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Topic: Smartphone from Tracfone - Mind Blown! |
b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 8:20 am |
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I've resisted getting a smartphone for years, but technology recently forced my hand. The cell towers in Cloverdale are abandoning 2G, so my little Tracfone pay-as-you-go flip phone will soon be obsolete. I decided to take the plunge (or maybe just put my toe in the water) with a $20 Android phone - The Alcatel Pixi Glitz.
It arrived yesterday. It's a cheaply made plastic gadget, but its capabilities are amazing. It connected easily to my home wi-fi, giving me access to all of the contacts in my Gmail account. I had an Android tablet for a few years, so the UI was familiar.
Total cost with sales tax and shipping was only $26.59. I always thought that smartphones were expensive. I don't use a phone very often, so I didn't buy one. But now, the cost is so low that there's no reason NOT to have one. Pay-as-you-go, no monthly fee. Mind blown.
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Michael Maddex
From:
Northern New Mexico, USA
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 9:36 am
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b0b, thanks for the post! I have an old(er) Tracfone. It's a flip phone and when I tried to get a new battery for it a couple of months ago, the salesboy told me 'You won't like this, but forget a battery, get a new phone'. So what you say is encouraging. I might need to start studying up on phones again. FWIW, I did find batteries at Amazon, but never ordered. The old one is still hanging in there. Thanks again for the info.
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 10:06 am
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b0b, mind telling us how much per month it costs and do you also pay by the minute for talk time, and by the gig for data (email, web), or is it all flat, monthly rate up to some maximum, or what?
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 2:56 pm
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I pay $40 a month, plus a $3.00 fee to pay at a phone store, rather than online, for 3GB of 4G data and unlimited phone calls and text messages. My Samsung S5 phone can even make calls over a wireless network, in case I'm out of tower range. My provider is MetroPCS, using T-Mobile's towers.
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 4:24 pm Re: Smartphone from Tracfone - Mind Blown!
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| b0b wrote: |
The Alcatel Pixi Glitz.
Pay-as-you-go, no monthly fee. Mind blown. |
Bob:
Please expand and clarify per Jim Cohen's post.
You can pay $26.59, put the phone in a drawer, and expect it to work as long as it is charged and not defective for no additional fees, ever--other than per minute or per call when you do actually use it?
The cheapest Tracphone pay as you go I've found is more like $20 for 60 minutes of voice that have a 90 day shelf life--so it's not really "no monthly fee". After 90 days, you have to pay out another $20.
I am looking for a cheap "emergency only" phone. My current phone is a 1970s style Panasonic that is reliant on an Internet connection (VOIP). Never owned a cell phone.
I want a way to bypass that in an emergency if my Internet is down. I may not use the emergency phone for months or years other than to test it.
I don't use the phone much either and the "smart phone" features don't apply to me. I'd need voice only. |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 6:35 pm
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Mitch;
I used to have an ATT prepaid phone (pay as you go) as recently as the fall of 2008. I put in money to pay for time, with a sliding rate for larger blocks of minutes. I don't recall if the unused minutes carried forward. But, I would have to guess that somebody does offer that type of pay as you go and keep the rest plan.
In lieu of that, consider using the Internet to place calls. There are various solutions that can be found using search engines. I imagine that transmission and reception could be unreliable at times, depending on your connection speed. This is basically referred to as VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol).
_________________
"Wiz" Feinberg, Moderator SGF Computers Forum
Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 7:30 pm
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| Wiz Feinberg wrote: |
Mitch;
I used to have an ATT prepaid phone (pay as you go) as recently as the fall of 2008. I put in money to pay for time, with a sliding rate for larger blocks of minutes.
In lieu of that, consider using the Internet to place calls. |
Wiz:
As I said in my post, I already have VOIP via Cox, my ISP. Voice over the net requires the net. I need something that works when I DON'T have an Internet connection---which is typically under 10 hours a year. Just as an emergency device--voice only. But, for all I know, I could have a day or week long outage at any time and I currently have NO fallback position.
