Your Guide To Spotting Cheap Smartphone Deals Not Promoted (Much) By Carriers

Every wireless carrier out there likes to promote their deals because obviously, they want mobile users to go for their services and one up the competition. But if customers look hard enough, they can actually spot some hidden smartphone deals that are actually pretty good and are ripe for the picking. Where can one find these deals? Here’s a primer.

T-Mobile

Want to enjoy 5 gigabytes of high speed LTE data at only $30 a month? You can actually find such a deal from the third biggest wireless carrier in America. Indeed, T-Mobile has a $30 a month prepaid plan that already comes with 100 minutes of voice calls, unlimited text messaging, and unlimited data, 5 gigabytes of which are at LTE speeds. 

Obviously, this deal is ideal for those who have extensive Internet surfing needs, especially on mobile. But in order to take advantage of this deal, you need to be a new customer, and you must purchase your T-Mobile handset from Walmart or from T-Mobile.com (or a new T-Mobile SIM card), and then activate it online. While activating it, you just need to choose the $30 plan. 

Ting

If you are looking for a plan that can be fully customized and is on Sprint’s LTE network, you can do well to check out Ting’s offer. Ting lets its customers choose between buckets of voice call minutes, number of text messages, and megabyte amounts, with the customers paying only for the buckets their usage has fallen into every month. 

This is a very good deal because essentially you are only paying for the specific number or amount call minutes, text messages, and data megabytes you use per billing cycle. But to qualify for Ting’s buckets, you will need to have a mobile device that is compatible with Sprint’s network, and BlackBerry smartphones are a no-no.

FreedomPop

Free smartphone plans are like invisibility cloaks -- it would really be cool to get one. But unlike invisibility cloaks, free smartphone plans actually do exist, thanks to FreedomPop. The wireless carrier’s basic smartphone plan comes with 200 minutes of free voice calls, 500 free text messages, and 500 megabytes of free data each month. 

FreedomPop’s allotments for voice call minutes, text messages, and data megabytes may be not much at first glance, but when you actually sit down and estimate your average usage numbers on a monthly basis, you will find that FreedomPop’s deal can actually work for your wireless needs. And if you ever need additional requirements, you can just pay a little extra in order to get more. 

ROK Mobile

Where can you get full Verizon Wireless network coverage at half the usual price? The answer is ROK Mobile. This wireless carrier offers a plan that costs $49.99 a month, and already includes unlimited voice calls and text messaging, 5 gigabytes of high speed LTE data as well as unlimited throttled data. And oh, did we mention that you also get unlimited access to the ROK Mobile music streaming service, which boasts a library consisting of more than 20 million songs. 

ROK Mobile’s secret is that it actually provides LTE coverage not only Verizon Wireless but also on T-Mobile and Sprint. ROK Mobile already covers 98 percent of American mobile users, and for good measure, it also gives you free access to over 20 million Wi-Fi hotspots across the United States, including in partner business establishments such as McDonald’s, Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, Burger King, Subway, Hilton Hotels, and many more.

Cricket Wireless

You can get AT&T coverage and then enjoy some discounts while you are at it by availing of Cricket Wireless’ basic plan. With this plan, you get unlimited voice calls, text messaging, and data, with 2.5 gigabytes at LTE speeds, for only $35 a month. You can choose to upgrade the data allotments to 5 gigabytes a month via the $45 Smart plan, or to 10 gigabytes via the $55 Pro plan. As for the discounts, you get those on a monthly basis if you decide to set up automatic payments via the wireless carrier’s AutoPay service.