The rate for calls within Mexico and Bermuda is $1.10 per minute and calls within Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are $0.60 per minute. Calls originating in the United States to Puerto Rico will remain at the current $0.12 per minute and U.S. calls to Mexico and Canada will remain at $0.34 per minute.

The text messaging rate within the aforementioned countries/territories is $0.50 per message sent and $0.25 per message received, with the international text messaging rate for messages originating in the United States at the standard $0.20 per message rate.

The MVNO is offering phones and devices from Alcatel/Cellatel, RIM, Motorola and Nokia as well as selling SIM-only service in a nod to the European model.

The virtual operator features a list of supported devices compatible with its service, though it being SIM-based should theoretically allow any unlocked GSM phone to work, although Simple Mobile has this to say about using phones and devices outside of its approved device list in its Terms and Conditions:

“Simple Mobile reserves the right to terminate service for use of non-approved phones”.

Judging by the coverage map offered, Simple Mobile is also leasing network access from T-Mobile and is touting its aforementioned $40 unlimited voice plan which undercuts T-Mobile’s unlimited voice offering on the comparable Even More Plus plan by $10 per month.

Plans other than the flagship $40 monthly offering include unlimited talk and text for $45 and unlimited talk, text and 20MB web access costs $50, with an additional 20 MB allotment on the $50 plan costing an extra $5 per month.

Simple Mobile is also offering international long distance for an additional $10 per month on top of the monthly rate chosen as well as international SMS messaging on the $45 and $50 rate plans, but does not specify if international messages are included in the rate plan or if additional charges will be incurred. The provided international carrier list also does not supply international messaging rates, which further adds to the confusion.

Only time will tell if Simple Mobile will mark the revival of competition in flat-rate prepaid GSM service so or join its predecessor in cool prepaid which attempted a similar model and ended up failing without making a noticeable impact.

Starting December 1st, the recently launched offering will be available for sale in 4,300 Radio Shack stores, Sam’s Club kiosks via Radio Shack, Walmart.com, Virgin Mobile.com and Target.com.

The modem is a rebranded Novatel Wireless MC760 USB modem and retails for $99.99, with rates starting with a branded Top-Up card for $20 and 250MB good for 30 days, with other data plans being available at $10 for 100 MB, $40 for 600 MB and $60 for 1GB.

Click for full-size.

The service is sold as part of special bundles called Fast Packs, which consist of the following eight plans depending on the selection of Metro 4G service for service within the immediate coverage area or Nationwide 3G/4G service with a branded Franklin U300 dual-mode 3G/4G modem:

Fast Pack with Metro Service:

12Mbps with Metro 4G High-Speed2Go – $49.99 for 1 year, $72.95 thereafter.

16Mbps with Metro 4G High-Speed2Go – $59.99 for 1 year, $82.95 thereafter.

22Mbps with Metro 4G High-Speed2Go – $69.99 for 1 year, $92.95 thereafter.

50Mbps with Metro 4G High-Speed2Go – $106.99 for 1 year, $129.95 thereafter.

Fast Pack with Nationwide High-Speed2Go

12Mbps with Nationwide 3G/4G High-Speed2Go – $69.99 for 1 year, $92.95 thereafter.

16Mbps with Nationwide 3G/4G – $79.99 for 1 year, $102.95 thereafter.

22Mbps with Nationwide 3G/4G – $89.99 for 1 year, $112.95 thereafter.

50Mbps with Nationwide 3G/4G – $126.99 for 1 year, $149.95 thereafter.

The handset lineup will consist of the entry-level LG 220 clamshell at $39.98, the LG Slider 290 at $79.98 and the Samsung 451 QWERTY keyboard slider at $99.88.

Plans will consist of the Straight Talk “All You Need” 30-day Plan that includes 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts and 30MB of mobile web access along with 411 calls at no extra charge for $30 a month as well as the Unlimited 30-day Plan that includes unlimited minutes, unlimited text and unlimited mobile web access for $45 a month.

