U.S. Cellular launched a new no-contract plan on Friday that includes unlimited data, text messages and voice minutes for $50 a month. The plan can be used with a few phones, including the ZTE Director, which costs $49.99, the Kyocera Hydro XTRM and Samsung Axiom, both of which support 4G LTE networks and cost $129.99, and the Moto X with LTE support for $299.99 off contract (and after rebates).
We checked out the U.S. Cellular site to dig a bit more into what you get. The site says that this plan offers 500MB of high-speed data, which means you'll probably be throttled down to 3G speeds (possibly even slower) after you consume all of that data. It isn't very much, either, so it's best for consumers who rely more on Wi-Fi than they do on a high-speed cellular connection. Otherwise, U.S. Cellular offers a different $50 plan with similar features but 1GB of total data, or a more expensive $65 plan with 2GB of data.
There aren't any overages for any of the plans, so we recommend sticking with the 1GB or 2GB plans so that you at least have access to faster data. If you're just entering the smartphone game and really don't think you'll need that much high speed data, then the new plan could be a place to get your feet wet.
