Best pre-paid options

[Geekbabe]

I want to get a phone for my son for Xmas, I managed to snag a cyber monday deal on a Optimus V for Virgin Mobile for like $60 thinking I could root it,install a custom rom & he could be used with their $35 a month plan but further reading says that VM 3G speeds are crappy

Am now thinking of trying to get him a phone that will work with T Mobile's $40 a month pre-paid plan, what are my options for phones that won't cost several hundred dollars?

If 4G isn't doable, what about an iphone, even the 3G would be fun for him?

 

[vshah]

you could get a used optimus T (basically tmo version of the optimus V), i've seen them for just over $100 on ebay and http://swappa.com/buy/lg-optimus-t-mobile

tmo 3g speeds are much faster than sprint/verizon 3g speeds, assuming coverage is good in your area. major metros are usually fine so i imagine boston should be ok.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I have a different suggestion...

Get a Straight Talk refurb, and a used iPhone, activate the Straight Talk phone, pull the sim card, put the phone in a drawer, put sim in iPhone (a 3GS would be a great choice), or you can do the same thing with a GSM ATT Android phone, pay for a year of unlimited service for ~$499 (unlimited talk, text, web)

Most prepaid are a PITA to stay with their limits, and have a few "gotcha's" built in if you go over...

 

[Geekbabe]

I have a different suggestion...

Get a Straight Talk refurb, and a used iPhone, activate the Straight Talk phone, pull the sim card, put the phone in a drawer, put sim in iPhone (a 3GS would be a great choice), or you can do the same thing with a GSM ATT Android phone, pay for a year of unlimited service for ~$499 (unlimited talk, text, web)

Most prepaid are a PITA to stay with their limits, and have a few "gotcha's" built in if you go over...

The only other thought I've been considering is passing my Tbolt down to him when I upgrade to the Nexus, I'm on a month to month plan though currently & am not sure I want to go the 2 yr contract route and having to worry about managing minutes and data for 2 people though VZW does have good parental controls.

He's had a god awful Net10 LG phone that lets him update his Facebook & such, he's managed his minutes & data responsibly & has cared for the phone well so I wanted to upgrade him to something nicer...lol.. seriously this is my kid, he needs to be rocking something a bit more eleagant, besides at $50 a month the net10 plan isn't exactly the cheapest out there.

 

[sjwaste]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Jitterbug. He's pretty much in their target demo, right?

Seriously though, avoid VM if your son is in Boston and travels north at all. VM uses Sprint's towers, but doesn't roam onto Verizon. Sprint's 3G service was fine in Boston (I work there sometimes), but horrendous to entirely absent in the parts of New Hampshire and Maine where I work and live, respectively. These aren't tiny towns either.

I think Moose's idea with the Straight Talk SIM is a good one. You can google that solution, since I'm not an expert, but I think you need the SIM from an E71 from Straight Talk - and then make sure you don't sell the phone or use it with another SIM.

 

[Geekbabe]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Jitterbug. He's pretty much in their target demo, right?

Seriously though, avoid VM if your son is in Boston and travels north at all. VM uses Sprint's towers, but doesn't roam onto Verizon. Sprint's 3G service was fine in Boston (I work there sometimes), but horrendous to entirely absent in the parts of New Hampshire and Maine where I work and live, respectively. These aren't tiny towns either.

I think Moose's idea with the Straight Talk SIM is a good one. You can google that solution, since I'm not an expert, but I think you need the SIM from an E71 from Straight Talk - and then make sure you don't sell the phone or use it with another SIM.

My son has autism but is actually completing the process to register for college, so he's not really a Jitterbug candidate

I might just sell this phone, it's NIB & I can certainly flip it for what I paid for it.

 

[sjwaste]

My son has autism but is actually completing the process to register for college, so he's not really a Jitterbug candidate

I might just sell this phone, it's NIB & I can certainly flip it for what I paid for it.

