Cell Phone for ds's bday...HELP

[irishsharon]

Ds will be 11 in less than 2 weeks and we want to get him a cell phone so he will have it for middle school(most of his classmates already have phones) Dh and I use a pay as you go phone(1000 minutes for $100).Can we get ds a "COOL" phone and do pay as you go.We really need to pick something soon. Thanks for any help or advice you can give.

 

[bjscheel]

Have you looked at Tracfone's selection? DD11 has I think the LG 840G? Not sure on the numbers, but it is touchscreen, which is what is cool now. It's not a smartphone, but it looks pretty up to date. It had a web browser that isn't that great, and takes up minutes, so we don't use it. Supposedly it can get on wifi, too, but I haven't had her try so that it doesn't accidentally use minutes. She has other ways to use wifi without her phone.

 

[bjscheel]

I get the kids a year's service with Tracfone. If you get a triple minutes phone, you can get 1200 minutes for $99, or 4500 minutes for $199. Texts take .3 minutes.

 

[HM]

What do you think he'll want to do with the phone? Is it going to just be texting and phoning? Or will he want a smart phone with web browsing and game capabilities. You might want to look at Virgin Mobile for smart phones on their monthly payment plan of $35 for 300 phone minutes and unlimited text and data.

 

[irishsharon]

Thanks that seemed to be the best plan I could find also.Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything else out there.

 

[drinkme]

Kids his age don't use minutes to talk. They text, tweet, & use Instagram. I wouldn't worry about minutes.

 

[angierae]

definitely don't expect them to use minutes for phone calls. They will be texting 99% of the time.