Looking for 4G speed without the commitment of a contract? Well check out some cool prepaid 4G devices after the jump.
Sprint showed off the first two 4G WiMAX phones for its prepaid Virgin and Boost brands here at the CTIA trade show, along with a WiMAX modem and hotspot that work with a $55, unlimited prepaid plan.
The new devices have all been out on Sprint’s main brand for a while: the EVO V 4G, otherwise known as the Evo 3D (for Virgin), the EVO Design 4G (for Boost), the Overdrive Pro hotspot and the U600 modem (both for Virgin). The hardware is all the same as versions we’ve reviewed, but the two phones have a pleasant surprise: they’ll ship with Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich.
This isn’t the super-sleek Android 4.0 with Sense 4.0 we’ve seen on the HTC One X and One S. It’s overlaid with Sense 3.6, which is a bit slower and heavier than the 4.0 version of the skin. But it’s still faster than Android 2.3, and it lets the speedy Chrome browser work.
Sprint’s own versions of the Evo 3D and Design 4G will get ICS upgrades “within the next couple of months,” said David Owens, Sprint’s director of consumer acquisition.
The Evo V 4G, at least, is being sold differently on Virgin than it is on Sprint. Sprint emphasized the 3D aspects of the phone, which has a 3D camera and glasses-free 3D screen. But as we found in our review, the 3D screen can make you a bit dizzy, and there aren’t a lot of outlets for showing 3D photos right now.
On Virgin, the Evo V 4G will be sold as just a high-quality Android smartphone, which it is; you’re getting a 1.2-GHz, dual-core processor, 4.3-inch 960-by-540 screen, Android 4.0, and a big 1730mAh battery for $299 with no contract. That’s a pretty good deal. When I originally reviewed the phone, I had problems with call quality and Internet connectivity, but the Evo V 4G has different firmware than the Sprint model did, so you can’t draw conclusions from my earlier experiences.
There’s no unlimited data for phones on either Virgin or Boost, though. The EVO V 4G works with plans starting at $35 per month, but according to Sprint’s press release, your speeds will be throttled down if you exceed 2GB or 3.5GB per month, depending on your plan. That’s different from Sprint’s postpaid phones, which have truly unlimited data.
On Boost, the $299 Evo Design 4G runs Android 4.0 on a single-core 1.2-GHz processor. It’s the first Boost phone to support Wi-Fi hotspot capability, the carrier says. Boost has even lower rates than Virgin, with its $55 per month plan “shrinking” to $40 per month with time. Boost doesn’t have a dat cap yet, but it’ll have one soon: later this year, the carrier says, it’ll throttle anyone who uses more than 2.5GB of 3G or 4G data each month to 256kbps speeds.
The Overdrive Pro hotspot and U600 modem are the same as the models on Sprint, too, although the Overdrive boots up with a bright red Virgin logo. The news here, of course, is the service plans. Both the $149.99 Overdrive and $99.99 U600 get unlimited WiMAX data with no-contract plans starting at $35 per month. If you drop down to 3G, the $35 per month plan gets you 2GB per month; a $55 plan gets you 5GB. There are no activation fees, so you only pay for months you use.
Sprint’s main brand is moving towards LTE, but the company is keeping the WiMAX lights on until 2015 “at least,” Sprint’s communications director Michelle Mermelstein said. That means prepaid WiMAX phones bought now will continue to have service.
All these devices go on sale May 31.
