[LiveBrianD]

So, I'm currently about 70% of the way through my Verizon contract, 17 months in, and went to one of the stores and asked if there was a way for me to upgrade to a smartphone before the end of my contract. They said no, unless I bought this overpriced $122 accessories pack that I had no use for (aside from a case and screen protector, which cost $10 on amazon). So now, I've decided to cancel my Verizon service at the end of the contract and go with tmobile prepaid instead. What has your experience been with different companies?

[Evildave]

Sprint: Meh. Their 4G coverage never expanded the way they said it would. Back in the day, their 3G was OK. Cancelled it early, sold the phone.

T-Mobile 4G Hot Spot (data only) works OK. When you run through the bits, and they slow down your connection, it's sub-2G speed, but enough to get your mail with. But now that it's secondary, I was able to switch to a $40/month 2GB plan with no penalties (other than resetting the contract clock), and that works well for going places and having a relatively secure wireless connection. VOIP works fine over it. What generally got me in trouble with the 10GB plan's allocation of data was software patches and whatnot. Reconfiguring a computer back to 'new', to give to someone else, and updating the OS is murder on your data limits.

I'm still working on the 800 minutes I bought back in early December for my Tracfone. If all you want it for is a plain cell phone, a $20 prepaid one (backed by Google Voice) might do just fine, and that's roughly half a year for $90 in minutes (it came with 'double minutes' when I bought it). What can I say, I don't have long phone conversations. The basic flippy phone comes with bluetooth, but as you may imagine, it's like a trip back to the 1990s for the features it comes with. On the plus side, there is no 'roaming', and Tracfone is famous for getting a signal pretty much anywhere. Even in Mexico.

Supplemented by Google voice (my 'one' number, call screening and voice mail and VOIP when I'm at my desk), the minutes last forever, and with the hot spot, I can use a 'real' computer wherever I go, rather than some flimsy touch toy with a tiny display.

[LiveBrianD]

The specific plan I'm looking at is the $30/month 5GB data (ok, technically unlimited), 100 minutes, unlimited texting one. I wonder if you can get away with that plan on a hotspot. I've used tmobile 2G before and I suppose it's ok in a pinch, but I wouldn't rely on it for more than browsing mobile sites. I don't really talk much on the phone anyway.

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 28 May 2012 - 06:43 PM, said:

So, I'm currently about 70% of the way through my Verizon contract, 17 months in, and went to one of the stores and asked if there was a way for me to upgrade to a smartphone before the end of my contract. They said no, unless I bought this overpriced $122 accessories pack that I had no use for (aside from a case and screen protector, which cost $10 on amazon). So now, I've decided to cancel my Verizon service at the end of the contract and go with tmobile prepaid instead. What has your experience been with different companies?

So let me get this right, you bought a subsidized smartphone, on a contract, knowing that the contract time is being used to PAY FOR THE PHONE, then get upset when Verizon tells you to finish your contract before jumping into a new phone? I just want to make sure I have this right.

So.... are you the same type of person that would go out, buy a car, then get upset when the bank tells you "no we aren't going to write off the last 6 months of payments just because you want a new car"?

Sorry, but I have been an Alltel/Verizon customer for... oh about 7 years now. In 7 years, not one issue with my service. No unusual bills, or problematic upgrades... then again, I only buy into 1 year contracts, and don't bother upgrading until I can. Then I keep my old phone handy just in case something happens to the new one.

Sprint on the other hand... that was a battle to death. And the Sprint rep lost. First they lie to me about the data: "Don't worry, this is unlimited data for you." Two weeks later... Phone: *DING* TXT MSG: "Your account has been suspended because you have reached your account balance limit". ME: "WTF, a $250 bill already!?" Sprint: "Well, you went over your minutes!" ME: "How, I have only made 2 phone calls?" Sprint: "Looks like you have been using the internet, that takes off your airtime." ME: "Say WHAT?!" Then there was the night and weekend hours that magically changed because I "accepted a new contract with the new hours by accepting help from Sprint." Needless to say, all the charges were dropped, as was Sprint - that very same day. Though I had to force their hand. I went to the Sprint store where I was told to use the little red phone because the service reps there were only allowed to take money. Obviously this was done to prevent people getting abusive in the store. So I picked up the little red phone: "Don't jerk me around, there are about a dozen people in here, and better than half are looking to buy a phone, I WILL GET LOUD, AND I BET THEY WALK OUT FAST." Sprint rep: "OK, OK, what do you want?" ME: "For you to fix this mess on my account, and terminate this contract." Sprint: "Ok, easily done." ME: "Now why was this so hard an hour ago when I was home? Nevermind, I don't care."

