Verizon - Prepaid Wireless Plans & Phones Cell Phone Review

I was once a fan of Tracfone prepaid service, and our family used Tracfones in place of paying for a monthly cell phone service.  We were happy with it, but the quality of the phones were a little poor.  On a shopping trip to Walmart, I stumbled across a new prepaid phone system by Verizon.  Right away I noticed that the cell phones looked like something that you would select at a regular store, and had much nicer features than anything that I had seen available through Tracfone.

The price was fair, I think we paid less than $ 40.00 for a phone for my 13 year old son.  The phone was a Samsung U350 camera phone and had texting ability as well as calling.  It was Bluetooth enabled, but I am not familiar with that feature and it was not something I planned on using, or allowing my son to use.  My son was pleased with the way the phone looked, and thought that none of his friends would know that it wasn't a "real" cell phone.  (Whatever that means)

When we opened up the bundle, it came with $ 10.00 worth of cell phone time, the Verizon pay as you go phone, a home charger, a car charger, and an instruction manual.  There was a code that you had to enter online at the Verizon website, which activate the cell phone.  We were provided with the cell phone number, and the minutes were delivered to the phone immediately.  Once you register online, you will not have to add your minutes in through your computer.  You will simply buy go to any department store, pharmacy, or even grocery store, and pick up additional minutes.  (They come on what looks like a credit card and you select how much time you want to buy in dollar increments)

What makes the Verizon pay as you go phone different than other prepaid cell phone plans that I've seen, is that you get to select your plan.  With Tracfone, we paid for how many minutes we used.  However, with Verizon, you only pay for the days that you use the phone.  They have many plans to select from, and here is a brief description of the prepaid plans that are offered by Verizon:

•  Prepaid unlimited Talk - Offers unlimited domestic voice calling to anyone on any network and 1¢ text messaging.
• Prepaid Plus - Get unlimited mobile to mobile calling and Night Minutes. (Includes UNLIMITED WEEKENDS)
• Prepaid Core - Offers the lowest price with daily access.  Comes with unlimited mobile to mobile calling.
• Prepaid Basic - Pay one flat rate for all voice calls.

If you are considering buying a cell phone for your tween or teen, or if you are someone who likes to text instead of talk, you definitely want to get a cell phone that allows texting.  Teens in particular need this feature because they don't "talk" on the phone anymore.  They ALL text each other, and they do it all day every day!  We may not understand it, but it is very popular for them.

Now, if you want to be able to download ringtones, backgrounds and wallpapers, and so on, you can get all of that at the Verizon website.  They have a big selection of that type of thing.  The good thing about using their website is that you know it is safe and reliable, and it anything you get from them will work on your cell phone.

My son enjoys his Verizon pay as you go phone very much.  It has a camera built into the cell phone, and if we paid for the service, he could send photos back and forth to friends, but it is not something I am willing to pay for.  Verizon offers cell phones through their pay as you go service with full keyboards, internet accessibility, bluetooth, texting, walkie-talkie features, and much more.  Virtually anything you want in a regular cell phone can be purchased through Verizon pay as you go.  I have found that the Verizon website has the best selection of cell phones for "techies" so look there if this applies to you.

Now, let me make it clear that I am an IDIOT when it comes to electronics and gadgets.  I am hopelessly confused with how to set things up or install something new.  But even though I am a novice, I was able to set up my son's Verizon pay as you go cell phone myself.  There was literally nothing to it.  Take the phone out of the box, charge it up, log onto the computer and punch in the information, and that is it.  I was even able to add the new contact information myself once everything was set.  If you think you may need help with this process, the phone comes with an easy to understand manual.

Bottom Line - I highly recommend Verizon pay as you go plans.  The phones are great, the service is reliable, and the features are top notch.  The best part of all is that there are NO CONTRACTS!  If your minutes run out, and you don't add more, you'll get an email from Verizon informing you of how long you have before you lose your number.  All you do is buy more minutes and add them.  It's a great choice for people like me that don't talk on their cell phone often, or for teens (like my son) because I don't want him to be tied down to a contract.