Virgin Mobile USA today announced that it will begin selling the iPhone 5 next Friday, June 28, offering the device on its no-contract Beyond Talk service plans. The plans start at $35/month for 300 minutes plus unlimited text and data, although the carrier begins throttling data speeds after a monthly soft cap of 2.5 GB. A $45/month plan offers 1200 minutes, while a $55/month plan adds unlimited calling, and customers can earn a $5/month discount on their bills when they sign up for automatic payments.
As for the iPhone itself, Virgin Mobile is offering a $100 discount off of Apple's standard unsubsidized pricing, selling the 16 GB iPhone 5 for $549.99 with the 32 GB model priced at $649.99 and the 64 GB model at $749.99.
We noted last October that Apple had Virgin Mobile-specific iPhone 5 models ready to go, although it was unclear at the time when they would be released and it remains unknown why it took approximately nine months after the device's launch to appear at the carrier. The iPhone 5 has been available through other prepaid carriers such as Cricket since as long ago as September.
Wednesday November 13, 2024 2:09 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 next month, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well....
Thursday November 14, 2024 4:19 pm PST by Juli Clover
The M4 MacBook Pro models feature quantum dot display technology, according to display analyst Ross Young. Apple used a quantum dot film instead of a red KSF phosphor film, a change that provides more vibrant, accurate color results.
Young says that Apple has opted for KSF for prior MacBook Pro models because it doesn't use toxic element cadmium (typical for quantum dot) and is more...
Wednesday November 13, 2024 11:01 am PST by Juli Clover
A trio of Apple customers this month filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the Cupertino company of violating California consumer protection laws and false advertising for continuing to sell AirPods Pro models that had ongoing issues with crackling or static sounds.
A few months after the AirPods Pro came out in October 2019, buyers began to complain about crackling, rattling, ...
Thursday November 14, 2024 2:54 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Google has launched its dedicated Gemini artificial intelligence app for iPhone users, expanding beyond the previous limited integration within the main Google app. The standalone app offers enhanced functionality, including support for Gemini Live and iOS-specific features like Dynamic Island integration.
The new app allows iPhone users to interact with Google's AI through text or voice...
Wednesday November 13, 2024 11:59 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple last week replaced the M3 Max MacBook Pro with the new M4 Max MacBook Pro, and we picked up one of the new high-end MacBook Pro machines to see how it compares to the prior model with both benchmarks and real-world tests.
We tested an M4 Max with a 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, and 48GB RAM against an M3 Max MacBook Pro with similar specs. The two machines look similar, but the display on...
But its on Sprint Network right? So, it's worthless. Sprint has almost no LTE, this doesnt do WiMax, and their 3G network can't even achieve 56K modem speeds.
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If only there could be a quality prepaid carrier using the Verizon network...
Or have I missed something? Sprint and therefore Virgin coverage in my area is crap.
there used to be a decent amount of Pre-paid carriers on Verizon and AT&T. Straight Talk used to be almost exclusively Verizon in the beginning. But AT&T and Verizon saw how many people were using those cheaper services so they kicked them off their networks. Verizon did it a long time ago. AT&T just recently told Straight Talk to quit selling AT&T sims.
So, now all pre-paids are on T-mo or Sprint. Sprint is terrible coverage and terrible data speeds. T-mo has good data speeds as long as you are inside a city's limits. Suburbs, not so much. And their coverage area sucks. You spend most of your time roaming on AT&T network at edge speeds.
Holy ****. Is there NO WiFi in his life or does he just insist on streaming YouTube HD 24/7? The wife & I SHARE 1GB/mo and barely use 75% of that bc WiFi is everywhere.
Kid is a gamer and always seems to be watching walk-through videos on YouTube -- and Google still hasn't figured out how to stream mobile videos at an appropriate quality for the connection and device.
Hmm... If only the people who develop Android could somehow work with the people who run YouTube... Maybe if they were owned by the same company... <scratches chin> /s
But its on Sprint Network right? So, it's worthless. Sprint has almost no LTE, this doesnt do WiMax, and their 3G network can't even achieve 56K modem speeds.
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there used to be a decent amount of Pre-paid carriers on Verizon and AT&T. Straight Talk used to be almost exclusively Verizon in the beginning. But AT&T and Verizon saw how many people were using those cheaper services so they kicked them off their networks. Verizon did it a long time ago. AT&T just recently told Straight Talk to quit selling AT&T sims.
So, now all pre-paids are on T-mo or Sprint. Sprint is terrible coverage and terrible data speeds. T-mo has good data speeds as long as you are inside a city's limits. Suburbs, not so much. And their coverage area sucks. You spend most of your time roaming on AT&T network at edge speeds.
There is hope as AT&T AIOwireless.com pre-paid service is supposed to roll out nationwide with substantial discounts over their post paid service.
So 'Unlimited' actually means 2.5GB. I don't understand how carriers are allowed to use terms like this. What's unlimited about 2.5GB? It's probably plenty for most but thats not the point.