Or do you refer to something else---some VOIP that does NOT need my Cox connection?
I checked out ATT a few weeks ago. The closest suitable offering they have is called "Gophone", as I recall.
You buy the cell phone, any cell phone, that can access the ATT network. You pay NOTHING additional if you don't use the phone. If you do use the phone, it's 2 dollars per day plus a quarter a minute. I think that's incoming or outgoing. That's their claim.
I have no idea if it's legit, reliable, mediocre, or horrible. All I know is what the CS rep told me.
I assume ATT would want you to make an account and keep a credit card on file that they can charge as needed. I'd prefer to avoid a CC on file.
I haven't ruled ATT out, but am trying to determine if it's the best plan for my circumstances.
I'd imagine if I owned a cell phone, I'd want to at least test it at least once or twice monthly--like to a doctor's office at midnight when I know I will just get an answering machine I can hang up on as a test. So maybe 20 calls a year, one minute each. Plus true emergency use, which could be zero. |
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Wiz Feinberg
From:
Mid-Michigan, USA
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 9:01 pm
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GoPhone is what I had, through AT&T. It worked from Michigan to Arkansas, with only a few dropouts or dead zones. I suppose it's worth looking into. I don't remember anything about a daily access fee (it's been 8 years), just the 25 cents a minute. But, that dropped to about 15 cents if I bought $50 at a time.
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Security Consultant
Twitter: @Wizcrafts
Main web pages: Wiztunes Steel Guitar website | Wiz's Security Blog | My Webmaster Services | Wiz's Security Blog |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 9:27 pm
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| Jim Cohen wrote: |
| b0b, mind telling us how much per month it costs and do you also pay by the minute for talk time, and by the gig for data (email, web), or is it all flat, monthly rate up to some maximum, or what? |
There is no monthly rate, no contract. You buy minutes in advance, and when you use them up you buy more. Perfect for someone like me who doesn't use a phone very much. I load it up every couple of months for about $40. tracfone.com
I'm sure there are other companies that do the same thing.
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 9:37 pm
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Mitch, your mobile usage is like my wife's. She rarely uses it, so I bought her a year of service time independent of her minutes. On my phone, the service time has accumulated faster than the minutes. I have something like 2 years of service time in the bank now, but I need to buy more minutes of airtime soon. Every time I buy airtime minutes, I get more service days.
It's a good deal for me, but it all depends on your own usage habits.
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 14 Apr 2016 9:53 pm
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| b0b wrote: |
She rarely uses it, so I bought her a year of service time independent of her minutes. On my phone, the service time has accumulated faster than the minutes. I have something like 2 years of service time in the bank now, but I need to buy more minutes of airtime soon. Every time I buy airtime minutes, I get more service days.
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Bob:
Just to make sure I undertand, is the following correct:
You bought your wife 12 months of service, with unlimited minutes. At the end of one year, she must buy again.
If she uses phone very little, I assume you investigated and found that unlimited minutes over 12 months was less costly than limited minutes over 12 months?
How much was her plan for 12 months, ignoring the phone hardware, and is that also a Tracphone?
On your phone, it sounds like you bought X minutes for Y months, but you use up the minutes before Y months and have to buy more minutes, with your new months tacked onto your old months--carried over.
Problem is, I don't know of a plan where the minutes are carried over. You're ultimately forced to pay more at the end of some known time period, even if you did not use all the minutes.
I'd like a plan that was "buy 100 minutes for this flat rate, no time period at all, take 10 years to use them if you want". No can do that I can find. |
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Blake Hawkins
From:
Florida
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Posted 15 Apr 2016 1:30 am
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I also have a Tracfone and have had it for many years. I rarely use it but it does come in handy.
I pay about $120 a year for service and that comes with 900 or so minutes depending on their various promotions. The minutes carry over as long as you maintain the service. I have over 3,000 minutes credit which I will never use. For me, it is worth it as a standby for emergencies.
