More cell phone options

[two2go]

I was looking for better options for our cell phone needs: one dumb phone with limited talk & message use, and one smart phone with light talk, message, and medium data use. I use Tracfone for the dumb phone and the $10/month plan for 100 minutes (doubled) is perfectly adequate with good coverage on AT&T network. The DW had a Virgin Mobile feature phone for $30/mo but was not using much of the available talk/data time.

I also had a used Sprint smart phone (Optimus S) that I was using as a WiFi only device since a Sprint talk/data plan price was obscene. So I researched options and found Ting (ting.com) which is another Sprint MVNO like Virgin Mobile (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), with the same network and coverage. The best part was I could use the Optimus and it only took a few minutes to sign up and get the phone activated. Depending on the amount of data we use, it looks like the monthly cost will be equal or less than Virgin Mobile, and this for a smart phone vs. a regular phone. Goodbye VM. Didn't like your telephone support and 34 minute hold times anyway.

Another MVNO I found that allows you to reuse your old phone is PlatinumTel, but they are GSM, so you need an unlocked GSM phone from AT&T or T-Mobile or such. Looks like a good option to replace the high prime carrier rates.