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MetroPCS posts

Samsung Code comes to MetroPCS, Windows Mobile 6.5 decides to stay home

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 21st 2009 @ 4:52AM

Can you imagine Dell or HP selling a Vista laptop a couple months from now? No, you probably can't -- but we've got the mobile equivalent of that faux-pas going on here with MetroPCS' introduction of the rumored Code from Samsung, a portrait QWERTY device with EV-DO, a 2 megapixel camera, and microSD expansion up to 32GB. To be fair, WinMo 6.5 does far less for Standard than it does for Professional over its 6.1 equivalent, but still, it's just a little awkward for all parties involved. If you can get past that minor oversight, though, check it out now at your local retailer for $299 contract-free.

MetroPCS and Virgin Mobile scrap over MetroFlash program

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 30th 2009 @ 7:19PM

Last year, MetroPCS kicked off the respectably ballsy practice of inviting competitors' subscribers to bring their CDMA phones over to get flashed for use on its network, prompting Virgin -- a carrier that plays in the same value space as MetroPCS -- to take issue. Long story short, Virgin ended up filing a lawsuit against MetroPCS citing a couple claims: one, that MetroPCS is willfully interfering with Virgin's customer contracts, and two, that the flashing ultimately results in a trademark violation since Virgin's logo is still on the phone. Funny how law works, isn't it? Anyhow, a court's thrown out the contract claim but is allowing the trademark issue to proceed, making this an interesting one to watch. In the meantime, anyone looking at bailing to MetroPCS and planning on taking some hardware along for the ride might want to look into that sooner rather than later -- you never know what sorts of injunctions might come out of this.

[Via Phone Scoop]

MetroPCS commits to offering dual-mode LTE handset from Samsung next year

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 15th 2009 @ 1:48PM

LTE's not just a big boy's game, it turns out -- regional carrier MetroPCS has been tooting the 4G horn for the better part of the year, too, and they're starting to detail how they plan for it to go down. On the back end, Ericsson equipment will oversee the operation, while the company's inaugural LTE phone will come courtesy of Samsung (why are we not surprised?) in a dual-mode configuration with support for both CDMA and LTE on board. That makes good sense considering that MetroPCS' (and Verizon's) LTE footprint will be a mere drop in the bucket compared to its CDMA one for the foreseeable future -- but what's surprising is that they expect to have it ready in "late 2010." That's incredibly aggressive for an LTE phone since Verizon (and most manufacturers) are making no secret of the fact that modems are the initial focus, not phones, a philosophy further evidenced by the fact that an LTE voice standard still hasn't been established. It'll be really interesting to see what form the phone takes and how voice will be handled -- there's a proposal for routing voice over legacy CDMA on the table, so it's definitely a possibility here, especially considering the phone will have CDMA on board anyway.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Update: MetroPCS has told Phone Scoop that it plans on rocking VoIP via LTE rather than using its existing CDMA infrastructure for voice, which is a pretty interesting play -- let's just hope they settle on a standard rather than trying to roll their own tech.

Cricket, MetroPCS launch Samsung Messager II

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 26th 2009 @ 10:42AM

Seemingly unconvinced that enough people had said "hey, you spelled 'messenger' wrong" after the first model, archrival regionals Cricket and MetroPCS have both launched Samsung's Messager II with a 2 megapixel camera, EV-DO, and a pair of keypads: one slide-out QWERTY, one numeric permanently affixed up front. Admittedly, the name is no stranger than the "Vice" brand adopted by the phone's twin sister up in Canada, but isn't it kind of ironic that a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard be given a name that nearly everyone thinks is a typo? Find this sucker now on MetroPCS for $149 and Cricket for a hair under $200.

