What’s happening OSOM, the phone startup made of ex-Essential employees, has unveiled images and details of its first flagship phone with a focus on privacy. Why it matters Rarely do new companies challenge Apple, Samsung and other tech giants dominating the phone market, but a data-protecting flagship phone might be perfectly suited for consumers looking …
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Dish may not have made many major moves since acquiring Boost Mobile from T-Mobile and Sprint earlier this year, but that may change as the calendar turns towards 2021. On Tuesday the carrier publicly named Stephen Stokols, the former founder of wireless venture FreedomPop, to be Boost Mobile’s new executive vice president. Stokols will report to John Swieringa, who oversees …
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FreedomPop has made a name for itself by offering free and inexpensive phone plans. Now, the company is expanding into the premium-service end of the market — but without the premium pricing. Unreal Mobile is a FreedomPop spinoff that hopes to lure customers away from soon-to-merge Sprint and T-Mobile. Is it a carrier worth considering? Let’s answer that question by …
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Good day, cheeps! A few housekeeping notes before we dive in… First, CNET has added a new button to my toolset, one designed to make the reading experience easier. So, for example, I might tell you that GOG has the X-Com-style strategy game Xenonauts (Win/Mac/Linux) free for a limited time. (Steam sells it for $25.) You can click that link, …
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Sprint and T-Mobile have finally sealed the deal to merge and virtual network provider FreedomPop sees an opportunity. The budget MVNO, which has traditionally operated across Sprint’s wireless network, on Wednesday unveiled its new Unreal Mobile service. According to the company, the new carrier is aimed squarely at premium customers. Currently FreedomPop’s plans are geared towards budget and value-oriented subscribers. Unreal …
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It doesn’t seem that long ago that owning a mobile phone meant roping yourself into a two-year carrier contract, to the tune of at least $70 per month. Barf. These days, you can skip the contract and pay considerably less, especially if you choose an MVNO — a mobile virtual network operator. These carriers lease bandwidth from the Big Four …
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CNET’s Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and follow the Cheapskate on Twitter! Things are getting mighty interesting in the mobile-carrier space. Over here you’ve got Mint SIM offering dirt-cheap plans when …
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I tend to think of tablets as “indoor” devices, used primarily at home or the office — places rife with Wi-Fi. But what happens when you go out into the world and need connectivity? Now you have to pay for a 4G plan, right? Not necessarily. Mobile carrier Freedompop offers a limited amount of free data for tablet users, with …
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People say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but if I rack up enough points on my Which Wich rewards card, eventually I’ll be eating a sandwich gratis. OK, but free cell service? Definitely no such thing. Except, yes, there is, thanks to Freedompop. For the price of a SIM card (about $20, but much less if you’re …
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Well, it happened. Your phone is lost. Or broken. Maybe even stolen. And because your entire life is contained in that thing, now you’ve got problems. Your passwords — gone. Contacts, gone. Trip details, appointment calendar, photos from the wedding, that book you were reading — all gone. Thankfully, you planned ahead. Nearly all your data is synced to the …
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