Best Black Friday Smartphones: Cheapest Samsung Galaxy S III, more from 1¢
If you happen to be eligible for a new or renewed wireless contract, then you're in luck, as we've found some excellent Editors' Choice smartphone deals starting at just a penny. There are also prepaid and contract-free options, depending on your needs. Be sure to book mark this page, as we'll be updating it throughout the weekend with the latest smartphone deals!
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Samsung Galaxy S III 4G Android Smartphone for AT&T Wireless bundled with a $100 Walmart eGift Card
Store: Walmart
Price: $99.99 with free shipping
Lowest By: $200
Expires: December 1Is It Worth It?: While you still have to pay the $36 activation for a new 2-year contract, the Samsung Galaxy S III 4G Android Smartphone for AT&T Wireless in White (pictured) or Blue come with a bonus $100 Walmart eGift Card, which puts Samsung's latest device at an all-time low. (We saw it yesterday without any gift card for $50 shipped.) This "Ferrari of the Android circuit" is a GSM 4G phone with a massive 4.8" 720x1280 Super AMOLED touchscreen, and packs a Snapdragon 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2GB RAM, and 16GB memory. Its 8-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel front camera also shoot 1080p video. The Samsung Galaxy S III also boasts GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, and runs Google Android 4.0 OS (Ice Cream Sandwich). Bonus: it comes with the Samsung Galaxy S III Accessory Bundle!
Don't love the S III? You'll still earn a $100 Walmart eGift card with the purchase of any smartphone (see below) with a new 2-year contract, making for the best offer we've seen on phones at Walmart since last Black Friday.
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Nokia Lumia 920 4G Windows Phone 8 Smartphone for AT&T Wireless bundled with a $100 Walmart Gift Card
Store: Walmart
Price: $69.99 with free shipping
Lowest By: $30
Expires: December 1Is It Worth It?: While we predicted that there wouldn't be any "net profit" smartphone deals this Black Friday, we're very happy to be wrong. If you use the $100 credit that comes with this Nokia 920 deal for $70, then you're essentially making money off the transaction. (That is, assuming you'd opt to sign a 2-year contract with AT&T anyway.) With $30 profit, that makes this the best deal we've seen for this 4G phone. While thicker and heavier than most trendy smartphones these days, CNET calls the Nokia Lumia 920 "the most powerful, feature-rich Windows phone available." It has a 4.5" 1280x768 touchscreen display that responds to gestures even while wearing gloves, as well as an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, and Windows Phone 8 OS. A $36 activation fee applies.
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Refurbished Apple iPhone 4S 16GB Worldphone for AT&T Wireless
Store: AT&T Wireless
Price: 99 cents with free shipping
Lowest By: $99
Is It Worth It?: There are many shoppers who feel uncomfortable stepping out into the world of open-source Android or still-trying-to-prove-itself Windows Phone, and thus snuggle up to the tried-and-true iPhone line. The best way to get a deal on these phones though is to opt for a refurb. The most budget-friendly option we found today is this deal for a reconditioned Apple iPhone 4S 16GB Worldphone for AT&T Wireless in White (pictured) Black for just 99 cents with a new 2-year contract. Not only is it $99 under the lowest total price we could find for a new model, it's the cheapest refurbished iPhone 4S we've ever seen. No warranty information is provided. Also, a $36 activation fee applies.
Alternatively, you can pick up the latest and greatest from Apple with the first refurbished Apple iPhone 5 deal we've ever seen. Sign up for a 2-year contract with AT&T and get the 16GB model in Black
or Whitefor $99.99. The quad-band GSM 4G iPhone 5 features a Retina Display, 8-megapixel iSight camera, FaceTime HD 1.2-megapixel camera, and more. -
Free Refill Cards with Select T-Mobile Prepaid Phones
Store: T-Mobile
Price: From $149.99
Shipping: Free shippingIs It Worth It?: While we've seen refill bundles in the past for prepaid phones, rarely have they come with such large values. T-Mobile offers a $50 or $100 refill card for free with select models, including the Samsung Galaxy Exhibit 4G Prepaid Android Smartphone for T-Mobile (pictured), which comes with a $100 T-Mobile Refill Card for $199.99. That beats our mention from two weeks ago (which was $20 cheaper, but only included a $50 refill card). Moreover this is the best such bundle we've seen for this phone, which TechRadar says is one of the cheapest prepaid handsets you can get for use with a 4G network. It features a 3.7" touchscreen, 1GHz processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, microSD card slot, and Android 2.3 OS (Gingerbread).
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Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 4G LTE Smartphone for Verizon Wireless
Store: Amazon
Price: 1 cent with free shipping
Lowest By: $70
Is It Worth It?: If you missed yesterday's free DROID RAZR MAXX deal at Best Buy, today you can score the phone for just a penny more at Amazon. TechCrunch praises the DROID RAZR MAXX's improved battery life and premium feel, although it points out that the MAXX is thicker than its predecessor. It includes a 4.3" AMOLED Corning Gorilla LCD, Kevlar backing and water-repellent nanocoating, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 16GB internal memory and microSD card slot with a 16GB card pre-installed, and Android 2.3 OS (Gingerbread). A $36 activation fee applies.
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HTC One V Android Smartphone for Virgin Mobile
Store: RadioShack
Price: $99.99 with free shipping
Lowest By: $50
Expires: November 24Is It Worth It?: This contract-free phone for Virgin Mobile has dropped $40 in price since last week, settling in at the lowest total price we've ever seen. (Amazon charges the same.) It's also a current low by $50. While this isn't of the upper echelon of Android phones, PCMag says that the HTC One V is "comfortable to hold, has a nice-looking display, and runs Android 4.0 'Ice Cream Sandwich,' along with HTC's Sense 4.0 extensions." It features a 3.7" 480x800 touchscreen LCD, single-core processor, 5-megapixel camera, and 4GB memory.
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