O collective wisdom,

[resonant]

can anyone tell me about these new cellphones that you can buy at Target and that allegedly don't require a contract? I mean, can I really buy a cellphone and only pay for the calls I actually make and not sell my soul to Verizon for the next two years?

Comments

[truebluespark]

You can -- and, in fact, I do! My provider of choice is Virgin Mobile, and I'm pretty pleased with them, but there are a few other options out there as well. I believe with most/all of them, you can add time by either buying cards or paying directly on the web site.

[funkyreunion.livejournal.com]

I second Virgin Mobile. I've been using them as my cell phone provider for 3 years now, and have been nothing but pleased.

[nestra.livejournal.com]

I think all of the major carriers have pay-as-you-go plans. Mine is with T-Mobile. Details here (http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/default.aspx?plancategory=4). Note that minutes are initially good for 90 days, but every time you buy more, your expiration date gets pushed back. After you spend $100, minutes are good for a year.

If your minutes run out, you have 90 days to buy more before your phone number expires.

Other carriers may work differently.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

I've been existing very happily with no cell phone all this time; it's hard for me to imagine how I could ever need $100 worth of cell phone services. But who knows.

[amireal.livejournal.com]

It's like having a phone card with a phone attached, there's various versions of it floating around. They're usually not AS cheap per minute or kb, but it all depends on how you need to use the phone whether it's worth it.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Oh, well put! That's exactly waht I need.

[byandby.livejournal.com]

I use Trac phone from Target myself and I've always liked them. I don't use it much - maybe only once a month. If you use the phone a whole lot, it can get expensive, but it's okay if you are an infrequent user and just want to be able to stay in touch in case something happens.

[reginagiraffe]

I have one of these, too, and they're perfect for what I use them for - the occasional emergency or trying to meet up with someone.

[scribblinlenore.livejournal.com]

My dad uses Tracfone, and he likes it a lot. He uses his phone very rarely, and it's much more economical than paying a monthly charge.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

that's what I'm hoping for!

[cathexys.livejournal.com]

I used to have Virgin Mobile and quite liked it since it was an emergency phone only. Only problem was that the coverage was pretty poor. Make sure it covers everywhere you want to go...

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

I've been looking at coverage maps, but unfortunately, it looks like nobody has very good coverage over a critical part of the trip (Kentucky and West Virginia). But it will make my mom happy if I have it, even if I can't use it.

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

I use VirginMobile for self & offspring, works great and doesn't cost the earth. Make sure to check coverage for the areas that are likely to be most important for you.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Several people pointed that out, and it's very useful. Thanks.

[carolyn-claire.livejournal.com]

I have a Tracfone, too, because I don't use it for anything but contact while traveling. If you don't use it for more than that, it's way cheaper than paying $50+ a month for a contract, but if you need an unlimited minutes kind of plan for lots of talking, go for the contract. Per-minute charges for prepaid phones are comparatively high.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's exactly what I want it for: traveling. I hate talking on the phone in general, and the year we had a regular contract cell phone was just a big waste of money.

[jmchau.livejournal.com]

I have an AT&T GoPhone, and have friends who use Virgin and Tracfone. They are great for low volume callers. Mostly I use mine for texting and even with that I spend less than $40/month.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

That's what I'm looking for!

[vsee.livejournal.com]

I use Virgin Mobile as well. I not only don't have a contract but I didn't give them my credit card number. I am on a straight 18 cents a minute prepaid plan, and I recharge it by buying phone cards either at Target or Walgreens. The only commitment is that you have to add $20 to your account every 90 days. This is perfect for me, since I don't use it that much. The big drawback is that you have to buy one of their phones, and they are kind of junky. But my phone and the first phone card together cost less than $30 and now I have a phone.

[terrio]

One advantage to letting them charge your credit card is that the money just accumulates; there's no expiration date. I've had a Virgin Mobile phone for about three years now, and use it so seldom that I have accumulated over $100 worth of airtime in my account.

[par-avion.livejournal.com]

I have Virgin Mobile and it's been great for me. I spend $20 every 3 months (you can knock it down to $15 if you sign up for automated payments). And some of the phone models are free. It's 18 cents a minute but I infrequently make short calls, so I don't care. I'm only paying $7 a month.

If you are going to use the phone a bit more than I do you can look at net10 - 10 cents a minute. www.net10.com I bought my aunt a phone from them.

[par-avion.livejournal.com]

In the US, Virgin runs on the Sprint Nextel system. I believe that Net10 roams. (Net10 and Tracfone are the same company but different brands.)

[beck-liz.livejournal.com]

I also use Tracfone, and have for years. It's perfect for my usage: emergencies and occasionally to call my mother. It's easy to add more time to it if you need to, also.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's the kind of usage I'm expecting.

[sp23.livejournal.com]

When my Cingular (AT&T) contract finally ran out, I switched to their Go Phone account and I got to keep my phone & number. My minutes cost $.25 but as long as I refill them before they expire, they roll my balance over. It's perfect for me since I only use my phone infrequently.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

That's what I'm worried about-- the Contract That Won't Die. So this is perfect for me.

[geneli4.livejournal.com]

tracfone is super easy. there's no contract, ever, and there's no catch.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

So nice! It took the market a long time to provide that.

