Technologies

Verizon Goes After Switchers With a New Welcome Unlimited Plan Discount

Verizon is lowering some of its pricing to fight T-Mobile.

Verizon is making some small adjustments to its cheapest unlimited plan in its latest bid to lure new users. The carrier has announced that it will be running a «limited time» offer that will drop the price for its Welcome Unlimited offering by $5 a month, pitting it more closely comparable to rival T-Mobile’s Essentials and Base Essentials offerings. The new deal starts on Friday.

In addition to the cheaper price, Verizon is also noting that those who take advantage of this deal will be getting a «three-year price guarantee.» T-Mobile has been touting its own «price lock» promise that it won’t raise its plan pricing on a variety of its most recent plans.

Verizon’s change is available to new users of Welcome Unlimited. Under the offer, the rates will be the following (assuming automatic payments and paper-free billing are set up):

1 line: $60 a month (down from $65)
2 lines: $50 per line, per month (down from $55 per line, per month)
3 lines: $35 per line, per month (down from $40 per line, per month)
4+ lines: $25 per line, per month (down from $30 per line, per month for four lines)

The deal is not available for existing Welcome Unlimited users. If you have Welcome Unlimited right now you’re stuck with the rate you have. If you have Welcome Unlimited and wanted to add a line, however, the new line — and only the new line — would be discounted at the above rate.

First introduced in July, the Welcome Unlimited plan is Verizon’s answer to T-Mobile’s cheaper Essentials and Base Essentials plans. It includes unlimited talk, text and data, but there are no perks like the free Disney Bundle (Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu), and it comes with a handful of other restrictions that are worth keeping in mind.

For one, all lines on the account will need to be on this plan — you cannot «mix and match» lines on a family plan that would’ve allowed you to get perks like the Disney Bundle from one line while also getting the cheaper rates on the others. There are no discounts on upgrading to new phones when on Welcome Unlimited; you will need to bring your own device or pay full price to upgrade.

And while you will have unlimited talk, text and data, those on Welcome Unlimited do not have access to Verizon’s fastest 5G flavor (what the carrier calls «5G Ultra Wideband») and do not get mobile hotspot access.

The new offer comes as Verizon looks to turn around a recent string of poor results that have seen customers flee its network for different providers. The carrier had been busy raising prices earlier in the year, and customers have left as a result. In its most recent quarter, the carrier reported a loss of 189,000 wireless postpaid phone users.

Technologies

AI Company Tensor Debuts a Robocar You Can Own

The vehicles are slated to ship next year.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 14, #795

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle No. 795 for Thursday, Aug. 14.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has some fun categories. Been to any weddings this summer? If so, you might ace the blue group. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Rear end.

Green group hint: Give it a whack.

Blue group hint: Here comes the bride.

Purple group hint: Doubled up words.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Derriere.

Green group: Used to hit a ball in sports.

Blue group: Component’s of a bride’s ensemble.

Purple group: Rhyming compound words.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is derriere. The four answers are backside, caboose, seat and tail.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is used to hit a ball in sports. The four answers are bat, mallet, racket and stick.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is component’s of a bride’s ensemble. The four answers are bouquet, bustle, train and veil.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is rhyming compound words. The four answers are backpack, cookbook, hubbub and nitwit.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 14 #529

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 529 for Thursday, Aug. 14.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be a stumper. Some of the answers are quite long and tough to unscramble, though all of them match the theme very well. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Honest-to-goodness.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Not fake or phony.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

TONE, GONE, BONE, LONE, LOAM, HALO, HALOS, THAN, RITE, TIRE, DIRE, DIRT, TREE, MATT, CALF

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: