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Cricket starts prepaid iPhone 4S sales

Wireless carrier says some customers lined up at the door to get their hands on the popular device.

Donna Tam Staff Writer / News
Donna Tam covers Amazon and other fun stuff for CNET News. She is a San Francisco native who enjoys feasting, merrymaking, checking her Gmail and reading her Kindle.
Donna Tam
Apple

Cricket said there was a bit of buzz around its start of iPhone 4S sales today, with some customers lining up to buy before stores opened.

The wireless service is the first to offer a prepaid, no-contract iPhone, an expensive and unique device for the prepaid market.

The 16GB iPhone 4S costs $499.99, while the 8GB iPhone 4 costs $399.99. The phone comes with a $55 no-contract plan that includes unlimited calling and text messages. The plan also includes 2.3GB of data, after which the carrier will slow the connection down.

A Cricket representative said the phone was available at company-owned and select dealers this morning with "brisk" customer activity.

People must be hoping to take advantage of the savings associated with the prepaid plan, even if Apple opening up more access to the iPhone makes the device lose a little of its cool factor.