T-Mobile offering prepaid BlackBerry

Ahead of the holiday shopping season T-Mobile USA unveiled a pay-in-advance, no-contract BlackBerry offering, a move that dovetails with the No. 4 carrier's recent push into unlimited, prepaid calling plans.

The package, called T-Mobile Complete, gives subscribers a choice of handsets starting at $59.99, which includes the first month of service. Customers also can choose from a range of unlimited plans starting at $50 per month. The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is one of the phones in the plan, and according to a T-Mobile spokesman, the other phones in the plan are the Samsung Gravity, Samsung t229 and Samsung t239.

The different packages have different prices, reflecting the price of the handsets. The Blackberry Curve 8520 costs $299, the Samsung Gravity costs $149, the Samsung t229 will be $79 and the Samsung t239 costs $59, according to a T-Mobile fact sheet. The non-contract rate plans start at $50 and range up to $79.99 per month.

In October, T-Mobile debuted two new monthly unlimited plans, including a prepaid option. The plan, called Even More Plus, gives subscribers unlimited voice, texting and Web browsing for $79.99 per month. Sliding down the scale offers unlimited voice and texting for $59.99 per month or unlimited voice for $49.99 per month. T-Mobile has been advertising the plans as a key part of the carrier's value proposition.

The T-Mobile Complete package is currently available at Best Buy and Wal-Mart stores.

For more:
- see this Chicago Tribune article [1]
- see this Engadget post [2]

Related Articles:
T-Mobile phasing out myFaves [3]
RIM releases new BlackBerry Bold for AT&T, T-Mobile [4]
T-Mobile loses 77,000 subs in Q3 [5]
T-Mobile debuts new unlimited calling plans [6]
Is it time for T-Mobile to differentiate itself? [7]
[8]