Review
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Review |
Net10
Wireless:
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I'm very impressed with Net10. I just picked up a phone from Net10 for under $40 and it came with 300 minutes of airtime that lasts for 2 months. I really don't talk too much on the phone if I can avoid it, so this is ideal for me. 60 day refill cards (300 minutes) are $30.
If you aren't a big talker, but like the convenience of a cell phone, you can do this for $15 per month. If you refill it, any unused minutes roll over. You can also get refills that last 90 days, 180 days or 1 year. When you refill the phone, it adds your expiration time to whenever it expires already.
If you look on their website there is a comparison chart for various wireless companies. Wireless phone services offer various packages with pricing that depends on how you actually use their service.
For some people, plans with free nights and weekends are a good deal. For me, the minimum monthly charge for other services is more than I pay with Net10 by the minute. Many pre-paid services charge .25 for the first 10 minutes a day, then it drops to .10 per minute. With them, if you talk 10 minutes per day, it's about $75 per month. With Net10 it's about $30. From what I remember reading, Verizon Prepaid charges .99 per day, plus a per-minute charge.
NET10 is apparently owned by TracFone. The only time TracFone wins a comparison is when you ONLY use the phone for real emergencies. This is because TracFone has some cheap refill cards that give you service, but very few real minutes. TracFone refills are in units, rather than minutes. Most phone calls cost 2 units. Even if you pay the extra charge for double minutes on refills, NET10 is always a better deal per minute.
This is a great service for people who just want a phone for emergencies, or for quick calls. Most of the plans that are out there where you pay a monthly fee are a better deal per minute, but the minimum is 40 or 50 dollars per month. Or they might make you sign a contract for a year or two. There is no contract at all with Net10.
To take a look at what they are offering, click the link below. I think their site is a little confusing. Some phones come with 300 bonus minutes, usable as 3 100 minutes bonus every time you add minutes. Every phone I checked comes with 300 start up minutes of airtime, even though the listing doesn't mention this unless you click on the details tab. Also, sometimes they have free shipping but you don't find out until you're ready to pay for the order.
One thing: I have a fast internet connection, but I noticed their site sometimes is a bit slow. They probably get a lot of visitors. Please be patient. (It's not that bad...). They usually have some better deals online rather than in stores, especially on refurbished phones.
Still
More Information About Net10.
Most monthly plan wireless services charge outrageous fees for going over your minutes. They also charge quite a bit for text messaging. A friend of mine has a daughter who ran up a $1200 phone bill in two months, mostly with text messaging. (I was amazed that this is even possible). This was on a Sprint family plan phone that supposedly costs an extra $9.95 a month. Apparently the text messaging service in neither fair nor flexible( For an extra charge he could have signed up for unlimited text messages - he had no idea he needed that). He's not very happy. This can't happen with a prepaid phone. When you go over your minutes, the service just stops until you refill it. It's a good way to get a phone for teens, to teach them some self control and responsibility.
In case you're wondering, yes - his daughter's still alive. But she doesn't have a cell phone anymore and neither does he (They were both on the same plan). They're making payment arrangements. Unfortunately, this story is really true. He shut her phone off after the first month, but some charges showed up on the next bill. Then he had to shut his phone off, too.
Update: With the early termination fees, his total bill is $2600 (gulp). He has a net10 phone now. He's on the road quite a bit in his (service) business. For him, it costs just slightly less per month than Sprint, because he uses the phone a lot more than I do. (His kids call him quite a bit). He has my sympathy.
The phone I have tells you how many minutes you have left, right on the main screen. I'm pretty sure all of the Net10 phones do.
Refills and phones are available at most discount stores or online. They offer a small variety or phones, including a camera phone, for various prices. If you refill online, it's very quick and fairly easy.
There is no roaming charge. Anywhere in the USA, you pay .10 per minute. There is no additional charge for long distance (US calls). It comes with text messaging (.05/message), voice mail, caller ID, call waiting, etc. They have a very large coverage area throughout the US. I believe it's the same coverage as TracFone, but the Net10 costs less.
You can make most international long distance calls for .15 per minute.
You can transfer your existing number to this phone (even your home number).
If you are a big yapper, Net10 probably isn't for you. Actually, Cricket is the best deal for people who use their cell phone all the time (Although I have heard complaints about Cricket's coverage area, dropped calls, plus they charge a monthly fee for roaming - plus .40 per minute.) If you are going out of town, you might consider picking up Net10, even if you are already using Cricket (or any other service that gouges you for roaming). You can use it anywhere in the USA at the same .10 rate. The US coverage area is listed on their site.
I have no problems with their service (I got it 8/15/06). So far, I have had maybe one or two dropped calls, even while driving around. This comes with my highest recommendation! Recently, I drove from Syracuse, NY to Ocean City, Md. (about 400 miles) I drove through some mountainous regions of Pennsylvania. For most of the trip, I was on Interstate highways. Every time I checked, I had a good signal. Throughout the trip, I made and received calls with no problem.
If you order it online, they usually have special deals on phones not available in stores. At this moment, they have about 8 different phones on their web site. I have only seen 4 of them in the stores. All phones come with 300 minutes of air time (for free), good for 2 months. Occasionally they have incredible deals on refurbished phones, but the offers don't last long. A while ago, I saw an ad for a refurbished phone that normally went for $50 selling for $19.95 - including $30 worth of airtime. Unfortunately, this probably was a one-time special. I haven't seen it since. UPDATE: The last time I checked their site there were 2 phones listed for $19.95 that came with $30 worth of airtime. That's like them paying you $10 to take the phone! The newest offer I've seen is for a refurbished Motorola flip phone for $39.95 (that's the one I have). The same phone (new) is on special for $79.95. They even have a camera phone, if you want.
You may be thinking: Where's the catch? If you find one, let me know. From what I can see, they deliver exactly what they promise, with no surprises. The only negative I can think of at the moment is if you let your time run out, you may end up with a different phone number when you refill.
The Short Version:
I think this is a good service for someone who uses it mainly for quick calls, like "What kind of salad dressing did you want?", or emergencies. If you're on a road trip, it could come in handy for a variety of reasons. For cricket customers, or for other services where you get charged for roaming, this could easily pay for the phone in one trip.
For more information, or to order NET10, click their link:Net10
Wireless
The Webmaster