Prepaid

The 411: Where are the prepaid GSM Android phones?

Welcome to the 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

Question: Which prepaid GSM Android phone and carriers would you recommend? -- mr maund, via e-mail

Surprisingly, there really aren't that many GSM Android phones that are available prepaid. There are only two GSM carriers here in the U.S.--AT&T and T-Mobile--and the only Android phone that we could find on a prepaid plan was the T-Mobile Comet, a relatively basic Android handset. It's priced at $119.99 without a contract.

The other prepaid Android phones--the LG Optimus V, Optimus M, and Huawei Ascend, for example--are on CDMA networks like Virgin Mobile and MetroPCS. Verizon also offers several of its high-end Android phones under its prepaid plan. If you need to get a GSM Android phone, then your only option is the aforementioned T-Mobile Comet. If you're willing to switch to a CDMA carrier, you have many more options.

I am thinking about buying a Samsung Galaxy S to replace my Nokia N85. What is the best way to transfer my contacts from the Nokia to the Samsung? The Symbian OS allows a lot of contact data to be stored, but I have never found it easy to export all the stored data, even to Outlook or Google contacts--so I am quite anxious about how I should do it when I switch phones. -- chana, via e-mail

There are a few ways to transfer contacts from the Nokia N85 to an Android phone like the Samsung Galaxy S.… Read more

Ask Maggie: Net neutrality, Verizon iPhones on Sprint, and more

The Federal Communications Commission adopted this week new rules intended to protect consumers from nefarious broadband providers who in the future may monkey with rivals' network traffic to boost usage of their own services.

But what do these so-called Net neutrality rules mean for consumers? In this week's Ask Maggie column, I try to answer a reader's question about what protections the new rules provide for certain applications, such as Skype and Netflix.

I also break the bad news to another reader that he will not be able to use a Verizon iPhone, when it's eventually released, … Read more

Ask Maggie: Will Verizon kill its unlimited smartphone data plan?

What good is a smartphone without decent data service? Indeed, accessing the Internet and all those Web-based apps is the only reason most people even want a smartphone.

But what if your service provider starts capping your data service and charging you for how many megabytes of data you use every month? For some consumers, the thought is absolute heresy. In this week's Ask Maggie column, I try to quell one reader's concern that Verizon Wireless will abandon its unlimited data plan once the iPhone arrives.

I also advise another reader to consider an Android device other than … Read more

Pick up a prepaid smartphone

If you think you can't get a decent smartphone from a prepaid carrier, think again.

We've been gratified to see more and more Android smartphones crop up at the high end of prepaid lineups for carriers like Boost Mobile, Cricket Wireless, Virgin Mobile, and MetroPCS. These handsets are nothing to sneeze at, and they offer prepaid customers far more power and features than other mobile phones in the carrier's cohort.

Here's our most recent collection of prepaid smartphones.

Ask Maggie: On 4G future-proofing and buying prepaid traveler plans

A tech consumer's worst nightmare is buying a hot new device today only to find that it's obsolete or outdated within a few months or a year.

With the quick pace of innovation in wireless technology these days, it's a dilemma that is hard to avoid. This week I break the hard news to a reader that 3G phones of today won't be compatible with the ultra fast 4G networks of tomorrow.

I also try to help a Canadian reader, who travels to the U.S., figure out the best option for buying prepaid voice and … Read more

MetroPCS starts prepaid phone cards

MetroPCS is now selling prepaid calling cards exclusively at Walmart. The By the Minute cards are available in two options: a $20 card comes with 500 voice minutes, or 4 cents per minute, and a $30 will entitle you to 1,000 minutes, or three cents per minute. For both cards, you can use the calling minutes at anytime.

Besides making calls, customers can use the By the Minute cards for messaging and data. The first card offers 50MB of Web access and the second comes with 100MB. Both include unlimited messaging, but picture messages will cost more.

Though it … Read more

T-Mobile announces prepaid data plans

T-Mobile will introduce new prepaid data plans October 18 that will offer users access not only to data use, but also to voice minutes and text messages. The smartphone plans break down as follows.

$70 per month for unlimited talk and text with 2GB of data $50 per month for unlimited talk and text plus 100MB of data $30 per month month for 1,500 voice minutes and text messages (a combination of the two) plus 30MB of data Pay as you go with 10 cents per text message and voice minute $1.49 per day for a Web Day … Read more

Ask Maggie: On unlimited data plans and prepaid vs. contracts

When it comes to wireless services, sometimes unlimited doesn't really mean unlimited.

Wireless is a competitive business, and sometimes operators say almost anything to get consumers to sign up for their service. Over the last few years, outraged customers have forced wireless carriers to stop throwing around the "unlimited" term so freely. As a result, a lot of mobile broadband services note in fine print that they are not, in fact, "unlimited."

But what if you truly want to pay for an unlimited data service? Do any even exist? I have answered this very question … Read more

The 411: iPhone 4 with a Prepaid account?

Question: I could connect my iphone 4 with my Nokia BH-804 headset without any problems and very fast. But unfortunately I cannot use the buttons of … Read more

Verizon announces new prepaid data plans

Verizon announced on Thursday new prepaid data plans for smartphones and feature phones. The 3G Prepaid data package offers $30-a-month unlimited plans for smartphone users, and $10 a month for 25MB of data for feature phone users--you'll have to pay 20 cents per megabyte of overage if you go over that limit.

As for which phones qualify for the new prepaid plans, they include all of Verizon's Android smartphones, the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, and the recent crop of BlackBerrys. Eligible feature phones include the LG enV Touch, the LG enV 3, the LG Chocolate Touch, … Read more