Palm Pre Plus Goes On Sale At AT&T: $149.99 On 2-Year Contract
The timing is strange, but regardless, WebOS has finally, officially
landed on AT&T. The Palm Pre Plus isn't the newest smartphone on
the market, but it's WebOS' first landing on America's largest GSM
carrier. What's odd, though, is no one really knows about the future of
WebOS, and the future of Palm as a whole lies entirely in the hands of
HP, who decided to acquire the company a few weeks ago.
Just under a week ago, AT&T confirmed that the Pre Plus was coming "soon," and today the phone officially went on sale. For all intents and purposes, this is the exact same phone that launched on Verizon Wireless a few months ago, except with a GSM radio instead of a CDMA radio, of course. What's not aligned, however, is the pricing.
Verizon Wireless has had the phone so long that they have reduced the pricing to just $29.99 with a two-year contract, and users get Mobile HotSpot thrown in for free. This allows users to turn on the data signal on their Pre Plus, and up to five devices can "tether" over the connection via Wi-Fi. Usually, carriers change an extra $30 on top of the $30/month for a normal data plan, but VZW throws it in for free. AT&T, on the other hand, will still charge you another $30/month for the extra tethering. And you'll pay significantly more up-front for the phone itself: $149.99 on a two-year contract.
So, in the end, you're looking at an extra $120 up-front over Verizon, plus you don't get the Mobile HotSpot feature for free (a $30/month value). We can't really imagine who would opt for this Pre Plus over the one on Verizon, but it's available if you can think of a reason. The Pixi Plus, the Pre Plus' little brother, is scheduled to go on sale on AT&T June 6th.
Just under a week ago, AT&T confirmed that the Pre Plus was coming "soon," and today the phone officially went on sale. For all intents and purposes, this is the exact same phone that launched on Verizon Wireless a few months ago, except with a GSM radio instead of a CDMA radio, of course. What's not aligned, however, is the pricing.
Verizon Wireless has had the phone so long that they have reduced the pricing to just $29.99 with a two-year contract, and users get Mobile HotSpot thrown in for free. This allows users to turn on the data signal on their Pre Plus, and up to five devices can "tether" over the connection via Wi-Fi. Usually, carriers change an extra $30 on top of the $30/month for a normal data plan, but VZW throws it in for free. AT&T, on the other hand, will still charge you another $30/month for the extra tethering. And you'll pay significantly more up-front for the phone itself: $149.99 on a two-year contract.
So, in the end, you're looking at an extra $120 up-front over Verizon, plus you don't get the Mobile HotSpot feature for free (a $30/month value). We can't really imagine who would opt for this Pre Plus over the one on Verizon, but it's available if you can think of a reason. The Pixi Plus, the Pre Plus' little brother, is scheduled to go on sale on AT&T June 6th.
