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We have a friend visiting from out of country for a length of time, I want to get her a 'disposable' cell phone that's prepaid and not too expensive. Anyone have any suggestions?
The best deal going right now is through Virgin Mobile.
20 bucks for 200 minutes. 30 for 400 or they offer some better deals with an MRC (give them a credit card, cancel anytime) that include some SMS and free after 7PM nationwide plus a decent amount of minutes per month).
The phones range from free to around 70 bucks. Coverage is provided by Sprint which is good to great in the Denver metro area.
Our research has shown the best "disposable" phone is from 7-Eleven stores, called SpeakOut. The phone uses either AT&T or Sprint, depending on model, and comes with number already assigned and "activated". You can even make a few calls before charging the battery. They are also the cheapest phone for Texting (.05/text in & out). They do not always roam off their home network, so don't expect much coverage away from cities and interstates. I have seen them as cheap at $30.
A good 2nd choice is T-Mobile phones often available from Walgreens as well as Wal-Mart's and Targets. They roam in more places across Colorado and could be cheaper depending on what's included in the package at the retail store.
Speakout works out to 15 cents/minute, not the cheapest but you can get a plan for more with free nights/weekends.
T-mobile is more still and the coverage in Colorado is spotty.
Steve,
Let me add to your perspective. The idea of a "disposable" phone is initial low cost, and minutes available in small chunks. Yes, SpeakOut is .15 per minute, but the phone is cheap and easily accessable. Also texting is only .05 each, in or out.
If you want a more minutes, T-Mobile can't be beat. Their phones are often very cheap from many locations and your rate is .10 a minute if you buy 1000. My T-Mobile2Go phone roams on both AT&T and Alltel throughout the state which gives coverage as good as any, and there's no extra charge to roam. Text is .05/.10. Overall, I like Alltel's "U" prepaid phone, but with T-Mobile you get the best of both worlds for a lower price...making it easy to "dispose" of the phone.
Last edited by BillRadio; 09-04-2008 at 09:55 AM..
A valid point, but the speakout phones are a bit more expensive than those you can get from other providers and 10 cents a minute is a good deal, but you have to buy 100 bucks worth ... any way you slice it you can get prepaid minutes cheaper than T-Mobile from multiple carriers.
Regarding the roaming, not that prepaid would need to worry about this but T-Mobile will drop customers who as a percentage of their usage roam too much. I had forgotten about the deal made in 05-06 that expanded roaming coverage in the Denver area for T-mobile users. Regardless, the GSM (TDMA) coverage (as of the last time I looked at a field/service map a week or so ago) is a bit more spotty in the mountains when compared to CDMA.
Anyhow back on topic, I failed to mention the OP may want to check out Cricket too.
Thanks, I'll look into Cricket as well. I neglected to mention that I'm on the Verizon Wireless network, so I may end up getting a pay as you go phone from them. While the initial cost of phone may be higher (about $50), I can get the minimum amount of minutes and talk unlimited for free on the network.
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