Ok..Please Explain PrePaid Cell Phones..Seriously..I've not had a cell b-4

[masmdu]

So, if I want to use a prepaid cell phone service like NET10 can I just buy any phone and then buy a NET10 card and call the activation number...

OR

Do i HAVE TO buy the NET10 phone and then buy a NET10 activation/service card.

The reason I ask is because TRACFONE has a Nokia 1100 phone for 30bucks but the same phone packaged by NET10 is 80bucks.

Can I buy the 30 $ phone from tracfone and then activate it by buying a net10 activation/service card?

I know...welcome to the 1990's

thanks for the help.

M

[SOteric]

1. Tracfone's phones can only be activated

with tracfone activation. I'm not certain about other prepaid alternatives.

You purchase the tracfone and you can either purchase a card, or activate online or though the telephone number provided in the tracfone package.

[madmom]

2. I use a tracfone...

I'm not 100% positive but let's say 95% that you have to use a tracfone card with a tracfone.BTW I'm quite happy with my tracfone.I like not having monthly bill and so far I've not found any problems. called 400 miles away and had very clear signal. Each member of my family uses one.

[LeftyMom]

3. Different cell phone carriers use different frequencies

and encoding technologies, so with a few exceptions one service's phone won't work on another service.

[Sydnie]

4. Tracfone is an "unknown"

I am not familiar with Net10 at all, so I can't speak to what they offer, what towers they use and their cost per minute of usage.

Tracfone does not own any of the towers that they use, so their minutes could be more expensive or service might not be available when and where you need it without premium minutes charged to your card.

One of the best prepaid options out there is Cingulars' Go Phone option. You sign up for a monthly charge on your debit or credit card with a set number of minutes a month. Often these plans come with free long distance and free nights and weekends. The best part of this plan is, if you need to go over your prepaid minutes, you can. They will just bill you for any overage rather than shutting down your service if your prepaid minutes have expired.

Most prepaid services are more expensive in the long run than a regular contracted plan. The Go Phone plan is very comparable to what you could get with a contracted plan without the contract or the credit check hassle.

As for phones, they are proprietary and can only be used with the service they were intended for. So you couldn't buy a phone from one company and activate it with another company.

I would also suggest that what ever service you chose, make it a GSM phone and not a TDMA phone. GSM is all digital all the time and TDMA is all analog all the time. Analog towers are being phased out by most services for the digital towers that can accommodate web browsing and picture services. Buying an analog phone now would be a short term purchase even if the draw of a less expensive phone seems good right now.

Good luck with your service choice! :hi:

[dragonlady]

5. We use Virgin Mobile and have been happy with it

I picked Virgin because the plan is simple to use and I was getting kind of crazy trying to figure out the rules on times, etc. for the others. It's 25 cents a minute for the first 10 minutes in a day, after that 10 cents a minute. Any time, call anywhere, doesn't matter. Text is free to send or receive. You have to add a minimum of $20 every 90 days. Even I can remember those rules. It runs on the Sprint network.

Edit to add:
This prepaid sort of cell phone isn't the cheapest if it's going to be your primary phone. It's better for only occasional use away from home. It has really been worth it for that, because it's a lot more convenient than searching for a pay phone (and they are disappearing because so many people have cell phones).

[markus]

6. Another happy VM user

I think it could get expensive if you chat a lot. But it allows us to have a phone for my daughter, wife and myself for a lot less than a traditional three-line plan. I'm the only one who has to add minutes to the phone every month. And my daughter is 13 (but knows the cell phone is not for unlimited chit-chat).

[erinlough]

7. I have a T-Mobile and my husband has the TRACfone

It depends on how you use the phone. We basically use it infrequently and the prepaid service is great for us. The t-mobile is one I bought last year and got a great deal on. I like it because the offered a special early on that allowed me to purchase a 25 dollar card and get service for a year, no monthly or bi-monthly minute purchases. It is also easy to add minutes over your cell phone with a pre-registered credit or debit card.

I bought my husband his tracfone because of the price. I find it is harder to add minutes and to operate but it has a stronger signal and gets reception almost everywhere, probably because they are using other systems lines. You have to buy minutes every two months, but they give you special discount cards with the phone.

Every year I travel in the summer for two to three weeks all around the country (doing volunteer work) and this is the only time I use many minutes. If I was on it a great deal I think I would go with a plan, but for me this is cheaper.

Good Luck.