Remember when TracFone horrified the world with its
Straight Talk phone selection back in July? Clearly the suits in Bentonville weren't so scared, as now
Walmart is latching on to that very plan and claiming it as its own. In over 3,200 of the outfit's retail stores across America, consumers will be able to snag an admittedly pathetic cellie and a rather decent calling plan for just $30 a month. Three Hamiltons gets you 1,000 voice minutes, 1,000 texts and 30MB of mobile web access, not to mention nationwide coverage and free 411 calls. If that's not quite enough, a $45 per month option provides unlimited everything (voice / SMS / mobile web). Of course, the price of using an antediluvian LG 220, LG
Slider 290 or Samsung 451 can't be measured in mere dollars, but hey, humiliation's only temporary -- right?
posted Oct 14th 2009 1:16PM
Wow! I just read this in Phonescoop and send the tip hehe
Not bad at all! Knowing that TracFone / StraightTalk use Verizon's towers / coverage.
The slider does not look bad. I remmber I was on their website and all I saw was a flip LG and 2 RAZRs - RAZRs are the roaches of the cellphone world , they just don't die.
That's a minus for me. The place I work for has the company cell phones through Verizon. They had to keep my company phone on US Cellular as Verizon has crap coverage where I live. Verizon is OK if you only live in the city and drive on the Interstates.
UPDATE: Today I bought a Straight Talk to test the coverage on my area, it is excellent. The phone is only $40 and the quality of the call is really good. I think this is a great idea. Also now, it is $45 for unlimited everything, including data.
wow.. i wonder if you can hack other cellphones to use this plan.
it's gonna be hard. even the GSM stuff uses special sim cards that will only work in their phones. Love to see it though and at these prices its actually worth going through the work to do it. The only smart phones I know of that even might be hackable and even reasonably current are the verizon palm centros. If the pixie comes out n verizon it might be mighty nice though. An android phone would be the easiest to deal with but you'd need to have a verizon branded one, and I'm not sure there is currently any such animal.
Any hack is going to be ugly. You're probably going to have to get a walmart phone and then suck the data off it so you can spoof it.
Verizon is CDMA. No special sim cards, you just have to flash the PRL. The only other thing is, most CDMA providers require that your ESN (phone's serial number) be in their database and attached to your account. This would be the difficult part. Requires either someone on the inside, or a company-approved program (or clever social engineering). I work at a company that allows flashed phones on their network if they pass an RF test (for a nominal fee, of course).
-aedile-
I'm always amazed when you commenters talk about the peculiarities of the US mobile market. Here you just replace the SIM card and that's it, you are on a different carrier/plan/whatever. But you guys have different frequencies and protocols on each carrier so i guess it's more complicated.
This will probably sell, I work at Wal-mart and alot of people who go prepaid, dont give a damn about the phone.
are you from cleveland?
Nice, I like competition.
Is it safe to assume this is a GSM thing? anyone know if a SIM card could be used to get a different phone on the network?
and to answer myself, No
CDMA - Verizon towers
Tracfone uses both GSM and CDMA networks. Tracfone SIM cards won't work on other phones.
@cta - tracfone yes, but straight talk is cdma only - verizon towers
Does anyone know if you lose your minutes or your number if not used for more than 90days?
I come to the States once or twice a year and stay for a week. All the other carriers' prepaid options, if there is no use in your account for more than 90days, you lose your minutes and your number.
What would be the best option for someone who comes to the States on business a couple of times a year?
Thanks
What about voicemail and caller ID?
Yes and Yes
My iPhone bill cowers in shame.
My T-Mobile bill is slapping me
My lump, my lump, my huge money lump,
With the tax they also got you,
It got you spending.
Spendin' all your money on me and spending time on me.
It got me spendin'.
Spendin' all your money on me, up on me, on me
Still love my SERO
dude, this is even better than SERO!
sero is only 500 mins
I'd rather cower in shame than end up here:
www.peopleofwalmart.com
Pfeh. I pay Virgin Mobile $15 every 90 days (I don't talk much). My flip-phone has a 2MP camera, and cost me only $40 total. Of course, I am grandfathered into an older plan, but still... Why would I pay more for phone service? I don't text, I don't gab all day. I just need something or the occasional call and the voicemail.