One advantage touted by TracFone is the inclusion of direct 411 access at no additional cost, with other carriers routinely charging additional fees for its use. It should also be noted that unlike the GSM-based service TracFone is known for, this service operates on the Verizon Wireless network.

Virgin initiallly filed legal motions after discovering that the MetroPCS MetroFLASH service was allowing Virgin Mobile customers the ability to take them to MetroPCS locations with MetroFLASH for use on their network. As Virgin Mobile heavily customizes and subsidizes handsets for use on its service, the carrier recovers handset subsidies through its customer base.

For its part, Virgin has demanded MetroPCS cease offering MetroFLASH due to its belief that it prevents the company from recovering subsidies on its handsets. MetroPCS has countered with its own claims disputing Virgin Mobile’s case, with one claim already dismissed by judge Sidney Fitzwater and stating that Virgin may have certain rights regarding its trademarks once the phone is flashed over to MetroPCS service as it involves violations of said trademarks.

Motorola has announced the availability of the i856 Debut slider for Boost Mobile. The phone features a 1.3MP camera with video recorder, external media controls and Bluetooth with stereo audio support along with threaded messaging and speakerphone.

The phone is now available online from Boost Mobile for $169.99.

Virgin Mobile has confirmed to the press that it plans to launch the LG Rumor 2 in an undisclosed timeframe. The operator was recently acquired by Sprint but did have an existing handset development relationship with the manufacturer offering the LG Aloha and Flare entry-level handsets before the acquisition.

This follows the rumors of the apparent forthcoming availability on the virtual operator this morning as a result of the legal disclosure for its Twitter Rumors sweepstakes in which the First Prize is listed as an LG Rumor 2.

Update: A RadioShack rep has confirmed to PhoneNews.com that the Virgin Mobile Rumor 2 is available now across most locations  for $129.99.

The first harsh reality is that, this simply is not a good deal anymore. Sprint’s Boost Mobile now offers its $50 unlimited data and voice plan on their CDMA 3G network. And, many are finding that they can activate any Sprint CDMA phone with relative ease… simply needing to scour up a Boost CDMA phone first. While that isn’t as easy as dropping a SIM card into a Zer01 Mobile phone… it would save you $240/year over Zer01 Mobile’s non-existent service.

That’s the other problem. From Laptop Magazine’s rescinding of their CTIA Best-of-Show award, to numerous bloggers feeling bad about all the hype and praise… we saw this one coming, and that’s why we haven’t talked about Zer01 in-between.

And, like many vaporware startups, Zer01 Mobile is now threatening reporters with legal action. We’re not amused. We’d rather focus on asking tough questions.

I would note that we did, in private, act as good journalists, and rolled out the red carpet for Zer01 Mobile to put up or shut up. Lets just say our inboxes never filled with any demo units.

I didn’t write this editorial to bury Zer01 Mobile. That’s already a done thing… barring any surreal distribution snag holding back a stellar (and now overpriced) service. I wrote this because MechaWorks has announced it’s in the gadget-building business. We’re building something cool, and we’re going to announce it next month.

This is instead an article about a task we already decided to take on, and that’s being absolutely open about where we stand. What we’re going to announce, well, it’s big. It’s not something you can chew up and ship out the door. It’s going to be an industry-wide effort (and I didn’t say the mobile industry). The most important thing in keeping confidence about your product is not failing to meet expectations.

We absolutely will not come out of the gates promising to ship something on a date certain. Instead, we’re going to share with you exactly where things stand. If we hit a snag, we’re going to be up front and tell you we hit a snag. That’s not to mean we’re moving at a slow pace, or that we’ll slow down… we’re going to stay realistic. Maybe, just maybe, if Zer01 Mobile had stayed realistic, it would have been the game changer that it aimed to be. And, maybe, we’d all be placeshifting videogames like OnLive, Phantom, and others promised.