Mine is also an older Motorola phone, but the battery
has been discontinued. It is still available from
Amazon suppliers for double last year's price.
So, I'll probably have to get a new smart phone. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2016 6:26 am
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No, Mitch. There are no "unlimited minutes" with Tracfone. You pay for minutes, and they typically come with a number of "service days". She uses minutes very slowly, so they were getting near expiration. I bought her a year of service days. I forget what that cost.
Myself, I never come close to running out of service days. I have over 700 in my account now. Like most people, I use up the minutes faster than I use service days. I use about 200 minutes per month. I usually get 400 minutes at a time, and they come with 90 service days.
This phone comes with "triple minutes". I just now bought "200 minutes" for $40+tax and it racked up 600 minutes voice, 600 MB data, and 600 text messages. I've never been a texter (the flip phone wasn't much good for it), but maybe now I'll start.
I'm not trying to sell anyone on Tracfone's service. It's obviously not what you're looking for, Mitch. I'm just saying that a 3.5" Android smartphone for $20 is amazing. It worked as a wi-fi internet computer right out of the box, before I even connected it to the Tracfone network.
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Scott Duckworth
From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 15 Apr 2016 10:50 am
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I'm using a no camera flip phone with Straight Talk with a $30 per month plan. Looks like next phone I get will be a refurb smart phone ($20) but I'll have to switch to the $45 unlimited plan.
The plan I have now works well for me. I live in the land of NO... NO cellphone service, NO cable service, NO hi-speed AT&T service.
I use the cell phone on the road, and for Internet at home use Exede Satellite.
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 15 Apr 2016 12:05 pm
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OK, thanks b0b.
It may be that Tracfone is still my best bet as I canΓ’β¬β’t find a less expensive method. Non-smart Tracfones can be had for as little as $15.
Howardforums.com is a good source of info.
The Tracfone gurus there say the best plan for no more than 5 minutes a month average use would be the Γ’β¬Εm30Γ’β¬Β plan for $10 and then get it "supersized", which is usually what you are offered by popup when you buy the m30 online. You get 30 minutes, typically doubled to 60 minutes; maybe tripled if you have the right Tracfone.
The "supersize" is another 50 bucks, but adds 1 year to service time so total cost would be $60 and total days would be 395. Net cost about $4.56 per 30 days, total time 60 if doubled or 90 if tripled.
For usage of 5 minutes to 60 minutes a month, the cheapest plan is Γ’β¬Εar q60Γ’β¬Β; net cost $18 for 90 days. You get 60 minutes, doubled or tripled to 120 or 180, depending on phone. About $5.90 per month.
For 200 minutes per month, the recommended plan is the AR Q200; $36 for 90 days; about $12 a month.
HereΓ’β¬β’s an online spreadsheet calculator, where you can plug in your estimated Tracfone usage for voice, text, and data and it will spit out the recommended plan and estimated cost per month. Pretty cool as those things go.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SkguGCJQBtHiGw_hNEnv4-0hmOVsd0FzsLZ82X1_YKE/edit?pref=2&pli=1#gid=0 |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2016 3:32 pm
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It wasn't the price of calling that inspired me to make this post. It was the fact that you can get an Android computer for just $20!
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 15 Apr 2016 3:54 pm
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That's pretty amazing. I thought I'd done well a few months ago when I picked up an android phone for around $60. A company called Blu. Got an unlocked phone that I could just jam my old sim card in from my dying ancient dumb phone. Don't have a data plan so I can't evaluate how well it works---how smart it is.
But if I'd seen a $20 phone, I'd have jumped. |
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Steve Green
From:
Gulfport, MS, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2016 6:45 pm
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| Jon Light wrote: |
| Don't have a data plan so I can't evaluate how well it works---how smart it is. . |
If you can connect to a wi-fi source, it won't matter that you don't have a data plan, as wi-fi doesn't use up your data.
