I was shopping at Loblaws the other day and was surprised to see a banner for a new cellphone service called PC Mobile. I have a phone from Virgin Mobile already (and wrote a complimentary post about it) and though I am not interested in switching, I was interested in seeing how they stack up against each other.
Coverage: Both mobile services use the Bell Mobility network.
Rates: 20¢ per minute at PC Mobile. 25¢ per minute for 1st 5 minutes of a day and 15¢ per minute thereafter at Virgin Mobile.
Features: Free Call Display. Other features (like voicemail) seem to be the same with both services.
Text Messaging: Free to receive but outgoing messages are 10¢ at Virgin and 15¢ at PC Mobile.
Expiry Period: The balance for a Virgin Mobile lasts for 120 days, whereas the best PC Mobile can offer is 60 days. In other words, Virgin Mobile will cost a minimum of $3.75 per month whereas PC Mobile will cost between $12.50-$15.00 (minimum) per month.
In my opinion, Virgin Mobile is still the clear choice for occasional users of cellphones. PC Mobile is comparable to pre-paid services offered by other providers and does not seem to have any unique selling point.