I'd have an iPhone instead of an iPod touch if I could justify they monthly bill.
You sir are a smart consumer!
I just dropped my ridiculously priced Verizon plan and rather crappy Verizon phone for service with Net10. Like you I don't use the phone a lot, rarely text and don't need a do-it-all device that makes toast, fetches the paper and washes the car. I need a phone, period. I pay 30 bucks every two months which gets me 300 minutes (more than enough) and the hilarious irony is I am still using Verizon's towers to connect.
"Of course, the price of using an antediluvian LG 220, LG Slider 290 or Samsung 451 can't be measured in mere dollars, but hey, humiliation's only temporary -- right?"
If you're shopping for wireless phone service at a Walmart, then fashion sense is a non-factor.
lol A+ sir. . . If you are trying to be fashion-high-class at Walmart.. that is what in my town we call... Being a Ghetto Snob
True, they do sell iPhones there.
>>If you're shopping for wireless phone service at a Walmart, then fashion sense is a non-factor.
They sell the iPhone 3GS @ Wal*Mart. Shows what kind of lowlife they cater to there.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=1031099
Wow, love the article link to the Slider 290 and how that masonry brick of a phone is called 'slim'.
More proof that Wal-Mart does more to help the poor people in America than any politician or government action!!!
Wal-Mart raises quality of life. Government lowers it.
Odd how the obverse is true if you work for each of those entities.
Actually, Wal-Mart workers have the easiest opportunity to move up the ladder than most companies.
I know about 10 people that have gone from getting shopping carts from the parking to management. If you actually do you job and do it well (no matter what it is), you can move up.
Same thing happens in the retail and fast food world.
I agree, Walmart is as bad as people make it out to be. They make people's dollars go further thus raising the standard of living for everyone. If their employee's don't like the wages or the benefits they are welcome to get a job elsewhere or create their own small business for that matter.
Good luck getting to Walmart on those privately built and maintained roads. Enjoy the products that come from places far away that have nothing to do with US trade agreements. Buy the products that have no safety regulations imposed on them by the government. Don't forget to pick up some groceries that are not grown by government-subsidized agribusiness which would be completely unprofitable otherwise.
fryguy, the actual wealth creation that paid for those roads did not come from government. While it's good government takes that wealth and uses it for roads, it's not fair to give them credit for the work that the private sector did to earn that. Government is of the people.
Gimboa,
You have made one of the most profound points that anti-capitalists always forgets. All the money the government spend on "public" things must be taken from privately earned wealth.
The government can't generate wealth or money unless they print it. If they just print it, the value drops, inflation goes up, and the $20 bill in your pocket can't by a candy bar. The future isn't far away as long as the feds keep spending and taxing Americans who create wealth.
can you port numbers to this service? does anyone who works at Wal-Mart know?
Yes, you can. Call in or take your phone.
wow, that's pretty quality. My Verizon phone has pretty much shit the bed, and before I re-up for another 2yr contract, I'm waiting til after the New Year for new phones to get to Big Red, (hopefully the Pre or Iphone). I might port my number to this for 3 or so months and save a shit load of money! =)
What network does this piggyback off of? Is it GSM or CDMA? If it's GSM...hmm...this could be very intriguing...
I am guessing Verizon since the user interface icons on that phone looks exactly like my Verizon phone's icons.
Straight Talk is one of TracFone's newest brands and as of July 30, 2009 provides customers with two different value based 30-day rate plans. Straight Talk is an MVNO that uses Verizon's CDMA 1XRTT wireless network which was introduced in 2001 and is said to deliver between 40 and 60 kbs (kilobits per second) to customers[7]. Straight Talk's coverage is limited in certain areas (most of Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, Mississippi and western Texas)[8] but provides good coverage in the major metro areas. Only three phones are available for use with Straight Talk: The LG 200CM, Motorola W385, and Motorola RAZR V3a.
