Virgin was like $0.25/min for the first 10 min in a day, then $0.10/min after that. Prepaid, buy your own phone. As I recall, it was the best offer I saw at the time, but I didn't do very much research.
That's what I've got (Virgin Mobile), and it's working perfectly for me. The phone cost around $100, and came with some minutes on it; the plan is very easygoing, requiring only that put in $20 at least once every 90 days. It works very well as a phone for convenience and emergencies, as long as you (like me) don't plan to use it for high volume conversations.
Of the ones I'm looking at (Cingular, TracFone, Virgin, T-Mobile, Verizon) it really looks like Virgin's is the best deal. Others require putting more money in more often, or charge a dollar a day even when not making any calls, which works out to almost as much as just getting a plan. I'd certainly be a low-volume caller - it's abnormal for me to be talking for more than two minutes. ("Hi. I'm here. You stuck in traffic? See you soon.")
Okay, when looking into getting a cell phone, answer these questions:
1) Other than for a brief period of time (such as a road trip) are you using it as a primary number for people to get a hold of you and vice-versa? If so, don't go with prepaid--go with a plan. Prepaid gets really bloody expensive if you do it that way, and you don't get any free nights/weekend stuff.
2) I used Virgin Mobile. It was okay. However, if you do decide that you want to keep having a cell phone around and then you realize that the prepaid number is too expensive, you cannot port that telephone number onto a different plan.
3) If you are just planning on getting and using a prepaid cell phone for upcoming travels, I have one with a 909 area code that can be borrowed for short period of time. It's currently sitting at the house of one of my professors, but if you'd like to borrow it for travels, I can get it back.
I found that by getting Verizon (good coverage in everywhere but the robotics lab...) I didn't need my "real" phone anymore...free in-network and no-extra-charge roaming makes about 90% of the calls I make esentially free, and even the cheapest plan provides plenty of minutes on top of that.
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1) Other than for a brief period of time (such as a road trip) are you using it as a primary number for people to get a hold of you and vice-versa?
If so, don't go with prepaid--go with a plan. Prepaid gets really bloody expensive if you do it that way, and you don't get any free nights/weekend stuff.
2) I used Virgin Mobile. It was okay. However, if you do decide that you want to keep having a cell phone around and then you realize that the prepaid number is too expensive, you cannot port that telephone number onto a different plan.
3) If you are just planning on getting and using a prepaid cell phone for upcoming travels, I have one with a 909 area code that can be borrowed for short period of time. It's currently sitting at the house of one of my professors, but if you'd like to borrow it for travels, I can get it back.
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Come, join the dark side!