Trust me, some aggravation isn't worth it. There is a reason Sprint is trying to find a buyer. They bleed customers like a stuck pig.

T-Mobile is great, as long as you have service. So long as you are good there, T-Mobile will treat you like a king. But don't expect them to give you a free ride either.

[LiveBrianD]

What I'm saying is that it would be more reasonable if they'd just let me pay off the rest of the phone instead. (which is a Samsung Gusto dumbphone that's only worth about $30 anyway, at least when I check anywhere other than verizon, such as here, despite the ETF stupidly being $175) Gee, I've already paid them $170/month to add that phone to the $70/month pool of minutes my family has, isn't that enough to cover the actual cost of the phone? (There are 5 phones on that plan btw.) Or do they have to overcharge on everything so they can afford backscratchers made out of 24K gold for the CEO and upper management? I suppose it's based on absurd prices like the retail one here: http://www.amazon.co...38264605&sr=8-5 (see the list price - $250!) Yes, that's the gusto 2 and I have the gusto 1, but that still gets the point across. And, when my family got all those phones, we had a HUGE first bill, $300 or so, due to some issues such as activation fees that they claimed we wouldn't have to pay (we yelled at them a bunch and they decided to cooperate with what they'd said earlier), and the fact that they charge you for a month ahead and didn't tell us, etc.

And just today, I went to a local park that's on the edge of town, and had almost no reception - 1X, 0 bars. (enough to send a text message and be alerted that I was getting a call, but not enough to actually talk on the phone AT ALL) One of my friends' ATT phones worked ok, 2 bars, though the other's didn't, and the one with sprint worked ok too. Btw there's a fairly major residential area and a few schools nearby, so it's not like I'm in the wilderness or anything. It was only once I got quite a bit further into town (where the schools are, definitely a lot of people there) that I got 1 bar.

My dad has a tmobile prepaid plan (where you buy a bunch of minutes ahead of time, no data) and it seems to work well enough around here. In the store, they seemed perfectly nice, and didn't screw around at all - it only took a minute or two for him to buy the SIM card and get the plan there. Verizon... man, it took several hours for them to activate the phones. (We got 3 of them at once, and the other 2 soon afterwards - those 2 were replacing old verizon phones we already had that were long out of contract.) I sat around for hours, eventually left and came back hours later, and they STILL weren't finished. How do they manage to get that so wrong when Tmobile easily gets it right? (Yes, we were getting 3 phones on verizon vs 1 on tmobile, but several hours is still ridiculous) That's the last time I ever go with Verizon, to be sure.

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 28 May 2012 - 08:25 PM

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 28 May 2012 - 08:23 PM, said:

What I'm saying is that it would be more reasonable if they'd just let me pay off the rest of the phone instead. (which is a Samsung Gusto dumbphone that's only worth about $30 anyway, at least when I check anywhere other than verizon, such as here, despite the ETF stupidly being $175) Gee, I've already paid them $170/month to add that phone to the $70/month pool of minutes my family has, isn't that enough to cover the actual cost of the phone? (There are 5 phones on that plan btw.) Or do they have to overcharge on everything so they can afford backscratchers made out of 24K gold for the CEO and upper management? I suppose it's based on absurd prices like the retail one here: http://www.amazon.co...38264605&sr=8-5 (see the list price - $250!) Yes, that's the gusto 2 and I have the gusto 1, but that still gets the point across. And, when my family got all those phones, we had a HUGE first bill, $300 or so, due to some issues such as activation fees that they claimed we wouldn't have to pay (we yelled at them a bunch and they decided to cooperate with what they'd said earlier), and the fact that they charge you for a month ahead and didn't tell us, etc.

