Cell Phones Without Plans
by Todd
If you’re looking for cell phones without plans, I have some interesting news and information for you. I’ll provide you some advice on how to go about buying a cell phone without committing yourself to a plan, but I’ll also discuss a coming technology that you might appeal to people in your situation: the disposable phone.
Wireless service providers often create new and unique packages to hype in an attempt to draw fresh customers. A typical approach for such a maneuver would be to offer a fantastic price on a cell phone when packaged with preloaded air time and a few other alluring features. The catch is, however, that when you’ve used the preloaded talk time (or it expires), you need to subscribe to one of their plans to keep the phone operational. Ultimately, they want to keep you away from cell phones without plans… or make you pay a steep price for one.
Disposable Cell Phones
I’ll discuss ways around this inconvenience soon, but first I thought I’d inform you about the coming of the disposable phone. In the simplest terms, these plan-free cell phones and subscription-free cell phones would take the place of the old fashioned telephone booth. The idea is to have vending machines with cheap cell phones available for just a couple bucks.
You drop in your coins, cash or slide through your credit card, then a small cell phone package drops just like a candy bar from a vending machine. The cell phone typically would be focused on local coverage and the talk time would vary depending on the amount you entered into the cell phone vending machine.
You could then just turn it on, walk off and talk. Of course, once you’ve used up your air time, the phone becomes useless and you’ll need to toss it. As you might imagine, that could get wasteful fast, so I sure hope they make this program recycle-friendly.
Operational cell phones of this nature have been patented and manufactured, but full production will only begin when there is a clearly defined demand for them. The current plan is to provide these phones in common public places such as airports and shopping malls as well as bus stations and train stations.
Cell Phones Without Plans
So you may be thinking, “Hey, neat! But what do I do right now if my family needs cell phones without plans?” Well one caveat: in most cases, it will be more expensive than if you’re willing to commit to one of the many offers cellular companies use to wrap you into their service.
If you currently have a cell phone already and you’ve been with the same carrier for a while, I suggest looking for customer loyalty rebates and bonuses from your cell phone company first. Like it or not, loyalty often leads to the cheapest cell phone plan. If they can’t offer you anything worth your while, proceed to the following methods for finding cell phones without plans.
- Again, if you’re currently with a wireless company, check one of their retail stores or their website. All the big players will happily sell you a phone without requiring you to buying into one of their cell phone plans. Can you stomach paying three times more the phone? Because that’s about what it will cost you. It’s a turn-off, yes, but it does ensure you that particular phone will be compatible with that cell phone carrier’s network. In many retail stores, you’ll find the plan-free price of a particular phone in small writing below the big advertised price.
- If you’re looking for a cell phone which is independent of any wireless carrier, you’ll require what is called an unlocked cell phone. An unlocked cell phone doesn’t have a SIM card (or a “subscriber identification module”). SIM cards are what associate specific phones with specific cell phone companies. Without a SIM card, a phone can be used on any network compatible with its features. When you join a company, that carrier will install their software and lock it. While an unlocked cell phone isn’t a necessity, it does give you a little more freedom when attempting to find the best opportunity for cell phone service without a contract.
- Scour the web for a selection of unlocked cell phones and cell phones without plans. Major sites such as eBay and Amazon often feature a wide range of auctions for unlocked phones. Don’t expect them to be cheap, but you might do better than the cell phones without plans you’ll find in retail outlets.
- Don’t hesitate to look through your local Craig’s List cell phone ads(craigslist.org), as you might find some great deals this way. However, please be aware that it isn’t unusual to find either malfunctioning phones or stolen phones through such channels. Just be cautious and use some common sense.
- And last but not least, don’t neglect to consider prepaid cell phones. They’re affordable phones with no contract; you just buy minutes from the wireless provider as you require them. Many of these phones provide all the capabilities of normal cell phones. The minutes will, on the whole, cost you more than the same number of minutes in a contract, but if you use very little, it can still be cost-effective way to use a cell phone without a plan.
So until the plan-free disposable cell phones catch on, you’ll enjoy some options to find yourself cell phones without plans. However, keep in mind these phones won’t be cheap in most cases. You’re paying for freedom. Cellular providers want you as a subscriber so you they offer deep discounts on their cell phones.
If your situation requires that freedom, I really hope the information I’ve provided here helps you find what you need.