Print Article for : Prepaid Cellular Phone Services

Your Online Guide » IT Hardwares » Computer Hardware Guide

[P621]Prepaid Cellular Phone Services

by John F. Baker, Joh

?Prepaid cellular phones? probably doesn't conjure up the sexiest mental image, but pre-paid phones certainly have their place and can be extremely useful. In this brief article, I'm going to outline some of the advantages to buying a prepaid mobile phone and why you might want to consider doing it in the future.

So, what exactly are prepaid cellular phones? A prepaid phone is one in which you purchase the phone and minutes upfront. There are no contracts, no credit checks, and it's impossible to run up massive cell phone bills with prepaid cellular phones. Now that you know what these are, let's talk about a few of the reasons why you should consider buying one.

For one, a prepaid cellular phone doesn't require a credit check in order to set up service. This is great for anyone who has a bad credit history because a traditional cell phone contract would require a substantial deposit from them.

Secondly, a prepaid mobile phone doesn't require you to sign any long-term contracts. Since you are purchasing your usage minutes upfront, you won't end up getting locked into a contract just to obtain service. This is great for anyone who is unsure about their situation and doesn't know where they will be in a year or so.

Lastly, prepaid cell phones eliminate those shockingly expensive bills that seem to come out of nowhere. With a pre-paid phone, it's impossible to run over your minutes and end up with a huge bill that you can't pay. This makes pre-paid cellular phones an excellent choice for parents who have teenagers. Kids love to talk on the phone, and with a prepaid phone you'll never have to worry about your child overusing their phone.

Hopefully this article has given you some food for thought as to why you might want to consider buying a prepaid cellular phone. While they don't have a sexy reputation, prepaid phones definitely do serve a purpose and can really come in handy.

Companies that offer expensive, long-term cellular contracts will attempt to woo you with offers of value-added services such as text messaging, ring tones, and voicemail. These sorts of services are indeed wonderful and convenient, but the fact of the matter is, you can get the exact same services with your prepaid plan. Things like caller ID and call waiting are common on any type of cell phone, whether it is prepaid or contract.

Text messaging, regardless of whether you are using a phone with a long-term contract or a prepaid phone, is the same, and you can enjoy this feature with most prepaid cell phones. You just type your message into the telephone keypad, put in the mobile phone number of your friend, and hit the send key.

Depending on your provider, you will probably be charged a low per-message fee. Besides sending text messages between cell phones, some carriers will also provide you with the ability to send text messages to email addresses or IM addresses, and may allow you to send the same messages to a group of recipients at the same time.

Typing messages into a telephone keypad does take some getting used to, but some providers include "predictive" technology that makes it a little easier. This handy technology predicts what you are trying to type based on the first few characters that are input, and can save you time and keystrokes.

Be aware that once you've gotten accustomed to it, text messaging can become very addictive and fun! And even though the per-message fee is low, text messaging all day can quickly rack up an unmanageable bill at the end of the month.

That's the beauty of prepaid service. You can still use text messaging with prepaid, but you won't get stuck with an unexpected big bill for messaging at the end of the month. Like regular phone calls, you pay as you go.

Voicemail is another common feature offered by both contact and prepaid cell phone providers. Typically provided as a free value-add, this is also something to be cautious about. When you call your voicemail box to retrieve messages, you will still be charged for the call, like any other call. If your service allows you to do so, it is less expensive to retrieve your calls from a landline phone.

Article Source : Pg. 283

About Author

Both John F. Baker & Tom Spelling are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

John F. Baker has sinced written about articles on various topics from Mobile Phone Reviews, Home Management and Mobile Phone Reviews. Visit the at and. John F. Baker's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.

Tom Spelling has sinced written about articles on various topics from Mobile Phone Reviews, Computers and The Internet. . Tom Spelling's top article generates over 1000 views. to your Favourites.