For the Prepaid phone crowd:Puretalk no contrac$10/mo/101 mins/rollover&never expire

[Greg04]

If you are in the market for prepaid phone (don't need the latest and greatest phone and under 100 mins a month), PureTalk fills a simple niche. No contract, no hidden fees, no taxes extra, etc., the phones aren't droids, but hey, they're cheap and you can make calls with them. I sprang for the 2006 chic KRZR. (speaking of old chic, still funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8ngdnAbx0s)


http://www.puretalkusa.com/

FAQ:

http://www.puretalkusa.com/faq.php

 

[SunRey]

Thank You!

 

[M0RPH]

Seems like a good deal. I'll still stick with my T-mobile prepaid which works out to a bit less than 10 cents/min.

 

[bhanson]

I'm currently on a Cricket unlimited $25/month plan (but it comes out to around $31/month with taxes) and I've been considering switching to t-mobile's $100/year prepaids.

This seems like a fairly competitive alternative.

I guess I need to go run an updated comparison between the newest prepaid carriers.

 

[Fox5]

Seems like a good deal. I'll still stick with my T-mobile prepaid which works out to a bit less than 10 cents/min.

Do you text? If so, how do you deal with the rather insane cost per text message?

 

[M0RPH]

Do you text? If so, how do you deal with the rather insane cost per text message?

I don't text a lot. It's 1 minute for a text right?

 

[mscdex0]

I don't text a lot. It's 1 minute for a text right?

Yep. T-Mobile's PAYGO currently charges $.10 to send and $.05 to receive.

Additional Quick tidbit of info: Puretalk uses the AT&T network.

 

[jjmIII]

$10 even a month?

Time to call Mom...

 

[Slick5150]

Not bad for people who use very few minutes. Once you get over a couple hundred minutes you'd probably be better off going with Page Plus' 1200 minute/ 1200 text plan for $30.

 

[rsolomon]

Yep. T-Mobile's PAYGO currently charges $.10 to send and $.05 to receive.

How about Puretalk? I didn't see texting rates??? [edit: nvm, I see it now $0.05/text]

It looks a little better than Tmo's prepaid offering *if* you use ~100minutes/month. My kids' phones are way less than that per *year* so I'll leave them on Tmo until they reach an age where the usage is higher [Once you spent $100 with Tmo2go, you can renew all your minutes for $10 per YEAR.]

Great info to have - especially since it's an AT&T SIM and I know a fair number of people P.O.d at AT&T's recent "you-must-have-a-data-plan-on-a-smartphone" rule who might be willing to jump ship. Now if it worked overseas I'd grab one in a heartbeat

Richard

 

[bhanson]

My search revealed the following results, be sure to let me know what you think!

General Information:

Page Plus Cellular (Verizon Network): $0.08 per text, $1.20/MB for data, minutes never expire, $0.50/month upkeep fee
PureTalk (AT&T Network): $0.05 per text, no data available, minutes never expire
Boost Mobile (Sprint Network): $0.10 per text, $0.35/day unlimited data, minutes never expire
T-Mobile: $0.10 to send, $0.05 to receive, no pre-paid data available, minutes never expire

The Bare Minimum:

Page Plus Cellular: Slightly more than $2.50/month for ~20 minutes
PureTalk: $10/month, 101 minutes
Boost Mobile: $3.34/month, 33 minutes
T-mobile (first year): $8.34/month, 83 minutes
T-mobile (following years): $0.84/month, 8 minutes
T-mobile (avg. after 2 years): $4.59/month, 58 minutes

$10/month Comparison:

Page Plus Cellular: $10/month, 95 minutes
PureTalk: $10/month, 101 minutes
Boost Mobile: $10/month, 100 minutes
T-Mobile (in $100 increments): $10/month, 100 minutes
T-Mobile (in $10 increments): $10/month, 35 minutes


Next Bracket, $20~25/month Comparison:

Page Plus Cellular: $25/month, 411 minutes
PureTalk: $20/month, 226 minutes
Boost Mobile: $20/month, 200 minutes - $25/month, 250 minutes
T-Mobile (in $100 increments): $20/month, 200 minutes - $25/month, 250 minutes
T-Mobile (in $25 increments): $25/month, 150 minutes

At a Glance:

