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One of the better call blockers, free of charge to it's users.
http://dsweb.straighttalk.com/...

It was a text message from straighttalk (my cellphone) I gave it a try, out of my call history it marked many as scammers, robocalls; and caught any calls after that. It can be found here http://extras.straighttalk.com...

Just about the entire smart phone lines available on any pre-paid plan like Straight Talk or the like is less than that.

Heck my Galaxy Core Prime brand new from Verizon off-contract was $175.

There's no need to spend over $200 for a pretty decent smartphone, and if you're not looking for the latest and greatest you can find them for significantly less.

LG Optimus Fuel on Straight Talk for $30:

http://specials.straighttalk.c...

My sister actually uses that same phone and has no complaints.

Take a look at their website: http://www.straighttalk.com/ it says "only available at Wal-Mart, and at the bottom it says "StraightTalk is a registered Trademark of TracFone Wireless."

http://www.straighttalk.com/ Get the AT&T network SIM - pay $45/month - use your own phone. I got this for my son and so far it has worked fine. It is supposed to be unlimited, but as usual that really means about 2 GB/month. NO contract. You can drop it anytime. I have both AT&T and Verizon phones now (work and home) and honestly they each have an area where the other one works better. Sprint and T-Mobile are not good out in the countryside.

If you do not have a smartphone you can get another plan through Straight Talk that is $30 a month for 1000 minutes, 1000 texts and 30mb of data. Here is a link to all the "plans" they have: https://www.straighttalk.com/secure/ServicePlans

I've been a Verizon customer for a couple of years, but got fed up with the prices they charged while I was deployed and not even using the service, merely to keep my phone number for when I got home.

I'm tired of it, and tired of being locked into contracts and paying for data. I want freedom! So here's what I did:

1. - I purchased two unlocked Galaxy Nexus penta-band GSM phones for $400 each
2. - I purchased StraightTalk unlimited prepaid plans for each phone for $45.

Yes, I paid an early-termination fee. But by my calculation, even with paying the full cost of the phone, I come out even in six months. And I no longer have to worry about the tyranny of a contract. I'm free to go to any MVNO.

Buy an unlocked phone like this one and get a sim card from a company like Straight Talk for about $50 a month.

I chose Verizon because it provides the best coverage. But they stick it to you with the plan choices:

You might look into the StraightTalk phones from Walmart http://www.straighttalk.com/. The phones with a model ending in "C" use Verizon's network. With this prepaid service you can get 1000 minutes/month for $30 or unlimited for $45 (1000 texts and unlimited, accordingly).

So far, the phone has worked everywhere I've gone except for remote parts of Wyoming and Montana. And I find it very relaxing to not have to worry any more about how many texts I've used or if I'm in "evening & weekend".

I use StraightTalk http://www.straighttalk.com/ and pay $45/month for unlimited voice, text, and internet (in-phone browser, not tethered). Their phones use either Verizon's or AT&T's networks, depending on the phone you get. I've been very pleased with the service so far (had it for a year).

My biggest complaint is that I cannot get any software that can sync/backup the contacts.

Why are you paying $40 to cricket when you can get a better coverage provider for $45 w/ unlimited talk, text, and data ($30 for a limited 30 day package). I believe they are on verizon's network.

If you prefer Sprint, boost and virgin mobile both offer unlimited text, data, and talk for $60 or less.

does anyone have a provider that, for the most part, they are happy with?

I generally despise the whole contract-lock-in for service model that seems to prevalent in the US (phones, cable, internet, etc), so I try to avoid it where possible. For many years, I used Virgin Mobile for my phone service. It had pretty good coverage (used Sprint's network) and the monthly costs were reasonable. The biggest downside with them are the teen-oriented phones (and horrible ring tones).

I moved once to a city where only Verizon or AT&T was available, so I took Verizon. The coverage was good and the service was "okay" - they had a tendency to simply shut off the phone if there was any dispute over the billing. One thing I liked was that I could use Bitpim to download and upload my contacts list. Though as soon as the contract was over, I needed a new phone and refused to get a new contract so I switched back to Virgin Mobile.

My VM phone died, so I recently switched to StraightTalk (http://www.straighttalk.com/), which is available through Walmart. They have a handful of nice phones and the service is on Verizon's network (some of the menus and prompts indicate it's connected to Tracfone). $45/month unlimited everything, including a "not bad" internet browser. I got the Samsung R451C and I have enjoyed it a lot. It seems like a quality phone and I like that I can put whatever sounds/mp3s on it I want for ring-tones (they don't even have a way to buy ringtones). My biggest irritation is that I cannot find a way to download/upload the address book.

For me, the lack of a binding contract is a huge "feature" and I'm pleased to have a decent phone and a good price for my service. With this kind of option, I simply cannot imagine locking myself into a contract with Verizon or AT&T just to get a fancier phone.

Tracfone has a brand, Straight Talk (I have no affiliation and that's not a referral link), with phones available at WalMart with unlimited voice and text plus 30 MB data for $45/30 days. Prepaid being only for low-usage folks is a bygone idea.

I love how they change the contract after you have agreed to it.

I think a lot of these anti-consumer contracts have language that says that they can change the terms of the contract. It's strange, like self-modifying code.

I use a cheap, no-contract (no more than month to month) cell phone company (http://www.virginmobile.com/). Sure it comes with a bit of a lame phone (target market is teenagers), but I can dump them today if I want to. I'm amazed at some of my friends who wonder why I don't get a nicer phone "for free" and sign up with one of major carriers. They complain about their crappy broken phone they can't replace (because they're under contract) or the phone bills that have hundred dollar calls from foreign countries that the company won't dismiss and threaten to send collections...

When my $20 phone finally craps out (had it for over a year now.. no problems), I think I'll try these guys: http://www.straighttalk.com/ServicePlans, relatively cheap decent phones and $45/month unlimited everything. Either that or maybe cricket (http://www.mycricket.com/).

I had Verizon once, and they were okay. I suppose if they come out with a decent phone and a $45/month for everything plan (with no contract), I'll think about going back.

One of the nice things about Virgin Mobile is that if something happens to your phone, you can be back up and running in about as much time as it takes you to buy a phone at the store. I was having a party at my house and an hour before people started showing up, I stepped on my phone and broke it. I quickly ran to a local store and had phone service in about 20 minutes; only missed 3 calls asking for directions. I now keep a spare cheapie in case something like that happens again or if an out-of-country guest needs a phone while they're visiting. I just put $20 on it for them and they're good for a while without worrying about international rates.