Sprint to offer prepaid iPhone with cheaper data plans, no contract

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Published: Thursday, June 7 2012 1:13 p.m. MDT

In this Wednesday, May 30, 2012, file photo, a tourist uses his iPhone to photograph Federal Hall in New York's Financial District, Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Leap Wireless International Inc., the parent of the Cricket cellphone service, on Thursday, May 31, 2012, said it will be the first mainland U.S. phone company to sell the iPhone on a prepaid, no-contract basis.

Richard Drew, Associated Press

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Summary

Sprint is testing us. Virgin Mobile, Sprint's prepaid division, just launched a test of the way Americans buy phones—and it could have tremendous implications for the wireless market.

Our take: With the economy how it is, businesses are taking risks to give them the edge against their competitors. The latest risk is by Spring who is planning on offering the Apple iPhone on a prepaid contract without data restrictions.

Sprint is testing us. Virgin Mobile, Sprint's prepaid division, just launched a test of the way Americans buy phonesand it could have tremendous implications for the wireless market.

The deal works like this: Pay a higher, unsubsidized up-front price for the iPhone 4 ($549) or iPhone 4S ($649) on Virgin Mobile, instead of just $99 or $199 for the same phones with a two-year contract over on the Sprint mainland. Then, you pay just $30 per month for unlimited data (throttled after 2.5GB), unlimited texting, and 300 minutes. A $40 plan gives you 1,200 minutes, while a $50 plan ratchets voice to unlimited as well. If you want to use the iPhone as a mobile hotspot, it costs an extra $15 per month.

The way the math works, you'll save $750 over the course of two years when purchasing the Virgin Mobile iPhone over the Sprint version, which starts at $80 per month for unlimited data and texting and 450 minutes.

Read more about Virgin Mobile's $30 iPhone Plan Gamble on PCMag.com.

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