And just today, I went to a local park that's on the edge of town, and had almost no reception - 1X, 0 bars. (enough to send a text message and be alerted that I was getting a call, but not enough to actually talk on the phone AT ALL) One of my friends' ATT phones worked ok, 2 bars, though the other's didn't, and the one with sprint worked ok too. Btw there's a fairly major residential area and a few schools nearby, so it's not like I'm in the wilderness or anything. It was only once I got quite a bit further into town (where the schools are, definitely a lot of people there) that I got 1 bar.

My dad has a tmobile prepaid plan (where you buy a bunch of minutes ahead of time, no data) and it seems to work well enough around here. In the store, they seemed perfectly nice, and didn't screw around at all - it only took a minute or two for him to buy the SIM card and get the plan there. Verizon... man, it took several hours for them to activate the phones. (We got 3 of them at once, and the other 2 soon afterwards - those 2 were replacing old verizon phones we already had that were long out of contract.) I sat around for hours, eventually left and came back hours later, and they STILL weren't finished. How do they manage to get that so wrong when Tmobile easily gets it right? (Yes, we were getting 3 phones on verizon vs 1 on tmobile, but several hours is still ridiculous) That's the last time I ever go with Verizon, to be sure.

You obviously don't understand what these phones cost, or why. Yes, they are expensive. That is a fact of life. In Europe, you don't have subsidies - imagine paying that money for EVERY PHONE you buy. And sorry, but I have NEVER paid in advance. Sounds like your families credit stinks. Might be harder than you think switching carriers. Remember that T-Mobile doesn't have the extra money that Verizon does, they charge MASSIVE deposits if there is a credit issue. If you had Sprint service at that location, your phone should have switched to that tower - update your phone once in a while (*228 option 2).

As for buying my phones, I go online to VerizonWireless.com browse the phones, read reviews, and click "buy". 5 minutes later, the order is done. In 2-3 days, I have new phones in my hand. Open box, insert battery, turn on phone, dial *228, option one, and I am done. Takes all of 15 minutes of my day to get a new phone. It sure sounds like you are doing something wrong, couldn't tell you what though. Even when I bought my Moto Q in person, it took all of 20 minutes before I was walking out the door - I even managed to avoid all the rebate non-sense.

[Evildave]

I have the T-Mobile 4G Hot Spot. It's about the same size as a flippy phone. The shared wifi connection is a little more expensive than one that is trapped in an itty bitty phone. The device its self is super-cheap, too, and capable of being charged or operated by any USB port, and can be connected to with windoze/osx through USB (without wifi). There are 'refurb' ones, too. It's limited to five wifi connections at a time. The MicroSD card is only accessible through the USB cable, BTW.
http://www.t-mobile....-Mobile-HotSpot

There appears to be a newer one, but I have no idea what the difference is, besides costing more. Maybe it's 'faster', but it doesn't actually have any other features that the original one lacks, even though they're not listed on the site.
http://www.t-mobile....-Mobile-Hotspot

Technically, though you can keep using it at 2g speed once you're 'over', it's pretty miserable. Certain svn servers wouldn't let me commit anything because file transfers 'timed out'. Which made that 'ultimate fail mode'. Especially with a project with lots of pointless video in it.

On contract, the 2GB is $40/month, 5GB plan is $50/month, 10GB is $80/month.

Off contract, the max is 5GB/$50, and you can't turn off the 'parental controls' (unless you work around their DNS)

Oh, and speaking of 'working around' their DNS, you need to do that to connect an XBOX 360 or PS3 to the web through it. Though I wouldn't recommend gaming or streaming video through it, getting updates, etc. is possible.

