Straight Talk has confirmed on its Facebook page that it will offer a SIM-only option for the first time along with its sister brand in Net10 within the next few days. The dedicated page for the offering is now live and features options for regular full-size SIMs as well as the increasingly popular microSIMs used in newer smartphones, including the iPhone. Read more for all the key details and the full breakdown of the service.

The offering also marks a shift for Tracfone as the service provider typically bundles service with its SIM capable phones while binding them together with questionable legalese and locks that would prevent usage on unlocked phones. The new offering may in fact be a response to the increasing popularity of purchasing Straight Talk Nokia smartphones with unlocked SIM cards that would work on unlocked or AT&T branded phones. The new service is also similar to the SIM-only option offered by competitor Simple Mobile which works exclusively on T-Mobile’s network and  has the advantage of also being compatible with both networks, unlike the aforementioned Simple Mobile.

The terms also indicate that Tracfone is taking advantage of the new UMTS roaming agreement signed between AT&T and T-Mobile in the wake of the blocked AT&T/T-Mobile purchase and merger to offer the new service option. Minor caveats to this option begin with the exclusion of Tracfone-branded hardware, BlackBerry and branded SafeLink, NET10 or Straight Talk phones. The BlackBerry exclusion makes sense as Tracfone does not hold a license for BlackBerry services and would need to either negotiate directly with RIM or sublicense via carrier partners for access to BlackBerry service.

With the forthcoming launch of SIM-only service on Tracfone, the provider may at last be taking steps to end its legally nebulous practice of locking SIM cards to hardware with equally questionable legalese while offering a solid alternative to contracts with the potential bonus of 3G roaming.

As the service requires the purchase of the $45 unlimited service plan and a credit/debit card, Straight Talk and Net10 are clearly targeting enthusiasts and current SIM swap users that are looking to keep using unlocked smartphones without the repercussions normally associated with such usage, which include account termination for using the SIM in an unauthorized device.

Now that Tracfone is offering SIM only service, this will undoubtedly force carriers to compete with their own prepaid services, though it remains to be seen whether they will respond in kind. A request for comment on the extent of AT&T and T-Mobile compatibility has also been sent to Tracfone’s PR company and the post will be updated with any additional confirmation received. The service will launch next Tuesday for both Straight Talk and Net10 at the prices listed in the above linked images while the support pages list manual data/MMS settings for each network.

Straight Talk SIM Page

Prepaid virtual operator Straight Talk has announced its first high-end Android smartphone in the LG Optimus 2X. The key differentiator between this version of the phone and the T-Mobile version in the G2X will be the inclusion of an LTE radio, which will make this the first high-end prepaid Android smartphone on Straight Talk and the first to function on AT&T’s nascent LTE network.

It also marks the first time that AT&T will allow prepaid access to its LTE network, as its own GoPhone lineup is limited to 3G devices and its smartphone lineup on GoPhone does not feature access to either unlimited 3G data or LTE access.

The LG Optimus 2X is underpinned by a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 at 1GHz, an 800×480 resolution touch display, front-facing 1.3 megapixel VGA camera and 8.0 megapixel rear camera with 1080p video capture along with a Wi-Fi N radio, Bluetooth, microSDHC slot with pre-installed 4GB card, 3.5mm jack and mini HDMI out.

This marks a potentially disruptive development for the prepaid brand, as it simultaneously competes against its Master Service Provider in AT&T in terms of services offered for the monthly rate, since the $45 monthly rate for service includes unlimited access to voice, data and messaging while the service also undercuts its competitors in Boost Mobile, Cricket and MetroPCS in terms of value for money.

The lowest priced service plans for Android on MetroPCS with LTE access start at $50 per month and do not include unlimited data access, while Boost Mobile’s Android data plan is $5 higher per month for the first six months and is unlimited in terms of data access, but is limited to much slower EV-DO Rev. A access. For Straight Talk to offer 4G LTE data access as a part of its current $45 monthly rate is not only potentially game changing, but it opens access to even more people that normally wouldn’t be able to take advantage of such service, as LTE access is currently being limited by carriers to capped postpaid and prepaid tablet access to generate the revenue necessary to cover costs associated to network buildouts.

It’s also important to note that such service additions and newly included support for faster data access on prepaid providers are usually followed by significant increases to the monthly rate to cover the additional costs incurred by the provider.  For Straight Talk to maintain the $45 smartphone rate while offering its first high-end smartphone with LTE is a sure way to drive not only frugal customers looking to jump into its low cost and inclusive flat-rate service as well as those that will undoubtedly upgrade from older smartphones, but the hardcore Android enthusiasts will no doubt take a second look at the service as it now supports LTE, which will doubtlessly drive even more activations on the service.

