Quote:
Originally Posted by dieseljeep
You know me! I don't change that easy. Right now, I have a Trac-phone where you buy a card every three months.
I'm thinking about buying another pay-as-you-go one that has more features, before the time runs out on this card. On this one, I still have 5,000 minutes left on this service.  |
You can do the same thing with a smartphone. The process is to buy an "unlocked smartphone" from an electronics store like best buy or an online retailer, pick a carrier with a prepaid or pay as you go plan you like* (heck you can probably keep your current carrier) and ask them for a sim card (if your phone is a newly released model you may need to tell them the model so they give you the right one). , Insert the SIM card and possibly call in on another phone to activate it and you should be done... Trackphone probably offers smartphones too.
The unlocked smartphone is a smartphone that is NOT locked to any specific cellphone service provider... Meaning you own the phone and can switch carriers any time you want...if you like to drive to the middle of nowhere like some campers you could actually have and carry multiple SIM cards and swap between them if one carrier doesn't provide service in a place you happen to be (I'm considering doing this for an upcoming vacation).
Unlocked smartphones are a bit more expensive than carrier locked models as carriers discount locked models as bait to lure you into a contract.
*With a smartphone you need a plan that has both data and calling (texting too if you plan to use it). Smartphones without data are reduced to being basically big flip phones when you aren't in range of a WiFi hotspot....even if you have data if you get deep enough into the middle of nowhere data may not be available (as I discovered on a back roads trip to Iowa last year).
Most Smartphones have lousy battery life and need daily charging...I didn't want that so I did my research and picked a 'Moto G7 Power' because it had the best battery life on the market (it might still have the best) and holds a charge for about a week like my old flip phone did...I have been happy with it for the over a year I've had it.