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 28 May 2012 - 09:02 PM, said:

You obviously don't understand what these phones cost, or why. Yes, they are expensive. That is a fact of life. In Europe, you don't have subsidies - imagine paying that money for EVERY PHONE you buy. And sorry, but I have NEVER paid in advance. Sounds like your families credit stinks. Might be harder than you think switching carriers. Remember that T-Mobile doesn't have the extra money that Verizon does, they charge MASSIVE deposits if there is a credit issue. If you had Sprint service at that location, your phone should have switched to that tower - update your phone once in a while (*228 option 2).

As for buying my phones, I go online to VerizonWireless.com browse the phones, read reviews, and click "buy". 5 minutes later, the order is done. In 2-3 days, I have new phones in my hand. Open box, insert battery, turn on phone, dial *228, option one, and I am done. Takes all of 15 minutes of my day to get a new phone. It sure sounds like you are doing something wrong, couldn't tell you what though. Even when I bought my Moto Q in person, it took all of 20 minutes before I was walking out the door - I even managed to avoid all the rebate non-sense.

Actually, yes, I know exactly how much they cost. Gee, how is it that the Galaxy Nexus costs $400, with perfectly good hardware, while most other phones retail at $600-700? Heck, Verizon thinks the full price of the nexus is $700 or something like that...

To be honest, I would prefer to buy a phone upfront and then pay an unsubsidized price, because there's then you can replace the phone when you want to - no contract constraining you and no reason to upgrade sooner due to subsidizes that otherwise go straight into the carrier's pocket (which is a waste, in my opinion), plus if the carrier decides to start screwing people over or you find a better plan elsewhere you can easily switch. I already worked out the cost of buying the nexus unlocked and using it on tmo for 2 years, and it's almost exactly the same as staying with Verizon. (INCLUDING the fact that I can't cancel my current verizon phone for a few more months - the nearest upgrade date is in August. AND I'm not factoring in the cost of the main Verizon pool of minutes that already costs $70/month.) And no, my family's credit is just fine.

And btw, about verizon: check out things like this:
http://www.csmonitor...-phone-activity

That alone was enough to make me start considering alternative carriers. Add in things like this: http://www.usatoday....data/55028254/1
And I'm starting to get pissed. (Yes, that doesn't affect me in particular, but that's still a good way to middle-finger your customers...) Add in the fact that they're the most expensive carrier out there, and I'm ready to leave.

I just went on amazon.co.uk, and for instance, there are plenty of basic unlocked phones there at prices like 55 pounds, 86 USD. Gee, that's a far cry from the prices Verizon charges for unlocked phones, right? Or, as I said, do they need to factor in a ton more for absurd corporate profit?

Also, at that location, it might be worth mentioning that the phones that did work were smartphones - maybe they had bigger antennas than the dumbphones?

And granted, when I got that phone the guy did say he had only been there for 3 days, but come on, couldn't he have asked other more experienced employees for help with it then? (That store is in Walnut Creek,CA, in case you're wondering.)

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 29 May 2012 - 08:26 AM, said:

Actually, yes, I know exactly how much they cost. Gee, how is it that the Galaxy Nexus costs $400, with perfectly good hardware, while most other phones retail at $600-700? Heck, Verizon thinks the full price of the nexus is $700 or something like that...

To be honest, I would prefer to buy a phone upfront and then pay an unsubsidized price, because there's then you can replace the phone when you want to - no contract constraining you and no reason to upgrade sooner due to subsidizes that otherwise go straight into the carrier's pocket (which is a waste, in my opinion), plus if the carrier decides to start screwing people over or you find a better plan elsewhere you can easily switch. I already worked out the cost of buying the nexus unlocked and using it on tmo for 2 years, and it's almost exactly the same as staying with Verizon. (INCLUDING the fact that I can't cancel my current verizon phone for a few more months - the nearest upgrade date is in August. AND I'm not factoring in the cost of the main Verizon pool of minutes that already costs $70/month.) And no, my family's credit is just fine.

And btw, about verizon: check out things like this:
http://www.csmonitor...-phone-activity

That alone was enough to make me start considering alternative carriers. Add in things like this: http://www.usatoday....data/55028254/1
And I'm starting to get pissed. (Yes, that doesn't affect me in particular, but that's still a good way to middle-finger your customers...) Add in the fact that they're the most expensive carrier out there, and I'm ready to leave.

