Gifts for grads: Pre-paid phones
Wed May 6, 2009 3:23PM EDT
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Don't want to burden your favorite grad with a two-year carrier contract? Check out six pre-paid, no-contract phones perfect for music lovers, world travelers, social butterflies, and more.
Not a 3G phone, mind you, but this twist-open, music-minded handset boasts an impressive 2GB of internal flash storage, good for side-loading hundreds of songs—and at just 2.8 ounces, it won't weight you down. Also: VGA camera and stereo Bluetooth support.
Motorola i9 ($299, Boost Mobile)Pricey, without a doubt, but the 4.7-ounce i9 is Boost's slickest push-to-talk clamshell yet, complete with a 3.1-megapixel camera, video recording and playback, GPS, and stereo Bluetooth.
National Geographic Duet Travel Phone ($199, Cellular Abroad)
Spending the summer abroad? The Duet (slated to ship this month) handles two SIM cards at a time—for example, one with your U.S. SIM card (and number) for incoming calls, and another with a local SIM (such as those offered by Cellular Abroad) so you can avoid pricey international roaming charges.
Motorola Renew ($59, T-Mobile)It's about as bare-bones a handset as you can get—no Bluetooth, GPS, camera, or video—but the Renew (which is made out of recycled water bottles) is the perfect phone for anyone looking to go green. The Renew isn't an official T-Mobile pre-paid phone, but you can get it without a contract for $59 and snap up a pre-paid SIM to go with it.
X-tc ($99, Virgin Mobile)
One of the pricier—and more feature-packed—of Virgin Mobile's no-contract handsets, the X-tc comes with a slide-out QWERTY keypad, mobile e-mail and messaging, a roomy 240 by 320-pixel QVGA display, stereo Bluetooth support, and a 1.3-megapixel camera.
Sony Ericsson W350 ($54, AT&T GoPhone, refurbished)This sleek, 2.8-ounce handset looks like a candy bar-style Walkman, complete with dedicated play/pause/skip controls and a motion-sensitive "shake to shuffle" feature. Want to make some calls? Just open the bottom flip to reveal the numeric keypad beneath. Also on board: a 1.3-megapixel camera, microSD memory expansion, support for Napster subscription tunes, and an FM radio.
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1 Posted by saul_milgram on Fri Jun 19, 2009 5:56PM EDT Report Abuse
Good premise for a topic of discussion! Though I think it's more about the value of the plans than the actual hardware itself. In terms of hardware though, for grads looking for something more sexy and upscale, a number of carriers like Cricket and Metro are offering smarphones. Why spend $299 on a i9 phone that gets you relatively little in terms of functionality that's unique, when you can get a fully functional phone elsewhere? Of course, in terms of plan value there's a difference, but on handsets alone, there are some pretty nice options surfacing as of late. You can start by comparing here: www.prepaid-wireless-guide.com/prepaid-mobile-email.html