Well I wasn't implying anything with that, I was just trying to think of the most ridiculous cell phone that I could come up with. But if he's off to college, you might as well go with an iPhone.

AT&T has good service in Boston as well as in points north. The Straight Talk route might be the way to go, as I think the GSM models work on the AT&T network. Their phones suck, but you can always buy something else used and put their SIM in it. $45/mo for their unlimited plan, which strikes me as a great deal.

 

[lothar]

I have a different suggestion...

Get a Straight Talk refurb, and a used iPhone, activate the Straight Talk phone, pull the sim card, put the phone in a drawer, put sim in iPhone (a 3GS would be a great choice), or you can do the same thing with a GSM ATT Android phone, pay for a year of unlimited service for ~$499 (unlimited talk, text, web)

Most prepaid are a PITA to stay with their limits, and have a few "gotcha's" built in if you go over...

I don't recommend paying for a year service on Straight Talk. In fact, there's no benefit in doing so.
Stick to the 3 month plans.

It's not a PITA to stay within their limits either.
If you can stay within your 2GB limit on AT&T and Verizon, you can do the same on Straight Talk.

 

[jpeyton]

Straight Talk GSM or Page Plus.

Page Plus is $55/mo for unlimited talk/text and 500MB data. You can use any Verizon smartphone with a clean ESN. You get Verizon's national 3G coverage, which is excellent. Setting up an account takes minutes once you have the phone. You pay slightly more, and have a lower data cap, but Page Plus (and especially their reseller Kitty Wireless) offer a much better customer service experience than Straight Talk.

Straight Talk is $45/mo for unlimited talk/text and 2GB data. You can use any AT&T smartphone, or any unlocked GSM phone. You get AT&T's national 3G/pseudo-4G coverage, which is good (though definitely not as good as Verizon). Setting up an account requires buying a compatible phone/SIM package from Straight Talk (like the $99 refurbished Nokia E71), activating the SIM using the provided Straight Talk phone, then transferring the SIM to the phone of your choice and making some minor adjustments to the proxy settings of your phone (there are guides online). You get more data for less money if you can jump through a few hoops to get everything setup, but if you go over your data limit you run the risk of Straight Talk permanently deactivating your account.

 

[Ksyder]

Straight Talk GSM or Page Plus.

Page Plus is $55/mo for unlimited talk/text and 500MB data. You can use any Verizon smartphone with a clean ESN. You get Verizon's national 3G coverage, which is excellent. Setting up an account takes minutes once you have the phone. You pay slightly more, and have a lower data cap, but Page Plus (and especially their reseller Kitty Wireless) offer a much better customer service experience than Straight Talk.

Straight Talk is $45/mo for unlimited talk/text and 2GB data. You can use any AT&T smartphone, or any unlocked GSM phone. You get AT&CoT's national 3G/pseudo-4G coverage, which is good (though definitely not as good as Verizon). Setting up an account requires buying a compatible phone/SIM package from Straight Talk (like the $99 refurbished Nokia E71), activating the SIM using the provided Straight Talk phone, then transferring the SIM to the phone of your choice and making some minor adjustments to the proxy settings of your phone (there are guides online). You get more data for less money if you can jump through a few hoops to get everything setup, but if you go over your data limit you run the risk of Straight Talk permanently deactivating your account.

Couple of thoughts on these suggestions- first is that I've seen reports of people activating 4g LTE phones on Page Plus but in general it doesn't seem to be possible, so a more specific recommendation is 3g Android and iPhone should be ok on Page Plus, but Blackberries, Verizon Prepaid phones, and 4g phones likely won't work.