However, as Straight Talk is notoriously tight-lipped about its limits on data access per month dating back to the release of the E71, what is currently not known is how LTE access will be treated in terms of any monthly caps or throttling. AT&T is especially notorious for its current monthly data caps, but at least those are clearly defined.

With Straight Talk, reports vary on exactly how much is “too much” data use for a given user, as experiences range from ~6GB of data use a month with no issues or warnings, to situations where using more than 200MB in one day has led some customers to have their service suspended until the next renewal period without being able to restore it, or worse, having service completely terminated and having to reactivate completely.

With this latest development, Straight Talk is well on its way to being the disruptive provider that so many have tried and failed to be. The phone will be launched by the end of the month as an online exclusive with pricing to match, as the phone will be priced between $249-299.99 and slot at the top of the current Android lineup, which currently features the Sprint-powered and sourced Samsung Precedent and LG Optimus Q.

What remains to be seen is just how many people will be led to the service of flat-rate service with LTE access for half of the cost of the typical postpaid monthly rate on AT&T. Will it drive new customers that normally wouldn’t have considered prepaid service, or does the allure of the $45 rate leave it open for abuse by the same people that would take full advantage of such service if given the opportunity to pay such a low rate for it?

Update: After extensive research, it has been confirmed that the model offered is not an LTE enabled version of the Optimus 2X as is being advertised by Straight Talk, rather it is in fact an unbranded version of the US G2X that will be sold by the provider with Android Gingerbread 2.3.4 pre-loaded along with a new series of T-Mobile SIM card that will allow access to the carrier’s HSPA+ network for the phone, with no possibility of swapping current SIMs used on other GSM smartphones such as the E71 and E5 since they only work with AT&T.

Update 2: Straight Talk has pulled its reservation page for the Optimus 2X and replaced it with the page for the Optimus Q. The service provider has also pulled its Google Doubleclick ad campaign for the phone and replaced it with the previous campaign for the Optimus Q. Below, a screen cap of the Optimus 2X ad.

Update 3: Straight Talk has re-opened the reservation page for the LG Optimus 2X and has removed all references to 4G LTE support and is instead referring to T-Mobile’s HSPA+ data network as “4G”.

Update 4: Sibling provider Net10 has opened its own page for the phone, with a screencap of its Google DoubleClick ad below detailing the removal of 4G LTE references:

Not long after all of the pomp and fanfare surrounding the long awaited announcement of the Nokia Lumia 900 earlier this week, the mailing list for Windows Phone developers has confirmed that AT&T’s flagship Nokia Windows Phone smartphone will be launching in March, sooner than originally expected taking into account AT&T’s own vague Spring timeline. Windows commentator Paul Thurrott previously confirmed that the phone would launch on March 18th when it was known as the Nokia ACE.

As previously confirmed, the Lumia 900 is exclusive to AT&T and features either improvements or additions to the Lumia 800 in a larger 4.3 inch ClearBlack AMOLED display, LTE radio, Windows Phone Tango for LTE support, front facing camera, 1.4 GHz processor,  8.0 megapixel camera with 1080p video capture and dual LED flash, 16GB internal memory and Bluetooth.

The phone was designed with both AT&T and the US market in mind as it features a front facing camera and LTE support while the 800 features neither of those and Nokia expects it to drive Windows Phone sales in the US to drive its own comeback in the US market, where the brand has suffered significant marketshare loss after the launch of the iPhone in 2007. For historical context, the last Nokia phone to have significant sales and attention in the US market was the N95 sold in the months before the June 2007 launch of the Apple iPhone.

Not long after the launch, Nokia tried to court US carriers again with branded versions of its international models such as the E71 and E73 in an ultimately futile effort to compete with Apple before suffering another blow in the form of Android, which pushed Nokia’s smartphones aside in the wider US market, save for dedicated fans of Symbian.

Now with the attention given to Nokia and Windows Phone after this week, both Nokia and Microsoft are expecting the new partnership to payoff in a big way. Judging by the positive reception during CES, the Lumia 900 may turn the fortunes around of both Nokia and Windows Phone, provided the actual phone lives up to the initial critical praise.

During both its own keynote and Microsoft’s final keynote yesterday, the Nokia Lumia 900 has been announced for AT&T as a carrier exclusive,with support for AT&T’s LTE 4G network with a larger 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack display, 1830 mAh battery, 1.4GHz processor, front-facing camera for video chats, and Carl Zeiss optics for the 8-megapixel main camera, and 512MB of RAM.

Additionally, Microsoft announced during its keynote last night that it would sell the Lumia 800 unlocked through its physical Microsoft stores within the next few months. The Lumia 800 was initially announced last October and was not initially confirmed for the US market before being subsequently confirmed that it would not launch officially in the US.

