Poor user seeks Android phone

[Wherefore]

I have saved enough to purchase a good Android phone without a contract, which was necessary as I cannot afford a high monthly payment. It would be my first smartphone of any type.

I spend very little time on the phone, so I am interested in a pay-as-you-go voice plan with a friendly minutes policy: no/low monthly minimums, carryover, and long expiration times. And instead of a data plan, I'd like to use the phone's built-in wifi and piggyback on my home internet connection.

Can anyone say if this is this possible, and suggest a phone that can meet these requirements? The hardest part, I gather, is finding a carrier that will support pay-as-you-go on an Android phone. I live in Oregon.

Other very desirable features are support for the latest Android OS version and GPS/navigation without monthly fees. See, I don't ask for much!

Thank you for any suggestions!

 

[TheBronze]

Buy whatever phone you can afford. You'll probably have to buy from Craigslist or eBay. Then purchase a Go phone or whatever to get it on the cell network. Take that sim and put it in your new droid phone. Then see what happens! I'm not sure if the SIMs on pre-paid phones will even allow a device to access data or not though.

Or, better yet, save some more and buy a droid tablet when they come out.

 

[Kyle Gibb]

What carrier are you looking to be on?

If it's verizon, get a used Droid 1. They can be had for about $100. For Sprint, get a Hero. As for GSM, pretty much any older phone will do.

 

[Bravozero]

Depending on what's available out where you live, do some research on those carriers, both prepaid and contract, to see what's the best price and cellular coverage. If you're seeking a basic Android phone, then Kile Gibb hit the nail on the head with suggestions. Keep in mind that unless the carrier specifies otherwise, Android phones use data, so you would have to get a plan with voice and data coverage. It's well worth it if the carrier you pick has unlimited data plans, because Android devices tend to use quite a bit and paying MB to MB is going to be very expensive.

 

[gzen1]

Re: Android on the cheap

Keep your eyes on Virgin Mobile (if you get service in your area...I think they use the Sprint network, so good luck). There is an article on the front page of androidcentral today discussing Virgin Mobile getting an android phone. And I think they have fairly cheap prepaid plans.

Also, I got my Droid-2 by signing up for Verizon servicce through amazon.com for only $50.00, and they had the Droid-1 listed at only 1 penny (with two year contract of course). And that was signing up on Verizon. So look through all the carriers that offer service where you live on amazon.

The base data plan on verizon is $30 per month, so then it just becomes a question of how many call minutes you need and whether you need text or not.

Cellular South is getting android phones now as well (Milestone, Galaxy S, etc...) and their EVERYTHING plan is $79.99 per month (that's the provider I just came from). Their service was great, I just had to get the Droid-2. And their network is almost as good as verizon (they roam on verizon I think).

So, you have some options. It might better help if you stated what the max is you want to spend on service per month. Otherwise, it's hard to point you in one direction or the other.

 

[diastro]

I'm not sure if the SIMs on pre-paid phones will even allow a device to access data or not though.

Pre-paid minutes and especially data could be really costly in the long run if you use even an average number of minutes. And the data could be costly too, here is what I found on t-mobile website regarding data access on prepaid phones:
"$0.99 for one hour of unlimited Web access."

 

[Wherefore]

Thanks everyone for your help!

TheBronze, I may try this SIM swapping method. I wonder if all Android phones take SIM cards though. I heard from a salesman that some Verizon phones do not (CDMA only?).

Kyle Gibb, at this point I don't have a carrier preference. Whatever gets me reasonably good coverage and offers a good pay-as-you-go voice plan without forcing a data plan too. Verizon is big here, so I'll look into them first. A "Droid 1" (aka Motorola Droid?) looks like a great fit, though I don't see any contract-free for $100. But that's fine; I'll pay a premium to avoid a contract.

RE: "Keep in mind that unless the carrier specifies otherwise, Android phones use data, so you would have to get a plan with voice and data coverage."