I just went on amazon.co.uk, and for instance, there are plenty of basic unlocked phones there at prices like 55 pounds, 86 USD. Gee, that's a far cry from the prices Verizon charges for unlocked phones, right? Or, as I said, do they need to factor in a ton more for absurd corporate profit?

Also, at that location, it might be worth mentioning that the phones that did work were smartphones - maybe they had bigger antennas than the dumbphones?

And granted, when I got that phone the guy did say he had only been there for 3 days, but come on, couldn't he have asked other more experienced employees for help with it then? (That store is in Walnut Creek,CA, in case you're wondering.)

Ok, you pretty well spelled it out for me, you are whining to whine. Bu, but, but, Verizon doesn't sell unlimited data plans any more. So what, Neither is ATT or Tmobile. They have all moved to data caps (without calling them caps of course) Not only is T-Mobile NOT unlimited, but that service is ANYTHING BUT 4g. Yes it is fast 3g, but it is STILL 3g service. Before you get all pissy about the ITU and speed yadda yadda yadda, I want you to do some actual research, figure out the difference between UMTS and LTE then comment. Once you understand the differences behind the technology, you will understand why LTE is actually 4th generation cellular radio, and UMTS version 1,000 is still 3g.

And you are right, Amazon certainly does sell cheap phones. But I hardly think it right to compare 10 year old crap phones to today's smart phones. You want to talk price gouging, yet you don't look at the phones people are buying up by the millions - and getting a great price for in the US.
Samsung Galaxy 3 - $861
iPhone 4S 16GB - $748
Galaxy Nexus - $495
Do you really want to go further down that track?

This post has been edited by waldojim: 29 May 2012 - 08:54 AM

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 29 May 2012 - 08:26 AM, said:

And granted, when I got that phone the guy did say he had only been there for 3 days, but come on, couldn't he have asked other more experienced employees for help with it then? (That store is in Walnut Creek,CA, in case you're wondering.)

And you have the nerve to complain about someone who is brand new taking too long. I would LOVE to stop by your place of employment the day you get a job and [censored] with you. I would bring your ass to tears just to do it. It is obvious you have never worked a day in your life.

[LiveBrianD]

waldojim, on 29 May 2012 - 08:52 AM, said:

Ok, you pretty well spelled it out for me, you are whining to whine. Bu, but, but, Verizon doesn't sell unlimited data plans any more. So what, Neither is ATT or Tmobile. They have all moved to data caps (without calling them caps of course) Not only is T-Mobile NOT unlimited, but that service is ANYTHING BUT 4g. Yes it is fast 3g, but it is STILL 3g service. Before you get all pissy about the ITU and speed yadda yadda yadda, I want you to do some actual research, figure out the difference between UMTS and LTE then comment. Once you understand the differences behind the technology, you will understand why LTE is actually 4th generation cellular radio, and UMTS version 1,000 is still 3g.

And you are right, Amazon certainly does sell cheap phones. But I hardly think it right to compare 10 year old crap phones to today's smart phones. You want to talk price gouging, yet you don't look at the phones people are buying up by the millions - and getting a great price for in the US.
Samsung Galaxy 3 - $861
iPhone 4S 16GB - $748
Galaxy Nexus - $495
Do you really want to go further down that track?

Actually, the Nexus is $400 from google (google.com/nexus), the s3 isn't even released in the US (the price is sure to come down soon on that), and iPhones the only ones I've seen that you can't get for less than retail. For instance - the droid razr, you can get it for $435 though it retails at $800. The newly released HTC One X - retail $800, sells for $584. (amazon btw)

Second, what do I need 4G for anyway? With data caps and the drain on the battery, even if tmo has 4G in my area, I'll probably end up disabling it. Also, what I'm saying with the gouging and stuff is what my current phone has 10 year old tech in it - EDGE data, 32MB storage, etc... surely it doesn't cost that much to subsidize it.

