Cell phone plans: Talk, Text, Data

[maggiew]

We currently have Verizon Wireless with a family plan and 5 phones. We have data on ONE phone only. But DH and the kids want to start using data too. But with Verizon it is soooo expensive to have the data added.

We have been slowly weening ourselves off of Verizon. DH and my mom's phone have expired contracts. We were waiting for all our phones' contracts to expire (in January) to make a switch. But DH got a new fancy job and wants a data phone.

So, I have been looking at some other companies and their plans. When I researched earlier in the year, T-mobile had a nice deal at $49 unlimited everything. But that seems to not be available anymore.


So now I am looking at VIRGIN MOBILE. It is a no-contract plan at $35 for 300 talk minutes and unlimited text and unlimited data. You have to buy your own phone. (The 5 of us currently share a 700 minute plan, so I think 300 minutes each is sufficient.)

Does anyone have Virgin Mobile no-contract? How is the service? We live in Chicago area so it looks like there is good coverage.

Any other options? I looked at Boost mobile too. Their plan is a little more expensive.

Maggie

 

[nowellsl]

Be sure to clarify what "unlimited data" means. I have the Verizon, unlimited talk, text and data plan ($50 month). The "data" is limited to "most" text based sites. No U-tube or anything like that. Phones may also be limited. There were only 3 available when I signed up, no smart phones! I did notice yesterday they have a new plan out for smart phones, but you are limited on the data part of the plan. It is $80 month. I went with Verizon because it has the best coverage I've found so far. I do love not having a contract!

 

[maggiew]

Hmmm. I will look at the limits on the data plan. I thought unlimited meant unlimited. Silly me.

It says:
3G
Email and IM
Mobile Web
Google map
text messaging
virgin mobile live
flicker
android market
foursquare
facebook
twitter
you tube

Anything Virgin Mobile is missing?

Maggie

 

[nowellsl]

Hmmm. I will look at the limits on the data plan. I thought unlimited meant unlimited. Silly me.

It says:
3G
Email and IM
Mobile Web
Google map
text messaging
virgin mobile live
flicker
android market
foursquare
facebook
twitter
you tube

Anything Virgin Mobile is missing?

Maggie

That looks better than mine, at least you would have access to android apps and you tube. I'm assuming you can purcase a smart phone? I might have to look into that one. I'll have to check the coverage where I am. At least I'm not locked into a contract, right?

 

[nowellsl]

I just looked at the Virgin Mobile's service area map, and it's showing coverage as "fair" to none in my immediate area. The plan does look like a good deal, it seems comparable to Verizons $80 month no contract plan. I would see if you can find someone in your area that uses it to see how well it works (or ask at Target, Best Buy or somewhere like that sell a variety of pre-paid phones and see what seems to be the most popular in your area).

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

We tried VM but the service was not good where I am. Plus we also have 5 phones & I pay a reasonable amount with AT&T not much more than VM, although the data is not unlimited we never come anywhere near using all of ours.

 

[Straitlover]

If you wnat to stay w/ Verizon, I just read a story where they are re-doing thier plans. They're coming out w/ this new one were you can share data between all things in your plan - phones, tablets, etc. you jsut pay X amt for data, not X amt for each device.

 

[bear_mom]

I would ask those who have VM around you. Dd's best friend has VM and we were just talking about service - she has horrible service while Verizon has great service in our area.

Emily

 

[mcorbo]

If you wnat to stay w/ Verizon, I just read a story where they are re-doing thier plans. They're coming out w/ this new one were you can share data between all things in your plan - phones, tablets, etc. you jsut pay X amt for data, not X amt for each device.

The new shared data plan may not be less, I know in my case it would be $20-$40 more a month for limited data where we currently have 2 smart phones with unlimited data on a 4 phone plan.

They new charges are $30 per month for non-smart phones, $40 for smart phones and then you pay for shared data, $60 for 2Gb up to $100 a month for 10Gb of data.

All plans have unlimited phone calls and unlimited text.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

I use cricket mobil! its no contract. I get 300 minutes, unlimited internet and data and only pay $25 a month. You buy your own phone (mine was 30). I love it so far (one month of use).

 

[Green Tea]

VM operates on the Sprint Network towers so if folks are happy in your area with Sprint, you will be fine. And unlimited is unlimited. I think they throttle past 3 or 5 Gigs a month, but that is still better than Verizon or ATT's unlimited. They have a fair number of phones to choose from that are Android smart phones, and next month they begin selling and offering iPhone service.

 

[Judique]

I use cricket mobil! its no contract. I get 300 minutes, unlimited internet and data and only pay $25 a month. You buy your own phone (mine was 30). I love it so far (one month of use).

????

Couldn't find anything close to this price on their website. Their lowest price for any plan was $35.

You are lucky if you got in that deal 1 month ago.

Virgin had that plan and we have it on one phone but it is not available now - gone up to $35 a month.

 

[JB2K]

Any other options? I looked at Boost mobile too. Their plan is a little more expensive.

But...

For every successful 5 payments to Boost, they will lower your bill by $5 (I believe the max is $15 off the monthly charges after 18 months of payments), which isn't a bad deal for "unlimited everything".

Virgin Mobile's (which, like Boost, is Sprint-owned and uses the Sprint Nationwide Network) $35 deal isn't bad if you don't talk a whole lot, but want data/text (which is the case with today's kids) -- also, see my thread elsewhere on the BB regarding VM's launch of the iPhone, later this month.

 

[JB2K]

I use cricket mobil! its no contract. I get 300 minutes, unlimited internet and data and only pay $25 a month. You buy your own phone (mine was 30). I love it so far (one month of use).

