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Ask Slashdot: Best Mobile Phone Solution With No Data Plan?
New submitter clorkster writes "I am looking to upgrade my mobile phone. I have always bought the cheapest possible phone with the least features since I only use it to make calls and text. Further, I am opposed to paying for internet access twice and my home access is certainly more important and necessary. I am now running into the issue that my phone is too archaic to receive text messages from newer smart phones (they somehow become picture messages). Any thoughts on a good smart phone without data plan or an almost smart phone solution?"
Like you, I am a cheap mother fucker. I went with Verizon and took the free phone they gave me. Recieves text fine from all my friends who spen $100+ a month on their phone. Me? Not that moch.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
You are an idiot and should not have a phone.
I've had decent luck with my samsung evergreen. It was only a $40 upgrade when the last phone quit...it's not rock solid, but for calls and text only it's fine.
If MMS is your only issue, why not just get something like a RAZR? It's cheap, it can receive MMS, and it's not a smartphone so nobody is going to try to force a data plan on you.
I got one of the T-Mobile LG Optimus T android phones for about $100 (it was on sale, probably $150 now) and use pay as you go with them.
If I buy my minutes $100 at a time, I pay $0.10/minute, $0.10/text message and $0.25/picture message.
I don't use my phone that much, so I average around $10/month with this setup, and I have a capable phone that can use WiFi and run apps and such with it.
Get a used Android, especially from a buddy, and get a plan from Cricket, PagePlus, or similar.
A friend gave me his old Droid Incredible and now I use it with PagePlus on their prepaid cards -- they offer monthly plans too, but it comes to about $7/mo. if I go prepaid, as little as I use it.
You don't need a data plan to enjoy a smartphone.
This.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
iPod touch with Skype. Of course you'll need access to wi-fi...
I'm on my second used blackberry now, and they've been great for me. I'm on a GSM network, so I was able to make it my phone just by putting my SIM card into it. Being as I made the switch without going to the carrier's store, they couldn't force me into a new contract either.
As a bonus I bought a used blackberry with built-in wifi, so anytime I have wifi access I have internet access on my phone without having to pay the carrier for it. Granted, this may be slightly more difficult to do on a non-GSM network, and you didn't specify who your carrier is.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
Get a used iPhone and unlock it
I use Virgin mobile and pay $26/month for 300 minutes and 'unlimited' data and texts and no contract. Hard to get a contract cheaper than that even without data. It starts at something like $35 a month and they drop it a bit each month you keep paying.
It's based on Sprint's network, so it's decent but you'll want to check coverage. (* Unlimited within throttled caps, but good enough for light-medium use. Don't expect to use it for Netflix)
"Seven Deadly Sins? I thought it was a to-do list!"
Someone else already mentioned 3G Android phone. I recommend http://www.pagepluscellular.com/ (prepaid Verizon reseller). They have monthly plans and pay-as-you go plans. I use $80 card that gives you 2000 minutes and lasts a year. Data on this plan is $1/MB but it is still viable if you use rarely and limit background data usage with Droidwall app (your phone needs to be rooted)
buy unlocked phones that ones at the cell store and best buy come with 2 year lock in + 2 year data plan.
Get your ADSL and mobile from the same supplier. It's much cheaper that way.
No-one pays for data these days anyway. You probably end up paying extra to get a contract without data...
http://www.stimobile.com/
Their cheapest plan ends up effectively costing about $3.50/month plus usage. Your usage amount will directly determine if it is actually cheaper for you than a flat-rate plan from elsewhere.
cricket has a $35 a month plan that has unlimited minutes and texting.
CC works on ATT network. Get their cheapest phone or bring your own (can be used one, from one of your friends who always want to have the latest one). You can pay as low as $25 for voice and bunch of bunch of text messages. There is a $35 fee for activating with them but after that it is "no contract no problems"... Their data plans don't offer much but that's not what you asked for...
While on this topic, I thought I should encourage you to purchase your phone off Craigslist or eBay. If you're trying to save money, do NOT buy it from your wireless provider. If you show up with your own phone, you can demand that they deduct the built-in phone subsidy from your bill. Since you're trying to skim by on a cheapie phone/plan combo, no need for them to keep charging you $5 per month as if they had given you a phone.
Seth
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
I use an LG Optimus-T on T-Mobile prepaid service. The phone itself cost me $100 and the service runs about $7/mo, but I use very few minutes/texts in a month. If your usage is higher, there are options for that as well. I have WiFi at home and work, so I rarely feel the need for cellular data. In a pinch, I can drop by a Starbucks or McDonalds and get connected there.
In France, such things are free, with unlimited calls and texts.
You only have to pay if you want 3G or other type of data.
In most places, what one would do in a situation like this is to simply buy the phone of choice, either straight up or on a two year contract, but simply choose not to get a data plan.
Best deals I've seen are tmobile prepaid. For example they have an unlimited data/text (up to 5gb at 4g speed) and 100 minutes for $30 a month.
Then I would actually buy an android smartphone used or new (tmobile will sell you a sim card for $2 or $6), and install google voice. Now you can have free calling within the US.
If you can get service in your area this is the best thing I have found. Problem is it uses Sprint so coverage sucks really bad, at least in my area.
Tracfone has semi-smart phones and you pay for minutes as you go--no plan.
When using a temporary phone that was just there for emergencies when I was on vacation [1], I use a $14 low end Nokia [2] that is on T-Mobile, which I added minutes to. So far, that is the best solution.
To boot, if one needs another number, even though one eats the cost of minutes on cards, the phone goes in the donation box, and 5 minutes and $14 later, one has a new number and device to talk on. No calling to change the number or anything.
[1]: I use a separate phone because there are people who think an "emergency" is not a true emergency, so I just use a phone whose number is only known to cow-orkers and family when on a true getaway.
[2]: It boggles the mind when the cheap Nokia phones have one of the better UIs out there.
