Monthly payment is $45 Walmart launches iPhone 5 no-contract unlimited plan

Monthly payment is $45 Walmart launches iPhone 5 no-contract unlimited plan Walmart launches no-contract Apple iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 handsets...

Walmart is offering no-contract plans for Apple's iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 at incredibly low monthly rates. This is truly a game changer and a major threat to carriers like AT&T and Verizon.

Walmart will launch Straight Talk, a prepaid mobile phone service for iPhone 4 or iPhone 5, in both retail stores and on its website starting from the 11th, providing users with unlimited data traffic, unlimited text messages and unlimited calls monthly services without a contract. But like most prepaid services, there is no subsidy for purchasing a mobile phone, and you must pay the full price. Apple's iPhone 4/8GB retails for $449, and iPhone 5/16GB retails for $649. Straight Talk is operated by TracFone Wireless.

However, what is eye-catching is the monthly rate: for only $45, you can have unlimited data, unlimited text messages, and unlimited calling services. If you add unlimited international long-distance calls, the monthly rate is 60 yuan per month, and you can make calls to more than 1,000 countries such as Mexico, Canada, and India. AT&T's service costs $69.99 per month for wireless calling only.

There is another attraction to this plan. Generally, prepaid plans mostly offer old phones in stock. For example, Virgin Mobile just adopted Samsung's Galaxy S II. Under this plan, Wal-Mart will provide the iPhone 5, which will only be on the market for 4 months, without signing any contract. That could hurt carriers like Verizon and AT&T big time.

Taking AT&T as an example, owning an iPhone 5 and signing a 2-year contract with unlimited calls, unlimited text messages, and a 5GB data plan will cost the user approximately US$3,550. Straight Talk's plan costs just $1,729 to own for two years, and that includes the full price of the iPhone 5.