Today AT&T begins selling an interesting new GoPhone pay-as-you-go option, offering users unlimited domestic local and long distance for $3 a day, only on the days that you use it. If all you need is a sheer crapload of voice minutes, this actually stacks up really favorable against AT&T's postpaid offerings, which price unlimited service at $99.99 a month -- with this, you'll be paying between $84 and $93 a month, assuming you end up springing for service every single day. Of course, the tradeoff is that you're stuck bringing your own phone to the network or picking up one of AT&T's GoPhone devices -- which tend to dominate the low end of the spectrum -- but then again, if voice is really your thing, odds are you don't care about how many accelerometers your phone features.

On a related note, Samsung's a177 (pictured) has gone live on AT&T's site, bringing a solid text messaging experience to the prepaid market. As you might expect of a $99.99 no-commitment phone, all you've got is a VGA cam -- but roughly $110 a month for unlimited contract-free voice and texting on a top-tier carrier might be enough to sway a few in the a177's direction, assuming value leaders like Boost, Cricket, and Virgin Mobile aren't picking everyone off.

Read - Samsung a177
Read - $3-a-day option

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.

Well, that "trial" didn't last long at all, now did it? Just days after teeing up a $50 unlimited voice plan in the great city of San Francisco, T-Mobile USA has reportedly taken said plan nationwide. Users are already buzzing about the widespread availability, though it should be noted that the same "loyalty requirements" from the San Fran pilot are still in effect for the rest of the nation. In other words, you have to have been a T-Mob subscriber for at least 22 months and have been in good standing the whole time. Oh, and being cute probably helps.

We heard that T-Mobile USA was looking to dabble in the low-end arena with $50 unlimited voice plans, and sure enough, the carrier has gone live with 'em in the City by the Bay. In a surprise move aimed to rival similar plans from lesser known providers such as Boost Mobile, T-Mob is offering "loyal customers" the option to move to a $50 flat-rate calling plan. In order to get the offer, you must be located in San Francisco (for now, anyway), have been a subscriber in good standing for at least 22 months and want to save a few bucks on your mobile calling. It's stated that stores in the SF area are actively promoting the new plan, which should be fairly successful given that users won't have to extend their current contracts in order to switch. Toss in unlimited texting, data and Everlasting Gobstoppers, and we're sold.

[Image courtesy of Bicycle-Heaven]

We'd ingest this one alongside a heavy dose of salt, but rumor has it that T-Mobile USA is getting ready to counter the economic crisis with some stellar deals. Reportedly, the carrier will introduce a number of low(er)-cost unlimited voice plans for those customers it deems "loyal," which will purportedly equate to having an account that's at least 22 months old and in good standing. Of course, anyone looking for data or SMS will probably not even bother giving the read link a look, but if all you do is yap, yap and yap, you might as well give it a peek. Remember, just keep your expectations low until further notice.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Nothing too exceptional here, but the texters in attendance should certainly have a listen. Just a week after Rogers Wireless launched two new unlimited packs for BlackBerry users, the Canadian carrier has upgraded the $20 Value Pack (for standard handsets) to include unlimited texting, up from 2,500 previously. Like we said, nothing too incredible -- unless you've been burned of late for sending over 2,500 texts in a month.

Hot on the heels of MetroPCS and Leap Wireless' latest moves to pull in more customers on unlimited plans comes this: yet another unlimited plan, this one from Boost Mobile. Starting on January 22nd, mobile users looking for predictability on their bills can choose a $50 per month plan that allows for unlimited calls and texts. The only glaring omission is data allowance, so those fond of checking eHarmony alerts on the go won't find much to love here. Not that you'd even want to surf for long on Boost's iDEN network, anyway.

So, you like talkin', do you? What's that? Not a fan of contracts? Looks like MetroPCS may just have something right down your alley with the new Unlimited Nationwide plan. Said plan enables subscribers to chat in an unlimited fashion in over 300 cities in the contiguous United States without any contract whatsoever, and best of all, the expanded network will be included at no additional charge in the carrier's current $45 and $50 service plans. For those on cheaper qualified plans, the luxury can be added for $5 per month. Interested? The go-live date is November 10th.

