Dave (owner of PCMech) has a ritzy/glitzy/sexy/super-cool Apple iPhone. And he really likes it. Furthermore he uses it a lot so he’s getting his money’s worth. He uses apps, he texts, he talks on it (obviously), uses Twitter on it, browses the web, etc.
I on the other hand am very anti-cell phone. The only reason I own one is to have some means of mobile telephone communications. As far as what I choose, I go for nothing but basic. To say it another way, whatever is the cheapest thing I can get is what I will usually go for.
Recently I switched off of a post-paid plan with Verizon and decided to go with TracFone, a pre-paid cell phone service.
The purchasing process
I purposely went to Radio Shack on an early Saturday morning figuring there wouldn’t be too many people in the store at that time of the day – and I was right. The store was basically empty.
Why Radio Shack? It’s because RS employees will actually set the phone up for you right at the counter so you don’t have to do it yourself – which they did. In case you weren’t aware, RS is still to this day one of the better places to buy a cell phone (it’s the #1 thing they sell).
Cost of the phone: $10.00 (a little over $11 after tax).
The phone itself: It’s a Motorola W175g. And THANK GOD it’s actually a one-piece phone instead of a this-will-break-in-a-year flip style. I’ll speak more on the phone in a moment.
The pre-paid TracFone service comes with 20 "bonus" minutes to start with. This is great because it means I had a phone ready-to-use for just over $10 that I could add minutes to later on, so I didn’t have to buy extra minutes up front. Very nice.
If you are the type who is big penny pincher, the absolute cheapest way to run a TracFone is to buy one 60-minute card every 90 days. You need to buy at least 60 minutes for it to be at a 90-day span between purchases. The 60-minute card costs $19.99 + tax.
If you do the math, the phone service will cost you just over $7 per month (assuming you don’t go over the minute allowance). You could opt for a 365-day instead of a 90-day, but 90-day will suit most people.
The phone itself
The Motorola W175g is a "candy bar" style phone. It’s not exactly thin but fits in the pocket easily. And – thankfully – it’s charged via a mini-USB connector. This connector is solid and not like those asinine funky-shaped power connectors Motorola used to have.
The screen is readable in daylight. The sound is just fine. Speakerphone could be a little bit better, but then again what do you expect for 10 bucks? Battery life is decent.
I will say this: This phone – which is notably inferior compared to a Motorola RAZR – sounds better and is much easier to navigate as far as the menu system is concerned. Furthermore it feels better in the hand when talking on it.
The TracFone service
I really like the fact TracFone makes it stupidly easy to know exactly what you’re spending.
The phone itself will tell you up front how many minutes you have left and how many days you have left for your current minute allowance – so you’re never out of the loop concerning that.
Minutes can be bought online at TracFone.com or by going anywhere that sells TracFone-enabled phones (Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, etc.) and pick up a card.
The service itself is fine. Reception is good; calls stay connected. The service does the job it’s supposed to do.
You would like TracFone if…
- You hate cell phones and only want one for basic communications or just for emergencies.
- You’re a parent and want to give your kid(s) a cell phone but also want something basic that can take a pounding – TracFone definitely fits the bill there.
- You want more control over your cell phone use/bill/etc. It doesn’t get any easier than TracFone.
I would not recommend TracFone for heavy-use cell phone users because you’d run out of minutes fast and it would cost you more in the long run.
However if you’re a light user, TracFone suits just fine. It’s basic, it works, it’s cheap.
This is also cheap enough where you could give it as a gift. If you’ve got someone in the family that needs a cell phone, TracFone makes it easy enough where you can get it set up and let the recipient of the gift know that to add minutes they just have to buy a card every 90 days.
I do understand that TracFone service isn’t the best in all areas. It works fine in Tampa Bay Florida but that’s just my experience. Seeing that you can test the service for just 10 dollars (the purchase of the phone), it’s not like you’ll be in the poorhouse in case the service doesn’t work for whatever reason.
