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There pricing is a joke. You can get a new Nokia 2610 at Walmart for $20 without waiting for a $20 rebate. Their refurbish discount of $142 off is a load of crap.

Their "Pay As You Go" rate plans are even worse! You pay for a set number of minutes, but you have to pay monthly; the minutes don't "roll over."
I'd like to see a plan where you buy a block of minutes, and they are good until you use them all, no matter how long it takes!

Exactly. Pay-as-you-go plans always have some kind of time deadline after which your phone won't work unless you buy a service extension period -- a month, three months, a year, etc.

Even the plans that let you rollover your minutes have this, no matter how few minutes you use.

Maybe so, but for people who don't heavily use their cell phones, it makes a lot more sense than paying $60 or so monthly. I use the AT&T 25 cents a minute plan, but with all the deals you can find out there on the phones and refill cards, I pay closer to 10 cents a minute.

For example, you can often find a phone with $100 refill and $25 rebate (some web sites offer rebates if you click through to AT&T from their site before you buy) for $80 + tax. Keep the refill card and sell the phone for $20. Now you are down to $40 for a $100 refill card.

The $100 refill expries in a year, but the minutes roll over if you refill it before then. I use about two refills a year, so I end up spending about $6 a month instead of $60. It's a no-brainer.

If you are the kind of person who uses their cell phone instead of a land line and chats away, obviously that's not for you. If you use it to stay in touch with home when you are out and about, it's way cheaper.

Only morons would buy an at&t gophone and use their plan. Buy one of the samsung phones, like samsung a437 or a117. Google the code and unlock it. Get a cheap t-mobile sim card from e-bay with 30 day phone usage for less than $10. Get a $100 refill card for 1000 minutes which last for a year. You should be all set.

Two years ago, after intense research, I went with STI Mobile for an emergency cell phone plus occasional travel use. The deal was good then. It's even better now. It is pay as you go. You can buy time/network access online.

You can get a brand new phone (I've gotten excellent service from the Sanyo 200) for $36.99, and that includes $20 worth of air time (only THAT air time expires [90 days, I think] ... time you buy NEVER does).

The rate for talk to any number "nationwide" is (now) 8.9 cents a minute. There is a daily charge for network access of 9 cents a day ... $2.70 per month. To maintain your account, you must have a positive balance ... a zero or negative balance for 14 days or more will cause it to be deactivated. You must also make or receive one call (one minute is fine) every 60 days.

SO, the bottom line is if you do not use your phone (except to keep the account alive) then the cost is a total of $2.70 per month plus half of a one minute call ... less than $2.75 per month! If you use the phone it costs 8.9 cents per minute. You buy air time and access in $10, 25, 50, and $100 increments. This NEVER expires (but does pay your $2.70/mo network charge).

Oh ... and their text messages are still a nickel.

I haven't found anything else that touches this for emergency/limited use. I have had no network problems (I think they use the Sprint network) and have gotten good service from their CS folks. I am very pleased after two years.

This still seems like a "best kept secret" to me ... I never hear anyone else talk about it. In my next post below are their particulars, the basics of which I have tried to explain better above (adding in current rates). See www.stimobile.com

[Note: Current time/network rates are 8.9 cents per minute calling plus 9 cents a day for network charge.]

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International Rates do not include airtime which will be charged at 9¢ per minute. All rates and fees are subject to change without notice. Service provided is subject to our business policies which may change without notice. Calls are billed in full minute increments, and any fraction of a minute is rounded up and charged at the full minute rate. Calls are measured from the time the network begins to process the call (before the phone rings or the call is answered) through the termination of the call. International calls placed to wireless devices may be charged at a higher rate. Directory assistance calls are charged at $0.79 plus airtime. Voicemail retrieval is charged at $0.10 per minute plus airtime. You must maintain a positive balance in your prepaid account to make or receive calls. If you do not maintain a positive balance for 14 consecutive days, or if you do not make or receive one call every 60 days, your account will be deactivated and your phone number and voicemail account will be lost. To reactivate your account, purchase a STi Mobile Wireless Recharge Card then call Customer Care at 1 (800) 784-3277 to receive a new phone number and voicemail account. A service fee applies for each account activation, reactivation, MIN swap, ESN swap and rate plan change. We reserve the right to deny or terminate service without notice for any misuse, including without limitation, periods of excessive usage that we, in our sole discretion, determine is the result of prohibited use(s).

STI Mobile suks, I was with them when it was free and then they started charging 10 cents/day. THey have limited phones and no service in canada. T-Mobile has no per day charge and cheap phones or you can even use an unlocked phone. Go with T-Mobile

#8

I haven't called Canada, much less have I gone there, in 25 years. "Limited phones"? Yes, and they work fine and cost little.

"STI Mobile suks, I was with them when it was free and then they started charging 10 cents/day."

So you're one of the ones who resent that they had to start charging for network ... OK; but for others, that doesn't mean STI "suks". It does mean that you were "with them" more than 2 years ago. Has it occurred to you that they have vastly improved now with a business model that allows them to make a profit? For example one can actually get CS now.

I (and many others) are interested in a mobile phone one can use in THIS country (I can CALL Canada if I want) for emergency or occasional use, reliably, for the least amount of $$/month.

I (and many others) don't need a "trophy" phone ... I need one such that I don't have to go to school to learn how to make a call and use the menu (find Sanyo 200 to be very intuitive).

If you or anyone can tell me how T-Mo or anyone else beats $2.75/month and 8.9 cents per minute (with or without a network fee), PLEASE do so! I'll "go with" them next month.

I'm paying $33 a YEAR for network and 8.9 cents a minute, and I have NO $$ invested in minutes that ever disappear ... I just pay 8.9 cents when I use it. Tell me how to beat that and I'll be even happier.

For me, with STI the phone prices are reasonable, the phones work (Sprint network I think), and the price per month and per minute can't be beaten ... or if it can please tell me. And I don't want to buy/sell phones to get $100 cards that expire in a year ... I haven't used $30 of time in the 2 years I've had the phone.

I was mainly posting for people like # 2 or #3 ... and me ... who (apparently) want reliable, lowest cost for minimal use.

I'm happy with our go phones...we have a couple in our family. We are not heavy cell users, and the deals on phones/cards etc out there keep our rate WAY below $.25. The A437 is a great phone.