prepaid cell phone: which plan?

[space-time]

Hi, can you recommend a prepaid cell phone plan, I have TMobil but coverage is not very good, and I use the phone very rarely. TMobil would be fine except the poor coverage at home (where I don't use the phone a lot, true).

How about Cingular, Verizon, what else is out there?

[NewtonMP2100]

If you only use the phone for emergencies and you say t-mobile coverage sucks. . .then I like the 7-11 SpeakOut because you only need $25 a year. . .it uses Cingular (but has better terms than Cingular prepaid) and now also Sprint/Nextel. . .but you can only buy it @ a 7-11 store.

LINK to the 7-Eleven site for info.



The phone comes already activated.


If you don't have one near you and you know a relative/friend who has one, they can buy it for you (the phone has the area code of the place you buy the phone but you can call customer service to change it to a local area code).


Also Virgin Mobile uses Sprint and is pretty good. . .and often you can buy refill cards on sale @ Target. . .




Cingular prepaid charges (or maybe used to charge) a per day fee to use the service so I nixed using them. . .


This place has a prepaid forum which you can also read through. . .

[guod]

I got net10 about 6 weeks ago

good coverage, $90 got me a flip phone and 300 minutes (or 60 days service)

I'm about to renew for $150 for 1 year and 1500 minutes.

.10 per minute

tech support sucks though.

I e-mailed them (from my computer) and asked how to send an e-mail from my phone to and e-mail address. no quick response, so i fooled around and figured out how to do it.

3 days later, I received an e-mail reply saying that it couldn't be done.

[Panopticon]

Second Newt on the 7-11 SpeakOut. Good service & terms. Almost always FOUR Bars & it's on the Cingular system.

net10 is TracFone, both have lousy terms and even worse service. Their whole operation reminds me of a Multi-Tier Marketing scheme.

My post on the subject from 8/30/06: http://forums.macresource.com/read/1/158...msg-158688

[lafinfil]

You don't have a Motorola phone on T-Mobile do you ?

If so get the cheap Nokia and dump the Moto (in my experience)

[space-time]

[quote lafinfil]You don't have a Motorola phone on T-Mobile do you ?

If so get the cheap Nokia and dump the Moto (in my experience)
No, no motorola. I have a cheap nokia with excellent signal in most places expect my apartment. Even the T-Mobile web site acknowledges that there is only 1 bar in my area (but two bars across the street). And I live in a densely populated area in NJ!

In fact I will replace first my wife's Treo 180 (also T Mobil) and my nokia is still OK for a while.

[anonymouse1]

Most folks say Verizon is best for coverage, IIRC.

[Mr Downtown]

One way to get prepaid Verizon is with Pageplus. Any CDMA phone that works on Verizon can be activated with Pageplus, though you'll have to sweet talk them into doing that over the phone. They'll want you to go to one of their dealers (not easy to find and usually in really bad parts of town). I've been using them a couple of months now and I'm reasonably happy--and saving $35 a month.

http://www.pagepluscellular.com/

[SteveJobs]

STF..


Always go here first...

http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm