Good old T-Mobile's on a roll these days with new phone plans, and this one seems perfectly catered to stocking stuffers. The quartet of phones start at $59.99, but so far we know of two: BlackBerry Curve 8520 for $299.99 and the Pearl for $149.99, according to the Best Buy stores we contacted. There's no contract commitment, and according to the press release, the first month is included in the bill from the point the phone's out of the box and activated. We don't know the details of that first month of service (data? texting?), but it's still a pretty penny for an unsubsidized handset. After that second month, of course, T-Mo's probably hoping you'll be enticed to keep with the network. If not already, you should start seeing the phones pop up at local Best Buy and select Walmart locales shortly. Press release after the break.

In a perfect world, we'd one day all be guzzling from an endless font of virtually free bandwidth, streaming 1080p video straight to our WXGA handsets with stereo Bluetooth beamed straight to implants in our ear canals. Turning our attention back to reality for a moment, though, and the situation is a little more bleak: carriers are plagued with crappy, overloaded networks, backhaul issues, and a 4G rollout that could easily span a decade. To that end, caps are still firmly in place on US carriers' so-called "unlimited" laptop data plans, and overage rates make the occasional slip-up nasty enough to bankrupt you if you're not offered clemency from customer service. The good news is that AT&T's data overage rates have dropped significantly as of November 6, going from 49 cents per megabyte to 5 cents on the $60 5GB plan and 10 cents on the (nearly useless) $40 200MB plan. That still means you're paying over $50 for each gigabyte of overage -- but as AT&T points out, it's a hell of a lot better than the $500 you were paying before.

[Thanks, Kal]

T-Mobile is now offering unlimited voice for little enough cash through its Even More promo these days that it's officially bidding myFaves adieu, spelling out the final chapter of one of the better-known plan packages in the US wireless biz. It won't go away completely -- the myFaves app will apparently continue to be offered as a convenient, cutesy way to access five frequent contacts and existing subscribers won't be kicked off their plans -- but for new subscribers, Even More is being billed as the spiritual successor. For the record, unlimited voice through Even More Plus starts at $49.99, so the price is definitely right -- but more importantly will this end up meaning that we lose the beloved silkscreened myFaves logo on the back of virtually every T-Mobile handset sold today?

Right on cue, AT&T has announced new Canada-friendly plans today that make the occasional trip to Whistler, Yellowknife, or Fredericton just a little more bearable. The packages range from $59.99 up to $219.99 a month with anytime minute buckets of 450, 1,350, 2,000, 4,000, and 6,000 and include compatible rollover and an extra 1,000 night / weekend minutes for good measure. Though the plans don't include data, you pay $2 a megabyte, which is the same rate as domestic (and is still plenty high enough to get you into serious trouble with a smartphone or tethering setup). Those on family plans can look into the action starting at $89.99 a month, so get on your snowshoes -- we're headed to Banff.

Right on schedule with the whispers, T-Mobile lifted the veil off of its new price plan tier structure, Even More and Even More Plus, and from the looks of it all those leaks were pretty much spot-on. The traditional Even More plan is a two-year commitment and discounted phone, with unlimited individual prices starting at $59 per month and going up to $99 if you want unlimited messaging and text, too. Even More Plus scrapes the device discount but offers unlimited individual prices at $49 for voice / $79 for everything. It looks like the only major differentiator is the subsidized handset, but here's where the numbers don't add up: even with the steep $350 discount on myTouch 3G, factoring in that $20 premium would pay for the phone during the 18th month, leaving six months and $120 of extra payments left that have no obvious justification to us. Additionally the FlexPay / equipment installment plan is now available, letting you break up the cost of your phone into interest-free monthly bills. It seems Even More's subsidized phones are offered over four installments (e.g. $37 per month for the $150 MyTouch 3G) while Even More Plus' is two installments (e.g. $25 per month for the same device at the $500 full price). Our initial takeaway from the price tiers is that T-Mobile is doing what it can to drive its consumers away from the traditional and over to the non-traditional (for US, at least) Even More Plus plan, but hey, we're not gonna argue over a beneficial contract-free plan, even if monthly phone payments keep us paying the company for at least 20 months. So T-Mo, any other Project Dark surprises in the cards? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

The details of T-Mobile's mysterious Project Dark definitely seem to be congealing around retooled handset billing and a set of new plans, and it looks like TmoNews might have the first word here on the all-important subject of plan pricing. Even More Plus, which would be contract-free and offer new handset FlexPay over four installments, is apparently tracking for a $79.99 all-you-can-eat package, $69.99 with 1,000 voice minutes, or $49.99 with unlimited voice and no data. Even More meanwhile, which basically amounts to new contract plan branding with traditional hardware subsidies, will come in at $99.99 for unlimited everything (mirroring Sprint's pricing) or $59.99 for unlimited voice alone. It seems strange that the contract pricing is higher than the prepaid, especially since Even More Plus apparently won't offer any hardware subsidies whatsoever, but we're sure we're going to find out how this all shakes out soon enough. Follow the break for another shot of the pricing grids.

Put yourself in T-Mobile USA's shoes for a moment: rumor has it that the guys who pay the bills aren't happy. History, happenstance, and the realities of electromagnetics have left you with an oddball 3G frequency that literally no other carrier in the world uses (at least, not for HSPA). Larger competitors don't take you as seriously as you'd like, and you don't have smaller ones -- they're all regionals who don't play in the same space you do. So what's your next move?

