ProjectFI offering BOGO (via Service Credit) on Moto X4 phones as long as they get activated

Project FI has a new temptation! They are offering essentially a BOGO on the $249 Motorola Moto X4 Android One phone IF you buy and activate these two phones on two different users on the same Project FI group plan. The “BOGO” is via a service credit. You will get a $249 Project FI service credit, while paying $249 for each of the two Moto X4 phones. Better yet, you can do this in multiples of 2, if you have more users/lines in your FI account.

The promotion just got send via email to existing customers…

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April 4, 2018 Filed Under: android Tagged With: ,

Motorola Moto X and $80 Project FI credit for $250

On the other hand, if you don’t need an ECHO, and you are determined to start a new Project FI service, then ignore our previous Moto X + ECHO offer, and instead take advantage of a new limited time promotion at Google’s Project FI that gets you the new condition Motorola Moto X4 in the “Android One” version for $250 but that’s not all. You also get an $80 Project FI service credit if you make a purchase and activate the phone by March 17 in 2018. The $80 service credit is only good for NEW FI customers.

This is a pretty good deal, since ProjectFI only charges you data “by the pound”. So you are essentially getting the phone for $170, assuming you will like the Project-FI service and stay with them long enough for the promotional credits to be applied to your account. Regardless, the Moto X4 is an “all carrier” phone so you can use it with other carriers in the future.

I am currently using Project FI with a Nexus 6 [yes, I am on the cutting edge!] and to setup a second Data-SIM only phone as an actual backup to the line. More on that in future blog-posts.

February 25, 2018 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , ,

Motorola Moto X4 + Amazon ECHO (2nd Gen) for $350

If you happen to want an unlocked smartphone that will work with all major US carriers, and you also want a second generation Amazon ECHO device, and you are a Prime member, $350 will get you the aforementioned ECHO device along with the new condition Motorola Moto X4 smartphone from Amazon actual. This is an unlocked smartphone with a USA warranty, and it will work all four major US carriers, and also Google’s Project-FI, currently the only non-Google phone that is compatible with the service.

This is a limited time offer, but they don’t mention when it expires.

PS: speaking of unlocked smartphones, I just posted an unboxing of the Sony Xperia L2, with more posts and review action coming up in the next few days.

February 25, 2018 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , ,

Motorola Moto G (4th Generation; 2GB/32GB) for $130

On the other half, if you want to stay under $150, and you are not tempted by the Moto G5 Plus offer, fear not, Amazon has a budget deal for you too IF you are a Prime member and you do NOT object to the “Lockscreen Ads” version of the Motorola Moto G (4th Generation) in the 2GB RAM with 32GB on-board storage denomination.

This very model is currently on sale, probably for a limited time only, for $130 with free shipping at amazon.com. Limit one per customer since this is a pretty, pretty, pretty good price (as the returning in October Larry David likes to say). The offer is only good on the black color scheme.

The standard versions without the Amazon Lockscreen Ads go for $200, so the difference is definitely big enough at the moment to put up with the Lockscreen ads.

This Moto G4 is also an “all carrier” smartphone, so you can use it with any of the big four in the US market, including the CDMA duo (Verizon, Sprint), along with the more flexible GSM duo (AT&T, T-Mobile).

This is a USA version, with manufacturer warranty and Moto’s blessings. This too may be eligible for an installment plan, five equal payments on your credit or debit card of $26 each. Screenshot of that:

CLARIFICATION: there are three versions of the Moto G4 phone. There is a PLAY version, a PLUS version, and this version. This version does not have a Play or Plus moniker 🙂

July 12, 2017 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , ,

Motorola Moto G (5th Gen) for $250

If you need a smartphone right now that will work on all four major US carriers, and don’t want to wait to see what the Fall of 2017 will bring us, and want to stay under $300, there is a pretty good deal right now on the fifth generation Motorola Moto G Plus, in the more advanced 4GB RAM and 64GB storage option, in the Lunar color scheme, going for $250.

This is factory unlocked, with a USA warranty, and it is sold and shipped by Amazon actual. This is the standard version of the phone, NOT the Prime ad-subsidized model with Lockscreen offers.

So, other things equal, this phone has the best resale value. It is unlocked, a USA model, and works with all four major carriers. Yes, even the CDMA duo of Sprint and Verizon. This is partially thanks to the Snapdragon 625, a chipset that is getting quite a lot of good reviews in bang for the buck phones.

