[nathanm]

I know where you're coming from Don_s!  I never had a cell phone until like a year ago myself.  After my car broke down on the highway I figured it would be a nice thing to have.  (It was that day I discovered that public phones no longer exist!  I felt really old and out-of-touch! Ha!)

Tracfone of course tries to push their huge packages, but if you don't need that there are other options.  I think I paid $80-100 for the phone when I bought it.  I bought 200 minutes at some point, bought some via the phone as well, and then I think I went to the $10/50 minutes per month plan.  Now I just have the $6 service protection.

Click on the Tracfone Programs link and then it's under "Value Plans"

https://www.tracfone.com/direct/ValuePlans?app=TRACFONE&lang=en

[Don_S]

Nathan,

Thanks for the link. That sounds like a good deal if I understand it correctly. The Tracfone web site does not give much of an explanation but I think I understand it from your post.

Purchase a phone. 
Purchase hours and service time.
Purchase the Service Protection Plan and I can keep using accumulated hours after the previously purchased service time expires. (Service Protection Plan buys time but not hours). I assume they automatically bill it to my CC each month.
Purchase more hours and time if I need it.
Lather/Rinse/Repeat

If I replace the phone do the accumulated hours transfer?

Thanks, Don

[Lyndon]

Well, my situation was similar to  NathanM , I realized that when I was on my long distance bicycle trips, I really needed a cell phone for emergencies. So, it was the Tracfone.  Another alternative is the T-Mobile pay as you go program, which seems to offer cheaper minutes if you buy the minutes with Bing(a Microsoft cash-back  program).
NathanM, I am also curious, how you got the price down, as I have had to do the $100 year extension the last two years.  I had been able to buy the year card from ebay sellers, but have found those to dry up
recently.
Woodsyi,
You could buy a prepaid sim card in Italy, and pay a lot less for the local calls. I think I may have a link for you about international calls as well.  Here:

GaiaGeek.com: Guide to International Cell Phones [gaiageek.com] | The Best Rechargeable Batteries [gaiageek.com] | The Best AA Travel Charger [gaiageek.com]
Of course, I am leaving out Skype, but that needs an internet connection, no?

[droht]

Just picked up the Pantech Impact for my wife.  2 yr deal.  450 minutes; unlimited web; GPS; 200 texts for $65/month.  Phone was free.  Includes a $40 credit on phone bill.  AT&T through Wirefly.

Not a great deal, but seems OK.  I really was thinking we'd just buy a phone and do month-to-month service, but I don't see the upside of that just yet for our likely useage.

I was more impressed with the Palm Pixi, but the Mrs wanted a larger key pad.

[Lyndon]

The keyboard seems to be one area that people either like or hate:
Virtual keyboards like the iPhone and others
Micro keyboards like the Blackberry models and others
Slider/flip keyboards that offer a larger area.
Perhaps one just gets used to it.

[nathanm]

I dunno Lyndon, I just looked at what phones they had, read reviews on the phone models and picked one.  I didn't get one with a yearly 'double minutes' card or anything like that.  They've got phones as low as 10-20 bucks now.  Nice!  There's so much excess features with phones these days, but if you're one of those loonies who just want to use it to make phone calls it's amazing how cheap it can be.  They just don't make it quite as obvious to pick the cheaper route.

Don_s: I am not sure if the minutes transfer if you get a new phone.  My advice would be to start small and not buy more minutes than you need.  You can always add more.

[Mike Nomad]

I used TracFone for years. All I needed was something for those occasional "Oh Sh*t" situations. I kept the hassles to a minimum by purchasing the one year coverage card for $99, with the double the minutes forever thingy for another $20-$30. So, that put my cell phone "bill" at ~$10 a month the first year, and slightly less thereafter.

TracFone is a great solution, as long as all you need is voice.

Result: Very Happy.

Now, I have more of a need for data. That, and I wanted to get a phone that was able to take a hit. After looking at cell plans for a couple of days, I wanted to hurl. So, I bought an unlocked phone (Sonim XP3 Quest), and went with AT&T on a monthly basis (Unlimited Text & Data, 450 Anytime Voice/5000 N & W). Runs about $70 a month.

Result: Very Happy.

[Lyndon]

Sorry to bump my old thread, but Sprint just announced their new "smartphone", the HTC Evo 4G.
It will be released at the beginning of June, and I am wondering if the 2 year contract will be as high at what
ATT has charged monthly for the iPhone.  It is Android based.
I also wonder if there will be apps on it soon to control one's home music system, like the iPhone and Touch?
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/12/sprint-selling-htc-evo-4g-on-june-4-for-199/

Unfortunately, there's a downside to all this: customers will be paying a mandatory (as confirmed to us by Sprint reps) $10 per month "Premium Data add-on" on top of their plan -- ostensibly for the privilege of enjoying WiMAX when they're in a Sprint 4G market -- and the 8-device WiFi hotspot feature runs an extra $29.99 a month, which Sprint is quick to point out is half what you'd pay for a dedicated mobile broadband account.

So out goes their main ad concerning a "total cost per month around $70".  It appears with the hotspot, it will be closer to over a hundred a month, right?

[Don_S]

Do the cheapest (or any) TracFones have voice mail?

Anybody know if I can keep my ATT just for DSL and give up the phone portion?  I guess I will have to call them when I get done with my trip.  It costs me $25/month including fees just to get a couple of phone calls/month. DSL is another $25/month but I use that a lot so I think the cost is worth it.

[Lyndon]

Don,
What is your download speed for $25/month?
I am with Qwest, and they charge me $45/month for 2.5 megs download (way too much!)
but it is also my home phone, as I am using an Ooma system.
I should switch back to Comcrap because I was always getting at least 5 meg download speed, but they are evil!
Back to my smartphone question...

[Don_S]

Lyndon,  I am using my laptop in a library while traveling so everything is too slow for me to look.  Check the ATT/Yahoo DSL plans.  I use the middle speed at home.  Last time I looked there was $5/month difference between it and the fastest they offered.

[JakeJ]

Do the cheapest (or any) TracFones have voice mail?

Anybody know if I can keep my ATT just for DSL and give up the phone portion?  I guess I will have to call them when I get done with my trip.  It costs me $25/month including fees just to get a couple of phone calls/month. DSL is another $25/month but I use that a lot so I think the cost is worth it.

Don_S,

Yes TracFone has voicemail available as a friend of mine has it.  Dunno which package you need to have to get it though.

As to your second question, if it's your home plan you're talking about then I believe the answer is yes.  I have another friend local to me that is using verizon for DSL and has all phone service through VoIP (don't know what provider but I can find out).  He uses that for long distance and all local calls are run through his cell phone (Cellular One with the wife and three kids on the plan).

Hope that helps.

JakeJ

Edits for spelling and grammatical boo boos.