With the launch of the Lumia 900 through AT&T and the forthcoming launch of the Lumia 800 as an unlocked model through Microsoft Stores, both Nokia and Microsoft are pinning hopes on the series to build momentum for Windows Phone and for Nokia’s resurgent push in the US.

Samsung has begun to roll out Android Gingerbread for the Samsung Captivate, nearly six months after the first leaked builds surfaced for the phone.

The update features a download manager, improved font management for larger text, copy/paste and text entry along with changes to APIs for graphics in order for developers to improve 3D rendering in games.

This makes the Samsung Captivate the last of the first generation Samsung Galaxy S phones to receive an update to Android Gingerbread, with every other carrier variant of the phone receiving its respective update.

Welcome back to our continuing coverage of CES 2012 and we keep going with Nokia’s keynote where the manufacturer is expected to unveil the Lumia 900 for AT&T along with the rest of its plans for 2012.

2:58 – Seated and ready to go.
3:02 - Stephen Elop takes the stage.
3:04 –  Recapping Nokia’s strategy for revival. Touting the “Next Billion” strategy for emerging markets, highlighting Nokia Asha
3:05 –  Moving to smartphones, citing the US platform wars as a key reason for switching to Windows Phone. Recapping Lumia 710 and 800
3:06 – Elop touting Lumia series launches, running through litany of countries Lumia has launched in.
3:07 – Elop  touts plan as to ‘establish a series of beachheads’ with Lumia series, announces Lumia 900 with video montage
3:08 – Lumia 900 confirmed to feature LTE for AT&T launch.
3:11 – Initial launch colors confirmed to be Black and Cyan with 1830 mAh battery
3:12 – Nokia SVP Kevin Shields takes the stage to run down previous announcements
3:13 –  Reiterates importance of dual cameras for US market on Lumia 900. Rear camera features f 2.2 aperture lens with 28mm focal length.
3:15 – Noting that Nokia is using staged photos to tout the focal length of the camera in the Lumia 900
3:16 – Windows Phone Tango confirmed as requirement for LTE support, pre-installed on Lumia 900 and required for LTE Windows Phones.
3:17 –  Now touting Windows Phone’s simplicity. Tango appears to have minor UI changes, but nothing significant to make note of.
3:18 - Nokia also touted Nokia Drive as a differentiator… Despite commiting previously to launch Nokia Drive for other Windows Phone 7 devices.
3:21 –  Elop retakes stage. Touts app ecosystem as something Nokia will play steering role in Windows Phone, wants apps to launch there first. Steve Ballmer also takes stage.
3:24 –  Ballmer said a lot… But really didn’t say anything new, cites ‘more work to go’ with Windows Phone adoption Ralph de la Vega takes the stage.
3:26 –  Much like Ballmer, de la Vega said a lot… But didn’t say much at all.
3:27 – Announcements done, onto Q&A.
3:28 –  No comment on Lumia for Sprint or Verizon
3:29 –  Elop cites retail partners, pressuring store reps to push Nokia will be key to regaining market share (driving sales with SPLIFFs, etc.)
3:31 –  No European announcement for Lumia 900 today
3:32 –  And similarly, no sales figures for Windows Phones sold to date
3:34 –  Lumia 900 won’t bump storage over 800… Nokia points the finger back to Microsoft for cloud storage, but did note configurations for 900 will vary from one market to the next when it is launched elsewhere
3:40 – Elop confirms Navteq data for Nokia Drive, cites ownership as key advantage in location-based services competition.
3:41 – On battery life when using LTE, Elop confirms extensive work with Nokia and Qualcomm to ensure better than average  battery life, states NFC is a B2B issue and on the question of RIM, Elop cites Microsoft’s tools as effective counterpoint to RIM in enterprise. That’s a wrap. Next up, Microsoft’s last keynote.

A promotional banner on the CES show floor has confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy Note will be released on AT&T within the next few weeks. Additional commentary also suggests that the hybrid phone and tablet has been testing internally since last December in preparation for a launch on the network.

The Samsung Galaxy Note for AT&T will also be modified from the current international version by shipping with the standard Android capacitive button layout instead of the center home button, ostensibly to avoid litigation.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is a 5-inch Android smartphone in the vein of the discontinued Dell Streak 5 with a heavily modified version of Android 2.3 with custom software in order to support Samsung’s own stylus oriented software dubbed S-Pen that is integrated into the operating system.

Specifications are also identical to the international version with  a 1280 x 800 5.3 inch Super AMOLED display, 8.0 megapixel and 2.0 megapixel cameras, and the same Samsung-sourced dual-core 1.4GHz processor as the Galaxy Tab 7.7 announced at Germany’s IFA trade show last year. More information is expected during Samsung’s keynote being held on Monday.