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I used TracFone in the Atlanta area for 4 years or so, until they killed CDMA. At the last they were $9 for the phone and 8 minutes plus service for a year. That was cheap enough to keep one in each vehicle.
My replacement is TMobile, as low as $28 if you shop around, and $100 for 1000 minutes or a year. If you don’t use the minutes the next year costs $30. Better service than TracFone had on CDMA and wider nationwide service.
I’m with you or going minimal.
Just remember that tracfone sells gsm phones which may not work inside your house but have to walk down the street to actually use them. Advice: Buy a phone with a CC not the minutes, test the phone first and return it if it doesnt work in area of use. They wont refund airtime purchases but have to take back phone or you can dispute it and let em argue with your cc company.
Personally I think tracfone is POS.
My family has been various models of Tracfone for years. Yes, it is much less expensive and there are no service contracts than other cellular services. However, Tracfone is the worst when it comes to customer service. The 1-800 number you call for Tracfone is in the Philippines and not very many representatives speak English very well. I had three inactive phones that I wanted to reactivate. I purchased three 60-minute airtime pins on their web site and discovered that they combined them all into one 180-minute pin. I called to explain the problem. The willingly walked me through the process of reactivating 2 of the 3 phones with 60 minutes each. However the third phone needed a new part (SIM card), which had to be mailed. They informed me that once the new part arrived to call them and they would then be able to reactivate the phone. In the meantime, the number two phone would not work. I called them about it and they walked me through the process of getting it working again. When the part for the number 3 phone finally arrived, I called Tracfone as instructed. They informed me that I would have to buy more airtime for the phone because they added the airtime to my number 2 phone and blamed me for the problem. I explained the problem to a supervisor and still got nowhere. I reversed the charges to my credit card and I’ll never do business with Tracfone again!
I LOVE my Tracfone!
I dumped my AT&T phone and got out of my cellphone contract when the company changed its terms. (Did you know that if they do that, it voids the contract? They don’t tell you that, but I saw it on the Consumerist site and it worked! No termination fee too. Haha.)
Anyway, I got a prepaid Tracfone and I haven’t ever had a problem with it. I wouldn’t know about the customer service because I never had a reason to call them.
But the best thing about this is that there aren’t any bills and I know what my costs are because I pay upfront for my calls. It’s great!
I have a Tracfone and have been using it alot this summer. It’s a great way to keep in touch with your kids. Calls and texts are less expensive on a TracFone than on other phones and with no contract, there’s no surprises!
Tracfone at $20 for 60 minutes is .33/min.
Virgin Mobile charges .20/min or .10/min for a $7/month charge. Buy off the website for sometimes free phones
Have you tried Virgin Mobile? Phone costs and airtime min are about the same as Trac Phone BUT your min rollover if not used. That’s important if you want your moneys worth.
Service is just fine in the FL market and up the Eastern seaboard.
Net10 is a better deal than Virgin. 10¢ a minute 5¢ for texts 15¢ for international calls.
Add you can buy a phone for $30 that comes with 300 minutes so the phone is free,
I bought a tracfone that came with 10 minutes and a 60 minute card that the phone doubled for a total of 130 minutes. I used 30 minutes at the most and the phone suddenly had only 12 minutes left on it. I called tracfone to find out what happened to the disappearing minutes and they acted like they had no idea about what happened to them. They are a blatantly dishonest bunch of scoundrels. Never do business with them.
After the big screw with Verizon, I switched to TracFone about 4 years ago and have never had a problem. I would advise looking at the different phones and getting one that comes with a “Double minutes for the life of the phone” card. Alternatively, you can buy that card from TracFone for $40 and add it to your phone. Thereafter, you get double the minutes that you purchace, every time you buy minutes. I use the phone regularly, and my monthly cell phone expense is never more than $54.
I've had Tracfone for years. CHEAP. The customer service….well, in a word…SUCKS. Otherwise, it works and saves a LOT of $$.