When it comes to mobile data plans, most of us are tethered to some kind of contract, and if you want a half-decent smartphone thrown into the bargain, these monthly agreements can prove costly. FreedomPop has long since sought to shake the market up by offering basic smartphones for a one-off fee, and continued monthly minutes, texts and data for free. More recently, the company has opened its doors to the more lucrative iPhone range, and now, last year’s flagship Galaxy S4 from Samsung has also been added to the ever-growing roster.
When FreedomPop first hit the scene, it offered the HTC EVO Design 4G WiMAX for $100, and a subsequent 200 minutes, 500MB of data, and 500 texts for free every month. Sure, anybody wanting more would have to pay, and this is where FreedomPop could hit the margins, but for a casual user or as a SIM for a spare device, FreedomPop’s offering looked incredible value for money.
And so it has proved. The company, which piggybacks off Sprint’s network infrastructure, has continued to thrive, and a testament to this was the recent addition of the Apple iPhone to the line-up. Of course, the iPhone 5 is the newest handset that FreedomPop will offer as part of the newly rolled-out package, and the fee, naturally, is a tad higher than $100. But for those wanting a premium smartphone experience yet aren’t too caught up on owning the latest and greatest, FreedomPop’s pay-up-front business model is very appealing indeed.
As well as now offering the Galaxy S4, prospective FreedomPop users can also check out the slightly cheaper Galaxy S3 or Samsung Victory, and as with the iPhone deal before it, users will get 500 MB of data, 200 minutes and 500 minutes per month for free.
Let’s be honest, if you’re a heavy user, then using a FreedomPop-backed device as your daily runner probably isn’t the best call. After all, in browsing the Web, conversing on WhatsApp and checking Vine / Instagram frequently, 500MB doesn’t stretch very far, and with a 1GB data add-on costing $10 (and subsequent, higher-capacity add-ons not much better priced), you could quickly find that the FreedomPop system is, in reality, somewhat limiting.
Nevertheless, if you are, as aforementioned, a casual user or somebody who doesn’t run through data in haste, FreedomPop offers a great alternative system, and with the Galaxy S4 now on tow, is peddling a very impressive line-up of handsets.
As ever, point your browser to FreedomPop.com if you’re interested.
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