On Tuesday AT&T officially announced that its customers can now sign up for a $50 unlimited GoPhone plan that includes unlimited text, talk, and web for $50 per month. AT&T’s GoPhone option does not require a contract and it also allows customers to text Mexico, Canada, and 100 other countries at no additional cost. AT&T’s new pricing is a considerable drop from the original $60 per month GoPhone option, which just provided unlimited talk and text.Read on for the full release.

Prepaid Calling Just Got Better: Nationwide Unlimited Talk, Text & Web Plan Now Available for $50

AT&T Customers Can Save More Than 20% With No Long-term Commitment Starting June 26

Dallas, Texas, June 21, 2011

Key Facts

• Consumers can sign up for an unlimited talk, text and web nationwide GoPhone^® plan for $50 per month starting on June 26 with AT&T* — a savings of more than 20%.
• Plan includes unlimited text and instant messaging to Mexico, Canada and 100 additional countries.
• Customers can apply this new GoPhone plan to quick messaging phones such the Pantech P7040p, available for purchase on the same day for $59.99.
• Available to new and existing GoPhone customers with a feature phone.

Customer Benefits

AT&T GoPhone customers can now take advantage of a new unlimited talk, text and web nationwide plan for $50 per month. Unlimited text and instant messaging to Mexico, Canada and 100 other countries are also included at no additional cost.

GoPhone service can be purchased at AT&T company-owned retail stores, online at att.com/gophone and thousands of authorized retailers nationwide. Smartphone customers can choose unlimited talk and text for $50 and select one of three data package options from $5 to $25.

Earlier this month, AT&T announced the new Pantech P7040p, a stylish quick messaging phone, would also be available on June 26 in company-owned retail stores for $59.99. With a full keyboard, the Pantech P7040p is ideal for maximizing the value of this new plan.

Quotes

“As summer approaches, consumers want a plan that provides even more value as they connect with their loved ones in the U.S and abroad,” said Judy Cavalieri, vice president, Voice and Prepaid Products, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “GoPhone provides customers a unique opportunity to experience the dependability and availability of AT&T’s national wireless network with no long term commitment.”

GoPhone Portfolio

AT&T offers a wide selection of plans and handsets for prepaid customers – everything from feature phones to smartphones with no long-term contract, credit check, or deposit. In April, AT&T launched LG Thrive™, the first Android smartphone available for GoPhone customers. Smartphones require a separate data package to access data/web services.

Learn more about GoPhone offerings at www.att.com/gophone.

A new page has been revealed on the Best Buy Mexico website that may shed light on the release date for Apple’s upcoming iWork refresh. According to the page, which has been pulled from Best Buy Mexico’s website, the company will be holding a launch event on February 19th to celebrate the arrival of iWork ’11. Apple has not yet announced a launch date for the new version of its iWork productivity suite, though this leak on the Best Buy Mexico site does line up well with earlier rumors. iWork competes with Microsoft’s Office suite and consists of Pages, Apple’s word processing application; Numbers, a spreadsheet app; and Keynote, a presentation tool akin to PowerPoint.

[Via Apple Bitch]

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Sales of illegitimate copies of Microsoft programs may be doing more than just lining hackers’ pockets. According to Microsoft’s lawyers, notorious Mexican drug cartel La Familia Michoacana is selling counterfeit Microsoft software to help fund kidnappings, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and other criminal activities. David Finn, Microsoft’s Associate General Counsel dealing with Worldwide Anti-piracy and Anti-counterfeiting, wrote about the problem in a blog post on Thursday. “An important theme that resonated among the international groups is the number of organized criminal gangs that rely on the profits gleaned from pirated software to fund other crimes,” Finn wrote on a Microsoft blog. “Sophisticated criminal syndicates and drug cartels are building large scale counterfeiting operations and selling illegal software to consumers. These illegal enterprises have generated astronomical profits that the gangs funnel toward violent crimes such as drug trafficking, arms and weapons trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.” Finn went on to cite a study conducted by Mexico’s Attorney General stating that the Familia cartel earns more than $2.2 million each day — over $800 million annually — from sales of counterfeit goods.