AT&T stores have confirmed the forthcoming launch of AT&T’s next LTE enabled tablet in the Pantech Element.

The tablet is being touted as the first water resistant Android tablet with sealed gaskets for all ports along with a drastically reduced pre contract and post contract price compared to the HTC Jetstream at  $299.99 with two-year contract for LTE and $449.99 without.

The Element features Android Honeycomb 3.2, and a dual-core 1.5GHz processor with front and rear cameras at 5.0 megapixels that captures video at 1080p with a 2.0 megapixel front facing camera that can be used for 720p video calls. The tablet also features “Piezo Motor” haptic feedback motors for precise input on the capacitive display.

The tablet is expected to ship on January 22nd and is available for pre-order via retail and telesales but has yet to be posted for pre-order online.

Update: More specifications and data plans for the tablet have been confirmed, with 16GB of internal storage, microSD expansion slot, pre-installed applications (AT&T Messages, Enzo Pinball, Sketchpad and Photo Frame) and compatibility with the $35 / month 3GB data plan on contract, or the $14.99 / month 250MB and $25 / month 2GB options for prepaid data if buying the tablet outright.

Noted Windows pundit Paul Thurrott has confirmed a few key details related to US Windows Phone launches planned for the coming year which center on AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Three LTE-based Windows Phone handsets–the Nokia ACE, HTC Radiant, and Samsung Mendel–will ship on AT&T Wireless before the middle of 2012. The ACE is due March 18, 2012. What’s unclear is whether these LTE based devices will be accompanied by a software update of some kind. You may recall that the rumored “Tango” release, supposedly due in early 2012, is about low-end phones. So it’s unclear how that jives with LTE, which is obviously a high-end feature. This explains my confusion over the supposed Windows Phone roadmap leak yesterday.

Also, the Nokia Lumia 710 will ship on Verizon Wireless in April 2012. This is not an LTE device, and it’s not clear when/if we’ll see an LTE Windows Phone on Verizon. The Lumia 710 is codenamed “Sword” and will be available in April 2012. (The T-Mobile version of the Lumia 710 will be available for purchase on January 11, 2012, giving the company three months of exclusivity before the device hits Verizon.

While the above seems to correlate with leaked roadmaps, the specific nature of the information points to heavy ongoing internal testing of Nokia Windows Phone devices on US carriers before their respective launches, with T-Mobile USA being the first to launch next month.

With Verizon launching a non-LTE version of the Lumia 710 despite public statements expressing a desire for such a device, the carrier may be extending an olive branch to the Finnish manufacturer after its previous relationship with the manufacturer dissolved into nothing more than Korean ODM rebrands that had very little to do with Nokia in terms of hardware.

The same could be said of AT&T with the Ace and the other planned LTE equipped phones after it passed on Nokia’s last carrier focused smartphone in the Nokia X7, which was meant to be an exclusive phone for AT&T running Symbian^3 and makes sense as AT&T was chosen by Microsoft to promote Windows Phone.

Best Buy email sent to customers this morning…

Today only, Best Buy is offering buy-one-get-one free pricing on the 32GB version of iPhone 4S. The retailer is offering the pricing on both AT&T and Verizon Wireless versions of the iPhone 4S, but not on the Sprint variant.

The offer is only valid for new two-year agreements, and both iPhones must be purchased at the same time. It is not clear if Best Buy will price match prior purchases, theoretically one could threaten to cancel and return the iPhones today.

Best Buy is operating on special Christmas Eve hours today, open from 7 AM to 5 PM. You must visit a store to purchase the iPhones, Best Buy is not offering the BOGO deal online.

At half-off the purchase of two iPhone 4S’s, it’s by far the lowest price we’ve seen for iPhone 4S to-date. The maximum discount we have seen for iPhone 4S previously was $169 at Radio Shack.

Update: We can confirm that this was intended to be only for the iPhone 4. Best Buy created chaos this morning by issuing this nation-wide offer, despite many/most stores being depleted of 32GB original iPhone 4 units. Some stores began honoring the deal for the 4S, as droves of customers began filling the Best Buy Mobile kiosks, fearing a bait-and-switch complaint.

Best Buy has begun to alert stores, and we are now seeing this curtailed to just the original iPhone 4 at a national level. In Best Buy’s defense, the retailer was caught off-guard with a large supply of original 32GB units that became obsolete when all original iPhone 4 units were discontinued, and an 8GB iPhone 4 replaced them alongside the iPhone 4S.

This follows the confusion and woes for Best Buy, which earlier this week admitted many orders dating back to Black Friday simply would not be fulfilled or delivered by Christmas. PhoneNews.com can also confirm that Best Buy decided to not expedite orders to overnight shipping, instead shipping them via ground shipping… thus missing what would have otherwise been a successful Christmas delivery.