The other thing is that from reading the thread over at Howard Forums about the data limit on the unlocked sims, people are able to get the data turned back on after a call to cs. I think you would have to really overdo it on data to be deactivated permanently. Using an app to monitor data usage and using wifi when possible would probably prevent this. Especially in a college setting, where wi-fi access is pretty ubiquitous. Although, I guess you never know, as sometimes the authentication methods for the school wi-fi's can be tricky to get through on a cellphone

 

[jpeyton]

Couple of thoughts on these suggestions- first is that I've seen reports of people activating 4g LTE phones on Page Plus but in general it doesn't seem to be possible, so a more specific recommendation is 3g Android and iPhone should be ok on Page Plus, but Blackberries, Verizon Prepaid phones, and 4g phones likely won't work.

The other thing is that from reading the thread over at Howard Forums about the data limit on the unlocked sims, people are able to get the data turned back on after a call to cs. I think you would have to really overdo it on data to be deactivated permanently. Using an app to monitor data usage and using wifi when possible would probably prevent this. Especially in a college setting, where wi-fi access is pretty ubiquitous. Although, I guess you never know, as sometimes the authentication methods for the school wi-fi's can be tricky to get through on a cellphone

I have Straight Talk GSM right now, but I'm thinking about going back to Page Plus now that they've got 500MB data. I never use that much data each month on Straight Talk; plenty of WiFi everywhere I'm at.

On the other hand, I get dropped calls all the time with AT&T/Straight Talk, and reception issues in urban areas. Side-by-side with my Verizon company phone, AT&T's reception on voice calls is noticeably worse.

 

[Pretty Cool]

Never heard of a T-Mobile $40 a month prepaid plan. Are combining 2 plans or something?

 

[Ksyder]

I have Straight Talk GSM right now, but I'm thinking about going back to Page Plus now that they've got 500MB data. I never use that much data each month on Straight Talk; plenty of WiFi everywhere I'm at.

On the other hand, I get dropped calls all the time with AT&T/Straight Talk, and reception issues in urban areas. Side-by-side with my Verizon company phone, AT&T's reception on voice calls is noticeably worse.

Yeah I'm in the same boat... switched to Straight Talk from Page Plus... and I agree that the coverage isn't as good. My current residence has excellent AT&T coverage though, and Verizon is marginal so it is making it tough for me. Especially with the $12 Page Plus 250 minute/text plan looming this month. I am not a heavy data user since wi-fi is at home and work... I use maybe 300 mb a month with my iPhone... but could easily go down to almost no mobile data if necessary, except for occasional travel.

 

[manly]

Never heard of a T-Mobile $40 a month prepaid plan. Are combining 2 plans or something?

It's a new $30/mo plan with a 5GB soft cap, throttles to EDGE after that.

Only 100 minutes talk time, so it's perfect for anybody who doesn't like to actually make phone calls. Or you could use the Groove IP app for free VoIP calling, if Google continues it in 2012.

 

[killster1]

hhahaha 100 mins talk time? get the tmobile unlimited family plan.. i think its 50 bux for 2 phones? maybe more if you add data.. unlimited txt talk.. got my friend a net ten with unlimited everything black Friday say suppose to be 30$ a month unlimited everything if i sign up with auto pay.. to bad the phone choices for net ten tottally suck

 

[Doppel]

republicwireless? Just came out last month, I've not read reviews yet.

 

[Geekbabe]

hhahaha 100 mins talk time? get the tmobile unlimited family plan.. i think its 50 bux for 2 phones? maybe more if you add data.. unlimited txt talk.. got my friend a net ten with unlimited everything black Friday say suppose to be 30$ a month unlimited everything if i sign up with auto pay.. to bad the phone choices for net ten tottally suck

If I decide to go with a Family plan it'll be with Verizon, it isn't the cheapest but around here the reception & speed is exceptional, plus I've got a Thunderbolt or a Droid 2 that he can use.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Just a heads up, if anyone's interested in a Straight Talk GSM, the E71's are now $49

http://www.shopstraighttalk.com/bpd...ction=view&productVariantExtensionId=11645607

Pull the SIM card after activation and you can use any ATT phone with it...

 

[sjwaste]

Just a heads up, if anyone's interested in a Straight Talk GSM, the E71's are now $49

http://www.shopstraighttalk.com/bpd...ction=view&productVariantExtensionId=11645607

Pull the SIM card after activation and you can use any ATT phone with it...

You know, I really am thinking about paying the $350 ETF on my brand new SGS2 for this. That'd be $400 total for a new SGS2 on a $45 unlimited plan.

 

[Ksyder]

You know, I really am thinking about paying the $350 ETF on my brand new SGS2 for this. That'd be $400 total for a new SGS2 on a $45 unlimited plan.

$400 total plus the activation fee and one month's service, right? :awe:

Just today I traded my iPhone 4 on Straight Talk for the SGS2. Works perfectly except I seemed to be having some MMS issues, only tried to receive 1 mms and it didn't seem to go through. The APN settings are a little different on Samsung Androids I guess. Haven't had time to figure it out yet.

And $49 for an E71? Heck that is a great phone at that price. I should know. I actually used it for a few hrs. this morning while I was "moving out" of my iPhone.

 

[sjwaste]

$400 total plus the activation fee and one month's service, right? :awe:

Just today I traded my iPhone 4 on Straight Talk for the SGS2. Works perfectly except I seemed to be having some MMS issues, only tried to receive 1 mms and it didn't seem to go through. The APN settings are a little different on Samsung Androids I guess. Haven't had time to figure it out yet.

And $49 for an E71? Heck that is a great phone at that price. I should know. I actually used it for a few hrs. this morning while I was "moving out" of my iPhone.

Good point. My break-even based on $35/mo savings would be about 16 months. Probably better to just stick with my subsidized phone and more expensive plan.

That's the problem with subsidized phones. If you do want a premium phone, it actually is a pretty good deal, especially if you got the SGS2 for a penny from Amazon. You just need to be willing to stick with it for 2 years.

 

[ponyo]

You also pay separate etf fee to Amazon if you purchased your phone from there. You need to keep the phone for at least 6 months to avoid Amazon etf.

 

[Ksyder]

Not to mention even though Straight Talk is "unlimited", they will cut off your service if you use too much data in one day, regardless of how much you actually use that month. I think I downloaded 100 MB over 3g yesterday and even though I may only use 300 MB the whole month I'm still afraid they will cut off my service. Which means no Pandora, Netflix, etc. There is still a significant downside to save a chunk of money.

That said, its still worth it to me because I like to be able to switch phones/carriers without any contractual obligations.

 

[Geekbabe]

The Optimus V arrived, a bit of time on the phone with VM CS & his phone number was ported over in just a few hours. He's getting full bars for reception around town. I just ordered a 16GB Transcend Micro sd card & a case, once the sd card gets here I'll slam a custom rom on it. This is actually not a bad phone, the screen is small compared to my Thunderbolt but he has small hands with slim fingers & it's a lot bigger than that toy he was using from Net10.

LOL, he was so happy, he had it up & running with little help from me, hehehe, he actually hugged me. I told him if he takes care of his phone for a year I'll get him a more of a flagship phone on Verizon. For now though he's thrilled & I'm the mother hero

 

[sjwaste]

The Optimus V arrived, a bit of time on the phone with VM CS & his phone number was ported over in just a few hours. He's getting full bars for reception around town. I just ordered a 16GB Transcend Micro sd card & a case, once the sd card gets here I'll slam a custom rom on it. This is actually not a bad phone, the screen is small compared to my Thunderbolt but he has small hands with slim fingers & it's a lot bigger than that toy he was using from Net10.

LOL, he was so happy, he had it up & running with little help from me, hehehe, he actually hugged me. I told him if he takes care of his phone for a year I'll get him a more of a flagship phone on Verizon. For now though he's thrilled & I'm the mother hero

Nice work. I hear that's a pretty good phone.

Remember that VM = Sprint w/o Verizon roaming. If your son is going to spend any time in NH or ME (assuming Boston is also his location), reception will be bad and you can't get mad at him for not answering his phone.