[Via Phone Scoop]

MetroPCS intros Mister Cartoon-tweaked Samsung Messager

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 3rd 2009 @ 3:45PM

Say you like Samsung's low-cost texting wizard for MetroPCS, the Messager. In fact, you like it a lot. Problem is, you keep looking at it and saying "it's missing something." What could it be? 3G? A 5 megapixel camera? Naw, don't be crazy -- what this baby really needed was a glowing yellow angel on the back. Fortunately, MetroPCS is happy to oblige, hooking up with tattoo wizard Mister Cartoon to offer a customized version of the phone -- shell, wallpaper, ringtones, the whole nine yards -- which'll be available later this month. To kick off the new model in style, the regional carrier's going to be auctioning off the first ten models signed by the big guy himself starting this weekend; if those end up being too rich for your blood, you'll have dibs on the other 29,990 unsigned versions for a to-be-announced price.

Oh, by the way: July 22, 2009

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 22nd 2009 @ 11:59PM

Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of mobile for Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009:

For some reason known only to Samsung, it seems the S9110 watchphone won't be coming to the UK any time soon. Of course, if you've got unlocked GSM 900 / 1800 units floating around France this month, it should be a simple matter to get 'em anywhere in Europe.
LG's second quarter report revealed an astounding 32 percent jump in phone shipments quarter-over-quarter, setting an all-time best 29.82 million units. The company specifically calls out the next Black Label phone -- presumably the BL40 -- as one of the phones it's pinning its hopes and dreams on toward the end of the year. [Via mocoNews]
iPhones can now be used to generate RSA SecurID tokens, which should make a great many enterprise iPhone users happier than pigs in poo.
Google Maps 3.2 has been released for Windows Mobile and S60. The big feature here is layered data, meaning you can add and remove different bits of information (Latitude, traffic, and so on) one layer at a time.
A picture atop Samsung USA's mobile site suggests a new QWERTY slider is destined for MetroPCS. It's labeled Messager, but looks nothing like the Messager we're acquainted with -- instead, it looks suspiciously like Bell's Vice. [Via Phone Scoop]

MetroPCS rolls out mega-cheap international calling plan

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 25th 2009 @ 9:02PM

If you do a lot of calling to other countries and you're on a budget (or, heck, even if you're not on a budget), it's going to be hard not to sit up and take notice of MetroPCS' ridiculously affordable new option. Subscribers to the regional carrier's $40, $45, and $50 service plans will be able to tack on unlimited international calling for just $5 a month, offering access to "over 100" countries representing "over 1,000" destinations at no additional charge -- they're being coy about the exact numbers, but at any rate, "over 100" countries is a lot by our geographically-impaired count. So, you know, don't be shy about ringing up that buddy in Luxembourg a little more often, alright?

[Via Phone Scoop]

MetroPCS working with ZTE on LTE-based smartphone

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 30th 2009 @ 8:39PM

It's still pretty wild to think that scrappy lil' MetroPCS -- a carrier known better for ultra-cheap phones, regional coverage, and no contracts than it is for high-speed data -- intends to roll out its first LTE markets in the same year as Verizon, but hey, we definitely like their moxie. Of course, live LTE networks require LTE hardware, and it turns out that the company is hooking up with ZTE to make that happen. MetroPCS already enjoys a healthy relationship with the Chinese manufacturer, but the LTE tie-up should serve to strengthen the bond -- not to mention the fact that they're looking to move upmarket by introducing a smartphone with "a large screen and an HTML-compatible browser" according to Forbes. Sure, on paper, you might say that you'd rather have an HTC device, a Pre, or an iPhone -- but how's your willpower going to be treating you when MetroPCS is offering 50Mbps tethering?

MetroPCS nabs the Samsung Tint

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 28th 2009 @ 6:22PM

If you're looking for 3G, well, you can keep on looking, but the new Tint flip from Samsung has a few things going for it. MetroPCS' latest AWS-enabled piece does GPS, support for the carrier's ChatLINK "push-to-talk social networking tool," voice recognition, and changeable faceplates -- and what's more, you've got both pink and grey included in the box. If neither of those colors suit your fancy, you've got more options available to you a la carte -- and you can use the Tint's Bluetooth support to make it happen, if you're so inclined. We haven't seen the Tint go live on MetroPCS' site just yet, but it should be available now.

