@LIMEJamaica intros JA$300 30-day Data Plans and a free Alcatel One Touch T'Pop - How the Butler started the Smartphone Data Revolution

“Access to the Internet is no longer a luxury and our customers will now be able to pay as much as 88 per cent less for 30-day access to the endless possibilities available on the Web. We have added new packages to allow maximum affordability for any customer's budget”

Excerpt from LIME Head of Products Dwight Williams as quoted in a LIME Press Release on Friday August 9^th 2013

Telecom Provider LIME has introduced yet another innovation in the Mobile Data Space a mere one month and nine days (1 mth 9 days) after lowering their Cross Network Calling Rates and On-Net Calling Rates to JA$2.99 on their TalkEZ Plan as explained in my blog article entitled “LIME drops JA$2.99 Talk EZ to All Networks as Digicel promises something Bigger - Telecom Providers can bring The Heat via lower Priced Smartphones to spur 3G Data and Postpaid Plans”.

They are also offering a free Alcatel which curiously enough can only be found on LIME St. Lucia’s YouTube Page as shown below.

By comparison, Telecom Provider Digicel “6 Shooter” Plan, while catering to a wider swathe of society with differing calling styles as stated in my blog article entitled “Digicel responds to LIME and introduces Six Plans with lowest rate of JA$2.49 on Friday June 14 2013 - Digicel’s new Six Plan Rates wants Your Body, Christina Aguilera Style” is still expensive. The devil is just in the details!

Despite these plans, Telecom Provider Digicel still charges you the equivalent of a JA$88.75 for the first 5 minutes before you get the next 55 minutes free as noted in my Geezam blog entitled “Digicel’s New Rates make Credit Last longer despite no Postpaid Options announced”. That’s basically the price for one pound of White Rice Downtown!

Clearly Telecom Provider LIME’s Flat Rate Calling for both Local, Cross Network and International Calling is a much better deal, as most people really just want lower rates and not having to think about the cost of calling these other Networks.

So what New from Telecom Provider LIME? 

As of Friday August 9^th 2013, they’ve dropped the prices on their 3G Mobile Data Plans as stated in the article “LIME introduces new prepaid Internet packages”, published Friday, August 09, 2013, The Jamaica Observer. Take a gander at the new prices below:

Note: Once you exceed the cap you're dropped to EDGE Speed and billed at JA$40 per Megabyte as explained in my Geezam blog article entitled “How to Access LIME or Digicel’s 4G Internet using an unlocked 4G LTE Modem Dongle, smartphone or Tablet”.

To access information on the new plans you need to use the USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) Code of *129#. This offer is with current owners of smartphones on Telecom Provider LIME’s Network ONLY!

There is however a small caveat! If you have a modem, it’ll work ONLY if you’ve been on Telecom Provider LIME’s Network before this offer. Otherwise to purchase a 3G Modem from them, or to put your modem on Telecom Provider LIME’s 3G Network, you have to get a Postpaid Plan.

Telecom Provider LIME, why?

These offers of lower Data Services as well as lower cost smartphones as Jamaica’s smartphones usage continues to rise as stated in my Geezam Blog article entitled “Apple iPhone boosts Jamaican smartphone usage as BB goes Chapter 11 Bankruptcy” and my blog article entitled “Blackberry popularity wanes as Jamaicans go smartphones - Android and Apple's Smartphone Revolution”. 

It also fits into the trend and is a copy of the strategy started here in Jamaica by Telecom Provider Digicel’s introduction of the sub-US$100 DL600 smartphone as stated in my blog article entitled “Digicel to launch the DL600 smartphone in Jamaica on Thursday 30th or Friday 31st of May 2013 - Digicel DL600 is coming Fast and Furious 6 to make smartphones accessible to all”.

Combined, both of these trends are spurring the growth of Data Services and the adoption of smartphones in Jamaica! 

