Comments on: TracFone offers $45 unlimited plan

TracFone's new StraightTalk service delivers 30MB of data plus unlimited calling and messaging for $45 per month.

[Pete Bardo]

30 MB of data! Wow, I could surf for a whole day....

[SteveW928]

Heh... yea, this is still just WAY to expensive.

How it should work is various plans ranging from $15 to $30 / mo that vary in speed, not data cap. They should all be unlimited. And... I'm talking $15 to $30 / mo for voice and data. That is all I'm willing to spend. Until such plans come about, I'm happy with using my cell for mainly emergency calls and using WiFi for web surfing.

[aka_tripleB]

How much web browsing are you going to do on such small screen on phones that don't have real web browsers?

[monkeyfun14]

@aka

You'd be surprised.

[SteveW928]

@ aka_tripleB -

I guess I'm thinking about devices like the iPhone with reasonable sized screens and real web browsers. Yea, I wouldn't really even bother with data for phones like Palm Treo or phones with super limited browsers. Once you have actual web type access though, you can blow through 30 MB of data rather quickly. Just add up the average size of some common web pages some time. Even if the screen is smaller, you're still transferring all the data when you load a page. Also, think about streaming music, or worse, video. 30 MB is practically nothing with today's Web.

[aka_tripleB]

I have no doubt that anyone can blaze through 30 MB, but most of the data I've ever used was inadvertant. When I have to manually turn off data after I've used it, I've decided it's not using at all. Unlimited data is only useful for people who need it or for people on carriers that use it to charge people for something that aren't actually using. But if TracFone only charges you when you actually use it, it will be enough for most people who sign up for the plan.

[Poshie232]

I bought the Straight Talk package that gives me 1000 minutes, 1000 texts and 30mb of data for $30, if you think about it I'm paying 2 cents per minute, 1 cent per text and the data is free, now that's a great price and the phone isn't bad at all. I am able to check my mail whenever I need, I have a laptop for my internet surfing so why would I want to surf on a cell phone anyway - even if I had an iPhone which is till too small. I believe that economy is important which is why I think that Straight Talk is the best offer on the market.

[brienza1975]

Tracphones still suck...I don't care what they offer! Why don't they get rid of the ****** roaming charges???!!!!

[Markie_Carabas]

There's no roaming with Straight Talk.

[xhable]

Way to catch up to last decade usa :p

[Dalmatian28]

It is going to be very hard for any other network to beat unlimited service plan for $45.00 per month and all that on Sprint network. Getting a phone that you would actually like to use it... that will be a whole different story! This is why government and FCC should step in and ban all the contracts between phone makers and service providers. Yes...you will pay more to purchase the phone at beginning of your service, but you will save money on the long run by being able to move your phone between services and shop for the best deals! I just wish that FCC finely starts moving their a*s!!!

[SteveW928]

Yes, that is a good idea. I'd much rather just pay more for the phone and have reasonable rates for voice/data.

[cp256]

Ooh a WHOLE 30MB of data, how freaking generous of the thieves!

[Austiniter78727]

It appears BOOST MOBILE which has the new Motorola Clutch offers the best value in unlimited calling, texting and which includes all government taxes for $50.00 a month. I'm going-on my 1 1/2 months using Boost and for clarity, great connections and zero dropped calls I'd tell AT&T, VERIZON and other's to watch out - as BOOST is going to be eating a lot of carriers lunches in the nearby future.

[MrPrepaid]

I agree that Boost is an amazing deal.....with the included "Push to talk" feature which on
occasion is pretty cool.

Does anybody know exactly what the Tracfone bill comes too after "fees & taxes"..........which by the way Boost has none of....just a straight 50 bucks!

[cellsleuth]

So let's see. A new service comes out with killer coverage i.e. Verizon, which is always rated best by far by Consumer Reports (and CNET). Then they charge $30 a month for 1000 minutes, which is more than most people use. Then they come out with unlimited talk and text for $45. Every analyst on Wall St jumps up and down last week saying this is game changing. And you guys are squealing about 30 meg of data or other nonsense.

This is so obviously better than Boost's sucky IDEN network coverage or Metro's local world that there's no comparison. For me, this means I don't have to have a contract any more because they filled in the coverage blanks, and I can trade in my $120 a month contract unlimited bill for $45 a month with no contract.

