Poor T-Mobile. It was one thing when the iPhone was only available at AT&T, but then Verizon got it, and then Sprint, and then the bar dropped quite a bit as U.S. Cellular got it, and most recently Cricket Wireless joined ranks offering the iPhone as an unlocked prepaid device. But now, Sprint’s Virgin Mobile has taken on the device, according to the WSJ.
Again, poor T-Mobile. But enough of that; back to Virgin’s iPhone. (That sounds a bit like a Judd Apatow movie, right?)
We still don’t know how much the carrier will ask for the unlocked device, but we can expect something close to Cricket’s $499 price tag, for competitiveness’s sake. It’s also unclear whether or not Boost, another one of Sprint’s prepaid carriers, will carry the device.
See, Sprint owes Apple $15.5 million for the iPhone, as detailed in a contract they drafted around the launch of the iPhone 4S. Because of this, it only makes sense that the carrier would try to sell the device through as many channels as possible. That said, I expect to see an prepaid iPhone on Boost eventually, too.
It’s also unclear if Virgin will be offering the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, or both.
Virgin Mobile’s prepaid iPhone will be available starting July 1, a little over a week after Cricket releases their model.
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