[Via Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

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Today, prepaid cellular provider MetroPCS launched a new add-on to its cellular plans titled Mas Mexico. Mas Mexico provides “unlimited voice and text messaging plan to connect MetroPCS customers with friends and family in Mexico for $5 per month—taxes and regulatory fees included.” The new calling feature applies to landlines only, but users can text message all the mobile devices they would like. Hit the bounce for the full press release.

[Via PhoneScoop]

MetroPCS Unveils ‘Mas Mexico’ Service

Mas Mexico is an unlimited voice and text messaging add-on offering connecting MetroPCS customers with friends and family in Mexico for $5 per month–taxes and fees included.

Dallas — MetroPCS Communications, Inc. today announced the launch of Mas Mexico, an unlimited voice and text messaging plan to connect MetroPCS customers with friends and family in Mexico for $5 per month—taxes and regulatory fees included. This new calling feature enables MetroPCS customers to call the landlines of their loved ones in Mexico for a low monthly fee without the constraints of annual contracts. Along with unlimited calling, Mas Mexico also provides unlimited text messages to mobile phones in Mexico at no extra cost.

The Mas Mexico calling feature is an add-on to MetroPCS’ Wireless for All(SM) service plans introduced earlier this year. With the unlimited, no annual contract service, MetroPCS provides predictable, affordable and flexible service plans for consumers with no hidden costs or charges. Mas Mexico joins the Unlimited International Calling family of affordable features which connects people to more than 100 countries worldwide.

“MetroPCS is committed to finding innovative ways to deliver unparalleled value to our customers, and Mas Mexico meets the growing needs of consumers who are looking for an affordable way to stay connected,” said Roger Linquist, president, CEO and chairman of the board of MetroPCS. “The mobile phone is an integral part of our customers’ lives and a vital way for them to maintain the important relationships with family and friends they don’t see often. Mas Mexico helps bridge those long distances by providing a valuable feature at a low price.”

Mas Mexico details:

* Available to new and existing customers with tax and regulatory fee-inclusive (tax inclusive) rate plans of $50 and above. * Available on Family Plans with tax-inclusive rate plans of $50 and above (prior to discount). * Existing subscribers with tax-exclusive plans must convert to a tax-inclusive plan before purchasing the feature. * Available at all MetroPCS retail stores and participating authorized dealers. * Limited-time offer ends December 31, 2010.

For more information on the Mas Mexico calling feature, please visit MetroPCS’ Website at www.metropcs.com. For the latest updates on services and promotions, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MetroPCS.

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If you live in the States and are dying to get an unlocked iPhone 4, prepare to be taunted by two bordering nations. It looks as though Apple will offer the iPhone 4, carrier unlocked, to Mexico via the Online Apple Store; Canada already has this option. The pricing on the unit has not yet been announced, but if history repeats itself it should be about $1,500 pesos above the price of the iPhone 3GS for an unlocked 16 GB iPhone 4. Currently the iPhone 3GS is on the Mexican Apple Online Store for $9,510.84 pesos (about $730 US). Anyone want to head to Tijuana and pick one of these bad boys up?

Thanks, JLR!

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Apple has just posted a press release to let everyone know it will be releasing its iPad tablet in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore this Friday. There really isn’t too much else to say about it. We’ve got the official release for you right after the break.

iPad Available in Nine More Countries This Friday

CUPERTINO, California-July 19, 2010-Apple® today announced that iPad™ will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore this Friday, July 23. iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface. iPad is 0.5 inches thin and weighs just 1.5 pounds-thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook-and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life.*

Beginning this Friday, customers can purchase all models of iPad through Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Pricing & Availability
All iPad models will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore this Friday, July 23.

iPad is currently available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for 16GB, $599 (US) for 32GB, and $699 (US) for 64GB for iPad Wi-Fi models and $629 (US) for 16GB, $729 (US) for 32GB and $829 (US) for 64GB for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G models. iPad will roll out to many more countries later this year and Apple will announce availability and local pricing for these additional countries at a later date.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Last year, the Mexican government passed a law mandating all pre-paid, anonymous mobile phone users submit their personal information to their wireless provider(s) and have their cellular line linked with their name and personal information. The law is aimed at curbing what Mexican officials are calling “mobile extortion.” Ransom demands from organized crime and drug cartel kidnappings are often made via anonymous, pre-paid cellular phones, and it is the preferred method of communication for “common criminals” in Mexico. The majority of Mexico’s estimated 84 million mobile phones are pre-paid, and with the weekend deadline for compliance looming, over 30 million pre-paid users have failed to submit their information in accordance with the new law. Mexican telcom companies were denied a request to extend the deadline for compliance by the country’s senate. The anonymous lines that are not in compliance by this weekend are supposed to be shut off by the wireless service provider the line is associate with. Critics of the law say that criminals will simply register the phones with fake or other people’s credentials, and that denying the Mexican people access to cellular phones is a violation of people’s constitutional rights under Mexican law. Telcom company America Movîl is predicting losses of around $10 million a day if the 30 million unregistered lines are indeed shut down. What do you think? For the greater good, or a violation of the rights and privacy of the Mexican people?

