Decided on cellphone,went with T-Mobile afterall

[TOOCOOL]

Re: Teach me and tell me about Tracfones!

There are two plans for the Go phone. One is a dollar a day plus ten cents a minute. The other is twentyfive cents a minute with no other charges.

Two plans for Virgin . First plan $6.99 a month and 10 cents a min or straight 18 cents a min.

 

[pedalinbob]

Re: Teach me and tell me about Tracfones!

I got the T-Mobile deal mentioned above through their website.

I got the Motorola V195 for $40. Then, I purchased 1000 To Go minutes for $100 +tax. This results in getting another 15% free, and the phone comes with 10 minutes, so I ended up with 1160 minutes.

The minutes last for a full year....and can be reloaded at any time. This is an excellent deal for a low-use person.

Bob

 

[Closet_Flashaholic]

Re: Teach me and tell me about Tracfones!

Does anyone here actually have a TracFone?

No? - Well I do and it is by far the easiest setup...

I bought a Motorola V170, (US$50), bought a 1 year card (with double minutes) for $99.

Activated via a landline phone. It just works. No strings, no fees, no minute fees, no monthly usage fees. To reload, I buy a card at walmart (usually 120 units/minutes for $29.99), by the time I get to my car, I go to the menu item "Add minutes", type in (1) 15 digit number, within about 2 minutes, the additional minutes show up..

How can anything be easier?... I love the no-worry, no bills, no fees. I have been using this as my primary phone for about a year now.. And I do get messages from TracFone about getting double minutes occassionally and save more, if I happen to need them at the time. I have travelled across state lines and still only have seen 1unit/minute charges even when roaming, so I can't speak to that specifically.

So this is from an actual user, not the friend of a friend, or a salesperson.

Disclaimer: I have no monetary interest in any cellular phone manufacturer or carrier.

 

[ACMarina]

Re: Teach me and tell me about Tracfones!

Closet - I spoke with a woman Saturday who purchased a Tracfone one week prior. Activated her tracfone, added airtime, and it took a full 4 days (Wednesday) to program OTA. Then her airtime was missing. She called in and they told her it was added and used. Obviously not the case, as her phone hadn't even been able to be used to that point. She went to point of purchase (Wal-Mart) and threw a fit until they gave her a gift card for the value of everything, which she sold in the parking lot and bought a Go-Phone which was active and running before she left.

Which other services have you had?? Being that you say it's by far the easiest setup and all..

 

[Omega Man]

Re: Teach me and tell me about Tracfones!

Ok, bit the bullet after researching, and I'm going with T-Mobile. The girl at the store said there is no fee for usage like with ATT Pay as you Go. So I bought this little duder today online for $30 shipped, Nokia 6030:
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/Detail.aspx?device=864ff25a-5c42-448c-8450-4ebc256cbe2b
It has a radio, which won me over against the $50 camera phone.
I should have it Monday, and then a quick stop to any old store to get a $100 card, and I'll be on my way. Thanks for all your opnions in this matter, I'll be donating the dinosaur Nokia to Cell Phone For Soldiers at my work.

 

[GarageBoy]

Re: Teach me and tell me about Tracfones!

www.howardforums.com Keep that site in mind for future cell phone references. Great buncha guys there

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Re: Teach me and tell me about Tracfones!

I'm a Nokia lover and while this hasn't ANYTHING to do with Pay as You go I LIKE the Nokia 6126 I got and the Cingular/ATT Network here in east Texas.

PS above linky doesn't work (at least on Firefox 1.0.6 ).

 

[GarageBoy]

Re: Teach me and tell me about Tracfones!

works here..
it's run by www.howardchui.com

 

[pedalinbob]

Omega, I believe you can purchase your minutes online directly through T-Mobile (this is what I did).

It was simple and very fast...might save some fuel.

Bob

 

[Monocrom]

Perhaps a pre-paid phone is ideal for you.

I once considered giving up my regular cellphone service, and getting pre-paid. Two close friends in the industry told me not to bother. Any initial savings are soon gone thanks to hidden fees and other charges. I took their advice. Last year, my dad got a couple of different pre-paid cellphones. The headaches that soon followed were amazing!

If your credit is good enough for a regular cellphone, it's usually best to get that.

 

[Omega Man]

Monocrom, I already have a land line and cannot justify spending +$300 a year on something I don't really need or would use. That's why I'm not interested in a regular cellular plan. My posts #1 and #10 pretty much explain it all.

 

[Monocrom]

Monocrom, I already have a land line and cannot justify spending +$300 a year on something I don't really need or would use. That's why I'm not interested in a regular cellular plan. My posts #1 and #10 pretty much explain it all.

Like I mentioned in my last post, perhaps pre-paid is a good idea for you. But where did you get $300 a year from? Stores give away free phones, good ones too; often with just a one year contract. For $300, you could get a Sidekick III, a Treo, or a Blackberry.

 

[Omega Man]

If your credit is good enough for a regular cellphone, it's usually best to get that.

That's what I was referring to Monocrom. Even the cheapest contract is about $30 a month for service. I'd dig one of those expensive phones you get "free", but you get them free after agreeing to a 2-3 year contract at $30+ a month
The cost of the phone isn't the issue, you only pay that once. It's the monthly fee that adds to hundred per year, and I don't need that. If I only had a cellular phone though, it would be worth it, sure.