If you like pen-wielding phablets, but don't want to spend a fortune on one, Sprint's LG Stylo 3 is now available from Boost and Virgin Mobile.
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AT&T subsidiary Cricket Wireless challenges prepaid rival MetroPCS with more value, more data, as well as many free phones for switchers to choose from.
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What T-Mobile was able to do in the United States postpaid market, Sprint thinks it’ll be able to pull off in the prepaid market. And to do so, it will bolster a failing property: Virgin Mobile.
A lot of the prepaid market has been thrown into flux as competition spreads thin and as the so-called “Un-carrier” is pulling down massive postpaid offerings to the lower end of the price spectrum. In fact, average user revenue figures for both US postpaid and prepaid accounts have come closer to each other in the past year or so.
Sprint has been able to pull Boost Mobile back into growth “for the first time in many, many quarters” through aggressive service value and relatively decent device portfolio with low price maintenance. The Now Network has also been cleaning up house as well and has seen a recovery in its user base.
So, how does the conglomerate’s second prepaid brand, Virgin Mobile, get turned around?
“You’re going to see us test different models. One model we’re testing that we like is a potential—rather than subsidizing handsets, actually providing free airtime with no subsidy on the handset,” said CEO Marcelo Claure at an investor conference. “So you’re going to see Virgin be our disruptor brand.”
Device subsidies can prove pretty substantial for the typical lower-income prepaid customer. Even selling a phone with MSRP of $179.99 at $50 off can make a big dent in the bills. Meanwhile, Virgin Mobile has also taken the lead of its sibling Boost in offering unlimited calling, texting and data with high-speed caps. What “free airtime” means could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back here.
Sprint lost 427,000 prepaid users in the third quarter. It planned on relaunching Virgin last year before slowing down plans and is now targeting that campaign for this year.
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In addition to an entirely new upper mid-range Galaxy A family, Samsung is widely expected to continue expanding the humbler J smartphone roster over the coming months, including stateside, where at least one major carrier will reportedly pick up the entry-level Galaxy J3 Emerge in just a few weeks.
Sprint has been both a postpaid and prepaid supporter of the J3 (2016) this year, and so it doesn’t come as a huge surprise that the modest 5-incher’s sequel is headed to the Now Network, as well as daughter operators Boost and Virgin Mobile.
No words on pricing yet, but we can definitely hope for a sub-$200 tag on Sprint, and around $150 as far as its prepaid subsidiaries are concerned. A few bucks more, and not a lot of budget-minded mobile device consumers will be happy getting just a 5-inch 720p screen, octa-core Snapdragon 430 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, 5MP main camera, 2MP selfie shooter, 2600mAh battery, and Marshmallow software goodies.
Granted, that’s a vastly improved spec sheet than the one attached to the 2016 edition. But that’s mostly because times are changing, low-end Android competition heating up, and industry veterans having to adapt to new standards imposed by ambitious rookies and rising Chinese stars. Design-wise, by the way, the Samsung Galaxy J3 Emerge doesn’t look great. So, yeah, let’s hear $200 tops on January 6.
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The LG Tribute that made its way around the prepaid carrier circuit now has a sequel, one with a 720p screen.Sprint’s prepaid units, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA, have the LG Tribute HD, an Android Marshmallow phone with a 5-inch display, a 2,100mAh battery and a Snapdragon 210 processor — well, it’s listed as such, though the quad-core unit is also told to run at 1.3GHz, something ...
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Ahh, the world of prepaid smartphones. Cheap rates, but huge upfront costs with those phones. It’s why mid-ranger and budget phones flourish in this sector and they’ve been getting better and better by the month.But admit it: you do want a flagship, too. Right?Well, fear ...
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Well, this is beyond confusing. The same exact phone, with the same exact humdrum design and outdated hardware specifications, available on four US carriers under three different names.First, Boost and Virgin Mobile, Sprint’s prepaid-specialized daughter operators, picked up the Alcatel Dawn a little over a month ago, charging just $70 with no-contract activations. In the meantime, the price dropped to $60, and now $30 on Cricket Wireless, where the entry-level 4.5-inch phone is branded Alcatel ...
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Sprint’s done with its first fiscal quarter of 2016 and is reporting numbers. Like most companies, some are good and some are bad.The bad? The company recorded a net loss of $302 million for the three months ending on June 30. Operating income dropped 28 percent year over year to $361 million while net revenue was flat.The good? Overland Park added 173,000 postpaid subscribers this quarter, the fourth quarter in a row. It ends the quarter at 59,453,000 subscribers. Sprint’s LTE Plus network ...
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Specialized in ultra-low-cost Android or Windows smartphones and tablets you’re not typically ashamed to show off in public, Alcatel OneTouch probably focused on the affordability angle too hard, and not enough on the bang for buck Virgin and Boost Mobile customers will get from the 4.5-inch ...
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Sprint lost more than a million prepaid subscribers last year. Despite an overall positive result in subscriber adds, the company needs all the help it can get against T-Mobile and especially MetroPCS — it’s been absorbing pretty much all of the prepaid growth in the US market.So, Sprint has pulled back its own-brand presence. Sprint Prepaid phones have been pulled from Target while Best Buy is trying to clear out ...
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With yesterday’s launch of the HTC 10, smartphone shoppers have a new flagship option to consider, joining the growing ranks of this season’s heavyweights. And while these phones represent some attractive options, not everyone’s got the resources to pay hundreds upon hundreds of dollars for the latest top-of-the-line handset. Luckily, there’s no shortage of more affordable options to consider, and today we hear about the latest models descending upon Sprint’s MVNO family, as Boost ...
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If you happen to be on one of Sprint’s prepaid networks, you might be able to catch up on the latest mobile flagship from Samsung if you have enough money for it.Boost Mobile will be first to introduce the 32GB Black Onyx Galaxy S7 to its shelves on March 11 before Virgin Mobile USA does on March 18. Both outlets will price the phone at $649.99, short of tax.While T-Mobile was the first major postpaid ...
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Like any good smartphone manufacturer, Samsung’s always looking for ways to keep its product lineup fresh, and last year that meant introducing a number of new J-series models. After the Galaxy J2 and J5 went official, we saw the company introduce the Galaxy J3, a phone with lower-mid-range hardware, sure, but one with an attractive price point. While the Galaxy J3 initially launched in China, ...
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Adam Doud propped some major points against buying a new phone with your carrier in this weekend’s debate post. If you haven’t taken a look at his post, please do so to grab some context.But at this point, I think it’s time for some B sides to this discussion. Not only a counterargument, but a hybrid proposal that could break your perception of the usefulness of a contract.No contract, but no credit
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Three weeks ago, HTC got a head-start on IFA 2014 by announcing its Desire 510 mid-ranger, notable for its LTE support and use of a Snapdragon 410 SoC, making it one of the very first 64-bit capable Androids. Much earlier in the summer, though, we were already hearing whispers about the 510, and the notion that it might find a home on a US carrier – and Sprint, to be specific. Today we learn that those old rumors are ...
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