Smartphones Arriving in the Prepaid Market

Smartphone and Prepaid Worlds Combine

It wasn’t that long ago that smartphones were exclusively for those willing to sign long contracts and pay heafty cell plan fees.  Today we see the number of  prepaid wireless companies offering smartphones growing steadily.  MetroPCS and Boost Mobile have been offering smartphones as part of their prepaid wireless plans for a while now;  but others such as Leap Wireless and Virgin Mobile are following suit.

The prepaid wireless market is growing rapidly; more new subscribers signed up for prepaid plans than postpaid plans at the end of 2009. However, one of the biggest challenges prepaid subscribers faced was the lack of “cool phone” inventory.  Historically, prepaid phones were low-end, no-bells-and-whistles-devices.  We are now seeing prepaid providers offering fancier phones, including smartphones.  This move is breaking the prepaid market wide open.  Prepaid subscribers have moved on to the larger playing field previously occupied by the biggest wireless providers, including AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T Mobile.

Smartphones are the future of the mobile phone. Within the next few years, the number of smartphones shipped is expected to exceed the number of traditional feature phones.  What a great time for the prepaid wireless companies to make the leap to smartphones.

Prepaid Smartphones Prices

You’ve seen the “buy one, get one free” ads and the cant-be-beat pricing on smartphones  from the big postpaid wireless providers.  The postpaid companies are able to subsidize their phones which allows consumers to get the devices at well-below retail prices.  The smartphones from prepaid providers are not subsidized, so you may be looking at paying retail, which can run anwhere from $250 – $350.   Promotions can be found however, which can get you your phone for less.

Prepaid Service Plan Prices

The major upside of a prepaid cell plan is the relatively low monthly cost.  While the devices may cost your more upfront, you can save up to 50% over a comparable postpaid plan.  For example: unlimited voice, internet, text, and email through Verizon Wireless can cost $120; the same plan is being offered by Boost Mobile for $60. Customers today are crafty enough to calculate the long-term cost of the phones and services they are considering. It appears prepaid customers are willing to pay a bit more for the phone itself in exchange for a well-priced, affordable cell plan.

So, who’s offering what:

Leap Wireless

Leap Wireless sells is phones through the Cricket Brand.  They plan to offer two, maybe more, new smartphones by the end of 2010: the Blackberry Curve and the Kyocera Zio.  The Zio is a Google Anroid phone.

MetroPCS

MetroPCS is already selling the Blackberry Curve and the Samsung Code which is a Windows mobile and touch screen device.

Boost Mobile

Boost Mobile is owned by Sprint Ntextell and will begin selling the Blackberry Curve on May 24.

Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile will be offering the least expensive cell plan for the Blackberry Curve. The cell plan inlcudes 300 talk minutes and unlimited text, email, and internet. With Verizon Wireless, the cheapest Blackberry Curve plan is $90 for 450 talk minutes, unlimited text, email, and internet.