A new mobile virtual network operator named Simple Mobile has launched today, making some tall claims about how they’re going to change the U.S. wireless market. Here’s the pitch; you can judge for yourself:
Today the chaotic wireless industry just got … Simple. Executive leaders from some of the nation’s largest wireless mega giants have come together to revolutionize the unlimited prepaid wireless market by launching the new MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), Simple Mobile™.
How will Simple Mobile change the market? Simple, by offering the nation an unheard of SIM card program that instantly delivers affordable, unlimited access with everything wireless has to offer. Unlike other programs with corporate agendas, Simple Mobile customers are encouraged to B.Y.O.P. (Bring Your Own Phone). Service is obtained by placing a Simple Mobile SIM card into over 180 approved cool GSM phones. Customers will immediately get access to a national network that offers Unlimited Nationwide Talk, Unlimited Global SMS, and Wireless Internet Access (IM, MMS, Email & social networks). OMG! This is a game changer.
Simple Mobile (http://www.mysimplemobile.com) promises an affordable way of bringing the nation a much better wireless experience. Their promise of no compromising includes no minimum term lengths in contracts, no credit checks, no hidden fees, and unlimited plans starting at $40 a month.
It’s a simple approach based on their strong belief that wireless can be made less complicated. Simple Mobile plans to cut through the noise and offer a flexible handset solution on a high quality network with a full suite of web capabilities, at a crazy low price. Finally, today’s wireless customers will get what they have always wanted: EVERYTHING – NO MORE COMPROMISING!
While you’ll be able to bring your own GSM phone, Simple Mobile will be offering the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Pearl Flip, the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) razr V3, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) 6030, and three Alcatel phones: the OT-800, OT-363, and OT-303.
Now, the idea of cheap unlimited access sounds suspiciously familiar to Zer01, only Simple Mobile is much more concerned with voice. Their $50 plan only includes 20 MB, with the option to double it to 40 MB for $5. Still, no contracts is sweet, and an ideal situation if you’ve already got your hands on hardware you like. As for coverage, it’s hard to tell if these guys are partnering with AT&T (NYSE: T), T-Mobile (NYSE: DT), or some combination thereof, but you can compare their coveragemaps with Simple Mobile’s (I’m inclined to think it’s AT&T based on similar CA coverage in the north), and draw your own conclusions. It’s a tempting proposition, and I think there will be many customers out there interested in unlimited plans with no contracts. If you’re one of them, check out Simple Mobile’s home page for more info. I really hope wind brings something similar to Canada soon…
A new Motorola (NYSE: MOT) iDEN clamshell has been spotted at the FCC. It’s the Moto i680, which aside from its “rugged nature” and an iDEN radio (800/900 MHz), also comes with two screens (internal and external), camera with flash that can take both photos and videos, Bluetooth, media player, headset jack, microSD memory card slot. In addition, support for PTX services is also included.
The only problem is the look and feel, which is super outdated, though I’m guessing those who search for a rugged device won’t mind. Neither Sprint (NYSE: S) nor Motorola have released any official information about the i680 at the time of this writing…
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is all about Android these days, no matter which flavor of Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s mobile OS we’re talking about. Whether it’s the official fully opened Android or China Mobile (NYSE: CHL)’s flavor – OPhone. In terms of the latter, the American company is preparing an all-touchscreen device marked as MT710, which is said to rock a huge 3.7-inch WVGA display and 3G radio that sings along China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA network. Other than that, we’ve no more information to share at the moment, except to share our hope Moto will launch this baby in the Western hemisphere, too. As soon as we hear something new, you’ll be the first to know. Stay tuned…
MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS) will be adding (in Q4) a new rugged handset in its offering – the Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Quantico, which BTW is already available on other smaller carrier – US Cellular. The mil-spec 810F compliance that’s included in-box means Moto’s baby can resist water dunks, heat and dust, all while providing users with a 3G connectivity (EV-DO) over 800 and 1900 MHz frequencies. Rest of the specs (aside from the mentioned 3G radio) includes a low-end 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth connectivity support, GPS and a microSD memory card slot.
In a nutshell, nothing too exciting, except in case you’re looking for a super dependable yet kinda dumb-ish clamshell. Otherwise, keep looking…
Could it be that the Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre and Pixi are coming to TELUS (NYSE: TU) for Canadian consumption? That’s what I’ve been hearing recently.
As we all know, the Palm Pixi is due to hit Sprint for our American friends on November 15th… the date is really sneaking up on us, it’s less than a week away now… the Palm Pre has been available for some time now in the US, and Bell has been toting the Pre up in Canada for a little while now too. Those that have the Pre generally love the device, but I know there are some that would like to see the Pre hit more than one carrier… and that’s what we’re going to see in Canada in 2010.
With TELUS rumored to pick up the Pixi and Pre in early 2010, TELUS has, in a nutshell, upped their game. Just check out the list of devices TELUS is currently offering, a list which must have Rogers (NYSE: RCI) shaking just a little bit in their shiny red boots:
Put these devices together with a solid new HSPA+ network and a dash of extra Android love with the Motorola Milestone (coming soon too), the Palm Pre and Pixi are going to make TELUS the favorite for my recently fabricated ‘Most Awesome Canadian Carrier’ in 2010.
