Apple has finally decided to make its iPhone accessible to the prepaid users through Leap Wireless’s Cricket, America’s seventh largest regional service provider. Cricket signed a wholesale agreement (MVNO) with network giant Sprint back in August last year, which allows it to make use of the company’s 3G capabilities across the country.
For Apple, the demarcation between post-paid and pre-paid has finally faded, which allows it to reach out to a wider audience base which isn’t too eager to be bound to a contract. This move allows the company to directly compete with Android, which has consistently marketed itself with contract-free plans. That said, it will be Apple’s highest concern to make the iPhone available via quality carriers and not stoop down to sub-par service providers so as to be able to maintain its high-profile, superior user-experience; which the iPhone has enjoyed so far on AT&T and Verizon.
Although Cricket has bagged the first pre-paid iPhone to be released in the U.S, it won’t be the only one. Sprint’s very own Boost Mobile is expected to launch contract-free iPhones just before the probable iPhone 5 launch in Q4. With iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4 priced at $499 and $399 respectively, the indication is clear that the phone won’t come cheap under any of the carriers that release the pre-paid iPhone. However, as it always happens, the prices might see a drop after the launch of the next iteration of the iPhone.
Post-paid usually comes with a few unnecessary luxuries which the general public can do without. However, tech news website CNET’s employee Roger Cheng commented that this new development would only hurt Apple’s repute, since the networks aren’t as efficient on pre-paid carriers as they are on post-paid carriers.
Clearly, Apple’s intention is to get their device to Android-friendly consumers. In the U.S, Google’s market share has seen a boost almost every quarter and this move from Apple comes forward as an effort to tap into a yet-unexplored segment for the company. Under Cricket’s monthly-rental plan of $55 which includes unlimited messaging, data availability and call minutes, Apple has a good shot at being appealing to the lower substrate of smartphone consumer-base. Whether the next iPhone will be available under pre-paid still seems uncertain.
