Camp Holloway Discussion Forum Archive 04 - 01/01/04 to 02/10/06

Walmart Cellphones

This is pretty slick.

Lose or break your cellphone, forget it somewhere? In a strange city, need a way to call home?

You can walk into any Walmart (and I think, some K-Marts), buy a "prepaid service" Nokia cellphone with a charger for $40, and when you activate it, they give you 120 minutes of airtime at .25 per minute, worth $30.

You can then buy prepaid service cards from any Walmart (or on the Internet) in increments of $20, $30, or $100 @.25/minute (80, 120, or 400 minutes). The two smaller cards expire in 60 days after you activate them, the big one in a year, but when you activate additional minutes, all existing minutes left in the account also renew for the same extended period. In the end, they get you for about $10 a month if you use less than 40 minutes per month.

The "per minute" charge is still a little on the steep side, but what a great way to fill in cell service temporarily. (Or permanently. My regular phone uses the GSM network. The Walmart prepaid phone is on a CDMA network, which has far better coverage nationally and locally than GSM. I only turn the throwaway on when I don't have GSM service.)

For someone who only wants a cellphone for emergencies, it's an easy way to get one for about $10 a month.

What a country.

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Walmart Cellphones
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