phones
Device Update: Don’t ditch that fruit phone just yet
Andrew Moore-Crispin • March 7, 2014
Hold onto that fruit phone
It’s been a little while since our last device update. Sorry! Here’s all the news that’s fit to print.
As of Tuesday afternoon next week (March 11, 2014), a compatible* iPhone 5 will be able to activate on Ting. We’ll be communicating all the gory details at that time. For right now, we only mention it so that if you’re thinking of coming to Ting and you’ve got your eye on an iPhone 4 or 4S, you’re aware that there will soon be other options. Forewarned is four-armed, as the saying almost goes.
On the other device news front, here’s what’s new since our previous device update.
Coming soon to Ting
Samsung Galaxy S5
The Galaxy S5 will be coming to Ting. Barring any issues outside of our control, we expect to offer the Samsung Galaxy S5 on Ting in mid-April. The price we’ll be buying for has yet to be nailed down which means we can’t say exactly how much we’ll be able to offer it for. All signs point to the approaching $600 range.
From our limited exposure, we can say that the S5 looks like a pretty spectacular smartphone. Sammy has done away with a lot of the “feature spam” that it’s been accused of including, you know, all those neato features that look great on a marketing bullet list but that somewhat lose their luster when clogging up your Settings screens.
Aside from anything else, the S5 has got to be the slimmest and sleekest smartphone to receive IP67 certification (dustproof and waterproof to 1m for 30min). We’ll have the full Ting take on the Galaxy S5 a little closer to launch.
HTC’s next One
The much rumored next HTC One has been among the worst-kept secrets. Suffice it to say that if you’ve been following the next HTC One rumors, you probably know more than we can officially say and leave it at that. We expect the HTC Whatever It’s Going To Be Officially Titled in May. More info as soon as said info is official.
Coming back to Ting
M400 Refurbished
Samsung M400: Sturdy.
If you subscribe to Ting device alert emails (you can do that in the footer at the bottom of this page) your inbox will soon alert you to the triumphant return of the refurbished M400 flip phone. We expect it early next week for around $75.
Other devices that are coming back in short order:
- Kyocera Milano – ~$75
- Samsung Galaxy Victory – <$150
- Rumor Reflex – ~$75
*Compatible meaning an inactive, used Sprint device that hasn’t been reported as lost, stolen or coming from a Sprint account in arrears.