AT&T has begun shipping a new Android smartphone for its prepaid GoPhone service. The entry level U8652 Fusion features a 3.5-inch touchscreen and runs Android 2.3.3. Although not officially confirmed, the phone is most likely the Huawei Jengu.
AT&T rounded out a slew of Android phones with a pair of more affordable models, including just its second for prepaid users. Regular subscribers get the Pantech Pocket, which carries an unusually wide four-inch, 600x800 display intended to improve browsing while staying small enough to be usable one-handed. The carrier is unusually short on performance details but does promise HSPA+ Internet access, a five-megapixel camera with HD video, and Android 2.3.
AT&T on Tuesday morning brought out its first real smartphone for prepaid users and its first LG Android device. The Thrive spotted earlier is AT&T's adaptation of the Optimus One and has the same 600MHz processor, 3.2-inch touchscreen, and 3.2-megapixel camera mated with Android 2.2. As a GoPhone device, though, the Thrive can run on as little as $2 per day for no-commitment unlimited voice and text, and has the new option of a $25, 500MB block of data for those who need substantial data but don't want to commit in the long term.
A Friday announcement from AT&T has the provider releasing a new prepaid calling option on May 11 that will let users make unlimited cellphone calls to anywhere in the US. The provider's prepaid GoPhone Unlimited Calling customers will only be charged on days when they make or receive phone calls. Text messages or data use are not covered by the plan, and are charged at the same rate as in other GoPhone plans or packages for both or either can be purchased separately.
A recent report reveals AT&T will stop offering its $20 per month prepaid unlimited data plan on November 12. As part of the wireless network provider’s GoPhone service, the plan was the cheapest offered anywhere for access to unlimited data on fast 3G networks. AT&T officially explains the discontinuation as the end of a trial and the company is now looking into other prepaid data offerings. Critics argue that AT&T was losing data plan subscribers, who saved money by switching to the pre-paid GoPhone option.
