| New Virgin Canada Smartphone plans give you six of one thing, take half a dozen of another May 9th 2012, 00:41  It looks like Virgin Mobile Canada could be rolling out a new set of tariffs, which seem to take as much as they give. According to the blurry promo materials received by Mobile Syrup the new Smartphone plans offer slightly fewer minutes, in exchange for an extra hour's slice of "evening" time. The current $50 per month plan gives 200 anytime minutes, with unlimited weekends and early evenings from 6pm. Under the new scheme, you'd only get 150 minutes, with the evenings rolling in at 5pm instead. The $60 plan gets the same loss in minutes in exchange for the extra daily hour, plus a 500 MB data allowance bump. A new $55 option has also been created for those that still want a nice round 200 minutes. The plans are said to arrive tomorrow, so if you think you prefer things as they were, better get on it. New Virgin Canada Smartphone plans give you six of one thing, take half a dozen of another originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  Mobile Syrup, Virgin Mobile | Email this | Comments | | AT&T small cell site pilot due between late 2012, 2013 May 9th 2012, 00:23  AT&T has been hinting for a while that it's getting closer to implementing small cell sites in its network, and at CTIA Wireless 2012 gave a stronger clue as to when and how the mini network hubs will operate. Executive technology VP John Donovan clarified to Reuters that a pilot is expected to start late this year and should run into 2013. If all runs smoothly, the below-tower-sized sites will be clipping on to lamp posts and other parts of the urban landscape to strengthen coverage in places where wide-area WiFi alone won't do. While Donovan didn't venture deep into the infrastructure at the trade show, Cisco had previously said that AT&T would be using sites incorporating 2G, 3G, 4G and WiFi when the provider did start experimenting with small cells. If so, there's a chance subscribers could get AT&T WiFi without having to turn to an airport, landmark or coffee shop. AT&T small cell site pilot due between late 2012, 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 20:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Reuters | Email this | Comments | | T-Mobile wants new customers to pay upfront, says it's nothing personal May 9th 2012, 00:02  A change to T-Mobile's billing methods means it'll want to see the color of your money before you've barely had time to play with your new handset. Normally you'd enjoy a liberating spell of non-topping-up telephonic joy before the cold, financial reality of the money being sucked out of your bank account. However, from the 20th of this month, new post-paid customers will be expected to trump up in advance for the recurring part of their bill. Don't panic though, while the first bill might feel a bit heftier (as it includes the pro rata amount for the month, and the next full month,) you're still paying the same amount over time. But, if you're used to the old method, it might come as a bit of a shock when that first magenta envelope hits your letterbox. T-Mobile wants new customers to pay upfront, says it's nothing personal originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | TmoNews | Email this | Comments | | Plum Mobile lineup at CTIA 2012 hands-on May 8th 2012, 23:43  Little-known Plum Mobile appeared at CTIA with the four dual SIM Android sets pictured above and the Might, a Galaxy Note twin we had a peek at a little earlier today. From the top left we have the Debut, which is a 7-in WVGA tablet -- that can be used as a phone -- with Android 2.2 powered by an 800MHz CPU, a 5-megapixel camera and a 4250mAh battery. Pricing for the Plum Debut is somewhere in the neighborhood of $180. The $90 Plum Capacity runs Android 2.2 with a 650MHz CPU, it also offers a 3.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, WiFi, a 3.5-inch HVGA display, and comes in "several" color options. The Wicked 3G is a quadband GSM dualband 3G set with a 3 megapixel camera around back, personal hotspot, and a 2.8-inch resistive display. Rounding out the set is the Android 2.3 Plum Orbit, this $50 dollar set lacks 3G but does have a quadband GSM radio, a 2 megapixel camera and a 3.2-inch display. All of Plum Mobile's sets are fairly low cost but the materials and build quality were decent. The Wicked 3G -- aside from having the best name of the group -- was somehow our favorite of the bunch. Sure it is pretty shiny plastic but the shape was just great to hang onto which is something of a rarity in our world of giant slabs. We doubt that we'll be seeing these phones in any brick and mortar stores on these shores, so we thought we'd treat you to some glossies of them all. Check the gallery just below. Zachary Lutz contributed to this report Plum Mobile lineup at CTIA 2012 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 19:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
