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Smartphones Invade the Prepaid Market
jfruh writes "When tech geeks debate the state of the smartphone world, they usually focus on the iPhone and its high-end Android rivals from the major carriers. But Android is rapidly entering the lower-end world of contractless prepaid phones that you can buy at 7-11 or Wal-Mart. 63 percent of prepaid phones sold in 2011 were smartphones, and while they might not offer cutting-edge hardware or easy customization, they do provide a smartphone experience without an onerous contract."
Buy used 3GS for ~$150. Get GoPhone SIM. Insert in phone. Change APN if you want data. It takes three seconds.
Prepaid smartphone. No onerous contract. No jailbreak required. Works fine with iTunes and App Store.
ESN blocks are carrier based, meaning switching carriers as long as the phone is comparable will often avoid a blacklist. That said, buying bad ESN phones is like clicking on spam, it only promote more unwanted abuse (theif, faking of lost phone for insurance) though there are legitimate cases (found phone again long after reported stolen, found lost phone but no way to contact original owner).
But yes, you can get a defective phone, but that applies to all used and new phones bought (though mostly used). You'll simply have to either rely on whatever return policy is in place and vendor reliability/review/rating available. Bad ESN does not equal bad hardware, so that basically constitutes fraud if not described as such.