An interesting side-dish in the form of yet another innovation by Telecom Provider LIME that’s not on Telecom Provider Digicel's “4G” Data Service is Data Alerts. Telecom Provider LIME will pre-alert you via SMS (Short Messaging Service) or Text Message just before you exceed your Data Limit on your smartphone (as these are geared towards smartphones not Blackberrys) at the following points:

1.      75% of your Data Cap

2.      95% of your Data Cap

3.      100% of your Data Cap

After that point it drops your speed to EDGE and also charges you at a rate of JA$40 per megabyte, nibbling away your Prepaid Credit one Megabyte at a time. In anticipation of this, Telecom Provider LIME has now made it possible for you to just top up again and renew or change your Data Plan on any of the offers above.

LIME and the Free Alcatel One Touch T’Pop – Un-Branded Challenger to the DL600

Finally Telecom Provider LIME has responded to Telecom Provider Digicel’s DL600 budget smartphone that come in at JA$7000 with Taxes included as stated in my blog article entitled “Digicel has launched DL600 and Blackberry Q10 in Jamaica on Thursday 30th 2013 - The Purge of Features phones in a gradual ramp-up towards Data Services and smartphone in Jamaica” with a budget smartphone of their own.

Telecom Provider LIME made the Alcatel One Touch T’Pop (OT-4010) free via one of the following offers at select LIME Stores:

1.      Purchase of $4,000 (GCT not included) and activation of a 30-day Prepaid Mobile Internet plans

2.      Purchase of an Ultra Pak 300 or higher Voice Plan

Released in February2013, the Alcatel One Touch T’Pop (OT-4010) from Telecom Provider LIME has the following specs:

1.      Processor: 1 GHz Cortex-A9

2.      GPU: PowerVR SXG531

3.      Chipset: Mediatek MT6575

4.      OS: Android OS v2.3 (Gingerbread)

5.      Dimensions: 115 x 62.3 x 12.2 mm (4.53 x 2.45 x 0.48 in)

6.      Weight: 118 g (4.16 oz)

7.      Display: TFT capacitive touchscreen, 256K colors 

8.      Resolution: 320 x 480 pixels, 3.5 inches (~165 ppi pixel density)

9.      External Storage: microSD, up to 32 GB

10.  Internal Storage: 512 MB ROM

11.  RAM: 256 MB RAM

12.  GSM Netwotk: 850/900/1800/1900

13.  3G Network: HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 at

14.  Rear Facing Camera: 2 MP (EU) / 3.2 MP (Americas)

15.  Internet access: HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, WLAN, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot

16.  BATTERY: Li-Ion 1400 mAh battery

a.       Talk time: Up to 14 h (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G)

Features

           

1.      Accelerometer

2.      Access to Google Apps Store to purchase Apps

3.      Document viewer

4.      Geo-tagging, touch focus

5.      GPS          

6.      HTML Browser   

7.      Messaging viaSMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, IM

8.      MP3/AAC+/WAV/WMA and MP4/H.264 player

9.      Organizer

10.  Photo viewer/editor

11.  Predictive text input

12.  Proximity Sensor

13.  Radio with Stereo FM

14.  Voice memo

The Alcatel One Touch T’Pop (OT-4010) is available from Telecom Provider LIME in the following colours:

1.      Apple Green

2.      Bluish Black

3.      Flash Red

4.      Hot Pink

5.      Pure White

6.      Tangerine

7.      Turquoise

In the meantime follow the shenanigans of Telecom Provider LIME on:

1.      LIME website (which I still think needs revamping to make it more Tablet and smartphone friendly!)

2.      LIME’s YouTube Page, which is also in need of more structured maintenance.

3.      LIME Twitter Account

4.      LIME Facebook Account

Summer just got very interesting for anyone wanting to purchase a smartphone as now 2 great offers exist to give you a taste of what having a smartphone is really about. One thing is for certain: this is how The Butler (2013) started the Smartphone revolution in Jamaica!