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WebOS devices have long since extended their reach beyond the cozy confines of United States, but unfortunately paid apps have yet to be made available as they are in the US. This could all change in one week’s time, however, as Palm has notified developers that they will be able to sell apps through the App Catalog in Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Mexico and Spain starting on the 31st of March. If all goes according to plan, a large number of paid apps will be available on day one simply because Palm has made it easy for developers to get in on the international market: resubmit the app, check off where you want it to be sold and relax while the app is rushed through the approval process.

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If you’re on a budget and don’t use much data, or any data at all, AT&T has a pretty killer deal lined up for GoPhone customers. Only announced a couple days ago, the new plan features unlimited talk and messaging (SMS, picture and video) for just $60 a month. Not too shabby, right? Considering the fact that unlimited messaging is $20 for an individual plan, you’re essentially getting unlimited calls for just $40. The best part is that calls to Canada and Mexico are included in that plan, which is even more incentive to those who frequently call those countries. Starting tomorrow, you can sign up for all-you-can-eat calling and messaging. Enjoy!

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News from Boost Mobile this morning brings its subscribers a new international texting and walkie talkie option that will definitely turn heads. Dubbed International Connect, the $10 plan enhancement affords customers unlimited SMS and PTT from the US to Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Chile. Though the new International Connect option is hardly worldwide as the header on Boost’s press release would lead you to believe, it’s still a hell of a package for $10. No? Hit the jump for the full release or we’ll send Mickey Avalon to do a live show in your front yard.

Boost Mobile Adds Worldwide Texting Option to Monthly Unlimited Plan

International Connect Includes Unlimited Worldwide Texting and Walkie-Talkie From the U.S. to Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Chile for an Additional $10 a Month

IRVINE, CA–(March 31, 2009) – Furthering its commitment to offer simple and affordable service pricing options to prepaid customers, Boost Mobile today launched International Connect, a $10 per month add-on for Monthly Unlimited customers which includes unlimited international text messaging and Walkie-Talkie in and between the U.S., Canada, Baja California (Mexico) and to select areas of South America from the U.S., Canada and Baja California (Mexico) for one flat charge.

“The International Connect $10 enhancement to the $50 Monthly Unlimited plan is a great value for the growing number of Latinos who want quality wireless service without a contract,” said Mirna Aceituno, manager of Hispanic marketing for Boost Mobile. “Boost Mobile is making it easier to stay connected to family and friends in Latin America for a price that won’t put a strain on your wallet.”

SERVICE

Boost Mobile now offers an array of service plans allowing customers to pay by the month, day or minute. Flexible service options such as the Boost Mobile Monthly Unlimited plan for $50 per month includes anytime calling, text messaging, wireless Web and Boost Walkie-Talkie with a nationwide home calling area with coverage in more than 15,800 cities for a flat rate of $50 per month.

In addition to the Monthly Unlimited plan, Boost service billing options include an anytime rate of 10 cents per minute and the $1/Day Chat Plan that features unlimited text messaging, unlimited nights and weekend calling and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling to approximately 40 million customers on the Boost Mobile, Sprint, and Nextel network. Chat Plan nights are Monday through Friday from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. and weekends are from 9 p.m. on Fridays to 7 a.m. on Mondays. As with all Boost Mobile service plans, there are no credit checks, hidden charges or contracts.*

Boost Pay As You Go service is ideal for a wide range of consumers, including those who prefer to pay in advance and are uncomfortable with monthly service obligations; budget-minded customers who use prepaid service to control spending. Boost Mobile phones and service can be purchased at participating wireless dealers and major retail locations or at www.boostmobile.com.

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