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 15 Apr 2016 7:06 pm
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| Quite true and I've messed around with it on my home wifi. But it's hard to get motivated to figure stuff out since I've got my computer right here. I've had a couple of waiting room opportunities to learn some tricks. I may or I may not get some chops with it. I can easily see never finding a need for the wonders of a smart phone in my life. |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 18 Apr 2016 1:35 am
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Hmmmm...........
It says here:
http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2016/04/prepaid-phones-on-sale-this-week-april_17.html
That the Alcatel Pixi Glitz is on sale for $10 at Dollar General stores till 4/23.
And at Family Dollar stores for $10 until 4/30.
And at Target for $9.99 with airtime purchase for an unknown time period.
All in-store only as I understand it.
I know absolutely nothing about smart phones, but am tempted since this is cheaper than most cheap flip phones.
Must resist now. |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 19 Apr 2016 6:28 am
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So I can get a flip phone from Best for 8 bucks; can I get Tracfone service for that?
Thanks for the research, Mitch.
Still don't know if my ego can take a phone smarter than me. |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 19 Apr 2016 6:11 pm
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| Charlie McDonald wrote: |
So I can get a flip phone from Best for 8 bucks; can I get Tracfone service for that?
Thanks for the research, Mitch.
Still don't know if my ego can take a phone smarter than me. |
Charlie:
As near as I can tell, Tracfone is 20 bucks every three months. You get 60 minutes of air time. About 7 a month
Or you could spend $100 and get 400 minutes, good for one year. Just over 8 a month, but you get more minutes.
There's a variety of "refill" plans out there available at your random Walmart/Walgreens or online direct from Tracfone.
The plans typically give you double or triple the stated minutes, depending on which phone you buy. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 19 Apr 2016 6:42 pm
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I think you guys are missing the point. This is an Android smartphone that fits in your watch pocket for $20. A flip phone is a better deal if you just want a phone, but if you want internet access over wi-fi in your pocket, this is the ticket. Ever try to text on a flip phone? Email? Get a map and directions to the gig? Check the weather forecast for showtime?
When I'm on a gig, I'm often asked if I'm available on a certain date. My calendar is on the fridge at home. Now I've created a Google calendar that I can access anywhere. That's the advantage of a smart phone.
My kids and grandkids all communicate by text message. Now they can text me and actually get a coherent reply. Some bands coordinate via text, too.
If you guys want to stay in the 20th century, you can save a few bucks on the cost of the phone. But why? The difference is little more than lunch money.
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 22 Apr 2016 7:54 am
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There was some topic drift.
It is amazing that you can get a pocket computer for twenty bucks. Hopefully it doesn't butt-dial other computers. It's an amazing age. |
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Dave Potter
From:
Texas
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Posted 22 Apr 2016 8:55 am
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| b0b wrote: |
| I think you guys are missing the point. This is an Android smartphone that fits in your watch pocket for $20. A flip phone is a better deal if you just want a phone, but if you want internet access over wi-fi in your pocket, this is the ticket. |
Back to smartphones, I've always been an early adopter, and I bought into smartphones as soon as they hit the market, a long time ago. I don't spend much time actually talking on my cellphones, but the extended capabilities just make it a no-brainer for me.
I tend to avoid using the Google "cloud" for very much - I'm uncomfortable putting personal data in the hands of strangers. I use POP3 email from my ISP, as on my desktop PC, and a stand-alone offline Calendar/Notes/Contacts app (EPIM) that syncs with my desktop PC. Current device is a Samsung Note 5, which cost me about $500, vs $20 being discussed. But with its superlative camera and all the rest of its features, it's worth it to me.
I also own a companion to the phone, a Samsung Gear S *smartwatch*. Smartwatches compliment cellphones via bluetooth. But the Gear S distinguishes itself from the rest of the pack by its self-contained cellphone capability - it's a stand-alone cell phone on my wrist, with its own phone number. The additive monthly cost for adding it to our Verizon account is only 5 bucks. It does text messages and other stuff as well. |
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