LG G Stylo (Boost Mobile) for $130

The new condition LG G Stylo, in the Boost Mobile configuration, is currently on sale for $130 with free shipping and no-contract at Amazon by Amazon actual. This is the CDMA version of the phone, that doesn’t have as good of a spec-sheet as the TMobile/MetroPCS version. The phone has a giant 5.7-inch IPS screen with Gorilla Glass 3. The processor is the Snapdragon 410, which ranks #797 at notebookcheck (this ranks all processors, not just smartphones).

However, it only has 1GB RAM and 8GB on-board storage and microSD (up to 32GB). It has a built-in stylus, but keep in mind, this is a basic stylus, it’s not at the level of the Samsung S-Pen. On the plus side, it has a 3000mah removable battery. It comes with Android 5.1 out of the box. It averages 4.2 out of 5 based on 120 customer reviews, and it has 90 questions answered by customers over there. This is a prepaid phone, no contract, you own it as long as the payment clears.

November 3, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , ,

New phone at Virgin Mobile: 4.5-inch Huawei Union for $80

Once upon a time there was a drought of new smartphones at Virgin Mobile, as Sprint was trying to digest all the different prepaid companies it accumulated. Perhaps the color-matched red of the Radio Shack stores is doing well with the red of Virgin Mobile, or perhaps their own Sprint prepaid is not doing as well as they had hoped. Regardless, speculation aside, there’s yet another new phone shipping from the VM website.

As usual, it is no-contract, but locked to Virgin Mobile. It the 4.5-inch Huawei Union for $80 with free standard shipping. It has the latest Android Lollipod version (5.1), which is pretty good considering some flagships that cost almost an order of magnitude more are still behind.

The main specs of the Union are:

  • 4.5-inch 854 x 480 display
  • Android 5.1 out of the box
  • 1GB RAM
  • 8GB on-board storage (consumer-usable amount is less – as usual)
  • microSD card
  • 1.1 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 210 processor – currently ranks #959 at notebookcheck.net – this includes ALL PC and mobile processors
  • 4G LTE, Bluetooth, Mobile HotSpot features
  • detailed specs at PhoneArena
October 18, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , ,

Nokia Lumia 530 (T-Mobile) for $20 [WP]

If you are Windows Phone curious or you are looking for a no-contract prepaid phone on the T-Mobile network, the Nokia Lumia 530 phone, locked to T-Mobile but without a contract requirement, is currently on clearance, in new condition for $20 at the Best Buy website. Free shipping with a $35+ order. One way to reach that is to get two of these.

They have basic specs, but hey, it’s just $20. You get a Snapdragon 200 processor, microSD slot that can take up to 128GB (fill it up with music and audiobooks and podcasts!), and runs Windows Phone 8.1.

August 28, 2015 Filed Under: windows phone Tagged With: , , ,

Nokia Lumia 635 (AT&T) for $30 to $40

IF you are looking for the AT&T GoPhone version of the Nokia Lumia 635 Windows Phone, you nay get lucky and find it on clearance at a local Walgreens store for $30. This is a big YMMV since there’s no way to check inventory online and they don’t sell this on their website.

Regardless though, you can still get it at a nice price online, it is on sale for $40 with a limit of three per customer at Amazon.com. This is locked to AT&T but it is a no-contract prepaid (GoPhone) phone. You can just use it as a Wifi-only device. You don’t have to jump through hoops to do this like Verizon. This already improves upon the previous Lumia 520 which was not a bad introductory Windows Phone.

If nothing else, you can get this to explore Windows Phone or use it as a general purpose device around the home (remote control, music or audiobook or podcast player, etc). It averages a very solid 4.4 out of 5 based on 1500+ customer reviews over there. Main specs are a 854 by 480 IPS display of 4.5-inch diagonal, 512MB RAM, 8GB on-board, microSD slot, quad-core processor.

August 6, 2015 Filed Under: windows phone Tagged With: , ,

Motorola Moto G (prepaid) for $40 with promo code

IF you are part of the Fry’s Electronics emailing list, your Sunday promo code can get you the prepaid Motorola Moto G smartphone (no contract) for $40 instead of $50. The website appears to be out of stock, so this is good only if are near a Fry’s brick and mortar stores. This offer is mentioned on the upper half of their weekly ad. The promo codes are personalized in that they can’t be reused, so your best bet is to sign up because the ones posted online have probably been used up already.

PS: the ad does not say which carrier, but judging by other recent offers, this may be Verizon (purely guessing).

July 23, 2015 Filed Under: android Tagged With: , , , ,

LG 450 Black (T-Mobile) for $22.50 [Pay As You Go]

For the shopping week of March 15-21 in 2014, at Walgreens brick and mortar stores (their website does not offer it), you can get the prepaid no-contract LG 450 Black Flip Phone for $22.50. This is because of a 25% off sale on select prepaid pay as you go phones. The phone includes a SIM but no airtime. This is no contract, no commitment, you just pay for it at checkout. It typically goes for $30. No coupon is needed. There should be a discount sign in the store. Availability may vary by store and region, and obviously I have no way to checking every store in the country.

This is a fairly simple phone, with a camera and front status display, you can see details and customer reviews at amazon.com.

The lowest price Pay As You Go plan at the Uncarrier is $3 per month, which includes 30 minutes of talk. They have $10 refill airtime cards that last 90 days, so technically, you pay $10 for 3 months. Every month, it will deduct a $3 minimum from your balance.

Note that this phone is locked to T-Mobile.

March 17, 2015 Filed Under: tech Tagged With: , , ,

Nokia Lumia 635 for $50 (prepaid, no contract, four carriers)

If you are looking for an affordable way to explore Windows Phone without getting tied into a contract or transferring your phone number, Best Buy has a nice sale of the Nokia Lumia 635 for $50. No contract, you can use it as a Wifi-only device. This is available in four different prepaid configurations, T-Mobile Prepaid, AT&T Go Phone, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. Some of these options are also price-matched at Amazon.

March 6, 2015 Filed Under: windows phone Tagged With: ,

Samsung SGH-T199 Prepaid Phone for $5 (T-Mobile)

If you are looking for a very simple prepaid phone with a SIM card, for example, to save your landline phone numbers from getting lost as you go mobile, the Samsung SGH-T199 for T-Mobile is currently on sale for just $5 at Fry’s Electronics (online or stores) and at 711 Stores (YMMV on availability).

If neither one of these options is available or convenient, you can get it for $10 instead at Best Buy and by Best Buy’s eBay store.

March 4, 2015 Filed Under: tech Tagged With: , ,