Cheap No-frills Cellphone
December 17, 2006 8:14 PM Subscribe
Last Minute Gift: I need a cheap cell phone. The fact I don't need a plan is making that hard to find.
For my Grandma, she needs a new cell phone. Hers is an old brick of a phone, and while it works, she doesn't like carrying it when she goes out on walks due to the bulkyness.
I'm looking for a phone in the $50 dollar range that is small, and uncomplicated.
All the phone needs to do is make a phone call in the case of something bad happening.
What I have found so far has been phones that are insanely expensive, but reduced if you buy the plan. I'm talking a basic phone for $150, dropped to free if you subscribe. Do $50 dollar phones even exist?
Does anybody know where I can find a phone that I can just put her SIM card into and have it work? I'm willing to go a little more expensive if need be, but I'd prefer to keep it to the $50 dollar range.
For my Grandma, she needs a new cell phone. Hers is an old brick of a phone, and while it works, she doesn't like carrying it when she goes out on walks due to the bulkyness.
I'm looking for a phone in the $50 dollar range that is small, and uncomplicated.
All the phone needs to do is make a phone call in the case of something bad happening.
What I have found so far has been phones that are insanely expensive, but reduced if you buy the plan. I'm talking a basic phone for $150, dropped to free if you subscribe. Do $50 dollar phones even exist?
Does anybody know where I can find a phone that I can just put her SIM card into and have it work? I'm willing to go a little more expensive if need be, but I'd prefer to keep it to the $50 dollar range.
I know around here some cell phone carriers still sold 'analog only' plans for old phones. Make sure grandma's plan is digital capable before you buy her a spiffy new Razr.
posted by SirStan at 8:25 PM on December 17, 2006
posted by SirStan at 8:25 PM on December 17, 2006
Their is a new virgin mobile phone called the Oyster that was $20 when I went to best buy I think 2 weeks ago. $20 for the phone and then you just buy the prepaid card or call to set it up. I have the Snapper from virgin mobile, but mine cost me $80, its been good so far but I've only had it for 3 months.
posted by spacesbetween at 8:36 PM on December 17, 2006
posted by spacesbetween at 8:36 PM on December 17, 2006
I got a Virgin Mobile Oystr for $19.99 at Meijer for my aunts (based on advice from my earlier question). It's a nice phone and now that I am looking at it, you could slide out the existing SIM and put in another.
posted by MeetMegan at 8:37 PM on December 17, 2006
posted by MeetMegan at 8:37 PM on December 17, 2006
Grr, beat me to it, spacesbetween! I can say that it is a good phone for older people; I gave it to one of my aunts during a recent visit and she has been using it just fine - and she's legally blind.
posted by MeetMegan at 8:39 PM on December 17, 2006
posted by MeetMegan at 8:39 PM on December 17, 2006
Best answer: I think you might be best served by a pay-as-you-go plan. I had a TracFone for the last year and with it you are not obligated to a contract or monthly fees. You buy a phone and then activate it with a card that has a set number of minutes. The phone and card that I linked will cost about $60 and give you about four hours worth of minutes that will last a year from the activation date. If you need more minutes you can go buy another card.
TracFones aren't top of the line and they're not the cheapest by the minute but sixty bucks for a year's worth of cell phone service is a lot cheaper than three months of a typical cell phone contract will cost.
posted by meditative_zebra at 8:54 PM on December 17, 2006
TracFones aren't top of the line and they're not the cheapest by the minute but sixty bucks for a year's worth of cell phone service is a lot cheaper than three months of a typical cell phone contract will cost.
posted by meditative_zebra at 8:54 PM on December 17, 2006
I have an Oystr! It even records voice memos, and will play them back as time alarms. It has speakerphone capability, and will let you call someone by pushing a button and saying his name. Probably all phones do this now, but I can't believe the thing only cost $19.99.
You just have to add at least $20 of airtime every three months (then you can use it at the rate of 18 cents per minute).
I used it to make a rare call to England from North Carolina today, because the rate seems to be just $0.38/minute (I think) as opposed to the $1.99/minute my land line would charge (off-peak hours, too).
The sound is better than the previous Virgin Mobile phone I had (4-5 years old, maybe).
Worst part - "Simone", the automated customer service "person" - I only call if I have something odd enough that the web site won't solve it, and "she" insists on making me say "top up" or "speak to a representative" or "something else" into the phone several times before I can get to a person. Which makes me feel self-conscious if I'm in public, and is annoying anyway. I'd much prefer just a keypress system to the voice recognition system.
posted by amtho at 9:14 PM on December 17, 2006
You just have to add at least $20 of airtime every three months (then you can use it at the rate of 18 cents per minute).