You May Be Eligible For A Simple Installment Plan
But wait, there’s more! The Amazon website may also offer you an option to purchase it with a five installment plan. There is no interest, and no credit check. The Amazon computers predetermine eligibility for these type of offers based on a customer’s Amazon account history and status and offer them automatically. They will simply charge your credit cards $50 for five consecutive months.

Here’s a screenshot for the offer IF eligible:

July 12, 2017 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , ,

Motorola Moto G (3rd generation; 1GB RAM, 8GB storage) for $50 [Virgin Mobile USA]

In addition to the previously mentioned LG Stylo 2 sale, the official Virgin Mobile USA online store also has a sale on the new condition Motorola Moto G (3rd generation) for $50 with free shipping. That’s it, you own it!

You don’t even have to start service with it, but it will pester you to activate when you reboot it. There are ways to make this less painful [see our post for the LG Stylo 2].

Note also that this is the entry-level of the third-generation Moto G models. Unlike most other smartphones, the entry-level model has half the RAM and half the on-board storage from the more advanced models. So with this one you get 1GB RAM and 8GB on-board storage.

I haven’t used this smartphone, but I have the first generation Moto G, and it’s holding up rather well considering it was a $20 phone when I bought way back then.

May 24, 2017 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , ,

Motorola Moto E (Tracfone) for $20 w/free S&H

If you need a budget Android phone that is actually usable considering the price, the new condition Tracfone edition of the Motorola Moto E is on sale for $20 with free shipping by ShopCellDeals on eBay. They have a 99.5% feedback score and they ship from Virginia. Over 3650 phones got sold so far from this listing.

Tracfone is a prepaid seller, so you are under no obligation to start or transfer or continue service with them. It’s all up to you. Note however that the Tracfone is the only wireless carrier that you can use this phone with.

The specs are basic on the phone, but the Moto E was part of the earlier budget wave started by the Illinois pre-Google pre-Lenovo version of Motorola, along with the Moto G and the Moto X. It has a 4.3″ qHD screen, “q” in this case is “quarter HD”, not “quad HD”, which translates to 960 x 540 pixels. It runs on a dual core 1.2GHz processor and Android 4.4.

If you need more power, there are many great choices out there, but you won’t find them for $20 delivered and in new condition 🙂

December 5, 2016 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , ,

Double Figures Virgin Mobile Sale on the HTC Desire 626s and Moto G

If you like budget no-contract Android phones but want to avoid the super basic models, two of the reasonable trade-off type models are on sale for double figures at Virgin Mobile. The HTC Desire 626s (the “s” is part of the model name, it’s not plural) goes for $80 with free shipping, while the entry-level version of the Motorola Moto G (3rd generation) with 1GB RAM and 8GB on-board (but it has microSD) goes for $90.

There’s also the recently released LG Stylo 2 dropping to $150, however, LG just announced a newer version of this with 3GB RAM and 1080p screen and 32GB on-board storage and fingerprint support that will eventually come to North America but does not specify which carriers or when. See Phone Area for a spec comparison of the two models. I have no clue what the price of the new Plus will be though.

You can see these and other eligible phones on sale at the Virgin Mobile website. Many of the budget phones can be purchased with Account Balance, although after their website remodeling, you may have to call-in if you want to pay with account balance. It doesn’t seem to have an option when you order with the new website. Note however that some phones are not eligible for Account Balance pay. All the iPhones are excluded, and flagship-type phones (eg the Galaxy flagships of each year) are also excluded.

June 2, 2016 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , ,

Virgin Mobile Phone Sale headlined by Motorola Moto G for $85 (3rd gen; 1/8)

This is a nice deal, especially if you have available Virgin Mobile balance to pay for it, the third generation of the Motorola Moto G is on sale for $85 with free shipping, in new condition, without contract requirements, at Virgin Mobile. Please note however that this is the lower end model with 1GB RAM and 8GB on-board storage, so if you are reading reviews, make sure you pay attention to the distinctions. Motorola makes a 2GB RAM with 16GB on-board storage model, unfortunately that’s not available at Virgin Mobile.