Those MMS text-messages are most likely to be the Group MMS messages that originate from iPhones when you do a group text. To the best of my knowledge, only iPhones support those; they do not even work on Android devices unless you have an app to handle them (very surprisingly, no good ones exist).
As for the data plan: smartphones can easily function over WiFi on a regular voice plan. However, you may find it useful to have data on-the-go: i.e. receiving picture messages, email anywhere, navigation, etc. You're basically paying for internet while you're not within range of any WiFi access point you can use.
For a cheap plan, look into something prepaid. I currently use T-Mobile's 200MB Monthly4G (actually HSPDA+, at the top end of 3G) service and pay $50/mo. I get unmetered talk and text, plus 200MB of uncapped data. No contract involved. Other companies to look at include Page Plus Cellular, H2O Wireless, and SimpleMobile.
pay for what you use...
www.pageplus.com - $80 / +2,000 with a 1 year expiration. Keep rolling over your unused minutes for $30 / +100 minutes for 4 months at a time.
This is not really an answer to your question but.... Smart phones are here to stay. By avoiding them you need to be careful that you are not putting yourself behind in terms of keeping up with technological know-how. Over the years I have watched various friends and family decide that the world is perfect the way it is and refuse to adopt new technology. Until suddenly, say, the analog TV signal is turned off or they can no longer rent VHS casettes or their mobile phone no longer receives internet. Before long they have all become angry luddites.
I'm not suggesting you should adopt every technology that comes along, but if I were you I would consider a good second hand, unlocked smart phone (of any flavour) with a small data plan. It shouldn't cost you much more than the other options you're looking at and it may surprise you just how useful they are.
...buy a phone from ebay or whatever.
Put your sim card in it.
VOILA, smartphone without data plan.
NOTE: we discovered that T Mobile actually detects your sim in a smartphone and auto-dumps you into a data plan at some stupid +$40/month or whatever. Go into your phone and turn off the data connection. Then, be SURE to call T-Mobile and immediately make sure that they take the data plan OFF your account. Then you can have a smart phone (that works just fine in wifi areas...which is nearly everywhere. When not in wifi, you can text and use the phone. Works great.
-Styopa
Low price, pretty decent touch screen, excellent rom support, Good list of feature (except camera).
I've put gingerbread on mine and never looked back. If you're in the UK GiffGaff are a nice little company with some excellent PAYG tariffs.
(free £5 credit for new members and people who refer them https://giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/ginger_chris)
I just purchased one of these as my first smart phone. It cost ~$150 from Newegg. I have a basic AT&T phone plan with no extras. The phone comes with several apps and GPS.
I slipped in the SIM card, and it worked right off the bat. It connected to my home network (encrypted with hidden name) easily, and connected to the Internet without problems.
I had an older Nokia phone, and the Nokia OVI Suite software (free) connected to it, and I synced my contacts with my computer. Then I connected the new one, and uploaded the contacts.
My AT&T plan does not include connection to the Internet, so I will need a Hot Spot for access when away from home.
Overall, for the price, it is a bargain.
Verizon reseller 80 dollars get u 2k minutes they last a year, can be renewed, 5 cent texts, 1 dollar a mb, but the deal gets worse as u buy smaller ammounts of credit.
I had some old dumb phone that drowned in a river. Someone I knew felt sorry for me and gave me her old blackberry 8110. before I put my sim card in I made sure that ATT had blocked all the data signals. now I can call and listen to MP3s and text on this keyboard which I personally find great. Also the rest of my family is cheap and my father and brother both have iphone 4 without the data since it is blocked on the family plan. they just use the wifi at home or anywhere else and use it as a camera/music playing phone with a great screen. (but they had to cut the sim card themselves which was a bit risky)
As someone who hates mobile contracts with a passion, I've been quite happy with Virgin Mobile. $30-$50 per month, depending on how much you talk. You pick your phone (from a moderately limited selection) and then pick your plan. I found dealing with them easy and hassle-free, compared with other providers I've had in the past.
The C1 is the simplest, cheapest phone up here (eh) for pre-paid plans. $50 bought outright. Fido basic service is $10 month. Little less if you buy a year's worth.
However Nokia is getting out of the bottom-end phone market. The C1 is the last of a long line of great, simple, cheap phones from them. Any month now it'll become unavailable, with no replacement.
It'll run Opera and all that noise, but with a basic pre-paid plan you don't have to worry about any of those options going live.
Only 'downside' if it matters to you is the camera is a joke: 0.3 megapixels. Okay if you have to make a quick record shot of something, but that's all.
Will mention with good headphones it's not a bad radio and mp3 player. Also good bedside alarm, etc etc etc. It's no smartphone, but it is a tiny computer with a load of good mature apps. I'm considering buying a spare so I can put off getting a smartphone even longer.
No companies are appreciably different from each other when you eliminate what they are actually selling from consideration.
For the submitter, they are selling telephone and text service. And in that regard, they really are not appreciably different. A call or text placed on Verizon or AT&T or T-Mobile or Sprint is essentially the same product.
They ARE different when it comes to data. AT&T and T-Mobile don't offer real 4G. Sprint doesn't cap data use or throttle you. Verizon has real 4G and the largest, fastest 3G/4G cellular data network.
Do you pay a lot of attention to what brand of sugar or salt you buy? Probably not - because salt is salt. The same for phone calls and texts.
paintball
It is also important to mention that if you do not use your phone much, you can get by with as little as $10 per year in refills once you get the Gold Rewards status (after purchasing $100 worth of refills)
You forgot to specify where you live.
I suppose it's therefore Default City in Defaultshire, Defaultyn, so you would be most interested to get an Mobilfon ER78 from TeleMobiFunk, who give the best non-data rates and most functionality.
individual plans are rip offs. join a family plan. for att / verizon it's 9.99 for your extra line and you share your minutes. so i pay only 12 or 13 (after taxes) a month and share 3000 minutes with my neighbors.
seriously are dumb questions like these what slashdot has come to?
