Best Buy is currently running its best deal on the Cricket Samsung Chrono featurephone by offering it for $10 with an additional $25 prepaid card by following this link, but there’s another rebate from Cricket for a $10 rebate card that makes the phone free by clicking this link, which links to the Cricket rebate form.

Cricket has announced that its first market for its long-planned LTE network will be Tuscon, Arizona with 90% of the city currently covered based on current CDMA coverage and a further expansion to Nogales, Arizona beginning in 2012.

Pricing for the service is set at $50 per month for 5GB of data at up to 3Mbps or $60 for 5GB of data up to 6Mbps with throttling being implemented after the monthly cap is reached. Currently, the only device available and compatible with the new network is a new USB modem manufactured by Huawei in the Boltz, which features a microSD slot with support for 32GB cards as well as dual-mode LTE/CDMA capability for $149.99.

The rollout of LTE service also means that Cricket is preparing to transition away from CDMA on a multi-year basis for data services via  new device lineup launching during the next year, which includes smartphones.

As expected and following up on a previous report, Cricket has launched the Huawei Glory Android smartphone and has rebranded it as the Mercury. The Mercury features a 1.4Ghz single-core Snapdragon processor, 4 inch FWVGA (854×480) resolution touch display, 8.0 megapixel camera with autofocus and 720p video capture, VGA resolution front facing camera, 2GB of internal memory, Wi-Fi radio and Mobile Hotspot support for up to 5 devices. The phone is now available for $249.99.

Huawei has announced the forthcoming launch of its next high-end/low cost Android smartphone in the Honor, which will be sold by Cricket as the Huawei Glory when it is released later this quarter in the US.

The Honor features Android 2.3.5,  a 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor with 512MB of RAM, a 4-inch F-WVGA resolution (854 x 480) display, 8.0 megapixel rear camera with a 2.0 megapixel front-facing camera for video calls on the international version and a microSD slot. The international version will be sold beginning next month in  China, Russia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan as an unlocked model as well as carrier-subsidized versions.

Regional flat-rate carrier Cricket has announced the launch of the Huawei Ascend II, the successor to the first Ascend mid-range Android smartphone which features a redesigned bodyshell as well as Android Gingerbread and a 5.0 megapixel camera.

The phone also features Bluetooth and Wi-Fi as well as a microSD slot to round out the feature set. Pricing is set at $179.99 with an online launch special which sets the final price at $129.99 after a $50 instant discount.

Cricket has launched its variant of the Samsung Indulge for $309.99 with a $20 instant online discount. The Indulge is identical to the version launched on MetroPCS save for the removal of the LTE radio. The smartphone features a sliding QWERTY keyboard, Android 2.2, 1GHz processor, Wi-Fi radio, Swype virtual keyboard, 3.2 megapixel main camera with flash and video capture along with a microSDHC slot and Bluetooth with stereo audio support.

Following last Thursday’s launch of the LG Optimus C in stores, the entry-level Android smartphone is now available online from Cricket. The phone is functionally identical to the model sold on MetroPCS, with a 3.2 inch capacitive touch display, Android 2.2, microSDHC expansion slot, 3.2 megapixel camera with video recorder and Bluetooth with stereo audio support. Pricing is set at $199.99 before an additional $20 instant discount and $50 mail-in rebate, bringing the total to $129.99 with required $55 Android service plan.

PhoneNews.com has received word that Cricket will launch its version of the LG Optimus One smartphone in the LG Optimus C next Thursday, March 17th. While pricing wasn’t divulged, it’s expected to launch for around the same price as the LG Optimus M on direct competitor MetroPCS, which sells the smartphone for $199.99 before an additional rebate. The LG Optimus C will otherwise be identical to current models with a 3.2 inch capacitive touch display, Android 2.2, microSDHC expansion slot, 3.2 megapixel camera with video recorder and Bluetooth with stereo audio support.

A YouTube video has surfaced demonstrating a CDMA iPhone 4 with a Cricket PRL file loaded into the phone and subsequently dialing out for OTA activation and its successful completion. Further investigation reveals that while the CDMA iPhone 4 can be flashed, it requires a jailbreak and will not function in AWS markets as the phone only supports CDMA on the 800/1900 bands. To add to the lack of utility, a third-party MMS app must be added for MMS to function while SMS is also a hit and miss affair and the service is only available at third-party dealers, where service quality be equally hit and miss.

Does this mean that flashing a CDMA iPhone 4 is a bad idea? It is at moment, but the fact that it can be done signals more improvements to the process are forthcoming, despite Apple’s historic objections to such activity.

As expected, the long-awaited Android Froyo update for the Sanyo Zio is now available via Wi-Fi update and will be made available via select Cricket locations and third-party dealers. To help owners, Cricket has also posted a series of pictograms detailing how to update the device via Wi-Fi on its Facebook page. It should be noted that the update was initially meant to be Éclair but was instead pushed up to Froyo. Read more for the images.