New prepaid cell phone advice needed. I have an obsolete

[yy4me]

Tracfone(not a fold-up), have accumulated lots of unused minutes and am now up for renewal. I have no love for the phone I have, it is not user friendly.

I can change carriers and lose the minutes and it will not really bother me. I just need a new, fold-up, user friendly, no contract phone. Need no other features than the address book and volume control. It is just used for emergencies as I want to keep my land-line but the kids insist, so....


Any thoughts?

I'm going to go off in the next few days and buy something but since you cannot even look at the phones in their iron clad packages, I thought someone here would suggest just what I need. The store clerks no nothing about them, I've asked before. All I get for an answer is, "I don't know, I use a regular cell phone".

I know that T-Mobile had good reception here as does the Tracfone. My zip is 01945 if that is something to consider.

Thanks

[NMDemDist2]

1. i'm in the same boat, I'm thinking Tmobile with a pay as you go and give em

the yearly price or the phone minutes will expire in 90 days.

I have to decide soon too.....

[yy4me]

2. Good Morning NMDemDist2, yesterday I made the decision

about the phone. I looked at the "No option to look" plastic reinforced, hard to open offerings at Walmart and bought the new Tracfone. I did my homework beforehand in order to get something closest to my simple requirements. This model got good reviews from folks like me who did not need the extras.

This model, A Motorola W260G seems best for my needs. I called Tracfone and they transferred my old number and transferred my huge accumulations of minutes. Paid $14.88 for the phone. it not only looks up to date but has better buttons. I could hardly see them on the old phone I had. It is now charged but I was told that It may take a few days for the number and minutes to transfer.

I like the fold up phone better too. The old one was more vulnerable to scratches even though I kept it in a case.

Since the phones without the bells and whistles are inexpensive, this will do.
BTW, I had no choice but to use Walmart. CVS did not have this model and Target did not either. I could not get any help from the clerk so I went with my best judgment.

[NMDemDist2]

3. I had an old Motorola that I liked so I got a new SIM card from T-Mobile

yesterday

it's working great and I can pay $100 for 1200 minutes that will last a year

:woohoo:

glad yours worked out too! :hi:

[Steerpike]

4. I don't understand the prepaid phone thing.

I have not had a cell phone for years now. It was just too much a pain in the ass financially and payment wise. This pre paid thing sounds good. Are there a variety of companies that offer pre paid service. And, what does it cost to start up?

[yy4me]

5. Hi Steerpike, See post # 2. My experience with cell phones is on

a very basic level, which is all that I want. The new phone I picked up for $14.88 is a Tracfone, as was my old one. The difference between the old model and this one is huge. The style of this new one is better too. It is a fold-up, the other one had numbers too small to see and it was not a folding phone. Every 60 days I add $20.00 worth of minutes.

I am not versed on the models that offer all the bells and whistles. All I need is the phone book and the capacity to call and receive. This new one has a couple of other features but I don't need them. You have to assess your needs. Prepaid works for me because I have a land line that everyone who knows me calls. I rarely use up any of the allotted minutes for my $20.00 every 60 days and they roll over. You can buy the prepaid cards at any store or order from then on the phone or on line. Simple to add time.

This new one, (see model# in post above) is so simple to program, I was amazed. Everyone who knows me is aware of the fact that I can screw up anything with any electronic parts. Had NO trouble programming this one and it works just fine.

I had to call Tracfone to transfer my number and unused minutes to the new phone, they were great.

It is one less bill for me. Because of events in my family this last year, my kids insisted I have a way to call for help or for them to reach me when I am not at home. When I leave the house for any length of time, I turn it on. Otherwise it is just something else in my purse.

I checked last year for coverage area for various prepaid cell phones and found this one was the best for me.

Of primary importance, whatever one you may choose, make sure they have good coverage in your area. There are some major voids with some of them.

I figure the $14.88 is a cheap price to pay for the basic service. The only start-up cost for this one was its price. You would have some time to buy your first allotment of minutes as the new phone comes with 20 minutes free.

[old mark]

6. We had Tracphone for a while, changed to Net10 - it has been great.

Got our phones and initial time from Walmart,renew the time online.


mark