Buy the phone up front.
Pay for your minutes.
You don't have to buy data or text messages unless you want to.
No contract.
You can quit any time.
up to 20 phones per account at $6 per phone per month.
Good selection of Android phones.
Uses the Sprint network.
Check it out.
Ponca City, We Love You
In addition to their Pay-As-You-Go plans, T-mobile also has what they call their Monthy 4G Prepaid plans...you have to provide your own phone (or purchase one of their no-contract phones), but for $30 you get 1500 minutes a month for talk/text, and 30 mb for data, which is enough for basic email and occasional web browsing (if your phone supports those things; my Samsung t259 flip phone does, which can definitely come in handy at times).
And no, I don't work for T-mobile.
You can pay $650 for an iPhone 4S unlocked and contract-free, then pay AT&T or T-Mobile 10 cents a minute for voice (or do one of the fixed number of minutes plans for slightly cheaper, even up to unlimited minutes,) without adding a data plan. ($375 for an iPhone 3GS, $650 for Droid Razr Maxx, etc...)
Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
The purpose of that site was not known.
One option that you might want to consider is to get a used but still working smartphone and then get a cheep plan that doesn't include data. This way, assuming you have wifi at home, you can actually use all the feature when within wifi reach, elsewhere you still have a lot of features, minus internet access.
When friends of mine come to visit from overseas i lent them my old iphone with the $2/day AT&T plan. I bet there are even cheeper plans from other companies. (it has to be AT&T for my old iphone to work but you just need to get a used smartphone that will work with the company you want to use).
It's through (hack spit) AT&T but it's not terrible. It was the only phone they offered that a) wasn't a smartphone with a dataplan to match and b) had a media player that wasn't the AT&T piece of shit on the other feature phones. It runs Sense, so it *looks* like a HTC Android interface (no Android at all on this thing, though) and it's got Java, should you need it. The music player was my big deal, though. I got one of the other feature phones that only had the AT&T music store player on it and I had to send it back.
Wow... first time I won the troll award. Awesome! Even though I'm a troll, my post was rather informative. ; )
Let's make like a bird... and get the flock outta here.
T-Mobile contract free plans are way less expensive that Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint. They also let you use any phone you want and won't force a data plan on you just because you have a smartphone. Of course this has tradeoffs. With the companies I have dealt with I would rate them as such:
Verizon:
Coverage: Excellent
Reliability: Excellent
Data Speed: Excellent
Service: Average
Price: Expensive
AT&T:
Coverage: Good
Reliability: Poor
Data Speed: Good
Service: Poor
Price: Expensive
T-Mobile:
Coverage: Good
Reliability: Good
Data Speed: Poor
Service: Poor
Price: Cheap
In my opinion both Verizon and T-Mobile are good values for what you get (they just target different markets), while AT&T is worst of both worlds, and should be avoided. Haven't dealt with Sprint or the other smaller carriers.
...then destroy it. Next you'll need to devise a system of abacus' & smoke signals.
I got myself a midrange smartphone (motorola defy 250$), went looking for the cheapest sim only plan (3$/month for 60minutes talk) and an unlimited dataplan (13$/month). Since I have unlimited data I don't use text (whatsapp, gtalk, facebook messenger, etc whatever floats your boat) and I hardly use voice as well; skype or even better tethering and video skype on my laptop (the defy doesn't have a front facing camera). In my case having internet on my phone means that I can reduce on all other phone costs (talk and text), so I don't feel it is paying internet twice. I have now (albeit a bit slower than at home) unlimited internet everywhere I go. If your country does not provide such a service upgrade your country (if debian based try: sudo apt-get update 21st-century)
On a trip to China I got a pre-paid SIM from one of the big mobile telcos there. It was so cheap in comparison to the US that I never gave a second thought about how much I was using. How did it get that way?
I'm in Canada where cellular choices generally suck, so I won't try give you any advice about carriers and phone brands. But I will say that having a cheap smartphone with no data plan actually works out pretty good. I picked up a couple ~$150 android phones for my kids when they started high school, and put them on inexpensive no-contract, no-data plans. There's so much free WiFi out there nowadays (homes, school, restaurants) that not having cellular data is no big deal.
And the nice thing about giving my kids smartphones is that they can do so much more than dumbphones and featurephones can: lists, reminders, etc.
Slashdot: come for the pedantry, stay for the condescension.
http://straighttalksim.com/
Any phone you want, on AT&T's network (which is decent these days) at a price you can't beat.
Even if you don't want the data part of the "Unlimited Everything", it's still a great deal. The upside is, if you buy an unlocked iPhone or Android, the data will be there, should you ever need or want it.
I doubt the fact that they supposedly throttle or kick for being a data glutton wouldn't concern the OP, given his requirements.
strongly agree. i have the $35/mo. virgin mobile plan and i certainly can't complain for the price. here's a hint though: for the love of god, don't buy the motorola triumph like i did. although its features are strong on paper, the software is a pile of shit, even for android. foremost: the media volume occasionally attenuates for no apparent reason, and the android soft buttons will frequently stop working until you lock/unlock the screen. i won't even bother listing the bugs here; it would take too long. just google for "motorola triumph flaws" or similar. get the lg instead.
"They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
First, the OP didn't even say what country he is in. (I assume USA)
Second, there are entire websites such as Howardforums.com devoted to cell phone questions; why devote a slashdot posting to what's really a forum posting or even an FAQ in a wiki?
FWIW, the OP should look into prepaid plans such as Pageplus so that he can only pay for what he needs.
First, forget about 2-year-contracts and subsidized phones. Contracts exist to benefit the carriers by reducing churn. Why do them any favors? Subsidized phones end up costing more in the long run, once you factor in the higher monthly plan costs.
