No contract cell phone advice (Riverside, San Bernardino: high school, camping, low cost)

[Invicta67]

Hi, looking for advice on low cost cell phones please.

Does anyone have any experience with TracFone or Net10 or any other provider of no contract cell phones?

Primarily looking for:

• signal strength and coverage;
• handsets that are recommended or should be avoided;

These will be used by, a High School student, a working Mom & (possibly) a businessman so will need to be able to access internet & social media and will be used throughout San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties.

Appreciate your thoughts and experiences.

[agnt.starling]

I had/have experience w/those types of no contract cellphones you mentioned. I honestly loved Net10, I think their network was t-mobile (which network serves alot of those tracfones), I've driven through the canyon roads & reception would be lost though...but overall it was a good phone, rarely dropped calls, reception was good when you had it, right now I have both a sprint cell (through contract) and as a back-up throw away phone - Virgin Mobile (the cheapest one I think, I paid $10 for it at Walgreens & got the prepaid minutes), its ok, I prefer Net10/tracfones over it. But like I said, the only downfall w/probably most of them is you won't get reception if your driving through canyon roads, or even in Joshua Tree I had nothing. Other than that for a kid that shouldn't be in those areas alone/unsupervised anyways, I'd recommend it, The cell I had was a Samsung T404G., its not as fancy or modern as the Iphone, but it does justice, especially texting (qwerty keyboard), also the internet was decent (was you were able to get it, it takes a few days after you activate it)..I never had a chance to try the better phones (or smartphones I think they have them now too), but they should suffice...anyhow Good luck w/that..

PS, the only issue I had w/Net10, is if you miss a payment online, it totally throws you off & then they deactivate your sim card, and force you to order another sim card, (mailed ofcourse), which is so stupid. But if your really good about keeping payments up, then it shouldn't be a problem, you'll never have to talk to their customer service, which also like the other prepaid cell companies, not good.

[Twinkle Toes]

Metro PCS advertises it has Android phones with unlimited texting and some other stuff for $29.00 per month with no contracts. I'm tempted to check that out myself.

[MG48]

I have used a Boost phone from WalMart for the past 7 years and have absolutely no problem with them. They have several plans and you can get a 3 month rate for as low as $10 but it is 10 cents a minute. I get reception most anywhere except in Crestline!

[winoceros]

Verizon just started offering an Unlimited no-contract plan for $50/month

Verizon Unleashed open for business, $50 unlimited prepaid plans are go -- Engadget

https://store.verizonwireless.com/store/unleashed

[Invicta67]

Thanks for all the feedback - appreciate it.

[Dub D]

No contract is gonna be the future. The 2-year contract BS is gonna become the thing of the past. Think about it, having a cell phone is pretty much like having water, gas, etc. and you aren't required to have a 2 year contract with your utility company.

I've had Metro PCS for about a year now. My service is actually better than when I had Sprint and T-Mobile. I went camping near Julian and I was the only one who could text. None of us could text or talk but like I said, I could text. There were 9 of us and three of us had I Phone's yet I was the only one who could use my phone.

The only knock is when I purchased my phone. Dude put me at a higher rate which I'm assuming gives him more of a commission but other than that, pretty simple.

I work all over usually from Corona to Loma Linda to Ontario. Just imagine that triangle and I work all over that. Plus, I work N. Orange County about once a week as well...hardly ever have no service unless I'm at a high elevation. The online services are a bit crappy unless you get a good phone.

[Dunbar42]

I just saw this unlimited talk, text and data for $60 a month on H20 (AT&T pre- paid service.) That said, with a family of three it may be cheaper to go with a traditional carrier's family plan. You don't have to sign a contract if you supply your own phones. I don't think you're going to be satisfied with the free/cheap smartphones being offered by the no contract services.

[30STM]

ATT has one 50 buck unlimited mins, text and internet.

[vahnessuh]

I'm on Virgin Mobile's $25 per month, unlimited text and internet with 30 minute airtime no contract plan. I have the LG Optimus V phone which is an Android. So far it's been great. No problems whatsoever.