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]

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?

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.

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]

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]

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

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.

$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]

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]

Running through our cheat sheet of American carriers hoping to roll out LTE, regional MetroPCS definitely would not have been on our short list to scrap with Verizon in the race to launch the first commercial network stateside -- but sure enough, they're on there. Recent comments by the COO indicate that they're on track to launch 4G service some time in 2010 -- "probably the latter half" -- which raises the obvious question of why they're in such a hurry. Historically, MetroPCS has been a value brand, concentrating on non-data-centric handsets (in fact, they don't have a single data card or smartphone in their current lineup), but it's been revealed that they'll be deploying a BlackBerry later this year, so it seems they're looking to move up the food chain and capture some of that data revenue the top-tier carriers have been enjoying for the past couple of years.

[Via Phone Scoop]

MetroPCS phones aren't typically barn-burners, and despite the fancy name, the R310 Byline is no exception to the rule. The simple clamshell's claim to fame is likely its support for ChatLINK push-to-talk service, but otherwise, you get Bluetooth, speakerphone, and a 160 x 128 primary display matched with the glorious splendor of a 96 x 96 color screen on the outside. Sound good? Then pull out your hard-earned $99 and head down to the store, friend.

Following a springtime announcement, the unabashedly purple C78 candybar from ZTE is now shipping on MetroPCS -- the Chinese manufacturer's third on MetroPCS this year, and still among the first official ZTE launches in North America. It's not going to wow any power users, but then again, power users don't really belong on MetroPCS to start; instead, you'll find 60MB of onboard storage, a 2-inch display, a VGA cam, and tri-band CDMA in a package that runs just $129 with no contract. And hey, if you buy in, we'll bet you a dollar you're the only kid on the block with a purple phone (excluding that jerk with the Colorwared Curve, of course).

Update: Turns out that ZTE didn't have any good reason to issue this "formal announcement" -- the C78's been available in all MetroPCS markets for several weeks now. Thanks, youngcalihottie and Rich!

As we'd heard back in August, the scrappy little VE240 candybar from Moto is destined for a pair of regionals -- Cricket and MetroPCS. It's got stereo Bluetooth, MP3 support, expandable memory up to 4GB, and that's about it; nothing to get terribly excited about, but the light spec sheet should keep things affordable. It's available now in Cricket's Tulsa market with wider availability coming to both carriers in the next few weeks.

So, you like talkin', do you? What's that? Not a fan of contracts? Looks like MetroPCS may just have something right down your alley with the new Unlimited Nationwide plan. Said plan enables subscribers to chat in an unlimited fashion in over 300 cities in the contiguous United States without any contract whatsoever, and best of all, the expanded network will be included at no additional charge in the carrier's current $45 and $50 service plans. For those on cheaper qualified plans, the luxury can be added for $5 per month. Interested? The go-live date is November 10th.

[Via phonescoop]

For Chinese handset manufacturers, North America is one of the last great cash cows that has yet to be milked. It's not an easy market to break into by any means, but with LG, Samsung, and Pantech -- historically the value leaders in the market -- moving up the food chain in recent years, it seems like there could be room for another player or two. Enter ZTE, a company that's quiety snuck through the ranks to become the sixth largest handset maker in the world but has approached Canada and the US with kid gloves so far, starting with a Fastap phone (of all things) on Telus just last year and just recently moving onto MetroPCS in the States with the AWS-equipped C78 candybar and C79 flip.

We've been playing with a C79 recently, and let's get this conversation off on the right foot: it's a value phone. Yes, MetroPCS charges $159 for it, but that's completely contract-free with no strings attached, so realistically it'd run just a few bucks if the carrier were to offer it on a two-year deal (which they don't). That being said, this is a case where you get what you pay for -- the C79 feels like a cheap phone through and through. Paradoxically, it's both bulky and uncomfortably light, which definitely contributes to that. The external music controls are weird and unnecessarily small, and while we could really juice the volume on the earpiece during calls, the sound was pretty muddy. On the plus side, the keypad is awesome with large, easy-to-press buttons that even the fattest fingers would have no trouble using, and the screens are bright and reasonably colorful (though the 220 x 176 resolution never lets you forget that you're dealing with a lower-end device here). We also had no problem with the hinge, which is a component that's always at risk of cheesiness when you're dealing with inexpensive hardware -- it felt solid and consistently closed with a satisfying, positive action.

With a couple midrange features like microSD expansion and stereo Bluetooth included, we could reasonably see picking this up if it were offered to us for free on contract -- but paying just shy for $160 out of pocket for the C79 is a tough pill to swallow. Then again, when you put things in perspective, ZTE's a brand new player in this market and this phone is a strong early effort. Needless to say, the established players would definitely be wise to keep their eyes over their shoulders over the next couple years.