Cricket Wireless is not exactly desperate for new subscribers, but the prepaid service provider currently runs a promotion that nets newcomers a free smartphone if they make the switch.
For a limited time, transferring your phone number from a different carrier allows you to get the Microsoft Lumia 650 for free. Featuring a 5-inch, 1,280 x 720 resolution display and a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 processor, the Lumia 650 is a more luxurious version of the Lumia 550 in that the former replaces the latter’s plastic frame with a metallic one.
The Lumia 650 runs Windows 10 Mobile, however, which you will either be okay with or entirely against. If you fall in the latter camp, Cricket does let you pick either the Alcatel Streak, ZTE Sonata 3, or Kyocera Hydro View in its place. As is the case with the Lumia 650, none of the three aforementioned Android-powered smartphones will light the world on fire, but since you can get one of them for free if you make the switch, they are not expected to.
As with any promotion, there is some fine print to read over, namely the caveat that you cannot take advantage of the promotion if you switch your number from AT&T — which makes sense, since AT&T owns Cricket. Furthermore, you will need to fork over a $25 activation fee, as well as at least $30 in order to activate a plan. The cheapest plan Cricket currently offers is its $30-a-month plan, which was announced in September and which includes unlimited talk and text, and 1GB of 4G LTE data.
It is not known when the promotion will end, though we would not bank on it lasting into next year, so you might be better off taking advantage of it sooner rather than later.
