Quick Facts
Country: USA
Network Name: Tracfone
Website: http://www.tracfone.com
Product Name:tracfone
Owned by/Major partners: Operates on Cingular's Network
Operational Frequency: 850 and 1900 GSM
Prepaid Package Cost (Just SIM): N/A
Prepaid Package Validity: 60 days and a 1 year depending on card
CSD access: No
GPRS access: No
EDGE access: No
SIM applications: No
Manual included: Yes (English)
Refill amounts: $20, $30, $40, $80, $100, $150
Availability: Tracfone website, K-Mart, Office Depot, and more
Competitors: T-Mobile, Cingular, Oxygen, XE Mobile, 7-eleven, CallPlus, Locus, POP, Net10
More In-Depth Information
Buying:
The Good:
There are quite a few store that you can purchase tracfone from. You can get it online at the Tracfone store, at K-Marts, Office Depot stores, Rite Aid, Lowes, Dominics, Pak n' save stores, Travel centers and more. What I like too is that you can get a year validity on your minutes, something that is unusual with other USA prepaid GSM offers. You can activate the package online which is often quite simpler than talking to a human being.
The Bad:
The main bad thing with Tracfone is that you need to buy one of their phones in order to use their service. Yes they are a GSM provider but you cannot use another GSM phone. They have special firmware on the phone that goes hand-in-hand with the SIM card. Customer service is not that helpful, reports have said. They still seem to be a bit unfamiliar with the concept of a SIM and members reported having a hard time activating their account over the phone.
Usage:
The Good:
Your money has one year validity! If you are a frequent traveler to the USA you can come and go and your minutes have not expired! This service seems ideas as a backup phone to have with you, even if you have an account with someone else, incase your account runs out of money and you need to make a phone call, or send a text message. Since Tracfone is an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) and they operate on Cingular's network coverage is the same as Cingular, and since Cingular bought off AT&T they also inherited their coverage as well, so coverage on Tracfone should be pretty good. You do get Call waiting, Caller ID, SMS and voicemail capability. Cost is counted by measurement of units. For local and local area calls 1 units = 1 minute. For roaming calls 2 units = 1 minute. The higher the value the card you get, the cheaper it is to call per minute. Incoming Text messages are free!
The Bad:
You need to buy their phone!!! What good is it to have GSM and not be able to use your own phone with a prepaid SIM? You might as well go get a Boost Mobile (iDEN) , Virgin (CDMA), Verizon (CDMA) or even the CDMA version of Tracfone for a prepaid package (they offer CDMA prepaid as well) if you need to lug another phone around. The only thing redeeming tracfone and setting them apart from the three aforementioned prepaid non-GSM providers is the fact that minutes have a one year validity (some exclusions apply). Tracfone has special firmware on their phones to allow them to show the minutes on the display (woop-dee-doo! :P). What is further annoying is that phone you buy from Tracfone cannot be used on another network, so you cannot take it back with you, pop in your own SIM and be able to use your own provider with Tracfone's phone. Furthermore with Tracfone there is no data capability (no CSD and no GPRS).
TIPS:
None that I can think of
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Unless you are a frequent traveler to the USA and do not need data access on your mobile phone them Tracfone might be for you. Their minutes take a year to expire so you have quite a long time and many opportunities to use your minutes. As a traveler, I would pick another provider for my provider while being in the USA. If you are a resident of the USA and want an emergency phone, something to have in the car in case your regular phone dies, or in case you get a flat tire, a blown gasket or some other mechanical or medical problem then this could be a very good phone for you.