To answer the GSM part:
Currently, TracFone uses the networks of several different cellphone carriers to provide service.
For newer models with SIM cards,
* AT&T Wireless (Cingular) on most Motorola GSM phones.
* T-Mobile on most LG models.
On phones which do not use SIM cards, carriers are usually:
* Verizon Wireless
* US Cellular
On Tracfones with SIM cards, the carrier can be identified in the same manner as any other SIM-based phone, by interpreting the SIM number. On T-Mobile phones, the first line of the SIM number will end in "SIMT5", on Cingular/AT&T, the first line will end in "SIMC4".
@tikiteko source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TracFone_Wireless
@hexydes verizon cdma
thouse really arent bad phones for pre-paid. this is a great deal.
If they had a 'qwerty' style text phone, I would be all over this.
http://www.engadget.com/photos/no-contract-30-45-straight-talk-wireless-plans-storm-walmart/2364340/
They have a full qwerty. It looks like the Messenger from Metro PCS Hello Hello Hello :D (that is the metro pcs jingle, I am not helloing you)
Will talking on this phone make me like football or is that just a stereotype?
huh?
That R810C looks good, it says EV-DO is on it, will it actually use it when connected to the network? Also, what if I get a Sprint or Verizon phone off of ebay? Can I firmware flash it and register the ESN with StraightTalk?
Look at this from the perspective of your mother. A basic phone that makes calls, that's what my Mom wants and its cheaper than her current Verizon bill so its really a no brainer that when her contract is up she should switch. This is not intended for us, the techno geeks of the intarwebs but for the mere commoners who use their cell phone to do silly things like make phone calls.
I wonder if I could come off sero for this...
a lot of people lose site by the purchase of the actual phone... they go withbig companies cuz they get a free phone or something under $50... but in the end, its cheaper to do a plan like this... IF you keep your phone longer than a year of course...
cheapest phone is $70. $70 / 12 = $5.84. So changing for the cheapest phone every year, only adds $5.84 to your bill.
I don't define my soul by the telephone I use.
Is it big enought for my old fingers to hold?
C'mon, Really?
I'd do it, and so would most people. Who cares if the handset is "old" as long as you get what you need out of it?
Jeff Yablon
President & CEO
Answer Guy and Virtual VIP Computer Support, Business Change Coaching and Virtual Assistant Services
This still doesn't compare to PagePlus, which uses Verizon's towers also. They have a $39.99 unlimited mins, unlim texts + MMS plan, 20 mB Data and a $29.99 plan, 1200 mins, 1200 texts + MMS, 50 mB Data... And u can activate an old Verizon phone if you'd like.
ehhh... Error:
From pageplus page
The Unlimited Talk n Text plan is $39.95 per month for unlimited domestic voice minutes, unlimited domestic text messages, and 20 Megabytes of data transfer.
Standard rates will apply for roaming, international voice, international text, picture messages, premium SMS and mobile web
StraightTalk - Nationwide calling
PagePlus - Domestic Call ONLY - so you get hit by roaming charges if you say go to the beach and make/get calls there and the beach is outside of your domestic local area (Read the fine print boy, there is an app for that. Long Live Android and WinMo)
good lord engadget - could u be any more smug?
not everyone can afford an iphone which you bend over backwards to give props to everyday.
this is a nice alternative for those who can't afford the verizon/att plans with data
btw - it's time u fuking kids stop living beyond your means.
how are kids rocking $80 iphone phone plans? lol - maxing out your $500 credit card are we?
buy this plan and be happy. grow up and get a job then get a nice phone. not struggle to pay the bill. lol - it amazes me how my minimum wage roommate has the same iphone as i do
Nice view brother man. This is certainly college-friendly. Unless you have lots of cash, or your parents help you. Or you have money left from the scholarships that you could use to pay $130 a month to flash a full 2 yr contract phone.
Really? When I was in high school (ugh, almost 20 years ago), I could easily afford to pay $80 a month with my part time job. What did I need to spend my money on? Food? Thanks mom, dad, and school system! Housing/utilities? Thanks again, mom and dad! I'm not saying it's smart to pay that, kids these days have a surprisingly large disposable income.