30 meg of data is about 300 web page views, which is more than I can use on a phone that's not really good at fast web access. And by the way, 411 calls are free. I spent $24 lat month on those on my contract plan. From now on, the only reason I can see to get a contract is if you want an iPhone and all those great apps. If you want to talk and text a lot and expect great coverage, Straight Talk looks like a killer app. The fact that it's only available at some Walmarts or walmart.com means it's hard to see the phones, but I think we all know what a RAZR looks like. The phones aren't fabulous but the plan sure is.

[tronggnguyen]

Deangelomusic... Everyone knows Hispanics are not running the country... Asians are! And regarding the data entry, don't you have a normal computer or itouch for web-surfing? If you are that addicted to the internet that is... Value, it's the Asian way.

[jofssie]

@cellsleuth, you hit the nail on the head. This plan from Tracfone is perfect for my usage. I have always liked the Tracfones for staying in touch but they are really onto something here. The coverage is better than ever the pricing is now probably the best in the market and their customer service (which I had to phone a while ago) is now actually quite good.

@brienza1975, What roaming charges? My Tracfone doesn't have any roaming charges. Are you confusing it with another carrier?

[tronggnguyen]

Does anyone know what the fees/taxes are on the plans? I just called their customer service and it was AWFUL..... the guy was just blabbering on and on (reading some script) and couldn't answer my simple question above. He said he couldn't tell me until I enroll... and I said goodbye. I tried emailing TracFone on the site but they don't even have an email

Does this not seem fishy to anyone, or am I over-reacting? Does anyone here have this service, and can give me an honest opinion on it? The price works, but first phone impression didn't...

[Pseudonym11]

It took over seven minutes and a lot of repeating myself to the customer service rep, but the taxes and fees are about $2.62 on a $30 plan, if you buy with your credit card. There may be other taxes depending on your zipcode.

Interestingly, if you buy the card at Walmart, it is just $30 (although you will probably be paying sales tax). Does anyone know if phone cards are taxed like normal goods?

[tmdeee]

Yes, phone cards are charged sales tax when buying in a store.

[MrPrepaid]

Does anybody know what the taxes and fees are on their $50 plan???

[uiuichu]

Whyare so many complaining! this is an awesome deal and that's that - it might not be the best phone out there or have the highest data capacity, but at this rate of $45 unlimited for voice and text or $30 for 1000 min/ and 1000 txt, it sure does beats the altrnative. In this crazy economy we all need to re- evaluate our priorities - the latest device with all the bells and whistles or saving a few bucks to pay off the credit card. I opt for the latter. Kudos to Tracfone for thinking of the consumer and ways to help us out. Straightalk is going to revolutionalize the way contract provideers treat their customers - prepaid is the better option - and that's that!

[yhicr]

I did a little digging around and I think that the best bang for your buck is Straight Talk. $45 a month for unlimited nationwide anytime minutes and texts. Pretty awesome!

I ordered mine from the website and will let you know how I like it. Can't beat the price though!

[PrepaidWirelessGuy]

It really is a great offer, and I hope that it exits its trial and gets wider distribution. Their approach to offer a completely different brand on a different site is also very interesting. If they were to come out with high end phones and smartphones, we'd really see a bang!

It really compares well to other plans: www.prepaid-wireless-guide.com/compare-unlimited-plans.html

[Herbertjefferson]

Wow I am really impressed by Straight talk. I have one and love it. The service is better then any service i have ever had before. Because of Straight Talk i can talk on the phone at a really affordable rate.

[clarkcounty]

Some people have brought up roaming, so could someone with a StraightTalk phone clarify this for me:
If I live in Vegas and that is where my phone is registered/account was opened, but were to make a call on my StraightTalk phone from California, Arizona, or any other place besides Vegas, would they be some sort of additional charge?

[Markie_Carabas]

No. No extra charge.

It's 'unlimited anytime nationwide minutes', so...

[clarkcounty]

...Hypothetically speaking that is... I don't have a straight talk phone but am considering switching. Thanks all!

[LovingMomma]

This is an awesome deal! Before I switched to prepaid, I did ALOT of research and found that TracFone has the BEST TESTING VALUE of all the phones on the market. After using the phone now for several months...I am NOT surprised.

[tmdeee]

I just looked at TracFone's service area, and compared it to Verizon's service area. Even though they use Verizon's lines, there is much less coverage area than Verizon. They must only lease SOME of Verizon's lines. Also, you can't call anywhere out of the U.S. including Canada.