Virgin Mobile Prepaid
Wireless
While shopping for a prepaid
wireless phone, I couldn't help but to notice the slick phones offered by VirginMobile (VM). In fact, in the impulse of the shopping moment, I almost bought
one right then and there.
My senses got the better of me,
though, and I decided that I really should do some more research on the
different prepaid cell phone providers before just choosing the one with the
coolest phones. In the end, although VM was a very strong
contender, I ended up going with TracFone
instead. Keep reading to find out why.
Like all prepaid wireless plans,
you can sign up with VM with no contracts to sign, no monthly bills,
no long-term commitments, no credit checks, no age limit, and no hidden fees.
These features are what make prepaid wireless plans so attractive to so many
people.
So what makes VM
different from the others? Well, the first thing that caught my eye was
that they definitely have cool looking phones. Although
TracFone now offers a sleek Motorola flip-phone, VM still has the edge in the "hipness" of their phones.
Amazon.com has a good selection of VM phones, and you can learn more about them by
clicking
here.
In fact, if I was buying a VM phone today, I would get it from Amazon, since
they often have special rebates and sales on the phones, not to mention FREE
Super Saver Shipping. But even if
you're not buying today,
Amazon has a lot of detailed information and user
reviews about the phones that will be worth reading to help you decide if VM is
for you.
Another way that VM is
different from other prepaid wireless providers is in how they charge you for your minutes. It's pretty simple,
really, you pay 25¢ a minute for the first 10 minutes each day, and 10¢ a minute
for the rest of the day. It costs 10¢ to send a text message no matter
what time of day.
There is now a new prepaid
cellular service called Net10 that charges a flat rate of 10 cents/minute for
all calls every day. You can read my review on my
Net10 Review page. Unless you are really in love with one of the VM
phones, the Net10 service is probably going to make more sense for you.
All prepaid cell phone providers
make you add minutes every so often to keep your phone active, and VM
is no different. They do have a longer activation period, though, because
you only have to Top-Up with $20 every 90 days. This is a benefit of going
with VM,
because most prepaid plans make you add minutes every 45 or 60 days.
So what's this "Top-Up" business?
Top-Up is how you add more airtime to a VM phone. Basically,
when you Top-Up, you're just adding money to your account. When you use
your phone, you're subtracting money from your account. If your account
balance reaches zero, you're phone won't work until you Top-Up again.
After you buy a Top-Up card from a
retailer, you simply enter in some code numbers from the card and from your
phone to add the airtime to your account. It's easy!
One more thing that VM
offers is content from the MTV and VH1 music channels. You can get
breaking music news stories, music trivia games, updates on your favorite shows
and more right on your phone. While I'm too old for that kind of stuff, it is
a unique feature that is not available on any other prepaid wireless providers.
Overall, I really like VM's prepaid wireless plan except for one huge problem: coverage area.
VM uses the Sprint PCS network which covers the major cities and
highways, but offers very little coverage in rural areas. If you are
outside of the coverage area, your VM phone simply will not work. You can
get to a coverage map for your area at the following link:
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/coverage/prepareCoverage.do
The fact that the phone would not
work outside of the coverage area was a deal-breaker for me, because one of the
big reasons I wanted a cell phone in the first place was for emergency use in
case I had car trouble out in the boonies somewhere.
If you rarely wander out into
rural areas or never take long road-trips in the car, this may not be a big factor for you, but I get off the major
highways enough to need a phone that's going to work everywhere.
That's why I eventually settled on
TracFone. They lease airtime from various wireless providers across the country, and their phones
will work nearly everywhere in the country that cellular service is available.
TracFone now also has what they call single-rate phones. These phones have
less coverage area than the standard TracFones, but still have much greater
coverage area than VM phones.
In the end, VM offers a
very attractive prepaid wireless plan. If you can get over the limited
coverage area issue, then VM might be for you.
Click here to find great deals and FREE shipping on VM phones at Amazon.com
Happy Shopping!