TELUS, all the stuff you’ve been doing recently… yeah, just keep doing it.
Oh good grief. I can’t tell you how sick to my stomach I got when I first checked out the video. No further description available here, I think the title says it all. Looks like the Motorola Droid survived with only minor injuries.
Anyone else out there find this video as disturbing as I did!?
The Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid isn’t just the first Android phone to run the latest Android 2.0 OS, it’s also the first Android phone to record video in DVD-quality 720×480 resolution. Putting clarity and video-quality arguments aside for a second, the Motorola Droid’s video camera is as high-res as you can expect in a smartphone today. Qik, the real-time video streaming service, has taken notice and will soon be releasing a new beta that will support high-resolution streaming from the Droid’s video camera.
Qik’s upcoming beta will make Qik the first video streaming service to support live streaming for the 720×480 resolution. According to MobileCrunch, the new Qik update will bring with it a UI refresh and enhanced “Speed Sharing Ribbon,” Qik’s speed-dial, of sorts.
Droid owners can get in on the Qik beta by shooting an email to droidbeta@qik.com
Here’s a sample Qik video taken with a Droid:
Here’s another Droid video sample, for comparison. Background: I recently forgot my SD card for my HD video camera and had to resort to recording video using the Droid.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is reportedly doing well with their Motorola Droid. Despite reports from some bitter bloggers about not finding any lines outside their local Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless store on Droid launch-day, the latest word on the street has Motorola pushing some 100,000 Android-powered Motorola Droid phones into anxious customer hands over the weekend. The estimate comes from an analyst citing Verizon’s nationwide stock of 200,000 Motorola Droid, of which roughly half have already found new homes.
We haven’t heard a peep from Motorola as to just how well the Droid is selling, but Broadpoint AmTech analyst Mark McKechnie believes that Verizon Wireless had about 200,000 Droid phones on hand for the November 6 launch. “I see the first few days as encouraging,” McKechnie said. “There seems to be pretty good demand — they’ve taken the right steps and picked a good partner with Google (NSDQ: GOOG) on the Android side.”
The encouraging launch-weekend sales estimates could signal Motorola’s return to relevance in the mobile space. Motorola is expected to sell 1 million Android-powered smartphones this quarter, with 10 million units sold in 2010. Still, the numbers pale in comparison to conservative predictions that have Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) selling 8 million iPhones this quarter and about 28.5 million iPhones in 2010.
The Droid is obviously a good start for Motorola’s comeback, but the mobile phone maker has a lot of work to do in the long-term. It should be interesting to see how the Droid sells throughout the holiday shopping season, which has traditionally been a boon for iPhone-maker Apple.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Canada has made it all official. They’ve announced the launch of their first Android device north-of-the-border… the Motorola Milestone (aka Motorola DROID). The device will run on TELUS’ new HSPA+ network, and will join a host of other new devices coming to the Canadian carrier. TELUS (NYSE: TU) has really stepped-up their game over the past month or so, and I couldn’t be happier.
The Motorola Milestone will feature a 3.7″ touchscreen (at 854×480), GPS, 5.0MP camera with auto focus and video, WiFi, media player, microSD/microSDHC memory card slot, USB 2.0, 3.5mm audio jack, and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR. 512MB or ROM and 256MB or RAM will also be on-board.
There’s no doubt TELUS is looking to compete with Rogers (NYSE: RCI)’ latest entry the LG Eve, which was announced last week for $49.99 on the typical 3-year deal. No pricing or release date have been made available on the Milestone just yet, the official line only states ‘The Motorola Milestone will be available in Canada only for TELUS customers in early 2010′. There you have it. Stay tuned for more… Press release after the jump.
Wondering: If the ‘Milestone’ is coming to Canada… Shouldn’t it be the ‘Kilometer-stone’?
If you’ve been resisting the urge to run out and buy a Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid at a Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless store, we’ve got some good news for you. Wirlefly.com is rewarding your patience with a seriously hot deal on a brand new Droid. How hot, you ask? Wirefly is offering the Droid for $99.99 with new 2-year contract (or contract extension). They also have the HTC Droid Eris on deck for FREE, if the HTC Sense UI is more your style.
For about $100, Wirefly.com will ship a newly activated Droid to your door. There’s no mail-in rebate to deal with and FedEx shipping is included, free of charge. The promotional ad makes it look like the $100 Droid requires new activation on Verizon’s $59.99 monthly rate plan, so we went through the checkout process with Verizon’s lowest-tier $39.99/month rate plan selected. We stopped short of processing payment information, but everything looked good to go with the cheaper rate plan.
The FREE HTC Droid Eris offer seems to be more limited. You’ll have to have an existing Verizon Wireless account and be willing to extend your contract for another two years. And, it seems the contract extension only applies to rate plans of $59.99 or more. On the upside, shipping is free via FedEx.
If you can wait a couple days for your new Droid hardware, you’re going to have a hard time beating these two deals.
A new mobile virtual network operator named Simple Mobile has launched today, making some tall claims about how they’re going to change the U.S. wireless market. Here’s the pitch; you can judge for yourself:
The Motorola (
