What is the best prepaid/budget phone & plan with unlimited data?

[AC Question]

Best prepaid/budget phone & plan with unlimited data

I just turned 18 years old and want to find out what phone would be best for my needs and what carrier I should go for. I know for a fact that T-mobile is horrible in my area. I was looking into a lease or 2 year plan but the monthly payments are pretty high for someone who makes minimum wage. My problem is that I don't want to spend more than $70 per month and my budget for a phone is $400. But I would say I'm pretty tech-savvy and use my phone for alot of media, social networking and gaming. Such as YouTube and Facebook. What I'm looking for in a phone is 64 gb, good camera, 5+ inch screen, runs Kit-Kat. I currently have an LG G2 but I'm done payng $100+ per month for a phone. But I want something that would reasonate with that phone or something even better. Maybe it's too good to be true. But I want to know what are your recommendations. So far the only phone that offers most of what I want is the Page Plus One but even that phone is hard to get.

 

[Rukbat]

Re: Best prepaid/budget phone & plan with unlimited data

my budget for a phone is $400 ... What I'm looking for in a phone is 64 gb

Internal storage? You won't get it.

good camera

Define "good". A 35mm slide is about 1GP, which no digital camera can match. Ansel Adams took fantastic pictures with a Kodak box camera, which you could probably buy for 10 cents at a yard sale today. It's the app and the photographer that make the difference. I can get better pictures from my 2MP front camera than some people can get from a 42MP Lumia. (I don't use the stock garbage camera app, though. At least use Open Camera and read through some of Kodak's tutorials on taking pictures. The rule of thirds is as true today as it was when art was invented.)

5+ inch screen, runs Kit-Kat.

Tough one. Most phones are coming out with 5.0, which is full of bugs.

I currently have an LG G2 but I'm done payng $100+ per month for a phone.

On which carrier? There may be a cheap MVNO using that carrier, so you can still use the same phone. Of course, cheap sometimes means that there's one "customer service rep", and your 6 year old neighbor knows more about cellphones than that "rep". (There are sites full of complaints about the service from different MVNOs. Straight Talk/Net10, as bad as they are, is probably about the best, and you have to pull teeth to get real help from them sometimes.) AT&T? Over $100/month. When my phone bricked, they apologized for having to replace it. On the spot. I walked out with a working phone. Facebook crawled (and that's an overstatement - I won't live long enough to download a video at the speeds I was getting on wifi) on 4.4? They connected me to their internal wifi (which is for the store's use only) so I could see whether it was the phone or my system at home.

You pay for what you get. $29.95 is cheap for a reason. (Ever try asking a Walmart employee for help with cellphones? Make a video - it probably qualifies for America's Funniest Home Videos. They "know" all sorts of things that aren't true.) You don't have to pay $115/month for good service, but $30/month is telling you something. (I think Cricket comes in as worst service - $45/month if you autopay. Straight Talk is a few dollars cheaper.)

So far the only phone that offers most of what I want is the Page Plus One but even that phone is hard to get.

OnePlus One? They had an open purchase on Tuesday, no invites needed. (One day only.) They do that every so often. Sign up on their site and they'll email you about a day or two before each one.

As for a plan, Walmart (TMobile) is about the cheapest now, but you don't want cheap and no coverage. Which carrier gives you good coverage? (Straight Talk uses all 4, but it's $45+/month - the + is fees and tax, so it's about $50/month. A small discount for autopay, and you can buy legitimate refills on eBay for less. If you refill for larger times [90 day or 120 day cards], you can get it for about $33/month, usually no tax or fees. Check HowardForums: Straight Talk)

Unlimited data? Read the plans carefully. Unlimited data (<very small print here>3GB at 4G). So once you've used 3GB, you can probably download about another GB if you download 24/7 for the rest of the month. (The lower speeds are in kbps, and the numbers aren't large - it's about like dial-up.) There's no "unlimited data at 4G speed" plan from any carrier that I'm aware of (except, possibly, the old Verizon plan, and that may not be at full speed any more either). There probably will be - when we have 5G or 6G, and gb/s speeds. 2G data (EDGE) is unlimited - it used to be limited on 1G (which you can't even get any more - 48kbps if you were really lucky). The faster the technology gets, the more of the older slower speed they'll give you for free.

 

[AndroidHabit]

Re: Best prepaid/budget phone & plan with unlimited data

I just turned 18 years old and want to find out what phone would be best for my needs and what carrier I should go for. I know for a fact that T-mobile is horrible in my area. I was looking into a lease or 2 year plan but the monthly payments are pretty high for someone who makes minimum wage. My problem is that I don't want to spend more than $70 per month and my budget for a phone is $400. But I would say I'm pretty tech-savvy and use my phone for alot of media, social networking and gaming. Such as YouTube and Facebook. What I'm looking for in a phone is 64 gb, good camera, 5+ inch screen, runs Kit-Kat. I currently have an LG G2 but I'm done payng $100+ per month for a phone. But I want something that would reasonate with that phone or something even better. Maybe it's too good to be true. But I want to know what are your recommendations. So far the only phone that offers most of what I want is the Page Plus One but even that phone is hard to get.

To save the most money and keep using your LG G2, if the contract is over, have them unlock it.
Then you can take it anywhere that can use it. Maybe Metro PCS and they have unlimited data plans.
You wont have to buy a new phone and the old carrier will not charge you to unlock it and must provide you with the unlock code since the contract is over. This will help you save the most money in the long run.

 

[AndroidHabit]

Re: Best prepaid/budget phone & plan with unlimited data

Net10, as bad as they are, is probably about the best, and you have to pull teeth to get real help from them sometimes.

Actually Net10 isn't that bad as far as support over the phone. I called them to replace a sim card for my daughter.
I also just this past week called and told them I wanted to reconnect my old Net10 phone after 3 years and they had no problem taking my info and having a new sim sent to me.

If there are any good choices as far as pre paid plans it would be, and this is in no particular order.
Tracfone, Net10 and MetroPCS.