Sorry if this has been posted already, but does anyone have experience with this type of phone?

Hey, so I really hate my Samsung SCHi-405, and am thinking of paying my own phone bill, so I was looking at something like this....

 

I'm not familiar with Net10, but it I looks good. I've also heard good things about RepublicWireless.com.

 

There are many choices for Pay as you Go Phones (PAYG) including by the big companies like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. You'll find a thread of mine that I started in 2009 about my experiences which have been with AT&T, but towards the end of that thread there is some useful discussion of other options. The PAYG world has been changing a lot and there are now a lot of options that you can research. Basically even the smaller companies like NET10, called MVNOs, use the big companies networks which they lease. Be sure you research any plan's coverage map for your area. Frankly, any of them are okay if they give you coverage and you like the price, but some offer better deals than others, some offer better customer service than others and some offer more features than others. However, no plan is any good if it doesn't have good coverage in your area. I think NET10 uses Verizon, not sure.

The phone question is separate, although obviously if you are not bringing your own phone to a PAYG plan then your choice of phones are limited. Figure out what you need from a phone and what your budget is and then shop the phones and prices for phones offered by the different companies. The LG Optimus is not the first phone I would recommend, unless it is the only one that fits your budget. There are some good low priced phones out there. I don't know if they still have them, but Verizon has the original Moto G for like $35 on their $45/month PAYG plan. Research a bit what's out there, then come back here with what has looked good to you and what you see your needs are and we'll try to help you sort the research.

Hope this helps.

 

I've actually tested and reviewed Republic Wireless. I highly, highly, highly recommend them as a low-cost provider.

 

Doesn't Walmart offer an even cheaper service (not much talk time) for $30/month? It's hard to find on the website; but it's possible.

 

Walmart I believe is partnered up with Straight Talk, so they might offer something like that.

 

Actually I have the $30 Simple Mobile plan, limited talk with unlimited txt and data. I believe WalMart sells the plan. I got it from directly from SM, I bought a SIM card for only 99 cents and choose and activate the plan.

Of course, the OP needs to buy a phone first.

 

Net10 is a TracFone brand. I used to have a TracFone, and they are possibly the cheapest way to get a cell phone, but their customer service is not great.

 

It's important to remember that if you make sure to buy a brand which uses a SIM card, you can just take that out of the basic phone at any point in the future and put it in a better device. So you can "settle" for a cheap phone now, then upgrade and keep the same prepaid rate when you get tired of it.