AT&T GoPhone Plans Go LTE, Offering the Samsung Galaxy Express

For people who don't need the most cutting edge smartphones, plus the premium prices and contracts that accompany them, but still want to have access to 4G LTE data speeds, AT&T has a deal for you. The wireless giant just announced on Friday that, beginning June 21, its affordable GoPhones and prepaid wireless plan will be making the jump to AT&T's 4G LTE network.

With AT&T's GoPhone plan, you can bring your existing 4G or 4G LTE-capable smartphone to the new network on a contract-free, prepaid basis. If you're looking to get a new smartphone, AT&T is going to begin offering the Samsung Galaxy Express, adding the device to its lineup of other 4G LTE smartphones, on June 21.

"AT&T GoPhone customers can make the most of their smartphones on our fast 4G LTE network, and with our new prepaid plans, they're getting even more value and data at an attractive price," Mark Collins, AT&T Mobility's senior vice president of data and voice products. "With the addition of the Samsung Galaxy Express, customers get the latest capabilities and speeds from their wireless experience, and we'll be adding more exciting devices to our GoPhone lineup."

The Samsung Galaxy Express will be $249.99 starting June 21, online or at AT&T stores or GoPhone distributors. With that, you'll own the phone, so no additional fees for breaking contracts or paying off the rest of the phone will apply. We previously compared the newer Samsung Galaxy Express to the Samsung Galaxy S3 mini when it was first announced, and found the two to be closely equivalent. The Galaxy Express sports a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, running Android Jelly Bean on a 4.5-inch display. It's got a 5-megapixel rear camera with 720p video recording and a 1.3-megapixel front-facer. It comes with 8GB RAM, but you can expand that to up to 32GB with a microSD card.

GoPhone smartphone plans are all prepaid and contract free, meaning no credit checks or deposits to lay down before you start using the next-generation network. They offer several different levels of the plan, ranging from $60 for a month of 2GB of data and unlimited nationwide calling and messaging to $25 for a month of 250 minutes of nationwide calling and unlimited messaging, with 50MB of data at an additional $5 a month.