Page Plus Cellular: Cheap entry with very low monthly minimum, minutes get really cheap with volume and will scale to high volume decently, texting rates are moderate, data is prohibitively expensive, must purchase in advance for better rates
PureTalk: Cheap entry with modest monthly minimum (that is probably in line with average low volume usage), minutes get cheaper with volume but not that cheap, minutes scale down in price automatically, texting rates are the cheapest, no data is available
Boost Mobile: Cheap entry with very low monthly minimum, minutes are always the same price and will not scale with volume well, texting rates are the most expensive, data is very reasonable and affordable, since amount added is not linked to value added can pay as infrequently as you like (when ever balance dips low or every 90 days)
T-Mobile: Most expensive ($100) entry but low averaged monthly minimum, monthly minimum can be trivially after first year, minutes can be very expensive if bought in small increments, lowest per minute rate ($0.10) is in line with basic rate of other services, texting rates are modest, no pre-paid data is available

Con Haste Conclusion (from phones on this list):

Check coverage areas first for obvious reasons
If you use data, Boost is your only choice
For an emergency only phone, T-mobile is best
With such varied methods of billing I'm not sure if there is a clear overall winner

Disclaimer: Data may not be completely accurate as I compiled it pretty quickly

My personal conclusion: I have no idea which one is best for me

 

[mikeford]

Tmobile is also a large very viable company, no idea about the rest.

One caveat with Tmobile, $100 gets I think 1100 min, but smaller refills get less min/$ down to a $10 with only 30 min. OTOH even a $10 card extends the rollover 365 days.

 

[rsolomon]

T-Mobile: $0.10 to send, $0.05 to receive, no pre-paid data available, minutes never expire

Just to be clear - TMO2GO minutes *WILL* expire if you do not purchase new minutes within the last year (or less if you've not spent your $100 with them).

There's no fixed monthly fee on TMO2GO - you just buy minutes as/when you need them, so the per-month cost is completely dependent on your usage (unless you use so few that you buy a $10 airtime card once a year - as I do).

Richard

 

[rsolomon]

One caveat with Tmobile, $100 gets I think 1100 min, but smaller refills get less min/$ down to a $10 with only 30 min. OTOH even a $10 card extends the rollover 365 days.

Yes: http://www.t-mobile.com/promotions/g...ro_GoldRewards

$10 gets you 35 minutes - but if you use <35 minutes per year (e.g. an emergency contact phone) then you really can't beat the monthly cost

Great lines for younger kids (especially when paired with an original Firefly for instance) or a great way to "park" a phone # you may want later. Higher usages of course shift the cost model - but then you're more likely going to be refilling with higher-value cards. It takes a spreadsheet and a pretty good idea of one's usage pattern to pick the "best" plan for any given user I can definitely see Puretalk being attractive at the higher end of the monthly usage curve - you're locked into a guaranteed >=$10/month but at a per-minute rate slightly less than TMO2GO, so as long as you tend to burn > 100 minutes per month it's probably a win. If you burn less, then TMO2GO is probably better....

<Disclaimer: it's late, I'm tired, and I didn't build a spreadsheet>

Richard

 

[bhanson]

Just to be clear - TMO2GO minutes *WILL* expire if you do not purchase new minutes within the last year (or less if you've not spent your $100 with them).

There's no fixed monthly fee on TMO2GO - you just buy minutes as/when you need them, so the per-month cost is completely dependent on your usage (unless you use so few that you buy a $10 airtime card once a year - as I do).

Richard

I assumed it was implied that the minutes will not expire as long as you "refill" within the allowed time period. Without refilling I think every pre-paid minutes expire in that sense.

 

[soccerballtux]

Yep. T-Mobile's PAYGO currently charges $.10 to send and $.05 to receive.

Additional Quick tidbit of info: Puretalk uses the AT&T network.

it's a lot more than that. I can never work it out myself. It's more like $0.25/text. They say it's 10c but there's no way to verify.

I was spending about 23/month on my prepaid and had to watch my texting.
Now I'm on metropcs, have unlimited everything, with my blackberry (not through them, bought blackberry on craigslist) and it's $30/month taxes included.

Win.

 

[MisterE]

I've been using Net10 ( www.net10.com ) for the past couple of years and like them a lot. $30 for 300 minutes and 60 days of service, or around $15 month. I don't use my phone a lot, and have only ran out of minutes once and had to recharge early. 10 cents a minute, no roaming, text messages cost 5 cents each.

 

[konakona]

Do you text? If so, how do you deal with the rather insane cost per text message?