It may not be the cheapest unlimited around -- Boost, Cricket, and MetroPCS have all gone lower -- but AT&T figures that it can throw its network and brand recognition around as bargaining chips to get customers to pay $60 a month for pay-as-you-go unlimited voice and messaging through the company's GoPhone prepaid brand. The zinger here is that the plan also includes texting to Canada, Mexico, and 100 other countries, so it's actually a pretty good deal if you've got a lot of buddies chilling in Calgary or Cancun. It'll be available starting October 12, but there's nothing stopping you from lining up now outside your AT&T store -- just be prepared for some odd stares.

[Via Phone Scoop]

If you find yourself frequently dialing Guadalajara, Chihuahua, or La Paz, you might take a gander at a newly-introduced calling plan from AT&T that's offering a package of features custom-tailored to the needs of the carrier's largest long-distance destination. The so-called "Viva Mexico" plan bundles 1,000 anytime minutes for use in the US and Mexico, a total annihilation of international long-distance charges, and the ability to benefit from rollover on the Mexico-friendly minutes. This all only applies to voice -- messaging and data are still on the hook for international fees -- but if voice is your thing, it's might be worth the $54.99 AT&T is commanding for individual plans (or $84.99 for two lines on a family plan).

[Via Phone Scoop]

There have been various ways of getting iPhones onto AT&T's prepaid GoPhone plans pretty much since the beginning, but for some inexplicable reason (hint: contracts are lucrative), the carrier is closing the door on prepaid in concert with the release of OS 3.0 this week. To be clear, we have absolutely no idea how AT&T would reliably detect whether you're running 3.0 on your iPhone -- unless Apple were to report it to AT&T using data culled from iTunes, and we somehow doubt it's happening that way -- so in all likelihood, they're just assuming most folks will move to 3.0 within the next few weeks and are using the release as a convenient line in the sand. New iPhone 3G and 3G S owners will have a hard time signing up for GoPhone altogether, and legacy customers are being told that the upgrade "may impact the data service" unless they move to postpaid. Actually, it's even more stratified than that: only original iPhones are being allowed to stay on Pick Your Plan with the unlimited data add-on, while 3Gs have to move. To be fair, this has been the policy all along -- 2G on Pick Your Plan, 3G not eligible -- and it seems they're just now deciding to lay down the law and bring everyone into compliance, but that doesn't mean we have to like it.

[Thanks, Kris]

If you're making a lot of calls to Mexico, you may have glanced at MetroPCS' dirt-cheap $3 add-on package -- but the problem there is that you're only getting unlimited calling to landlines. If your contacts down south are tied to their mobiles (aren't we all?), you might be better off checking out Verizon's new Nationwide Plus Mexico plan, which nixes long distance charges to landlines and mobiles in Mexico alike. Individual plans start at $54.99 and family plans at $84.99, including 1,000 night and weekend minutes; unlimited mobile-to-mobile only applies in the US, but it still seems like a reasonable deal if you're a heavy dialer.

[Via Phone Scoop]

We can think of a wide variety of BlackBerrys we'd rather have, but let's take a good, hard look at what T-Mobile UK is proposing here: basically, it wants you to shell out £179.99 (about $265), and in exchange, you get the venerable BlackBerry Pearl 8110 plus a full year of unlimited email and web access. That works out to something like $22 a month for unlimited on-device data -- and on top of that, you'll be paying as you go for voice minutes, texts, and MMS messages. Not a terrible deal by any stretch, but we'd characterize this one less as blowout pricing and more as creative deal packaging. Oh, and we'll take a Curve 8900 with that, T-Mobile, thankyouverymuch.

T-Mobile's always been known for aggressively pricing its plans against the other nationals, and that trend continues today with the introduction of a new $89.99 myFaves family plan with 1800 minutes, the addition of 500 anytime minutes to its $99.99 and $129.99 family plans, a $10 reduction in price on a couple other plans, and -- perhaps the most relevant new feature for many customers -- unlimited mobile-to-mobile on every individual plan $49.99 and up. Not a huge change, granted, but it's pretty rare to get something for nothing, so we're going to take what we're being offered and keep our mouths shut.

[Via TmoNews]

Canadian carriers are known for a lot of things; reasonable data pricing, traditionally, is not one of them. As smartphones get more data-intensive by leaps and bounds and wider market segments realize they need laptop cards, these guys appear to be learning -- slowly -- and we're liking what we're seeing with Bell's new $45 CAD ($37) package... sort of. You get 1GB of data for your BlackBerry or WinMo device, $6 per MB for roaming in the US (the same as on Bell's cheaper plans), and extra megabytes run you 3 cents apiece -- and it seems you can tether at no additional charge. For comparison, the $40 CAD plan -- just $5 cheaper -- steps down dramatically to just 8MB of data, so this is what we'd call a "best value" of sorts, if you can really call 1GB for $45 a "best value."

[Via MobileSyrup]

Hey Boost Mobile -- Where U At? Just kidding, we know where you are, but you should probably be aware that Virgin Mobile USA is encroaching all up in your territory. In a move that was undoubtedly made to rival Boost's $50 per month unlimited plan, Virgin Mobile has announced a $49.99 Unlimited Plan with zero roaming charges. Said plan will be available for talkative individuals starting on April 15th, though you should know that unlimited texting will run you an additional $10 per month -- something that Boost includes at no additional charge. Unique to VM's option, however, is the automaker-like "Pink Slip Protection," which offers to pay mobile bills for up to three months if you lose your job (and meet lots of requirements, of course). In related news, the operator is also introducing a new suite of "Texter's Delight" plans, obviously aimed at consumers who don't even understand that they can "speak" into their phone and "hear" other voices from the top.