Solo Mobile adds choices

Canadian wireless provider Solo Mobile on Thursday announced it is introducing four new voice plans and two new handsets to its line-up. The Bell sub-brand enhanced its Unbeatable and Solo in the City plans, giving users what it says is better value. It now waives the controversial System Access Fees and emergency 911 charges to new subscribers who sign up for a two-year contract. This represents a savings of about $8 CAD (about $6.75) per month.

Four new plans include the $15 CAD ($12.66) Unbeatable plan that includes 50 minutes and 50 text messages per month, per-second billing, call waiting and three-way calling. For another $5, users can share minutes and get unlimited local and long-distance national calling as well as unlimited texting with up to four family members and friends.

The same features are available for new Solo in the City plans that include a $40, 2,000-local minutes per month and $60 for 4,250 minutes. Both have unlimited texting included as well. The new plans are offered from November 7th to December 31st.

At the same time, the provider will add the Samsung Cleo flip phone to its hardware offerings, as well as the new BlackBerry Pearl 8130. The Cleo is unusual and sports a QWERTY keyboard in a squat clamshell form factor designed partly to resemble a makeup mirror. It also carries up to 8GB of memory thanks to a microSD slot. Bluetooth support and a 1.3-megapixel camera are also built into the handset. The Pearl 8130 is adapted from Bell's network, and comes with a 2-megapixel camera, GPS and the candybar BlackBerry's characteristic 3G data network and push e-mail support.

The Cleo is priced at $100 on a three-year contract with Solo Mobile, while pricing for the Pearl 8130 has not yet been announced.

By Electronista Staff