I made even more money during college.
I agree, I think about all the kids in the UCs complaining about fee hikes, but they walk around with iPhones (all of them). Obviously life isn't hard enough for them.
They should have done this on the GSM Tracfone brand.
When you pay $45 to Verizon just to have 700 minutes, 250 texts, and no data then this plan is eveything I could ever want.
My cell phone is for talking to people, not trying to read a webpage on a 2" screen.
I was curious as to what the downside is besides being restricted to the bestest of the best phones. Is there any downside as to coverage for this service? A quick google revealed that having this service would not allow roaming on other towers. So, if behind the scenes you are hopping onto another tower without knowing with your current phone, could this be a problem with the the straighttalk phone?
ROAMING. “Roaming” occurs when a subscriber of one wireless service provider uses the facilities of another wireless service provider. Roaming most often occurs when you make and receive calls outside the home calling area. Your Straight Talk phone will not roam. An indicator light on your phone may display the word “Roam,” “RM” or NO SERVICE on the screen while the phone is not in its home calling area.
International Roaming is strictly prohibited. Straight Talk does not offer international roaming or international long distance service. You will not be able to make or receive calls on your Straight Talk phone if you are traveling outside of the United States. Inside the United States, you will be able to receive international calls, but will not be able to make them.
http://www.straighttalk.com/terms
not A problem there really is no downside to the coverage i travel alot because of my job and im happy with it
I'm still not clear on whether this could offer some decent speeds for data, and if it would be possible to use for tethering?
No tethering.
Straight Talk Unlimited talk, text and data plan Features cannot be used: (1) for access to the Internet, intranets, or other data networks except as the device’s native applications and capabilities permit, or (2) for any applications that tether your device to laptops or personal computers other than for the use of Wireless Synch.
http://www.straighttalk.com/terms
One word: PagePlus.
$30 a month for 1200 minutes, 1200 messages, and 50mb of data. On Verizon's network. Compatible with any Verizon phone.
Why would you even consider the WalMart option over this?
Because you can roam across the nation and not pay extra. With Page Plus you have to pay standard fees out of your domestic area.
"Roaming. You are “roaming” whenever you make or receive a call using a transmission site outside your home coverage area, or using another company’s transmission site. Your wireless phone may sometimes connect to and roam on another company’s network even when youare within your coverage area or local calling area. There may be extra charges (including charges for long distance, tolls, or calls that don’t connect) and higher rates for roaming calls, depending on your plan. Availability, quality of coverage and Services while roaming are not guaranteed."
Page Plus: The Unlimited Talk n Text plan is $39.95 per month for unlimited domestic voice minutes, unlimited domestic text messages, and 20 Megabytes of data transfer.
See "domestic"
http://www.pagepluscellular.com/Terms%20and%20Conditions.aspx
So better off with Walmart
tikiteko @ Oct 14th 2009 2:51PM stated:
"Because you can roam across the nation and not pay extra. With Page Plus you have to pay standard fees out of your domestic area...
So better off with Walmart."
Actually, he needs to read the fine print:
http://www.straighttalk.com/controller.block?__blockname=straight.static.termsROAMING.
“Roaming” occurs when a subscriber of one wireless service provider uses the facilities of another wireless service provider. Roaming most often occurs when you make and receive calls outside the home calling area. Your Straight Talk phone will not roam. An indicator light on your phone may display the word “Roam,” “RM” or NO SERVICE on the screen while the phone is not in its home calling area.
International Roaming is strictly prohibited. Straight Talk does not offer international roaming or international long distance service. You will not be able to make or receive calls on your Straight Talk phone if you are traveling outside of the United States. Inside the United States, you will be able to receive international calls, but will not be able to make them.
So sure, you won't get any roaming charges with StraightTalk, because if you are roaming, your phone is as good as a toaster.
How positively snobby.
I get unlimited minutes, so I'm allowed to say this....there are very, very few people that will take 'sexy' phones and terrible plans over unlimited minutes and not so sexy phones at certain price points. You know who you are. In which case, great for you - just another part of the Apple Experience I guess.
