Who for prepaid wireless?

Who are people using for prepaid wireless? Haven’t had to use it for about 5 years, in a big city type area so all of the carriers seem to work. I used to have Verizon but not sure I want to do a contract nor give into them. I just was looking at Walmart and see how easy it looked to get Tmobile and/or Virgin etc. Anyone have input? Just looking for simple… Thanks…

If you are at sea alot and dont yack endlessly when you are on the beach, prepaid is a very good way to go. Why pay for a month when you arent even in the country?
I use AT&T, they have the best signal at my house.
Be aware that the prepaid does not always have the same coverage as contract if coverage is an issue.

I sail and travel worldwide, so I use an unlocked quad-band GSM phone. (Motorola RAZR)

Will a quad band unlocked Apple iPhone work just about everywhere? T-Moblie is currently offering a $50 per month no-contract deal for customer provided unlocked iPhones.

I have one Us phone, and two different cheap pre-paid foreign phones, each of which can only be used within one country. I’d like to consolidate to one quad band smart phone, and the iPhone seems like the best phone available with a lot of apps that would be helpful to a mariner.

[QUOTE=stellarseas;84108]If you are at sea alot and dont yack endlessly when you are on the beach, prepaid is a very good way to go. Why pay for a month when you arent even in the country?
I use AT&T, they have the best signal at my house.
Be aware that the prepaid does not always have the same coverage as contract if coverage is an issue.

I sail and travel worldwide, so I use an unlocked quad-band GSM phone. (Motorola RAZR)[/QUOTE]

Stellarseas - Do you use a SIM card when for your unlocked phone when you are back in the States? If so, which one?

[QUOTE=tugsailor;84115]Will a quad band unlocked Apple iPhone work just about everywhere? T-Moblie is currently offering a $50 per month no-contract deal for customer provided unlocked iPhones.

I have one Us phone, and two different cheap pre-paid foreign phones, each of which can only be used within one country. I’d like to consolidate to one quad band smart phone, and the iPhone seems like the best phone available with a lot of apps that would be helpful to a mariner.[/QUOTE]

It should. Verizon told me how to unlock my Droid when I was working overseas, and it worked well.

But I did end up using a quad band GMS phone and just changed SIM cards when going to different countries. It was smaller than the Droid, and I only connected to the internet on board where I had a secure connection.

[QUOTE=water;84118]Stellarseas - Do you use a SIM card when for your unlocked phone when you are back in the States? If so, which one?[/QUOTE]

AT&T only because they have the best GSM coverage at my house. NOT because of their plans, customer service etc. it is purely a coverage issue.

T-MOBILE seems to have the most affordable plans, but where I am, the voice signal is on the fringe and data is non-existent.

For the record, the SIM card or chip is used on all GSM phones.

Verizon/Sprint has the best coverage in the USA, but they are NOT GSM.

Your Verizon phone worked overseas? where? I am shocked! Verizon uses CDMA technology last time I checked, which would only be Japan, Korea and Israel and a couple other countries.
Your GSM phone will not work there.

BTW, I do not carry my iPhone with me, I go to Latin America alot and it is too much of a status symbol. If some ladrone sees the gringo with the iPhone, consider it gone.
I like to keep a low profile and just use a cheap Motorola RAZR with me when I am on the street.

http://www.telestial.com/sim_cards.php

Iv had the same sim card for 3 years now. Works in almost all countries I go to(Europe and middle east). Each country has a different rate. I think with the new sim cards you get a usa number too. I use the ‘explorer’ sim card w an auto recharged linked to a cc. You can also get web data included if you want to Surf the new from a smart phone

[QUOTE=stellarseas;84964]Your Verizon phone worked overseas? where? I am shocked! Verizon uses CDMA technology last time I checked, which would only be Japan, Korea and Israel and a couple other countries.
Your GSM phone will not work there.

BTW, I do not carry my iPhone with me, I go to Latin America alot and it is too much of a status symbol. If some ladrone sees the gringo with the iPhone, consider it gone.
I like to keep a low profile and just use a cheap Motorola RAZR with me when I am on the street.[/QUOTE]

It is an Incredible II Droid. Works with both technolongies.

It worked in Africa.

I’m about to make the switch to a quad band iPhone 5.

First question: Is the 16gb or 32 gb iPhone enough, or should I spend extra money for the 64gb iPhone?

As I understand it, the iPhone is both CDMA and/or GSM, and if you get an unlocked iPhone, you put any local GSM sim card in it.

Unfortunately, my current carrier (which works well at home) does not offer iPhones, or support unlocked iPhones, but my contract is nearly up anyway.

I want my new iPhone to work in the US, and to be able to put in local sim cards in for use in foreign countries (for me that’s mostly Canada and Latin America).

My best choice appears to be either (1) buy an unlocked iPhone for $1,100 and $50 per month for T-mobile prepaid; or (2) get a Verizon unlocked iPhone for $400 upfront on a two year contract at $99 per month.

2nd question: Does anyone have an opinion of how well Verizon, T-Mobile, or any other carriers compare for coverage and service?

3rd question: Which carrier (that supports an unlocked iPhone) works best in the Gulf?

I’ve been with Verizon for about 10 years. I’ve been coast to coast and south (Florida) to north (st johns new Brunswick) and have had great service. Their 4gLTE service is faster than I anticipated…sometimes faster than the house routers. I am unfamiliar with the service in the Gulf region and beyond. Overall I would recommend Verizon to anyone wishing for super reliable coverage, speed, and service.

I have Verizon and love the service where I work. I have a jb and unlocked iPhone 3G for when I go overseas and it works just fine to call home in the states.

Why in the hell would you spend $1100 on an unlocked iPhone? Just buy a 3G or 3GS iPhone and unlock it yourself. It only takes about 5 min to jb and unlock it.

Ok. It looks like Verizon is my best choice for a carrier.

Thanks.