These are pretty much the best deals going right now:
Boost Mobile
+ Runs on Sprint's network. Unlimited everything. $55/mo for smartphones, plan goes down in price by $5 every 6 months, finally stopping at $40/mo.
- Must use an approved phone, Sprint's network coverage and data speeds are *meh*
Straight Talk
+ Runs on AT&T or T-Mobile's network (you pick when ordering). Unlimited* everything. $45/mo. Use any unlocked GSM, AT&T or T-Mobile phone. You can use an iPhone.
- Outsourced tech support can be difficult to deal with if you run into a problem. *Unlimited means 2GB/mo of data, not what you think it means.
Page Plus
+ Runs on Verizon's network. Unlimited Talk & Text, 500MB/mo. $55. Also have several less expensive plans, including a Talk & Text only plan for $39.95 Use any clean ESN Verizon phone. Great Verizon coverage.
- Expensive data overages.
If you're really hell bent on no data plan, Page Plus probably fits the bill. That being said, many of these plans are so inexpensive, you may want to reconsider if it's worth going on a no-data-diet just to save a few pennies each month.
---
DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
consumer cellular. it works, they're really helpful on the phone, and it's cheap.
I know folks in here will HOWL about this but the best phone, as a phone plus e-mail, that I have had was a Palm Treo 650. I had great signal and excellent sound quality from that phone and have had six or seven phones since that have not equaled it for SERVICE AS A PHONE. They are GSM unlocked on e-bay for as little as $10. Oh, they are quad band, no viruses or malware for them and they are easy to use to type messages with the keyboard and your thumbs. If you hate tiny phones they are not as small as new designs.
TracFone (http://www.tracfone.com) - Cheap, reliable and smartphones in their inventory.
I don't have a data plan, but I wanted a smart phone, mostly 'cause I wanted a very portable computer for Bicycle/Motorcycle. The problem with the carriers is if you buy a subsidized smart phone, they *require* you to get a data plan. I just bought a phone outright (was $500; Motorola Atrix from AT&T when Atrix was the hottest thing on the Market). Was cheaper from At&t than any of the box stores (I looked around for a while). It's served me quite well. I just keep cell data turned off (I don't actually have them block data, I just keep it off unless I absolutely need it, then I just eat the exorbitant rate they charge for non-plan data). It's actually quite rare that I ever need cell data when I can't find a Wifi; has happened exactly twice for me since I've had the phone; wouldn't have at all if I had any sense of direction. Just go get a cup of coffee from McDonald's and you have Wifi; download directions/podcasts/whatever while you enjoy your swill.
I believe, though can't confirm, you can do the same thing with an iPhone, but again, why on earth would you want an iPhone?
I have a Tracfone, and like it pretty well.
For US$20, I get 90 days + 120 minutes (+ usually a bonus 20 minutes). If you need more minutes, they're not that expensive.
You have your choice of phones. You can get a Smart Phone if you want, but you can also get a relatively primitive phone for US$20. I've got one of the cheaper ones. Supports texting (although I've only used that a little bit) and web browsing.
Best of all, it's pay-as-you-go, and so all it takes to "opt out" is to stop buying renewal time.
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for slashdot.sig (129323052 bytes).
I got a used 3GS, put in a GoPhone SIM and that was about all she wrote. If you just want voice you need to pay ~7/month. You can add a texting plan if you want or pay a per-text rate. You can also add a data pack if you want -- you just need to change the APN, which takes all of two seconds.
You can do similar things with Android phones, plus you can use it on wifi, play Angry Birds, install PuTTY, etc.
This works!
I use T-Mobile pay as you go and put in $100 a year ago (Gold status good for a year of 10 cents a minute calls and texts). At the end of my first year I still had $34 credit so I added $10 and now have another full year to use my $47 balance (they give you bonus credit for Gold status).
They used to have a nice "Day pass" feature for data at $1.49 for 24 hours (unlimited but throttled) but they discontinued that plan (upset me and a lot of other people). In it's place you can buy a $2/day (2G) or $3/day(3G) plan but you have to start and stop it manually each day and it only runs til midnight (not 24 hours). If you don't turn it off before midnight, it will charge you for another day. This is a PITA so I don't use it much. I used the old day pass more.
I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
Oh, BTW; you can't receive MMS via your cell number unless you have Cell Data turned on (at least I can't). I think you can via one of the other pseudo SMS services if that's what you need, but then it'll only work when you are on WiFi. I guess I'm old enough that I don't really care to receive MMS (my wife occasionally sends me them, but I just tell her to resend via FaceBook/Google+/e-mail or any of the other innumerable services that she can send pictures to me with).
can buy a phone for 10 bucks and a sim card for 5
incoming text and calls are always free
for outgoing, you just buy credits from pretty much anywhere and load them on your phone
Once you do your first $100 fill and get gold status, even the small $15 refill extends your current balance for another year. So you can have extremely low annual costs for a phone you don't use... (spare number for visitors, or whatever).
In australia you can get a new iphone free for around $50/month with reasonable data, voice and sms included. Or around $80/month with unlimited minutes/sms. Of course that's on a 24 months contract.
Personally I bought one outright and pay $10/month for a contractless plan, i think it only has 200mb/month, i couldn't tell you in minutes because every phone plan here is "$largenumber of included credit*"
*call/sms rates differ from carrier to carrier and include flagfall
To the OP, ignore all the subjective "Company A has better coverage/speeds/widgets" since that varies by region and personal usage patterns. For basic usage, I agree just pick your carrier of choice. Then look at both pre-paid and postpaid options. Many would be surprised how WELL you get treated by pre-paid customer service and if it's the same network you normally use, you'd really never know the difference unless you roam outside the coverage area regularly.
I've been happy with Boost myself for some time now. I've used AT&T, Verizon and Sprint post-paid at various times myself and have helped clients with the issues they have with them as well. Prepaid is inexpensive and if you don't "need" the latest phones it's the way to go. I'm on my phone nearly all day every day and coverage hasn't been an issue for me with Boost in Seattle. Heck, even in outlying areas it's better than I expected.
You know the thing about UDP jokes? I don't care if you get it or not.
Verizon MNVO, Page Plus is the best
$55 unlimited talk/txt and 500 MB of data.
They are a bring your own device (no iphone though) so you can buy a Droid or some other decent smart phone for a very fair price. I've been using them for five years and have switched my whole extended family to them.
For the best servcie, check out their great reseller - kitty wireless
I don't know why more people aren't suggesting Virgin Mobile. Granted, you have to buy the phone...but for $35/month you get 300 minutes and unlimited text and data. Not to mention, it's contract-free.
I bought a samsung lowest end phone, an E1050 for only 15 euros. pretty unbelievable!, new and unlocked. it has a small color screen and only does voice + SMS. but what little "PDA" features there are are well done. the calendar is extremely accessible and lets you write plain text for a particular day. so I can put appointments and stuff there.
I'm french so disregard my plan options.. but we had an oligopoly, till a fourth operator, "Free", lauched service about a month ago. it has two offers. the lower end is 2€ per month for one hour voice!, whatever SMS amount. if you get overcharged it's only 3€ for one more hour! and negligible cost for SMS. as I'm customer for their DSL (not particularly cheap but full of features I don't use) I will pay 0€ per month instead of 2€. I'm in the process of cancelling the former plan which was 10x as expensive and moving to the new one.
Go back about 10-15 years in a time machine to when questions like this were relevant, or at very least, you couldn't easily Google this silly question from your smartphone.
My wife and I have been using Virgin Mobile for 6 or 7 years now on the Pay Lo plan. We probably buy a new phone every couple of years for $20 or $40 bucks depending on our mood. I spend about $7 per month between txt and talk, she spends about $15. Not for everyone, but they've done right by me all these years. Though at the moment I mostly use my iPod Touch w/ Talkatone and Google Voice over WiFi for all my txt and calling needs. It helps to live in a place with ubiquitous WiFi - Cablevision on Long Island. Though if Verizon would blanket Long Island I'ld switch to FIOS.
Minutes last 3 months.
10.00 sim comes with 10.00 worth of time.
Beat that.
Brilliant! Nothing is safer than surfing the web and doing some very portable computing while zooming around on your bike!
Seriously? No one has mentioned this yet? Straighttalk is from Tracfone\Walmart\Verizon\AT&T so all kinds of evil but the $31.68 (includes taxes) get 1000 minutes, 1000 texts and 1000MB of data. A refurbed phone can be purchased online for $35 which include the first month (phone costs $5, yes it is more for fancier phones). We went with the Verizon Models (for straightalk phones ending with a 'c' mean Verizon ie: 290C) and my wife couldn't be happier. It is prepay with no contract. I'm lucky that work pays for my phone but I will NEVER have another contract.
I'm sure this is lost in the detritus of posts.
However : A non-phone-savvy colleague of mine recently purchased an Iphone 3GS (He wanted to access the App Store for some work-related apps).
When he started sending me texts on his new phone, they were all coming to me as mms messages. I immediately contacted him and let him know because a) I was curious if he'd got a new phone, or was perhaps trying to send MMS on his old phone, and b) mms messages cost more to send. He found the setting in his new phone to change it to become SMS by default, and this has almost certainly saved him money and is also a solution to your dilemna.
The best thing you can do is to get an unlocked GSM phone. With an unlocked GSM phone, you can insert any SIM card from any carrier and then just start talking.
I am personally a fan of Nokia's Maemo offerings (e.g. Nokia N9) because they are descended from internet tablets and are designed to operate without mobile data service. There are also unlocked Android phones (e.g. Google's Nexus line), which I am sure are fine if you are interested in Android. Even Apple now sells unlocked iPhones.
As for service, if you are looking to switch, I highly recommend T-Mobile's pre-paid service. It is very good value, and I have found that the coverage in my area is pretty comparable to Verizon and AT&T.
WTF 2 euro for 1 hour voice? I think my cheapest option was around 7 or 9 without internet.
I went for the internet version of 15 euro per month.
There is not a single quality "feature phone" on the market, so simply purchase a quality smartphone and disable the cellular data in settings. We purchased my mum an htz Radar for exactly the same purpose. She uses no cellular data but does browse the web when in wifi range, and T-Mobile has not complained yet.
I use Page Plus on their standard pay-as-you-go plan. Using a voip app and Google Voice whenever I have wifi, I use very few minutes. My minutes expire after 120 days, and the least I can add is $10, so it costs $30 per year. All you need is a Verizon android phone, and those can be found very cheaply if you get a used one. They also have other good plans for anyone for whom the standard plan isn't enough.
cheap android on eBay plus a prepaid SIM
My prepaid carrier (a subsidiary of Sprint) doesn't use SIM cards, you insensitive clod!
yeah, i wanted android, and i guess that's what i got. hmm. the paylo plan has its advantages, but the high-end plan costs about as much as my standard plan except with more minutes (which i don't need), and the low-end plans charge per mb, which is something i don't want to bother worrying about.
"They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
buy a pay as you go simple phone, with no camera, no (blackberry) keyboard, no monthly or yearly contract, with a removable battery, and keep the battery removed until you make a call then remove it following your call.
I'm of the opinion that smartphones are spyware on the go and addon applications make them even worse. most of these new phones and apps have not gone through years of testing to work bugs and malware out.
stick with a simple phone, not a fancy one with a battery you cannot remove which is always on even when you shut it off.
Oh, and proprietary firmware is evil.
If you really need someone to contact you on the go, get a pager and replace the battery in your cellphone, return the call, remove the battery, etc. and maybe even the sim card, too, if you're extra paranoid, wrap them in a few layers of foil or a specially made and tested blocker container/bag.