[terrio]

Hmph, was just poking around VirginMobile's web site and trying to find any useful information on it is, shall we say, a challenge. The best info I found about their various plans was on their help page.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

That's useful! Thanks.

[aliciajd]

Tracfone works fine for me. But I am practically allergic to phones and only use mine for emergency and safety reasons. I have a huge number of minutes accumulated because I run out of the purchased time period way before I use all my minutes and you can roll over extra minutes. It's easy and I do all of my additional time and minute purchases online at http://www.tracfone.com/index.jsp.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Yes, I share your phone allergy.

[ecaterin.livejournal.com]

Yup. Though the best deal we could find on pre-paid in our neck of the woods was a prepaid account with T-Mobile. Buying the first 100 minutes (which last forever & don't get snatched from you) meant a per-minute cost of about 0.08, which is sooooooooooooo much less than your average 25-35 cents per minute from your average buy-it-at-department store prepaid.

So shop around - every major carrier has prepaid phones & if you look thoroughly you'll find a much much better deal than Target :)

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

I will!

[theantipam.livejournal.com]

Another prepaid phone carrier is STI Mobile - which is/was??? associated with Sprint. I have used them for 3 years - I've spent a total of $170 including the purchase of the phone and a new battery. www.stimobile.com. You can buy STI Mobile phones/plans other places, sometimes on sale.

My current plan is: 10 cents a day even if I don't use it - plus 12 cents a minute. The phone is modest - no pictures, no internet, no blue tooth. but I only use it for things like letting my friend know I'll be 15 minutes late to meet with her.

It has a limited area - mostly defined by major roadways across the country. Definitely NOT the phone to use in East Backwater. Check with the carrier to see if where you go is covered BEFORE you buy.

Final blather about cell phones: No matter which one you chose, the week after you get it someone you know will tell tales of a MUCH better and MUCH cheaper plan.... *sigh*

Good luck

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

yeah, that's some sort of law of nature. But I don't need the absolute best deal ever, just a good-enough-for-my-purposes deal.

[frek.livejournal.com]

There's loads of pay as you go plans available with many different carriers.

Before I signed up with Verizon, I used Cricket, which was awesome because it had unlimited talk time, which was something I loved. The only thing is that you can only use their phones within Cricket areas (though, there's tons of places around the country they work now). It's perfect if you really don't do all that much traveling.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, the whole purpose of buying this is to have it with me for a trip; otherwise I'd check out cricket.

[qe2.livejournal.com]

Cricket? (http://www.mycricket.com/?se=google&campaign=mycricket)

(btw, I have not actually forgotten about posting my grocery-tracking spreadsheet for you. just in case you were wondering, which, given the time that's elapsed since last we exchanged comments about it, I should imagine you are not.)

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Will check it out. And cool about the spreadsheet; I had assumed that it was just more trouble than it was worth to post it.

[maxinemayer.livejournal.com]

Thanks, res, for putting this question to the Wise LiveJournalists! I rarely use my phone for anything but texting and emergencies and have considered a prepaid phone.... But with one thing or another I've always stayed with a contract, first with Verizon, and now with AT&T (which was Cingular when my contract started). I'm putting this post in my memories for future reference, because I *still* believe, no matter what my husband and now my daughter thinks, it would end up being cheaper than a contract!
Love, max

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Several people have said that. The hive mind provides!

[jesse_the_k]

Another almost-happy Tracfone user for >4 years.

Watch out for:

* Usability of the phone. Nokia phones have wonderfully intuitive software requiring the fewest button clicks, but take a while to learn. Motorola is totally menu driven, which makes it easy for rare use, but annoying if used frequently. If you're keeping it in your pocket, then a keyboard lock that's still easy to release when the phone rings is mandatory. The prepaid providers offer downloadable user manuals on their sites--I should have consulted them before getting my current model.

* Brick & Mortar specials. With most prepaid plans you buy a phone & a starter amount. The phones change periodically; the "old" versions still work fine (and are supported), and Mallwart, Costco, and other such discount stores will sell them more cheaply than the prepaid plan's web site.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's very useful. Thanks!

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you posted this query, because I've been dithering about this very subject for months, and it's always so much nicer to read advice in this format than it is to trawl random reviews of services and phones. Thanks to the info I got from this post, I finally have my very first cellphone!

We went down to Target this very day and picked out phones/top-off cards for the eldest child and me from the Virgin Mobile lineup, and are anxiously awaiting the moment when they're charged up and ready to activate. I dunno how a budget of $20/month is going to work for a 13-year-old (this phone is meant to be used more for emergencies than for recreation/play/endless teen blather), but the plan right now is to reward coming in under her "budget" and to threaten her with my monumental wrath if she goes over.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Someone else said the same thing. I guess whatever one of us is thinking about, you can guarantee that several more are also thinking about it.

[marzilla.livejournal.com]

I've been using Virgin Mobile for several years, and they've been great. I only use my phone for texting and the occasional "where are you/I'm late" call, and I spend much, much, much less than I did with a T-Mobile contract. Their actual phones have gotten really cheap, too. Sometimes it's hard to get a signal, but I had that problem with T-Mobile, too.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Cool! That's about the usage level I expect.