Mother's Day Special - Free Shipping at Net 10

In an earlier post, Net 10 was one of the carriers that I listed as a possible vendor for prepaid cellphones. They are having a Mother's Day special for FREE shipping on orders $19.99 or more.
But what's worthwhile at $19.99+? Here's a couple of choices:

Right at $19.99 is a reconditoned cell phone, Nokia 1100 .


It has the following:

Stores up to 50 names and numbers

One touch dialing

Battery talk time up to 3 hours and standby time up to 16 days

Changeable color covers

Built-in games, calculator and clock with alarm

Built-in flashlight

Multi-language support

Vibrating alert

Includes 300 minutes of airtime, 60 days of service

Not bad. It's a very basic phone. I'd buy it for personal use, but not if I'm giving a gift for my mom.


Now, depending on your state, something that's can payoff in a longer term is a Motorola v176 for $89.99.

It has the following:

Features text messaging, voice mail, free caller ID, free call waiting*

Color display with screen savers and wallpaper

Handsfree speaker phone built-in

Phonebook with up to 250 entries

Battery talk time over 6 hours

Standby time up to 12.5 days

Pre-loaded ringtones

Multi-media Games

Alarm clock

Weighs just 3.06 ounces

Includes 300 minutes of airtime, 60 days of service

I mentioned that this would payoff for a longer term because of the handsfree speaker. The handsfree speaker can be a poorman's handsfree devices as you drive when certain laws restricting cell phones in cars are passed. You'll just have to shut the windows.

There are a handful of other choices. The promotion is only good till May 13, 2007.

Get Free Shipping on orders of $19.99 or more at Net10.com!



Technorati Tags: cellphone, cell phone, Net 10, Nokia 1100, Motorola v176, Mother's Day promotion, prepaid cell phone

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Prepaid cellphones, pt 2 - Guide to buy

Link to Prepaid cellphones, pt 1

Where to buy pre-paid cell phones

Unlike a contract phone where the most important factor for buying is the features of a particular cell phone, prepaid cell phones require a more sensible approach. The most important factor is probably cost. Since the phone is likely to be a one-time purchase (unless it breaks and sometimes it's free with a promotion), then it is best to compare the price per minute of the phone cards. Of course, this may change over time, but you gotta start somewhere.

Available vendors.

	Lowest Card (USD)	Minutes	$$$/Min	Service Date
Net10	$30	300	$0.10	60 days
TracFone	$19.99	60	$0.33	90 days
Cingular	$15	60	$0.25	30 days
Boost Mobile	$20	varies-day, eve minutes	$0.10 - $0.20	monthly service
US Cellular	$25	100	$0.25	monthly service
Amp'd Mobile	$20	200	$0.20	60 days

Things to consider

1) Not all cellphone plan carrier serves every area. As an example, US Cellular is not one of my options because they don't cover Southern California as of this date.

2) You have to buy the cellphone upfront. Unlike contract plans where the cost of the phone can be buried in the service agreement for payment over time, prepaid phones will cost you anywhere from $50.00 and up for the phone.

3) Be sure to add minutes to your phone before the expiration of the service dates. In prepaid phones, you're leasing the phone number that's assigned to you. If you let it expire, that phone number can be assigned to someone else; you can re-subscribe, but you'll get a different number. Adding minutes before the service date expires keeps the phone number in your name.

Suggestions

Reviewing the above options for cell phone vendors, the most widely available carrier seems to be TracFone. Their 90 days service date also makes a lot of sense for me since I do not intend to use the cell phone a lot. At $0.33/minute, TracFone seems to be the most expensive of all the vendors above. However, if I purchase 120 min for $29.99, the rate drops to $0.25/min. Additionally, there's also an option for 400 min for 1 year. Tracfone also runs a promotion from time to time. Currently they have buy a 1 Year Card and get 50 bonus minutes and a FREE phone.

Technorati Tags: cellphone, cell phone, Cingular, Net 10, TracFone, Boost Mobile, US Cellular, Amp'd Mobile, prepaid cellphone

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Prepaid Cell Phones - Best ways to budget and still keep in touch, pt 1

Are you looking to trim down on your expenses? Do you have a vacation planned and figuring out how to save more? If you're looking to squeeze more from your money (just like most of us working folks), then look into prepaid cell phones.

Pre-paid cell phones are simply mobile phones that do not have contracts. Airtime minutes are provided by purchasing airtime cards and tying the card's PIN to the phone through Internet or dial-in activation. More airtime minutes can be added through purchase of additional cards as desired. Airtime minutes must be used by the service date that could vary from 60, 90, 120, etc. days from activation. These are also known as pay-as-you-go cell plans.

Are pre-paid cell phones right for you?

• Controlling costs. You only pay the service for the minutes that you use. Contract phones will charge you a basic monthly whether you use 1 minute or 300 minutes of airtime for that month. Any thing over your basic minutes will incur additional payment.

• Don't want to get locked into a contract. Majority of contracts seem to be 24 months. That might be too long for you.

How do the numbers stack up?

• Compare the typical lowest monthly plan at $39.99. Sprint has the Power Pack 450 with the following:
• price per month: $39.99 USD
• anytime minutes: 450
• Offpeak minutes: unlimited

In 3-mo's, this plan would cost roughly $120 USD, even if only 3 hours, or 180 minutes of air time is used. This happens to me a lot.

• Compare to a T-Mobile $50 USD Prepaid card with the following
• Includes 400 Whenever Minutes. No annual contract or credit check
• Buy airtime as you need it, good for 90 days from time of activation
• Minutes include Nationwide long distance (including Alaska & Hawaii)
• No roaming charges on Nationwide on the T-Mobile USA network
  

Note: Airtime cards are non-returnable, non-refundable and non-replaceable.

• If someone uses the cell phone sparingly, the cost difference for a 90 day period can be up to $70 USD. In one year, this could be a savings of up to $280 USD. Besides, airtime cards can conveniently be bought in almost any retail stores, including Best Buys, Sam's Club, etc., and online.
  

What does this mean in the real world?

• If you're a parent, pre-paid cell phones make great phones for children, especially if you want them to have something for emergency. You can control the costs and at the same time, teach them about budgetting (airtime for now, but hopefully leads to budgetting money later on). Additionally, if the child gets out of hand, take the phone away. The financial burden on you is negligible.
• If you're a college student on a budget, you may simply get a pre-paid phone and forego installing land lines in your dorm or apartment.
• If you like to travel and wonderin how you're gonna save up for the next trip. You should consider a prepaid phone over a contract cell phone or even a landline in your apartment.
• If you're job is shaky and you believe that there's gonna be a layoff, consider a prepaid phone to trim the fat in your expenses.

Technorati Tags: cellphone, cell phone, prepaid cell phones, pay as you go, budgetting

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