MetroPCS intros $3 unlimited calling to Mexico, plenty of strings attached

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 23rd 2009 @ 2:16PM

Regardless of the caveats, $3 a month is a microscopic penance to pay for the ability to call Mexico ad nauseam, but buyers just need to be careful that it's going to meet their needs before taking the plunge. The newly-introduced feature on value carrier MetroPCS advertising "unlimited calls to Mexico," but as the asterisk up there implies, there's a catch: the unlimited calling is only to Mexican landlines -- not cellphones -- and only those landlines in a list of 200-odd cities. You also get unlimited texting to handsets on America Movil, Movistar, Iusacell, and Nextel Mexico, which is a nice bonus -- but why texting and no calling?

[Via MobileBurn]

Motorola Hint QA30 texts its way onto MetroPCS

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 16th 2009 @ 8:10AM

So this is shaping up to be a week of "me toos" for the regional carriers, it seems; we have the LG Banter migrating from Alltel to US Cellular, and we've got the Motorola Hint hitchhiking from Alltel over to MetroPCS. Like the Banter, the unusually-shaped Hint goes squarely for the texting crowd with a full QWERTY keyboard -- but unlike the Banter, the Hint goes for a portrait slider. Features include a 2 megapixel camera, 140MB of onboard storage with microSD expansion, a 2.5-inch QVGA landscape display, and of course, AWS support for MetroPCS' airwaves. It runs $249 contract-free.

[Via MobileBurn]

MetroPCS sees huge influx of customers, intros GroupLINE

by Darren Murph posted Apr 10th 2009 @ 9:35PM

We'd already heard that right about now was a great time to be in the prepaid cell business, and that's being proven quite definitively by MetroPCS' Q1 subscriber results. We're told that the firm saw a net addition of 684,000 customers in the first three months of 2009, representing an astounding 51 percent increase year-over-year. While celebrating mightily, the company also saw fit to introduce a "one-call communication solution targeted at families and friends who are trying to save money in today's economy by 'cutting the cord' and replacing their landline telephones with wireless phones." Said "landline replacer" is called GroupLINE, which enables up to five MetroPCS Family Plan subscribers to receive calls on a shared GroupLINE number while still maintaining their individual mobile numbers -- all for just $5 per month. So, anyone looking to tighten the belt by going prepaid? Your options are getting good.

[Via GigaOM]

Read - MetroPCS results
Read - GroupLINE launch

MetroPCS' Samsung Finesse spotted in the wild

by Darren Murph posted Apr 1st 2009 @ 5:56AM

Not even two days after getting official on MetroPCS, Samsung's Finesse has already been captured in the wild. As expected, there's nothing here too shocking for those that have laid eyes upon the Samsung Behold, but the branding is definitely hard to miss. Hit the read link for a few more low-grade shots -- just go in with low expectations and you'll be fine.

Samsung Finesse comes to MetroPCS

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 30th 2009 @ 8:14PM

$349 sounds a bit steep for a phone like this until you realize that you're getting it completely free of the surly bonds of a contract -- and that's exactly how MetroPCS likes to roll. The new Finesse from Samsung is one of the highest-end feature phones the regional carrier has rolled out to date, looking a bit like a CDMA Behold and offering a 2 megapixel cam, full touchscreen, microSD expansion, and 150MB of storage on-board. They're quoting "2-3 weeks" for online availability, so that gives you a few all-important days to save up that loose change.

[Via TrendyCellular]

MetroPCS gets with the BlackBerry program, rolls out Curve 8330

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 10th 2009 @ 12:54PM

Remember how MetroPCS' COO was spouting off about a BlackBerry in the product pipeline just last week? Well, turns out it's coming out the other end of that pipeline sooner than we thought. The regional carrier's own version of the BlackBerry 8330 will be hitting Best Buy this week and MetroPCS locations by the end of the month, but there's a catch -- AWS isn't supported, so if you're in an AWS-powered MetroPCS market, you're outta luck. That's a shame considering the steal of a plan: $50 buys you unlimited everything (add another $10 for BES), though you'll need to shell out $450 upfront for the privilege.

[Via Phone Scoop]