The $40 per month plan that offers unlimited text and data and 1200 minutes will go up to $45 per month. All of this sucks so far, but here’s where it gets better: the $60 per month unlimited everything plan drops to just $55 per month, and the extra $10 per month you had to pay if you wanted BlackBerry service has now been removed. For heavy users of Virgin Mobile, this is fantastic news, for the guys who’ve been scrapping by on the bottom … today is not your day. If you’re now considering making the switch to Virgin, make sure you check out the Motorola Triumph, which features a 4.1 inch screen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, 5 megapixel camera that can capture 720p video, 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, and best of all it runs a near stock version of Android 2.2; that’s right, no MotoBLUR!
If you’re looking for alternatives, then consider Simple Mobile, which relies on T-Mobile’s network. They have two unlimited everything plans, one for $50 per month that limits you to 2G speeds and one for $60 per month that gives you full HSPA+ access. Now finding a mobile phone that supports T-Mobile’s wonky 3G bands may prove a bit difficult, but if you’re comfortable enough to go with EDGE then that $50 plan looks mighty tempting. Just install Opera Mini on your phone, or better yet InstaPaper for those long commutes, and you’re all set, bandwidth starvation be damned! Oh and speaking about finding a mobile phone, with Simple Mobile you only get a SIM card, meaning you need to bring your own GSM based device to their network. Whether it be an unlocked iPhone 4 or an imported Samsung Galaxy S II, it’s your choice, and for a lot of people (over 1.5 million in fact) that makes all the difference.