I'm on a Tmobile loyalty plan and am enjoying my G1, but I'm happy for people who now have a new service to get into, in case they don't want to deal with Sprint (Boost/Virgin Mobile) or don't have the credit to get typical carriers which before now you'd need if you travel lots or aren't in areas where they can get value carriers (MetroPCS, Cricket, etc.).
Cell phone plans are evolving and it's no longer 'cool' to have phones-released-today on 500 minute plans. That was the trend when 300-800 minute plans were the best you could get. Many people have cut out their landline phone services and switching to cellular, and in all but the most disaster prone areas, this is a perfect scenario. If I didn't have unlimited voice already for $49, I'd def. jump on an 'old' phone with unlimited minutes for $45, because although I can afford more - I refuse to pay the premium for access to apps that, until pretty recently, I could live without. So sit there with your smug superiority, and let the ones who take advantage of this save 105 dollars a month for their cell service. I could think of much better things to do with that money, even as someone who is in a comfortable financial situation. They'll get over the 'humiliation' quickly when you compare bills.
Right on ! I am with T-Mobile and I am really mad that after 3 years they still don't have me in "queue" for loyalty service. All of my other friends are already enjoying their $40 for unlimited talk and not me. I called Customer Service and their explanation was "I don't know. I guess your account has not been yet coded for it. You have to wait" T-Mo service has decreases a bit :( I want what I think I deserve, but oh well.
2010 is going to be a really really interesting year on communications.
Like Cramer said on CNN Mad Money : The Mobile Tsunami is on !
@Neoprimal
I agree with you 100%. I got on the t-mobile loyalty plan. My gf was paying some outrageous amount to Verizon, and I gother to switch to MetroPCS. She has no complaints about the service. She saves about $40 a month. We do not need 24 hour internet access, and iPhone is a lovely novelty. My friends who have one, complain about shelling out $100 a month to be hip.
Gimme a retro phone with a great service plan, and a Peek and I am all set to go mobile.
lmao how bizarre. First, Engadget attacks T-Mobile for possibly considering a $50 unlimited plan and now they put down a $45 unlimited plan from Walmart.
What's the matter? Jealous that you're all stuck in your $80 iPhone plans?
Off topic - but I'm hoping that tmobile unlimited everything plan comes out b4 the htc hd2 does in the USA. I'm breaking my bloated iPhone contract the day it's released. I'd looking forward to not having to use textfree and skype as well.
Seriously, they need to please never run for Senate... I am really ashamed how snob they are....I mean I know the site is all about the latest gadgets, but, not everyone can ride an iPhone ... This my friends is the start of something new.
The $50 T-Mobile plan sounds too good to be true. Well, depending on if the data access is 3G rather than 1x like this is offering. And it seems unlikely they'd subsidize phones.
I bought a nokia w/vidcam and prepaid svc, 30 min/mo. for 3 mo., total $20. from Tmobile 40 days ago. At home I use a magicjack. Both phones are coupled with my google voice number.
You know the crazy part? TracFone's CDMA service (they're reselling Verizon in most of the country) is *so* much better than any GSM service I've tried for, you know, *talking on the phone*. I used to use an unlocked Android phone on AT&T and the voice quality blew chunks. Now I just use my AT&T prepaid SIM for data on that Android phone and I use TracFone CDMA for talking. Much much better.
Total cost of TracFone: $190 for a phone (LG200c) + 1900 minutes over a one-year period. Great for those of us who don't talk on the cellie all that much but want it to *work* when we do. :-)
The down side: carrying two phones, one for web/apps/music/etc. and the other to talk on.
NOT A TECHNO GEEK BUT JUST A COMMONER STILL WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THESE 3 PHONES ARE ANY GOOD. AND WHAT ABOUT THE PLANS THEMSELVES. FROM TECHNO GEEKS TO US COMMONERS IN OUR LANGUAGE PLEASE.
As a 'techno geek', I must ask if your caps lock key is stuck or if you normally walk into best buy yelling at people for help?
Please just make this a SIM card so I can use it in any phone! I would switch right away
can you use a Verizon phone like a Blackberry?
