Pre-Paid iPhone Comes to Cricket Wireless

David Goldman, reporting for CNN Money:

Cricket customers will have to pay nearly full price for the device, shelling out $500 for the 16 gigabyte iPhone 4S or $400 for the two-year-old iPhone 4. That compares to a $200 upfront cost on Verizon, Sprint and AT&T for the 16 GB iPhone 4S and $100 for the iPhone 4.

Unlike those subsidized phones, which require two-year contracts, Cricket’s iPhone will be available contract-free for $55 a month, with unlimited talk and text. Cricket also offers “unlimited data,” but the company will start slowing speeds down to a crawl after a user reaches 2.3 GB in a billing cycle.

$400-500 sounds like a lot compared to the subsidized contract prices, but man, $55/month is way less than what you pay at the major carriers.

★ Thursday, 31 May 2012