I am on tmo myself, don't ever text and it comes out to be $20-$30 a month on average.

 

[mscdex0]

it's a lot more than that. I can never work it out myself. It's more like $0.25/text. They say it's 10c but there's no way to verify.

I was spending about 23/month on my prepaid and had to watch my texting.
Now I'm on metropcs, have unlimited everything, with my blackberry (not through them, bought blackberry on craigslist) and it's $30/month taxes included.

Win.

Erm... I've never been overcharged for text messages I've sent or received (and yes, I've monitored my balance that closely).

 

[mikeford]

Point is with Tmo anybody that is low usage should have a cell, even just for emergency use.

I have to say I am also happy with tmo cust support, but it does annoy me that its almost impossible to track the actual usage of the phone except for the sort of useless log on the phone itself. I like itemized charges not just a how many min I have left.

 

[konakona]

Point is with Tmo anybody that is low usage should have a cell, even just for emergency use.

I have to say I am also happy with tmo cust support, but it does annoy me that its almost impossible to track the actual usage of the phone except for the sort of useless log on the phone itself. I like itemized charges not just a how many min I have left.

ditto on that. its only when they warn me about low balance that I get to find out I need another refill

 

[kurabii]

shiiit on me you did some research!!!

thanks for doing it for people man, great source of info!+5

My search revealed the following results, be sure to let me know what you think!

General Information:

Page Plus Cellular (Verizon Network): $0.08 per text, $1.20/MB for data, minutes never expire, $0.50/month upkeep fee
PureTalk (AT&T Network): $0.05 per text, no data available, minutes never expire
Boost Mobile (Sprint Network): $0.10 per text, $0.35/day unlimited data, minutes never expire
T-Mobile: $0.10 to send, $0.05 to receive, no pre-paid data available, minutes never expire

The Bare Minimum:

Page Plus Cellular: Slightly more than $2.50/month for ~20 minutes
PureTalk: $10/month, 101 minutes
Boost Mobile: $3.34/month, 33 minutes
T-mobile (first year): $8.34/month, 83 minutes
T-mobile (following years): $0.84/month, 8 minutes
T-mobile (avg. after 2 years): $4.59/month, 58 minutes

$10/month Comparison:

Page Plus Cellular: $10/month, 95 minutes
PureTalk: $10/month, 101 minutes
Boost Mobile: $10/month, 100 minutes
T-Mobile (in $100 increments): $10/month, 100 minutes
T-Mobile (in $10 increments): $10/month, 35 minutes


Next Bracket, $20~25/month Comparison:

Page Plus Cellular: $25/month, 411 minutes
PureTalk: $20/month, 226 minutes
Boost Mobile: $20/month, 200 minutes - $25/month, 250 minutes
T-Mobile (in $100 increments): $20/month, 200 minutes - $25/month, 250 minutes
T-Mobile (in $25 increments): $25/month, 150 minutes

At a Glance:

Page Plus Cellular: Cheap entry with very low monthly minimum, minutes get really cheap with volume and will scale to high volume decently, texting rates are moderate, data is prohibitively expensive, must purchase in advance for better rates
PureTalk: Cheap entry with modest monthly minimum (that is probably in line with average low volume usage), minutes get cheaper with volume but not that cheap, minutes scale down in price automatically, texting rates are the cheapest, no data is available
Boost Mobile: Cheap entry with very low monthly minimum, minutes are always the same price and will not scale with volume well, texting rates are the most expensive, data is very reasonable and affordable, since amount added is not linked to value added can pay as infrequently as you like (when ever balance dips low or every 90 days)
T-Mobile: Most expensive ($100) entry but low averaged monthly minimum, monthly minimum can be trivially after first year, minutes can be very expensive if bought in small increments, lowest per minute rate ($0.10) is in line with basic rate of other services, texting rates are modest, no pre-paid data is available

Con Haste Conclusion (from phones on this list):

Check coverage areas first for obvious reasons
If you use data, Boost is your only choice
For an emergency only phone, T-mobile is best
With such varied methods of billing I'm not sure if there is a clear overall winner

Disclaimer: Data may not be completely accurate as I compiled it pretty quickly

My personal conclusion: I have no idea which one is best for me

 

[mscdex0]

T-Mobile: [...] no pre-paid data is available

This isn't entirely true. They allow you to access some websites (aka "T-Zones") for free such as CNN, ABC news, Yahoo services (including email), radar.net, ESPN, 4info.net, mobi.traffic.com, their own mobile portal which shows things like current balance and such, and probably some other sites that I can't remember off the top of my head. Additionally, there is unofficial access to pretty much any website you want if you know what you are doing. However, you are ultimately pretty much limited to websites only (port 80 and 443).