I don't want a "smartphone" with its always on eye and ear or a device with "Kinect" (different subject in a way but not entirely) in my life, and neither should you.
In the US... different strengths... PagePlus, good rates except for data, Verizon coverage, BYOD Boost/VM, unlimited plans w/data, Sprint network, no BYOD Ting, great pooled/family plans, hotspot included, Sprint network, no BYOD Tmobile, daily rates, GSM/SIMs, low yearly rates, BYOD StraightTalk, unlimited plans w/ data, AT&T Tmo, GSM/SIMs, BYOD For single, moderate use, just voice/text I'd first look at PagePlus because of BYOD and Verizon coverage.
If an iPod touch costs $200, why does a phone (which is almost the same as an iPod touch with a 3G radio and a GPS) cost $500?
In most places, what one would do in a situation like this is to simply buy the phone of choice, either straight up or on a two year contract, but simply choose not to get a data plan.
In the United States, on the other hand, some carriers have the habit of spelling it out in the voice-only plan's terms of service: "We reserve the right to slam you onto a data plan if we detect you using a smartphone."
Does "5 GB of HSPA+ data and unlimited EDGE data" sound easier for you to understand?
I've got an LG800G from tracfone for $50 (I call it a smart-looking phone). It came with "triple credits for life" and I bought into a plan for $10 a month that gives me 50 credits. Around here, the actual carrier is t-mobile, and the call quality is pretty good.
With the 3x multiplier, I get 150 credits per month. Calls are 1 credit per minute, text messages are 0.3 per message, sent or recieved (recieved and viewed, I don't get charged for messages I don't view). This phone is also capable of MMS but I don't use them, and I don't recall how much they are.
The unused credits roll over each month, so I'm currently sitting on about 540 credits.
An added benefit is I can call practically the entire world at the same rate - 1 credit per minute, and the call quality on international calls is actually quite good.
So far, I find this the best value for my money, and I'm pretty stingy with my money. $10/month is about the maximum I care to pay for any mobile phone service.
Get a real phone with data for $20/month - www.republicwireless.com
Satisfied customer since launch (November 2011)!
Sprint coverage, pooled minutes via Republic. Decent phone (LG Optimus) included with the $200 startup fee (I paid $100 as a beta).
Their software is limiting, they greatly encourage a default wifi connection for data/voice so some of the tethering and preference settings are locked out.
It's not ideal but it's a lot better than a flip phone on cricket for $35/month.
Check it out.
I hope my howling lived up to your expectations.
$30-$50 per month, depending on how much you talk.
I use my cell phone primarily to arrange rides to places where the city buses don't go or on days when the city buses do not run. I save most of my calls for a land line shared with the household because it has unmetered local calls and unmetered incoming calls. This means I talk less than 30 minutes per month on my cell phone. So I currently pay Virgin Mobile USA $7 per month. Switching to a smartphone would raise my monthly bill by 400 percent to $35 per month, which is the cheapest plan that Virgin allows for a smartphone. At this point I don't feel willing to pay $336 per year just for the privilege of consolidating my PDA and my cell phone into one device.
*call/sms rates differ from carrier to carrier and include flagfall
If you look carefully the call/SMS rates differ from plan to plan as well - the "free stuff " included in the plans is vastly overpriced compared to normal rates.
It's really the only way to go. $30/month for unlimited calls and SMS or 100 minutes talk and 5 GB data.
http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans
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Since my wife and son have unlocked iPhone 3GS's I use a T-Mobile reseller for them, Simple Mobile, 40 bucks a month no limits, only problem is that for the iPhone its Edge data only. For them its not a big deal.
For me I have Straight Talk running on an iPhone 4. You will have to do some searching on the net for exactly how to set this up, it does work but there is an extra cash layout involved to get setup. 45 bucks a month unlimited everything, but I would suggest you limit your data to about 2gb a month. This phone is running on the ATT network and does not need to be unlocked.
An easier to get setup, but a bit more expensive to use, option is Red Pocket, another ATT reseller. 60 a month unlimited talk and text, 2gb of data.
All of these are GSM phone options and if you chose the right Android phone you can get 3g data speeds on the Simple Mobile card.
All 3 of my current smart phones cost less per month then my old talk only Verizon flip phones, I talk alot, my phone is my business, the other 2 not so much but at this point I am getting a lot more service for the same money. I do miss the Verizon network, it is definitely better, but not that much better.
I use a cheap phone with real cheap calls only plan. I make people send text messages to my PC (windows live) and text back threw my PC. Paying $45-100 a month for a phone is crazy, even if it dose everything.
They use sprint's network and are $19/month. You can't get much better than that. Even though the phone costs about $200, you will make it back pretty quickly compared to other plans.
-- soldack
..... because he doesn't even bother saying which country is being discussed.
A lot of people didn't answer the question.
I have a minimal plan, bought the phone (some bucks there) & just made sure it has wifi.
Without data or even text it's been great nevertheless. It's an LG Optimus, a 'droid, but I don't think that's too important: just that you get wifi.
There's plenty of commentary about plans and which ones are best, so I'll leave that topic alone.
I think droid to be superior, and I've had both, so can compare. Almost every app is superior, IMO. I've got tables of this if you care, write me.
Battery life is a big deal, and worth carefully looking into. Getting enough automatic stuff shut off so that you can go a few days without a charge matters.
It's not a text message (anymore) if it takes the form of a picture
We have 2 used iphones on ATT Pay as you go (didn't even need to jailbreak them). .10 a minute, 1000 texts for 9.99 (30 days), and supports MMS
If you have time to wait, see Republic Wireless. My Verizon contract has gone month to month and I'm just waiting for these guys to open enrollment again. For $19.99/month you get unlimited data and service, although RW does want you to use VOIP when possible.
I do this.
Get an unlocked Nokia C6-01 (not C6-00) on Amazon. Get free SIM from ATT or any number of 3rd party resellers, and blab away. You can even do a limited amt of tethering. Bluetooth is great. Use Skype over wifi at MikkyD.