If I use TheBronze's suggestion of moving the SIM from a Go phone into my Droid, then I would hope the 3G data link would be disabled. Again, I just want to use the free wifi connection for data.

Zenflow, I'd like to make sure my first idea won't work before I look into voice/data plans, even cheap ones. For the max I'd like to spend per month, right now I'm spending $10-$18/month on my 9 cent per minute pay-as-you-go voice plan with T-Mobile. Still, I will look into Virgin Mobile and Cellular South before I make a decision. I wasn't aware of them before.

Sounds like I need to look into a Droid 1 and survey the carrier policies now. Thanks again everyone!

 

[Bravozero]

Thanks everyone for your help!

TheBronze, I may try this SIM swapping method. I wonder if all Android phones take SIM cards though. I heard from a salesman that some Verizon phones do not (CDMA only?).

Kyle Gibb, at this point I don't have a carrier preference. Whatever gets me reasonably good coverage and offers a good pay-as-you-go voice plan without forcing a data plan too. Verizon is big here, so I'll look into them first. A "Droid 1" (aka Motorola Droid?) looks like a great fit, though I don't see any contract-free for $100. But that's fine; I'll pay a premium to avoid a contract.

RE: "Keep in mind that unless the carrier specifies otherwise, Android phones use data, so you would have to get a plan with voice and data coverage."

If I use TheBronze's suggestion of moving the SIM from a Go phone into my Droid, then I would hope the 3G data link would be disabled. Again, I just want to use the free wifi connection for data.

Zenflow, I'd like to make sure my first idea won't work before I look into voice/data plans, even cheap ones. For the max I'd like to spend per month, right now I'm spending $10-$18/month on my 9 cent per minute pay-as-you-go voice plan with T-Mobile. Still, I will look into Virgin Mobile and Cellular South before I make a decision. I wasn't aware of them before.

Sounds like I need to look into a Droid 1 and survey the carrier policies now. Thanks again everyone!

The original DROID does not have a SIM card, nor does most of Sprint's phones because they are CDMA only phones, and they don't require SIM cards like GSM phones do. The only exception for both carriers is if they are Global enabled, such as most Blackberry's now. Verizon, nor does Sprint to my knowledge, have any Android devices that are Global and thus don't have SIM cards.

 

[Dellbx]

This is great!

 

[takeshi]

Can anyone say if this is this possible, and suggest a phone that can meet these requirements? The hardest part, I gather, is finding a carrier that will support pay-as-you-go on an Android phone. I live in Oregon.

Other very desirable features are support for the latest Android OS version and GPS/navigation without monthly fees. See, I don't ask for much!

None of this really helps to narrow down the possibilities as just about any Android device would meet these needs. Do you have any other needs/wants to use as criteria? If not then, as always, compare the features and specs. Check them out in person if possible to assess your preference for physical characteristics (size, weight, keyboard, "build quality", etc).

I'd suggest by starting with the carrier which is always the recommended approach. That will narrow down the selection a bit as not all devices are supported by a given carrier (mainly due to their network tech, frequencies, etc).

As for GPS -- you need to look into a GPS app that doesn't require data such as CoPilot Live.

IIRC, Verizon is either offering or about to offer prepaid service for Android devices. I ran across an article somewhere but didn't dig into details as I've always been postpaid. I know for postpaid Verizon mandates data plans and I don't see why they would do anything differently for prepaid. Still, like I said, I didn't read any of the details so it might be worth looking into.

Also, FYI all Droids are Verizon devices as Droid is a Verizon marketing term used under license.

 

[gzen1]

Re: cheap android

Honestly, the more I think about it, you may just be better off waiting and seeing what android tablets come out. Some tablets will be offered through carriers and will require a data plan and others will not. I think Dell is launching a 7 inch tablet if you want something fairly compact. A tablet used strictly over wifi may be your best bet. The tablet wars are about to heat up, so don't rush, and just see what happens over the next couple months.