Unfortunately, Cricket is not a true "nationwide" carrier, meaning they only operate in select areas across the country.

Cricket is also launching the iPhone, soon, but it will be restricted to what the industry calls "native" Cricket areas, meaning Cricket customers in, for example, St. Louis, won't be able to get the iPhone.

 

[JB2K]

Be sure to clarify what "unlimited data" means. I have the Verizon, unlimited talk, text and data plan ($50 month). The "data" is limited to "most" text based sites. No U-tube or anything like that. Phones may also be limited. There were only 3 available when I signed up, no smart phones! I did notice yesterday they have a new plan out for smart phones, but you are limited on the data part of the plan. It is $80 month. I went with Verizon because it has the best coverage I've found so far. I do love not having a contract!

True, even if you have unlimited data, if you spend a lot of time on Netflix or YouTube, it could put a strain on your monthly data usage and most phone companies will slow-down your data speed (my recommendation is if your phone makes use of Wi-Fi hotspots to use them for streaming video whenever said hotspots are available).

Verizon recently launched an Android smartphone for the prepaid market, but IMO, $80 is way too expensive for the service offered (I know in most places, VZW is often the best, and sometimes only carrier serving that area).

For those second-guessing this thread, prepaid has been the service of choice in many countries around the world -- seems here in the U.S., up until a couple of years ago, it was heavily-marketed to those who couldn't get the "more sexy" contract phones (i.e., couldn't pass a credit check). With the arrival of smartphones for a low flat monthly fee, that mindset has changed.

My best source for what's happening in the world of prepaid is www.prepaidphonenews.com -- make sure you bookmark it...

 

[robinb]

Look into Page Plus Cellular: http://www.pagepluscellular.com/. You will be able to use your old Verizon phones and then upgrade to data phones at your leisure. They have a thing called "The Fifty-Five" which has unlimited talk, text and 2 GB of data for $55 per month. For $39 per month you get unlimited talk and text plus 100 MG of data.

 

[maggiew]

But...

For every successful 5 payments to Boost, they will lower your bill by $5 (I believe the max is $15 off the monthly charges after 18 months of payments), which isn't a bad deal for "unlimited everything".

Virgin Mobile's (which, like Boost, is Sprint-owned and uses the Sprint Nationwide Network) $35 deal isn't bad if you don't talk a whole lot, but want data/text (which is the case with today's kids) -- also, see my thread elsewhere on the BB regarding VM's launch of the iPhone, later this month.

Yes. I did look at boost and I think the Android unlimited is $55 and then you take off $5 for every 6 months on time payments. But it would still be cheaper to do the Virgin Mobile since they start at $35. (Although VM might have less minutes. I don't remember exactly but I think boost might be unlimited minutes while VM is 300 minutes.)

Maggie

 

[scrapquitler]

We currently have Verizon Wireless with a family plan and 5 phones. We have data on ONE phone only. But DH and the kids want to start using data too. But with Verizon it is soooo expensive to have the data added.

We have been slowly weening ourselves off of Verizon. DH and my mom's phone have expired contracts. We were waiting for all our phones' contracts to expire (in January) to make a switch. But DH got a new fancy job and wants a data phone.

So, I have been looking at some other companies and their plans. When I researched earlier in the year, T-mobile had a nice deal at $49 unlimited everything. But that seems to not be available anymore.


So now I am looking at VIRGIN MOBILE. It is a no-contract plan at $35 for 300 talk minutes and unlimited text and unlimited data. You have to buy your own phone. (The 5 of us currently share a 700 minute plan, so I think 300 minutes each is sufficient.)

Does anyone have Virgin Mobile no-contract? How is the service? We live in Chicago area so it looks like there is good coverage.

Any other options? I looked at Boost mobile too. Their plan is a little more expensive.

Maggie

Is your DH willing to wait a few months?? My friend who works for Verizon told me that starting later this summer they are going to change data plans so that your family can share the data plan. So if you buy a 2 Gig data plan, that 2 gig will be shared among all the family members on your family plan. That might work out well for you.

 

[jebobak]

If you want nationwide coverage and have good AT&T coverage in your area, you also might want to look into StraightTalk prepaid. You can buy their SIM cards for $15, and use it in any unlocked or AT&T (or T-Mobile, but their coverage is limited) cell phone.

I bought my wife a new AT&T Fusion Go-Phone (Android touch-screen) for $110 at Walmart. I ordered a $15 SIM card from StraightTalk and it will be here Friday. I've been playing around with the phone, and have it connected to our WiFi, and it's very nice. I'll give an update after getting everything going.

We've had StraightTalk for several years, and it's been great. For $45, I get unlimited voice, text and data. They don't advertise any limits for the data, but word on the street is if you go over 2-3 GB a month, they'll cut off your data. You can call and get it reactivated, but if you go over more than a couple of times, they might cancel your service. This is actually quite generous, as most plans charge $45 or more just for 2GB of data, not including voice or texting.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

????

Couldn't find anything close to this price on their website. Their lowest price for any plan was $35.

You are lucky if you got in that deal 1 month ago.

Virgin had that plan and we have it on one phone but it is not available now - gone up to $35 a month.

http://www.mycricket.com/cell-phone-plans#mobile-plans I just found it!
300 US minutes
text (unlimited)
picture (unlimited)
video (unlimited)
mobile web (unlimited)

the only downside is there coverage area. the person I talked to told me that they are expanding there coverage area soon. I cant get coverage in the upper area of my state but its still a good deal!

ETA: I just typed in a zipcode for chicago and was shocked to see the lowest plan is $35!!! wow!