The Symbian Anna interface is just great, much better than iphone or shitty Android or Windows. And Symbian has the best apps. I have a chord app for my ukulele and a metronome. The camera takes beautiful pix.
Buy the Symbian.
"...my phone is too archaic to receive text messages from newer smart phones (they somehow become picture messages)." They're being turned into MMS, nothing you can do about it. Your old phone only does SMS (text). Your cell provider won't give you MMS unless you pay for data service, since SMS is native to GSM and MMS requires an internet (data) connection All that being said, I'm currently using my son's old iPhone3 as a plain phone on AT&T, without a data plan, and it sends and receives SMS just fine, even to other iPhones with data plans (so they aren't translating their SMS to MMS). It also has the advantage of taking the same size SIM as my old Nokia candybar phone. Because of the smooth screen, though, I can't dial or answer it by touch, which may be a reason to keep your old phone.
I think the answer depends a lot on which country are we talking about. How could you forgot to mention something that important?
Look into the cheaper providers. I went from a dumb phone on Verizon paying $40+/m after taxes for the cheapest call-only plan to Virgin Mobile. I got a smart phone (Android), 300 minutes, unlimited text, unlimited data for $27/m after taxes and no contract. The service is great (runs on Sprint's network). They have started throttling back data after 2gig/m (maybe 2.5gig), not an issue for me. I think new customers pay $35/m now.
There's no way I would pay $80-90+/m for a smart phone on the big carriers. I'm happy. I'm not a heavy smart phone user but they do come in handy.
Seriously? Why would you spend $35/month on something you didn't need. Not sure about where you live, but that's a few nights in the pub or a nice meal out a month - I can think of a lot of things I'd rather do with $35 each month than give it to a phone company.
I bought an HTC Desire recently. Hardware's pretty nice, Android sucks, but not appreciably more than any of its competitors. It cost £100. I usually pay about £1-2 for the calls I make. I don't have a data plan: I'm usually either near WiFi or somewhere where I don't care about being online so it's of little benefit to me. With OSMAnd I can store maps on the device, so I can use it for navigation without needing Internet connectivity.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
They are brand new on the market but I recommend Free Mobile.
With their basic plan you get 60 minutes voice, 5cents/minute after that, 60 SMS, 1cent/SMS after, 0 MMS and 0 MB of data, and no contract. You only pay for outgoing calls and SMS. This for only 2€/month, or 0€/month if you already have ADSL service with them! Yep, that's my new mobile phone plan.
Their unlimited plan is not for you but here goes anyway: unlimited calls to 40 international destinations, unlimited SMS, unlimited MMS, 3GB fair use for Internet, reduced bandwidth after that; unlimited access to their 3 million FreeWifi hotspots; tethering, VoIP and Peer-to-Peer are explicitly allowed, and no contract and this will set you back 20€/month, or 16€/month if you're already an ADSL customer with them.
Oh. You're not in France? Damn that must suck! (sorry, couldn't resist)
I doubt that there are many extra features that they can add to the iPhone which would be worth the added premium.
They already have a killer feature: compatibility with the same applications that run on the iPod touch. This way someone can buy an iPod and keep all the apps when upgrading to an iPhone. Android was seriously late to this, with Samsung introducing the Galaxy Player three years after the iPod touch gained an App Store.
Amazon has some VERY cheap unlocked WebOS phones. The OS is great, and they're open-sourcing it later this year. It really is a shame HP didn't support it more. I bought an unlocked Pixi Plus for T-mobile for around $70 and it works great -- a much better deal than paying T-mobile $200-some for a worse phone.
Depending on whether you talk a lot or not, STI Mobile may be a good choice. My plan costs 9 cents per day plus any usage fees, which are 8.9 cents per minute for voice and I believe 5 cents per text message. I use mine only for outgoing calls unless I'm expecting a call form someone while they know I'm away from home and waiting for their call. I spend perhaps a total of $5-$7 per month total. I use my home phone for regular calling.
$25 a month, 200 minutes, unlimited text and unlimited data (however it may be $35 a mo now).
I had switched to them after using T-Mobile's pay as you go service for 5 years. But when i cam out that AT&T was going to buy them, mu service with them started going down hill so i switched. Also i could not text with them as my provider.
It must be carrier dependent. I have a 3+ year old non-smart phone, through Verizon. No data plan. I specifically had them block data usage, to prevent inadvertent charges due to bumped shortcut keys. Even though data is blocked, it can send/receive MMS just fine, including those sent from friends/family with smartphones.
www.mycricket.com
$35/month (which includes taxes, fees, etc.) for unlimited talk/text, no contracts. Cheap, decent phones. Lousy customer support--maybe the worst out there, but you get what you pay for. Other no contract providers are TracFone, BoostMobile, VirginMobile, whatever WalMart offers, etc. Cheap rates, cheap phones, poor customer service, but it works.
I use a jailbroken iphone on t-mobile. T-mobile lets us turn the data plan off and on as i like. even for a few days at a time. So when I travel I turn it on. And 98% of the time it's off. T-mobile is cheap compared to verizon.
The downside of this is the in the boonies t-mobile has less coverage than verizon. it only works on edge not 3g which I don't mind. (I'll find a hot spot if I need something better than checking e-mail). Jailbreaking is annoying because you can't update your phone without jailbreaking it again, and Jailbreaking is never as simple as people say, lots of fiddly steps that mysteriously only work some of the time.
The upside is the low cost, the good t-mobile service if you need it, and you get to use an iphone and they are great.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
I use the LG Cosmos it is considered a basic phone (no data plan required) but can use it for email, web, has a built in music player and camera. and think it has been moved to the free category now (was 99 when i got it) I use it for texting, phone and music mostly so it handles what i need it to.