[coastie65]

Well, this was interesting. No cell phones in this house ..................yet. If I do decide to get a cell, it will in all likelyhood be Verizon as everything else around here is Verizon ( FiOS ).

[mjd420nova]

With two adult children who still live at home and pay their own phone bills, they've run the gammut with carriers and between you, me and the fence post, none have provided satisfactory service. The better half and I don't have a need for such extravigence. I have a Virgin Atlantic pay as you go unit, no frills or texting, just plain old dial up. It had texting but they were charging me for received messages and we never sent any. Stopped that quick. It cost $40. initially and got the $40. in credit. Cost us $15. everythree months, even if we don't use it but the paid fees add up and usage gets subtracted from that. $5.00 a month is a good deal for as much as we use it and the coverage is as good as any other carrier.

[Evildave]

Yep, similar to Tracfone 'pay as you go'. For a straight up phone, it's definitely the way to go. Coverage for Tracfone is unbelievable, though. The big difference appears to be Tracfone's more complicated billing. If you pay for a 'double minutes' card, it stays on the phone permanently. So if you buy a 450 minute card, you get 900 minutes. The minutes and days roll over separately, so if you buy a 'year' card, then a 90 day card, you get 1 year+90 days of activation, and however many minutes of use.

https://www1.virginm...ccount/topup.do

https://www.tracfone...t_action=pay_go

They have 'pay as you go' data plans for the 4G/Wifi boxes, too. Which means you can pay for it on an 'as needed' basis, when you travel. Many of these can be had 'refurb' or 'used'. The only thing that usually goes bad is the battery, and many haven't been out long enough to put any real wear on a battery.

[waldojim]

Paying $.40/min is a step up how folks? Just curious. I used a pay-as-you-go service for a very short time (it was Virgin Mobile btw - which does NOT roam onto non-sprint networks), found out that even with minimal usage, it was cheaper to get a contract. That was when I switched to Verizon, and never looked back.

See what Sprints network by its self looks like:
http://www.virginmob...-phone-coverage

This post has been edited by waldojim: 30 May 2012 - 08:49 PM

[LiveBrianD]

It depends - how much do you talk on your phone? For me, if I weren't planning to get a smartphone, I'd probably get a prepaid plan like that (where you buy the minutes ahead of time, not the no-contract monthly ones) because I use about 5-10 minutes/month.

[Evildave]

https://www.tracfone...RACFONE&lang=en

It's about $0.24/minute, or $0.12, if you ever bought a 'double minutes' card. If you buy minutes in big batches, anyway.

So, instead of paying $35 a month for a typical 400 minute 'plan' (over 300 of which that I never use), I buy 400 minutes (x2), plus 200 'bonus' minutes for using a 'year' card (intermittent, but common 'deal'), which is 1000 minutes for $100, and coast with those minutes for a year, or at least quite a big hunk of it. About $0.10 a minute, however long it takes me to use those minutes up. Sometimes the cards are cheaper from third parties, too.

Versus $30*12 = $360 for a basic 200 minute voice 'plan' from Sprint, most of which are never used and taken away. With a contract that requires a lump payment, if terminated before two years, and a phone that is a precious artifact that would cost a small fortune to replace.

$100 is less than $360, just in case you couldn't tell.

Heck $140 ($20 New Phone + $20 double minute card + $100 400+365 card) is less, and the phone is utterly paid for. When the minutes run out, I can always get another phone for $20, possibly with 'double' minutes included, according to where/when/which I get it.

I have the LG420G, BTW. A cheap piece of crap that I don't care about at all. I love it for what it is: A cheap piece of crap that I don't HAVE TO care about at all.

Even if my 1000 minutes only lasted half a year, it's still less than $180 for the same Sprint plan, but I'm safely over half a year, and still have a lot of minutes left.

All for a small, light flippy phone that works ANYWHERE. Even out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by hills, where most other phones are useless bricks. And it has a standby time of weeks, not hours. Could you talk on the phone for seven hours in a day? I couldn't. But the phone could (though there are other variables, such as distance to tower, obstructions, etc.)

