MetroPCS adds a pair of phones to its roster; BYOP to start June 12th

Thanks to a loyal reader,we have information showing that two phones that are on the T-Mobile smartphone roster, are coming to MetroPCS. T-Mobile recently closed its acquisition of MetroPCS with the goal of eventually having the pre-paid carrier's subscribers migrate to T-Mobile. The phones that are coming to MetroPCS are the Samsung Galaxy Exhibit and the LG Optimus L9.

The Samsung Galaxy Exhibit is basically a re-branded Samsung Galaxy S III mini and was added to T-Mobile's lineup at the end of last month. A 'cheat sheet' for MetroPCS reps shows the device sporting a 3.8 inch display although the device actually has a 4 inch screen. A dual-core 1GHz processor is driving the handset which offers 1GB of RAM and 16GB of native storage. Yes, there is a microSD slot available to add storage and the rear-facing 5MP camera records video in 720 x 128 resolution at 30fps. The 1500mAh battery keeps on the lights and TouchWiz runs over Android 4.1.2. While the information that we obtained from our tipster doesn't list a price, at T-Mobile the phone requires a down payment of $19.99 and 24 monthly payments of $9 each. That works out to a price of $235.99.

The LG Optimus L9 was added to the roster of the nation's fourth largest carrier in the fourth quarter of last year. It features a 4.5 inch display with a 540 x 960 resolution (qHD) and a dual-core 1GHz TI OMAP 4430 processor under the hood. 1GB of RAM is on board along with 4GB of native storage. The latter can be expanded with the 32GB capacity microSD slot. The camera on back is 5MP capturing video in 1080 x 1920, and there is a .3MP snapper around the front. A 2150mAh battery powers the device which has Android 4.0 installed. The phone requires a down payment of $48.99 and 24 monthly installment payments of $10.08 which adds up to a price of $242 for T-Mobile's pre-paid customers. Again, the information from our tipster does not include a price.

Lastly, it looks like that starting on June 12th, MetroPCS will start up a BYOP service which will let customers bring their own GSM phones to the pre-paid carrier. Models like the Apple iPhone, Android and Windows Phone units, and certain featurephones will work with the new plan. No BlackBerry models will be accepted.


Thanks Anonymous Tipster!