The T-Mobile prepaid forum over at HowardForums here is a pretty good resource for more information.

 

[fastcuda]

I would love to have a cell phone for if my car broke down, is there any way to buy a phone with minutes and not have a monthly charge at all?

 

[killster1]

My search revealed the following results, be sure to let me know what you think!

General Information:

Page Plus Cellular (Verizon Network): $0.08 per text, $1.20/MB for data, minutes never expire, $0.50/month upkeep fee
PureTalk (AT&T Network): $0.05 per text, no data available, minutes never expire
Boost Mobile (Sprint Network): $0.10 per text, $0.35/day unlimited data, minutes never expire
T-Mobile: $0.10 to send, $0.05 to receive, no pre-paid data available, minutes never expire

The Bare Minimum:

Page Plus Cellular: Slightly more than $2.50/month for ~20 minutes
PureTalk: $10/month, 101 minutes
Boost Mobile: $3.34/month, 33 minutes
T-mobile (first year): $8.34/month, 83 minutes
T-mobile (following years): $0.84/month, 8 minutes
T-mobile (avg. after 2 years): $4.59/month, 58 minutes

$10/month Comparison:

Page Plus Cellular: $10/month, 95 minutes
PureTalk: $10/month, 101 minutes
Boost Mobile: $10/month, 100 minutes
T-Mobile (in $100 increments): $10/month, 100 minutes
T-Mobile (in $10 increments): $10/month, 35 minutes


Next Bracket, $20~25/month Comparison:

Page Plus Cellular: $25/month, 411 minutes
PureTalk: $20/month, 226 minutes
Boost Mobile: $20/month, 200 minutes - $25/month, 250 minutes
T-Mobile (in $100 increments): $20/month, 200 minutes - $25/month, 250 minutes
T-Mobile (in $25 increments): $25/month, 150 minutes

At a Glance:

Page Plus Cellular: Cheap entry with very low monthly minimum, minutes get really cheap with volume and will scale to high volume decently, texting rates are moderate, data is prohibitively expensive, must purchase in advance for better rates
PureTalk: Cheap entry with modest monthly minimum (that is probably in line with average low volume usage), minutes get cheaper with volume but not that cheap, minutes scale down in price automatically, texting rates are the cheapest, no data is available
Boost Mobile: Cheap entry with very low monthly minimum, minutes are always the same price and will not scale with volume well, texting rates are the most expensive, data is very reasonable and affordable, since amount added is not linked to value added can pay as infrequently as you like (when ever balance dips low or every 90 days)
T-Mobile: Most expensive ($100) entry but low averaged monthly minimum, monthly minimum can be trivially after first year, minutes can be very expensive if bought in small increments, lowest per minute rate ($0.10) is in line with basic rate of other services, texting rates are modest, no pre-paid data is available

Con Haste Conclusion (from phones on this list):

Check coverage areas first for obvious reasons
If you use data, Boost is your only choice
For an emergency only phone, T-mobile is best
With such varied methods of billing I'm not sure if there is a clear overall winner

Disclaimer: Data may not be completely accurate as I compiled it pretty quickly

My personal conclusion: I have no idea which one is best for me

wtfffff! hehe If you dont use your phone much Tmobile prepaid is great, 100$ gets you 500 mins and doesnt expire for a year, if you dont use the 500 mins at end of year you buy 1 10$ card and it lasts another year and so on, so it comes out to 10$ a year to use if you dont use much so thats like .08 cents a month =P

i personally use SERO still and pay 30 a month for unlimited txt unlimited internet unlimited nights weekend and 500 anytime, they have a new sero plan thats not so hot ;/ as well

fastcuda
Senior Member

Join Date: Sep 2000
Posts: 219

Default
I would love to have a cell phone for if my car broke down, is there any way to buy a phone with minutes and not have a monthly charge at all?

Im not sure if the prepaid cards ever expire but if they do you can just keep a tmobile phone and charger in your car and maybe even a battery AA charger for backup and then refill the phone when you need it (with your atm very easy) , you can also call 911 from any cell phone with out a plan! (not sure if they would call a tow truck for you but maybe they would if you say some people with gun are circling you? heheh)