A contract 'family plan' might make a LOT more sense for some, where they can divvy up the minutes among everyone, so the less talkative members' minutes aren't blown, and the chatty ones can take up the slack. AT&T plans 'wrap', but if you're getting more minutes than you can ever use, it doesn't matter. Even if you don't live together, you can join people to such a 'plan'. Then 'mom' (or whoever) can use up your extra minutes, yacking away endlessly.

If you're not Chatty Cathy, and don't have several other people to 'share' with, the prepaid phones make the most sense.

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 30 May 2012 - 08:53 PM, said:

It depends - how much do you talk on your phone? For me, if I weren't planning to get a smartphone, I'd probably get a prepaid plan like that (where you buy the minutes ahead of time, not the no-contract monthly ones) because I use about 5-10 minutes/month.

LONG before I had a smart phone, I switched. I averaged about 600 minutes a month back then, before texting was the "in" thing. Though when on the prepaid plan, I limited myself to 100min/mo. Still too damned much money wasted there.

[waldojim]

Evildave, on 30 May 2012 - 09:58 PM, said:

https://www.tracfone...RACFONE&lang=en

It's about $0.24/minute, or $0.12, if you ever bought a 'double minutes' card. If you buy minutes in big batches, anyway.

So, instead of paying $35 a month for a typical 400 minute 'plan' (over 300 of which that I never use), I buy 400 minutes (x2), plus 200 'bonus' minutes for using a 'year' card (intermittent, but common 'deal'), which is 1000 minutes for $100, and coast with those minutes for a year, or at least quite a big hunk of it. About $0.10 a minute, however long it takes me to use those minutes up. Sometimes the cards are cheaper from third parties, too.

Versus $30*12 = $360 for a basic 200 minute voice 'plan' from Sprint, most of which are never used and taken away. With a contract that requires a lump payment, if terminated before two years, and a phone that is a precious artifact that would cost a small fortune to replace.

$100 is less than $360, just in case you couldn't tell.

Heck $140 ($20 New Phone + $20 double minute card + $100 400+365 card) is less, and the phone is utterly paid for. When the minutes run out, I can always get another phone for $20, possibly with 'double' minutes included, according to where/when/which I get it.

I have the LG420G, BTW. A cheap piece of crap that I don't care about at all. I love it for what it is: A cheap piece of crap that I don't HAVE TO care about at all.

Even if my 1000 minutes only lasted half a year, it's still less than $180 for the same Sprint plan, but I'm safely over half a year, and still have a lot of minutes left.

All for a small, light flippy phone that works ANYWHERE. Even out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by hills, where most other phones are useless bricks. And it has a standby time of weeks, not hours. Could you talk on the phone for seven hours in a day? I couldn't. But the phone could (though there are other variables, such as distance to tower, obstructions, etc.)

A contract 'family plan' might make a LOT more sense for some, where they can divvy up the minutes among everyone, so the less talkative members' minutes aren't blown, and the chatty ones can take up the slack. AT&T plans 'wrap', but if you're getting more minutes than you can ever use, it doesn't matter. Even if you don't live together, you can join people to such a 'plan'. Then 'mom' (or whoever) can use up your extra minutes, yacking away endlessly.

If you're not Chatty Cathy, and don't have several other people to 'share' with, the prepaid phones make the most sense.

Sounds to me, like you live alone, and need to save money. Couldn't figure out why...

As for me, I have three phones, with a shared pool, and pay FAR, FAR less than your magical pre-paid juggling act. And my phones have stand-by times of about a week. Plenty for someone who just happens to work at a desk with USB ports available.

[Evildave]

Maybe gifting a wad of cash to the wireless carrier every month sounds like your kind of 'good deal'.

But it sounds more like you're just trolling again because the only kind of interaction you like in a forum is petty bickering. Doesn't really matter which.

Someone who works at a desk can use VOIP to conserve those prepaid minutes, too. After all, services like google voice will ring anywhere; your desk, your prepaid phone, a land line, etc. Sooner or later they'll start billing for it, but I suspect it will be cheap as dirt when they do.