I used it to make a rare call to England from North Carolina today, because the rate seems to be just $0.38/minute (I think) as opposed to the $1.99/minute my land line would charge (off-peak hours, too).
The sound is better than the previous Virgin Mobile phone I had (4-5 years old, maybe).
Worst part - "Simone", the automated customer service "person" - I only call if I have something odd enough that the web site won't solve it, and "she" insists on making me say "top up" or "speak to a representative" or "something else" into the phone several times before I can get to a person. Which makes me feel self-conscious if I'm in public, and is annoying anyway. I'd much prefer just a keypress system to the voice recognition system.
posted by amtho at 9:14 PM on December 17, 2006
It's a nice phone and now that I am looking at it, you could slide out the existing SIM and put in another.
Virgin Mobile is CDMA. They either have no card at all or use an incompatible RUIM card.
Does anybody know where I can find a phone that I can just put her SIM card into and have it work?
This is tricky. Most handsets will only accept a SIM card from the same network as they were originally sold for. If you buy a phone from another network, it probably won't work.
You can buy "unlocked" phones. They tend to be expensive, but you might find something in her price range.
I'd suggest either contacting her current network and see if she's due an upgrade, or abandoning the SIM-swapping idea and just transferring her number to one of the phones others on this thread have mentioned.
posted by cillit bang at 9:16 PM on December 17, 2006
Virgin Mobile is CDMA. They either have no card at all or use an incompatible RUIM card.
Does anybody know where I can find a phone that I can just put her SIM card into and have it work?
This is tricky. Most handsets will only accept a SIM card from the same network as they were originally sold for. If you buy a phone from another network, it probably won't work.
You can buy "unlocked" phones. They tend to be expensive, but you might find something in her price range.
I'd suggest either contacting her current network and see if she's due an upgrade, or abandoning the SIM-swapping idea and just transferring her number to one of the phones others on this thread have mentioned.
posted by cillit bang at 9:16 PM on December 17, 2006
Virgin Mobile is in many respects a great solution. I've recommending it many times. But I do have to second amtho's comments about "Simone". Not only does she make you voice-navigate, but she periodically tosses in a random snotty comment at the end, in which she addresses you as "Winona". I asked a service rep about it a couple years ago. Turns out it's supposed to be a hilarious satire of Winona Ryder's shoplifting arrest. Maybe there was a 5 second window when that was hip, but does anyone even remember or care anymore? For someone who is grandmotherly age those weird comments would just be belittling and confusing. If you set her up with pay-as-you-go, choose one of the services that's less "clever". Trac, for instance.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 10:31 PM on December 17, 2006
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 10:31 PM on December 17, 2006
Who is her provider now?
The one thing I can tell you from personal experience is if she's on either T-mobile or Cingular (nee AT&T), you can buy a decent prepaid phone from either provider and pop the SIM in.
posted by SteveInMaine at 5:48 AM on December 18, 2006
The one thing I can tell you from personal experience is if she's on either T-mobile or Cingular (nee AT&T), you can buy a decent prepaid phone from either provider and pop the SIM in.
posted by SteveInMaine at 5:48 AM on December 18, 2006
Find out what network she is on, and buy a pre-paid phone from the same network. Then transfer the SIM. Otherwise, the phone willb e the wrong type, or be locked to another network.
posted by baggers at 7:36 AM on December 18, 2006
posted by baggers at 7:36 AM on December 18, 2006
My comment above is not totally correct. If your grandmother's on T-mobile, you can use a t-mobile prepaid phone, and if she's on Cingular you can use a Cingular pre-paid phone. You can only cross between the two if the phone is unlocked.
posted by SteveInMaine at 7:59 AM on December 18, 2006
posted by SteveInMaine at 7:59 AM on December 18, 2006
From saying she has a SIM card, I assume that your Grandma is with a GSM provider (Cingular or T-Mobile). You can buy unlocked cell phones at places like mobilebee, which I have ordered from before and can recommend. In their "Value Phones" section there are two phones around $50, the Siemens A70 and the Siemens A71. There are several more under $100.
I would also try searching eBay for unlocked GSM phones.
posted by cosmic osmo at 8:25 AM on December 18, 2006
I would also try searching eBay for unlocked GSM phones.
posted by cosmic osmo at 8:25 AM on December 18, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jayder at 8:20 PM on December 17, 2006