While there, they have a couple of other prepaid phones on sale as well:

  • Kyocera Hydro REACH for $70 {you have to add it to the shopping cart to see the price}
  • Huaweii Union for $30

Note that these are locked to Virgin Mobile which runs on the Sprint network, so if you are fond of the more open GSM systems, these won’t work there. You may or may not be able to run them on other Sprint systems, check the various Android phones to see what else you can do with them. Do not assume they will work anywhere else unless you find out for sure.

But if you don’t want to use the cellular part, these definitely make good budget Wifi-only device for lightweight use at the home, eg a remote control of different media and internet of things products.

May 20, 2016 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , , ,

Virgin Mobile Sale returns: Motorola Moto G (latest model 1GB/8GB) for $100, iPhone 5S for $150, etc

After the holidays ended, the prices jumped up at Virgin Mobile, but of course in the fast-paced world of smartphones, that wouldn’t last long. And indeed, there is a new sale now, headlined by the iPhone 5S (16GB) going for $150, and the 3rd-generation Motorola Moto G for $100. This is the latest model, however, this is the entry-level model with 1GB RAM and 8GB on-board storage. There’s also a model with 2GB RAM and 16GB on-board but unfortunately Virgin Mobile does not carry that one.

vm_sale_moto_GIII
Also on sale is the Huawei Union for $30, while Windows Phone fans have their Lumia 635 down to $50 (it had gone as low as $40 at some point in the year).

vm_sale_iphone_5S

These are no-contract phones, you own them, however, they are locked to the Virgin Mobile network, which is part of the Sprint 4G LTE infrastructure. Check the various phone forums to see which one of these phones can be hacked away to work on other Sprint MVNOs.

January 12, 2016 Filed Under: android, iPhones, windows phone Tagged With: , , , , , ,

[DEAD] Motorola Moto G (3rd gen) drops to $120 (VM)

The new year came (2016) and with it, all the Virgin Mobile USA phone discounts got washed away… But I’m sure they’ll have more sales in the next few days… CES is already underway and more phones are getting announced, so it’s natural for the existing models to eventually go through the discounting and clearance cycle…

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December 29, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

[DEAD] Mon only: unlocked Motorola Moto X (2nd gen) for $200

As of 12:05am ET, all three of the colors sold-out, ahead of the 24-hour expiration window…

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November 2, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , ,

Turquoise Motorola Shell for the Moto G (first gen) for $3.19

If you have the first generation Motorola Moto G smartphone, and love turquoise type of color shells, you are in luck! The official Motorola shell, only in the turquoise shell is now down to $3.19 with a limit of three per customer at Amazon.com, where it averages 3.9 out of 5 based on 400+ customer reviews.

Now the bad news. This is an “Add-In Item”, so you must place an order of $25+, otherwise the shopping cart will not let you buy it. This restriction includes Prime members.

One easy way to get to $25+ is to pick up some microSD cards for your other phones/tablets/devices, for example, this 64GB Kingston goes for $19 (and in frustration-free packaging), while this 64GB Silicon Power goes for $20.

NOTE: the first generation Motorola Moto G does NOT take microSD cards. But most households have multiple mobile devices, so chances are you can use microSD cards – that’s why I’m mentioning them.

October 31, 2015 Filed Under: accessories Tagged With: ,

Good News / Bad News: Motorola Moto G (3rd generation) arrives at Virgin Mobile USA for $150

This is a good news / bad news type of a thing. The good news is that the third generation (latest model as of writing time) Motorola Moto G has arrived at Virgin Mobile USA and it is available for purchase for $150.

The bad news is that this is the entry-level model with 1GB RAM and 8GB on-board. This is the only model they currently offer. This is clear in their product description, see annotated screenshot below:

motorola_moto_g_3rd_Gen_at_virgin_mobile

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October 6, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , ,

Refurbished Motorola Droid 3 XT862 for $30 [Verizon]

If you are fond of older Droid-branded headphones, but still 4G LTE, and you feel comfortable with seller-refurbished smartphones, eBay seller “Grab Wireless” (99.3%) is offering the seller-refurbished Motorola Droid 3 XT862 (Verizon obviously, 16GB on-board, 4G LTE) for $30 with free shipping with a limit of 50 per customer. Over 300 units got sold so far from this listing. No contract obviously 🙂

The seller is offering a 30-day money-back guarantee but obviously no warranty.

October 2, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , ,