Best prepaid phone...upgrade from tracfone

[railer]

I've been using tracfone for a while now, and it's great for me needs (I used around 50-100 minutes per month, so there's no way I want a traditional monthly plan at $30 - $50 month).

I can get 800 tracfone minutes for around 40 bucks (with my double minute phone) and AFAIK that can't be beat. The only thing I don't like about tracfone is that their phones suck.

I can get an unlocked blackberry, or thousands of other unlocked GSM phones on ebay for $40 or $50, and use any of them with t-mobile for $100 for 1000 minutes. Is anybody else in the same boat, or can recommend a phone or a different plan? I don't need internet, but it would be nice. Phone and text is all I have with the tracfone and I can live with that. Being able to play Madden on a Blackberry would be kind of sweet.
Thanks for any replies....

 

[ronbo613]

Look at all the prepaid plans; check out the coverage map for your area. Go with the best coverage and features you want. Prepaid data services can get expensive.
I've been using Tracfone for the past few years. For minimal mobile phone and text they are OK. I have an LG 290C; cool phone but web browser, email and camera don't work. Stupid. Tracfone's sales and customer service are borderline criminal.

 

[Pliablemoose]

spam quote deleted by mods, thanks

 

[blackangst1]

You could check out WalMart's in house brand Straight Talk (partnered with Trac)...unlimited phone, text, and data for $45/month prepaid.

 

[Slick5150]

Or goto Page Plus who lets you use any Verizon compatible phone that you want.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Or goto Page Plus who lets you use any Verizon compatible phone that you want.

Ooh, you can put a Droid on Page Plus

 

[deputc26]

I have been running a Droid on Pageplus since early November. I get 1200 minutes and 1200 texts and 50mb of data for 29.95/mos.

 

[Lemon law]

I use tracfone also, simply get a one year card, and you are dealing with $8.33/month. You only get 500 minutes or so for the entire year but with a double minute plan you can add minutes cheaply and easily. It works for me because I seldom use many minutes, but its a wonderful insurance policy if I get stranded in the middle of nowhere and need to call for help.

The two main tracfone carriers are Verizon and AT&T, choose your phone type wisely because the networks are incompatible. Some tracfone type competitors use the sprint network, but where I live sprint does not have coverage in my area. The same with T mobile which also runs some prepaid services.

My advice on prepaid cell phones is and remains, find out what network has the best coverage for the areas you live and drive to, and only then should you shop for the best plans on that best network to fit your needs.

And if you opt for a prepaid plan, old technology without all the bells and whistles is better, especially avoid pretty color displays that guzzle battery life at the speed of light.
I only have to charge my battery once every two or three months and I have to charge my wife's once every two weeks.

 

[Fox5]

If the phones use sim cards, can you just pup the sim card into a better phone?

I believe you can with tmobile's prepaid service, which is $100 for 1000 minutes at its cheapest rate.

 

[shortylickens]

I have been running a Droid on Pageplus since early November. I get 1200 minutes and 1200 texts and 50mb of data for 29.95/mos.

I would need more like 120 minutes and 12 texts and 500000mb instead. Can that be done?

 

[deputc26]

I would need more like 120 minutes and 12 texts and 500000mb instead. Can that be done?

No, though it's rumored that PP will soon get a unlimited everything plan for $55/mo. I have wi-fi 95% of the time and I'm sure I use gbytes through that.

 

[Fox5]

No, though it's rumored that PP will soon get a unlimited everything plan for $55/mo. I have wi-fi 95% of the time and I'm sure I use gbytes through that.

Tmobile already has a plan that's close to that.

500 talk minutes, unlimited web, unlimited text, $60 a month, and you get a carrier that covers all the populated areas nation wide.

 

[idiotekniQues]

I've been using tracfone for a while now, and it's great for me needs (I used around 50-100 minutes per month, so there's no way I want a traditional monthly plan at $30 - $50 month).

I can get 800 tracfone minutes for around 40 bucks (with my double minute phone) and AFAIK that can't be beat. The only thing I don't like about tracfone is that their phones suck.

I can get an unlocked blackberry, or thousands of other unlocked GSM phones on ebay for $40 or $50, and use any of them with t-mobile for $100 for 1000 minutes. Is anybody else in the same boat, or can recommend a phone or a different plan? I don't need internet, but it would be nice. Phone and text is all I have with the tracfone and I can live with that. Being able to play Madden on a Blackberry would be kind of sweet.
Thanks for any replies....

t-mobile plans if you go with a phone of your own already are way way less than that. you should re-examine their plans.

for unlimited data, text and voice i pay 99.99 with a subsidized phone. with an unsubsidized phone that would be 79.99. and you don't even want data.

 

[Ksyder]

No, though it's rumored that PP will soon get a unlimited everything plan for $55/mo. I have wi-fi 95% of the time and I'm sure I use gbytes through that.

From my reading over at Howard Forums, it doesn't look like unlimited data will be a reality on page plus.

I switched to PP also, and so far it has been great if you don't need any customer service. It certainly is a way to save some money, but be willing to put in some work to get your non PP phone data working most likely.

 

[SunnyD]

Unlimited data is sort-of available with P+. It involves activating the second NAM on the Verizon prepaid service. When your cash balance expires, I'm told that data service still works. You just configure your phone to use NAM2 for data, and go from there.

 

[kalrith]

My wife and I switched to T-Mobile prepaid a year ago. I unlocked our Motorola SLVR phones that we had from Cingular, and they work just fine with a T-Mobile sim card. If you look around, you should be able to find 12%-off coupons for different 3rd party resellers and get 1,000 minutes for $88.

I know this has nothing to do with data, but at least you'd have a better phone.

 

[Ksyder]

Unlimited data is sort-of available with P+. It involves activating the second NAM on the Verizon prepaid service. When your cash balance expires, I'm told that data service still works. You just configure your phone to use NAM2 for data, and go from there.

thanks , SunnyD, interesting. Do you have any links to more info about this?

 

[SunnyD]

thanks , SunnyD, interesting. Do you have any links to more info about this?

Howardforums. I don't know the details, I just came across it when looking for info on the phone I bought for my wife (LG vx5500). I think if you search for vx5500 and/or NAM you might come across the info. Note: YMMV with this, Verizon might get wise and close this loophole.

 

[QueBert]

Tmobile already has a plan that's close to that.

500 talk minutes, unlimited web, unlimited text, $60 a month, and you get a carrier that covers all the populated areas nation wide.

Wait wait wait, so you're saying T-Mobile has a plan where they sign you up on another cell providers network? Interesting.

Sorry, I had to joke here. I had T-Mobile in a populated area and the coverage was horrible. I know YMMV but T-Mobile seems to have very spotty coverage.

 

[Frankie]

I use tracfone also, simply get a one year card, and you are dealing with $8.33/month. You only get 500 minutes or so for the entire year but with a double minute plan you can add minutes cheaply and easily. It works for me because I seldom use many minutes, but its a wonderful insurance policy if I get stranded in the middle of nowhere and need to call for help.

The two main tracfone carriers are Verizon and AT&T, choose your phone type wisely because the networks are incompatible. Some tracfone type competitors use the sprint network, but where I live sprint does not have coverage in my area. The same with T mobile which also runs some prepaid services.

My advice on prepaid cell phones is and remains, find out what network has the best coverage for the areas you live and drive to, and only then should you shop for the best plans on that best network to fit your needs.

And if you opt for a prepaid plan, old technology without all the bells and whistles is better, especially avoid pretty color displays that guzzle battery life at the speed of light.
I only have to charge my battery once every two or three months and I have to charge my wife's once every two weeks.

That is interesting about Tracfone having 2 different carriers. Is there a way to tell which carrier you have? I have a Tracfone and it works good when you are outside. Once I go inside a store my coverage turns to crap and I can't get a signal most times till I come out of the store. That and the fact that my coverage is also crap in rural areas and forget using it while in the mountains.

It almost makes me want to get a more traditional phone but I don't use it much and paying $30 a month when I would never use that much isn't very cost effective.