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
$55/month - unlimited voice/text/data. And Cricket is trying hard to make sure that the rate they post is the rate they charge - so that $55/month is actually $55.00 - not the $117.23/month you pay to Sprint (in Colorado) when you're getting the $99 simply everything plan. If you live in a primarily Cricket area, your calls will be on Cricket's network first and foremost. If you're outside a native Cricket area, or in a city where MetroPCS is dominant, then you'll be using Sprints network with your Cricket phone - either way, no roaming charges, and the same flat rate. The choice of handset does define call quality - their new droid - the Huawei Mercury is worth considering - most of their other droids are just okay - good for non power users/non movie watchers. If you don't want the data plan at all, the basic talk and text plan is $35/month and they have phones that can do that, take pictures, Etc. One thing that people notice about Cricket is that their handsets cost more - this is because Cricket does not subsidize their handsets through contracts like all the major players do - so you have to pay for your handset, then pay the month fee to use it - but that's it. Cricket can also port your existing number over as well, and just about any Cricket dealer can migrate your contacts from your old handset to a new one.
http://republicwireless.com/
$200 for the phone, then $19/mo afterwards with no contract. The idea is you would use wifi whenever possible, and cell towers when you can't.
And it wouldn't matter anyway; if you DON'T HAVE A DATA PLAN, as per the topic we're all discussing here, then you wouldn't be using EDGE, would you?
There's a difference between "don't have a data plan" and "won't have a data plan". Having the option to add a data plan in the future makes a phone more valuable.
I have been using page plus and it is great. They use the Verizon Towers, so coverage is great. You get to bring your own phone, I am using the Droid Incredible, and it is prepaid, so no contract, overages, or other hassles. And best of all it is dang cheap. I get 1200 minutes, 3000 texts, and 100mb of data for $29.95 a month.
Here is a blog of my experience setting it up. http://www.justechn.com/2010/06/15/how-i-got-a-droid-incredible-on-the-verizon-network-without-having-to-pay-a-data-fee
I even switched my wife to it last week when her Verizon contract ended. She went from paying $45 a month for 0 data, 0 texts, and 450 minutes, to the same plan as me. She is loving it.
The only cost associated with the data plans are additional towers. Each individual user doesn't add extra costs to the company - so the data plans are just cash in their pockets. It is also well known fact that it costs much more money to get a new customer than it does to retain one. Call customer service, speak to them civilly, and they will probably give you what you want. You may have to talk to a manager, but as long as they know you aren't an idiot and/or a jerk, it is much better for the companies bottom line to let you go on without the data plan than it would be to switch.
I've found that civility, knowledge, and persistance will work.
Why require them?
3 years or so ago, the smartphone market ballooned. There were ads on all TV stations touting the newest smartphone telling about everything it could do. So people would come in and upgrade from their razr (or whatever non-smartphone) to the newest smartphone expecting to have all this. The sales people told them they should get a dataplan to take advantage of all the features, but the idiots buying them didn't need the data plan - that was too much money. So these people took their new phone home and HOLY CRAP! it doesn't do anything it says on the TV. So they brought back in their 'defective' product because it wouldn't do what was advertized.
The phone companies were losing money because of returned phones that they now couldn't sell as new. That is why the data plan rule came into being.
If you buy a smartphone, you have to have the data plan to take advantage of the advertized features.
IMHO in the US, Consumer Cellular is the best choice. Post paid without a contract and very inexpensive, half what I paid Verizon for a basic family plan with a $2.50/mo low use data plan. You can even get an Android phone on that low use data plan. You get emails telling you your usage and you can opt for a different plan before the bill comes and change back the next month. Nationwide plan with no gimmicks that uses the AT&T network. No one is more customer oriented.
Thank a veteran -- George
got a free phone upgrade from ATT. htc status (aka cha cha). full keyboard like my aging blue blackberry.
dont have a data plan, and the phone has wifi, so i just lan it up everywhere i go if i need interwebs, or just connect to my network at home for something to do on the toilet.
no problems. just gotta beat the data plan out of their hands. do not accept a data plan.
if needed, call customer service, if youve been a customer for a long time, they even have a special - practically secret - 'customer loyalty' section or whatever handled by different phone reps; they have more authority to really alter your account.
I know AT&T GoPhone can support smartphones. The data simply won't work if you don't buy the data package. I run a HTC Rhodium 300 ("Tilt 2", I changed to Android NAND, so no WinMo here!) that I purchased used and it works well on the prepaid network.
republicwireless.com, ting.com, or similar are inexpensive and the phones are decent too. I have a republic acct. It's $20/mo and "covers" everything. The *catch* is that they want you to use your wireless data network connections instead of the cellular network connection whenever possible. I spend my days at university and have wifi at my home so I have yet to even come close to reaching the caps on cellular usage proposed by republic. I don't have any personal experience w/ting.com, but from what I've read it appears to be a *much* more fair and equitable provider (also a mvno).
I love my T-Mobile dumb phone. That's all I wanted, just plain cell phone service.. I have the "pay as you go" and after you spend $100 to become a Gold member, you can pay as little as $10 to get another years worth of coverage! I really splurged this past December and spent $25 :-)
I like the LG Octane from Verizon. It's probably the best phone Verizon offers that doesn't require a data plan. Full QUERTY keyboard, good for texting, though tactical feedback on the keyboard is poor. I've always stuck with LG phones. I like the reliability and coverage from Verizon, even though the service is expensive. By going to a non-Verizon store I was able to get the phone for free after rebate (with a contract of course), while Verizon company stores wanted $100 minus a $50 rebate.
He's an arrogant American, you insensitive clod.
Get a $100 straight talk android smart phone. buy the $45 unlimited data card to go with it .... use your 30 days and go back and spend another $45 for your next month. There now you have a smart phone and no worries about going over your data. All of which costs $45 a month not to mention you aren't stuck in a contract waiting to get out so you can upgrade or change later.