Virgin Mobile USA today announced that it will begin selling the iPhone 5 next Friday, June 28, offering the device on its no-contract Beyond Talk service plans. The plans start at $35/month for 300 minutes plus unlimited text and data, although the carrier begins throttling data speeds after a monthly soft cap of 2.5 GB. A $45/month plan offers 1200 minutes, while a $55/month plan adds unlimited calling, and customers can earn a $5/month discount on their bills when they sign up for automatic payments.
As for the iPhone itself, Virgin Mobile is offering a $100 discount off of Apple's standard unsubsidized pricing, selling the 16 GB iPhone 5 for $549.99 with the 32 GB model priced at $649.99 and the 64 GB model at $749.99.
We noted last October that Apple had Virgin Mobile-specific iPhone 5 models ready to go, although it was unclear at the time when they would be released and it remains unknown why it took approximately nine months after the device's launch to appear at the carrier. The iPhone 5 has been available through other prepaid carriers such as Cricket since as long ago as September.
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models will feature a number of significant display, thermal, and battery improvements, according to new late-stage rumors.
According to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital," the iPhone 17 Pro models will feature displays with higher brightness, making it more suitable for use in direct sunlight for prolonged periods. The iPhone 16 Pro and...
Tuesday September 2, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Just one week before Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series, an analyst has shared new price estimates for the devices.
Here are J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee's price estimates for the iPhone 17 series in the United States, according to 9to5Mac:
Model
Starting Price
Model
Starting Price
Change
iPhone 16
$799
iPhone 17
...
Thursday September 4, 2025 7:38 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
We're only days away from Apple's "Awe dropping" fall event scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 9 – and along with the new iPhone 17 series, we're going to get a new version of the Apple Watch Ultra for the first time since 2023.
By the time the Ultra 3 is unveiled, it will have been two years since the previous model arrived. The intervening period has left plenty of room for...
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series on Tuesday, September 9, and last-minute rumors about the devices continue to surface.
The latest info comes from a leaker known as Majin Bu, who has shared alleged images of Apple's Clear Case for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, or at least replicas.
Image Credit: @MajinBuOfficial
The images show three alleged changes compared to Apple's iP...
Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall.
At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
Thursday September 4, 2025 2:54 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Air will have a $1,099 starting price providing 256GB of base storage and will max out at $1,499 with a 1TB option, according to the latest TrendForce report.
Apple will offer three price/storage tiers for the all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model, which replaces last year's iPhone 16 Plus in the lineup. Here's how TrendForce sees them breaking down:
256GB — $1099...
But its on Sprint Network right? So, it's worthless. Sprint has almost no LTE, this doesnt do WiMax, and their 3G network can't even achieve 56K modem speeds.
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If only there could be a quality prepaid carrier using the Verizon network...
Or have I missed something? Sprint and therefore Virgin coverage in my area is crap.
there used to be a decent amount of Pre-paid carriers on Verizon and AT&T. Straight Talk used to be almost exclusively Verizon in the beginning. But AT&T and Verizon saw how many people were using those cheaper services so they kicked them off their networks. Verizon did it a long time ago. AT&T just recently told Straight Talk to quit selling AT&T sims.
So, now all pre-paids are on T-mo or Sprint. Sprint is terrible coverage and terrible data speeds. T-mo has good data speeds as long as you are inside a city's limits. Suburbs, not so much. And their coverage area sucks. You spend most of your time roaming on AT&T network at edge speeds.
Holy ****. Is there NO WiFi in his life or does he just insist on streaming YouTube HD 24/7? The wife & I SHARE 1GB/mo and barely use 75% of that bc WiFi is everywhere.
Kid is a gamer and always seems to be watching walk-through videos on YouTube -- and Google still hasn't figured out how to stream mobile videos at an appropriate quality for the connection and device.
Hmm... If only the people who develop Android could somehow work with the people who run YouTube... Maybe if they were owned by the same company... <scratches chin> /s
But its on Sprint Network right? So, it's worthless. Sprint has almost no LTE, this doesnt do WiMax, and their 3G network can't even achieve 56K modem speeds.
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there used to be a decent amount of Pre-paid carriers on Verizon and AT&T. Straight Talk used to be almost exclusively Verizon in the beginning. But AT&T and Verizon saw how many people were using those cheaper services so they kicked them off their networks. Verizon did it a long time ago. AT&T just recently told Straight Talk to quit selling AT&T sims.
So, now all pre-paids are on T-mo or Sprint. Sprint is terrible coverage and terrible data speeds. T-mo has good data speeds as long as you are inside a city's limits. Suburbs, not so much. And their coverage area sucks. You spend most of your time roaming on AT&T network at edge speeds.
There is hope as AT&T AIOwireless.com pre-paid service is supposed to roll out nationwide with substantial discounts over their post paid service.
So 'Unlimited' actually means 2.5GB. I don't understand how carriers are allowed to use terms like this. What's unlimited about 2.5GB? It's probably plenty for most but thats not the point.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