[Via phonescoop]

If you're not in the UK, chances are that you haven't really paid attention to the teeny, tiny fact that Nokia's long-awaited Comes With Music download service launched today. Regardless of your ignorance to the facts, the all-you-can-eat music service has been activated for users across the pond who forked over the poundage for a CwM-equipped 5310 XpressMusic. Early impressions are actually pretty great, with critics finding themselves pleasantly surprised with just how intuitive the navigation was. MusicAlly did point out that these "free" tunes weren't transferable to blank CDs -- when they tried, they got a message notifying them of epic failure. At any rate, the reviews are sure looking good for Nokia right out of the gate, though only time will tell if people will take notice and buy into yet another music service.

[Via CNET]

Read - MusicAlly impressions
Read - NetworkWorld impressions

Why the long face, Sony Ericsson? Is it the fact that your revenue and market share are in the crapper? Do Sir Howie's words have you a bit on edge? Oh, wait, wait, don't tell us -- we know what it is! You just spent all this time, money, and elbow grease prepping your PlayNow Arena music purchase service for launch, and you're just a little worried that Nokia might upstage you with its fancy (though questionably-profitable) Comes With Music initiative. It looks like you might already be looking into patching that up, though, if a Financial Times report is spot-on that has you announcing your own unlimited download service later this month. Word on the street is that you already have deals locked up with EMI, Sony BMG (no shocker there), Warner, and a handful of indies, but Universal's holding out on you. Nokia was able to get Universal on board, so odds are you'll be able to, too -- or at least you better be able to if you want to make a serious play at the big boys.

[Via mocoNews]

When one music store on your handset just isn't enough, there's Vodafone. Evidently not at all content with just the Omnifone-provided unlimited service, the carrier has just revealed a more traditional outlet for buying music on one's phone. Vodafone Music comes pre-installed on Vodafone live! handsets and can be installed on a plethora of others. Put simply, the application enables users to search for songs right on their mobile and purchase them for playback -- nothing too complicated about that, right? Hit up the read link to see if your current cellie is compatible.

[Via UnwiredView]

Telus clearly knows what's up. College kids aren't much on talking this day and age, but they sure love to text and surf. A pair of Student Plans (good 'til September 30th) have just emerged, one for phones ($35 per month) and the other for smartphones ($50 per month). Both rate plans offer up just 200 minutes of talk time but include nationwide unlimited talk, text, picture and video messaging with your Fave 10, unlimited nights and weekends starting at 6:00PM and unlimited web browsing. If you're hemming and hawing, maybe the $50 GAP gift card you get when purchasing the $35 plan with an LG KEYBO will be the deciding factor. No? Okay.

[Via mobilesyrup]

Virgin Mobile has always positioned itself as a super-crazy-value carrier in the US, and that trend certainly continues with its latest plan option, "Totally Unlimited". The idea's about as simple as the name implies -- the MVNO hooks you up with unlimited calling at any time of day or night for a shade under $80 a month, which already positions it favorably against all the nationals and major regionals -- but the coup de grace has to be the contract-free nature of the whole thing. When you sign up, Virgin doesn't want your soul for two years, and it doesn't even want your credit card if you'd prefer to pay your dues with a crumpled-up wad of cash every month (where you got that money is none of our business, after all). Unlimited text and pixture messaging can be added for another $10 monthly, which ends up pitting Virgin squarely against the $89.99 plan offered by one of its corporate parents, Sprint (which doesn't actually own much of Virgin Mobile anymore, so we guess there's probably not too much love lost there). Look for Totally Unlimited to hit the streets on July 1.

T-Mobile's trying to sweeten the unlimited pot today, adding a family option onto its preexisting $99.99 all-you-can-talk (and text) plan. Pretty simple: buy the first line for $99.99 as you normally would, then up to four additional lines of service can be added with the same limitless bucket of minutes and messages for $49.99 a pop. The so-called "FamilyTime Unlimited" package is being advertised as a package of two lines configured like this for $149.98 -- but make no mistake, you can still add another three on top of that to make sure all the kiddies get their fair share. Honestly though, if that baby boy in the picture has a Shadow hooked up with unlimited airtime, we're quitting life.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]