TIKITEKO, AM I UNDERSTANDING YOU RIGHT ABOUT THE ROAMING? WITH STRAIGHT TALK IF I GO OUTSIDE MY HOME COVERAGE AREA INTO ANOTHER STATE AND TRY TO MAKE CALLS THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO GO THROUGH? YOU CAN'T USE THE PHONE FROM STATE TO STATE? I'M A SINGLE MOM WITH CHILDREN AND I NEED TO GET A CELL PHONE. JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THIS WAS A GOOD MOVE.
IT IS ONLY A GOOD MOVE IF YOU ARE A SINGLE MOM WITHOUT CHILDREN.
I am in the same situation. I go back to the U.S. about once a year for a couple of weeks. The best plan for me is T-Mobile prepaid. Once you have spent $100, your minutes are good for a year. It costs a flat 10 cents a minute or there is a pay-by-the-day plan. AFAIK, T-Mobile is the only plan where the minutes are good for a full year.
AT&T's pay-as-you-go services offers a $100 package where the minutes are good for 365 days. I sold my iPhone 3G and am using a Nokia E63-2 (cost about $220 for a North American 3G phone with a great keyboard), and added $100 in minutes + a 100MB data plan for $19.99 (30 days) about six months ago. A little secret is that the data minutes 'roll over' if you add a 'feature package' before the data expires. Purchase the initial 100MB of data for $100, and then every 28 days add ONLY a $4.99 data package of 1MB, and the data accumulates. Symbian is a pretty efficient network resource user. After about 6 months I've still got half my voice minutes (~$50) and about 200MB of data accumulated. The voice minutes can be 'topped off' at any time before the 365 days expire, and they too accumulate. Anyway, I do think that this $45 unlimited plan from Straight Talk is a very compelling offering, with potential to really serve their targeted market share (and this could be me, as a former iPhone and Blackberry owner). I'm thinking that inexpensive trumps leading edge in today's tough economy for a very large number of people. Probably me included.
This is a response to Crazy J's somewhat off topic post asking the best prepaid for a semi-frequent visitor to the US. If you buy a TMobile SIM and put $100 on it, it is good for a year. You can get good deals on E-Bay. You should probably post your question on prepaidgsm.net or howardforums.com.
Kathy, you can make calls on your Straight Talk phone from anywhere in America as long as that area is covered by Verizon (almost all of America is covered), you can see the map of coverage on the Straight Talk web site. You can also make calls to any phone in America unfortunately you can't make international calls but you can receive international calls; all this info is on the web site. I have a Straight Talk phone and it's great, Verizon's network is truly national unlike some other carriers that boast of giving national coverage but don't actually. I love the fact that I only pay $30 per month and never bet billed for things I didn't want or need so there are never any surprises. I can really recommend it as a great, cheap and well supported phone.
Newbie here...Can someone please explain the difference between the "data" plan offered here, and one w/ full internet access? What exactly do I get with "data" ?
Thanks
My 2 year contact just expired with AT&T and I cancaled with them.
With the Prepaid price wars now, I purchased Straight Talk that's on the Verizon network and couldn't be happier.
now if someone could tell me how to get out of my verizon contract without early termination fees we will be in business and saving about 120.00 a month
it's amazing that the big wireless carrier did not provide a low cost unlimited plan back in the late 90s. anyone that did would of corner the market.
I bought a phone to use this service on Monday, here it is Thursday and my phone still hasn't been activated. Everytime I call customer service, no one can tell me why.
If you're one of those people that require a glitzy phone, this probably isn't for you. But I dig it.
The best thing about Straight Talk is its simplicity. I am so tired of wading through funky phone bills with mysterious charges and fees.
I really appreciate the savings, of course, but not having those awful and undecipherable bills has been a great stress-reducer.
phone service is great unlimited everything for 45 dollars and the slider phone isnt bad at all especially for 79 dollars
the service is amazing lol i talk and text and check my email all day long
i have been with verizon t mobile and att and they all suck ass id rather spend my money on better things like clothes than minutes