Cricket Offers Fun Technology Gifts for Last-Minute Holiday Shoppers

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- According to recent ShopperTrak* analytics, approximately 30 percent of all holiday shopping dollars were spent in the 10 days before Christmas in 2010. This year, Cricket Communications, a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless services, is providing gadget gift ideas for everyone on your list to make last-minute holiday shopping a breeze.

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Finding and purchasing a great gift for family and friends at the eleventh hour doesn't have to be a stressful experience. This holiday season, Cricket is offering last-minute shoppers looking for the latest gadgets, smartphones with Muve Music™, a tablet, user-friendly devices for tech newbies and great accessories to match that will make it easy to navigate and check off items on your list.

Cricket makes it easy to figure out how to get the best devices for each person on your wish list, without feeling overwhelmed:

• For the ultimate tech-lover – The Huawei Mercury (suggested retail $249.99) is Cricket's fastest and most powerful smartphone with a 4" FWVGA touch-screen, Wi-Fi capability and 3G real web browsing, MP3 player/microSD slot, HD gaming, and a front-facing video camera, providing a video conferencing option for holiday exchanges with loved ones.  The  Huawei Ascend II (suggested holiday retail $99.99) is a value-priced Android featuring a 3.5" HVGA touch-screen, Wi-Fi capability, and Cricket's innovative Muve Music service, which includes access to millions of songs from all the major record labels and several indies, access to more than 300,000 apps on the Android™ market, and more. And don't forget for those wanting a tablet on your list: the Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1, which is now in Cricket company-owned stores (suggested retail $499.99).
• For the everyday tech-accessible – The ZTE Score (suggested holiday retail $79.99) is a fully-featured Android smartphone that is Wi-Fi capable and has XT9 Trace for easy text entry, as well as Muve Music access to millions of songs.  The ZTE Chorus (suggested holiday retail $59.99) is a great phone for those who can't decide if they love music or technology more, which includes Muve Music and features impressive audio sound utilizing SRS WOW HD technology.
• For the nimble-thumbed texter – The Huawei Pillar (suggested holiday retail $79.99) allows users to text, post, update or comment with a full QWERTY keypad and 2" display, and the full QWERTY Samsung Comment (suggested holiday retail $89.99) keyboard  makes it easy to quickly update social status, add new contacts, send messages and schedule appointments. Cricket's unlimited data plan also means customers don't ever need to worry about overage charges.
• For the practical user or tech newbie – The Kyocera Domino (suggested holiday retail $39.99) and Samsung Chrono flip phone (suggested holiday retail $49.99) are both stylish blends of form and function that easily allow users to talk and stay connected through mobile web and Cricket games and apps.
• And with all of these fabulous new gadgets, you can't forget the latest must-have accessories:  Whether it's the Plantronics Explorer 210 Bluetooth Headset with Bluetooth v2.0, talk/standby time of 8hrs/192hrs and a dedicated on/off switch that saves battery life or the Monster ClarityHD Bluetooth Speaker that lets you listen in high definition wirelessly, has an ultra-clear noise-cancelling speaker for hands-free calls, a compact size that provides the ultimate portable convenience in the palm of your hand and up to 5 hours of playtime with Lithium Ion rechargeable batteries, or the Skullcandy Smokin' Buds for a smooth listening experience, chargers or chic cases, everyone on your list is sure to be pleased.

For more information about Cricket's dynamic device lineup, please visit www.mycricket.com.  To follow Cricket's latest news and updates online, go to Facebook at www.facebook.com/cricketwireless and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cricketnation.

About Cricket

Cricket is the pioneer of simple and affordable unlimited wireless services with no long-term commitments or credit checks required serving approximately 5.8 million customers. Cricket products are available nationwide. Cricket offers wireless voice and broadband Internet services over the latest technology, high-quality, all-digital 3G CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO wireless network. Cricket's nationwide wireless voice service plans include unlimited anytime minutes, unlimited U.S. long distance, unlimited text and picture messaging, unlimited text to Mexico, unlimited Mobile Web, unlimited directory assistance, as well as a variety of calling features and feature-rich mobile applications such as popular games, ringtones and wallpapers. For more information on Cricket, visit www.mycricket.com. Cricket is offered by Leap Wireless International, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, Calif. For more information on Leap, visit www.leapwireless.com.

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* ShopperTrak Identifies Top 10 Busiest Holiday Shopping Days; Pressure for Retailers to Perform,"ShopperTrak," Nov. 2011.

SOURCE Cricket Communications