Need recommendation for basic prepaid phone

[TemjinGold]

Hey guys,

My mom is looking to get a fairly basic flip phone that accepts prepaid calling cards. I don't know much of anything about these phones so I was hoping you guys could suggest some. Here are the criteria:

1) Flip phone style. She wants to be able to answer a call by flipping open and end one by just closing it. I thought all flip phones do this but she pointed some old ones that didn't so I figured I'd mention that here.

2) Good battery life. Somewhere in the 2-3 hour talk time vicinity is good.

3) She wants one where it's fairly easy (preferably hassle and cost free) to get music ringtones.

4) Fairly cheap. Since she's looking for a pretty basic phone, she doesn't want to spend a lot for one.

5) Loud. I think her hearing is starting to go and she doesn't want to miss calls.

I know she can be a fairly picky person so I'm hoping you guys can suggest several so that I can have her pick through the lot to choose one. Thanks!

 

[wedi42]

i have no first hand experience with the phone, but the Nokia 2760 should work

tmobile is one of the cheapest prepaid plans you can get. if you get the $100 card, you get 1 year service and 1000 minutes

1. flip. check
2. 3 hours talk. check
3. i know you can buy ringtones, not sure about free
4. $20. check.
5. no idea.

 

[TemjinGold]

Thanks, will check it out!

 

[Swivelguy2]

Getting ringtones can be either hassle-free or cost-free, but never both at the same time. The cost-free method is loading them by a USB cable using BitPim.

For someone who uses the phone very, very little, T-mobile is the cheapest prepaid plan. You put $100 (1000 minutes) in it to start, which gets you into the "gold" plan, meaning minutes never expire as long as you don't go a year without buying any. So you can theoretically keep the phone active and keep your minutes alive for as little as $10/year. And with T-mobile, you get a SIM card and can use any unlocked GSM phone.

 

[chusteczka]

I am happy with http://www.net10.com/ at $.10 per minute plus 10% tax when purchasing the minutes.

 

[Swivelguy2]

Net10 is the same 10 c/min as T-mobile, but T-mobile can keep a phone active and minutes valid for $10/year. On Net10, you're forced into spending at least $15/month to keep the phone active.

Also, you have a larger choice of phones with T-mobile because you can get the plan with just a SIM card.

 

[chusteczka]

Net10 is the same 10 c/min as T-mobile, but T-mobile can keep a phone active and minutes valid for $10/year. On Net10, you're forced into spending at least $15/month to keep the phone active.

Also, you have a larger choice of phones with T-mobile because you can get the plan with just a SIM card.

Thank you for that comparison. I was not aware of that.

 

[QueBert]

Net10 is the same 10 c/min as T-mobile, but T-mobile can keep a phone active and minutes valid for $10/year. On Net10, you're forced into spending at least $15/month to keep the phone active.

Also, you have a larger choice of phones with T-mobile because you can get the plan with just a SIM card.

Unless something huge changed, T-Mobile only offers minutes that last a year if you buy a $100 card. The rest will be every 3 months.

OP - PagePlus has minutes for .08 cents and they last for 4 months on a $10 card. You can use most CDMA phones, and they're on the Verizon network, so you get excellent coverage.

 

[Swivelguy2]

Unless something huge changed, T-Mobile only offers minutes that last a year if you buy a $100 card. The rest will be every 3 months.

From the Prepaid FAQ at http://www.t-mobile.com/templates/fa...se#expiration:

When do T-Mobile Prepaid minutes expire?
If you applied a $100 refill to your account or have already reached Gold Reward status, all unused minutes won't expire for one year from the date you last applied airtime to your account.

So you can add a $10 chunk of airtime to extend all of your current minutes for another year.