Straight Talk Vs. Virgin Mobile

I love cell phones. I went through three Virgin Mobile phones in five years. A Nokia Shorty, a Kyocera Marbl, and a UTStarcom Arc, respectively. I'd never had my own cell phone before my Nokia Shorty, and I'd heard all the horror stories about receiving cell phone bills with charges in excess of what you expect to see. I never wanted to have to deal with that, so when I heard about Virgin Mobile and the "pay as you go" concept, I was extremely enthusiastic. It wasn't until two weeks ago, when my beloved Arc took its last breath, did I consider switching to a different pay-as-you-go plan. I had my heart set on the Rumor2 phone (a sweet slider), but I couldn't see myself willingly paying $129.99 for the phone when I was already paying approximately $70.00 for unlimited calling and unlimited text messaging every month.

So I did a little investigating. Consumer Reports actually ranks Wal-mart's Straight Talk plans as the best pay-as-you-go plan for individuals. I discovered that I could pay $45.00 per month for unlimited calling, text messaging AND web access. For $30.00, I could have 1000 minutes, 1000 text messages, and 30 MB web access.

When compared to Virgin Mobile, it makes your jaw drop. With VM, $29.99/month gets you 300 anytime minutes, and 1000 night and weekend minutes. As a parent, I know that most of my phone calls are made during the day to doctors, school, babysitters, grandparents, etc. 300 minutes for 30 days isn't going to cut it for any busy parent. $39.99/month (with Virgin Mobile) gets you 400 minutes and unlimited night and weekend minutes. Still not cutting it for this single mom. For totally unlimited minutes with Virgin Mobile, one has to spend $49.99/month. If you want unlimited text messaging, tack on another $10.00. Don't stop there, because by the time you get done adding on the taxes, it comes out to about $70.00 per month, give or take. If you want web access with Virgin Mobile, expect to tack on at least another $10.00.

Once I decided that I would prefer spending $45.00 a month for calls, texts, and web vs. $70.00 a month for calls and texts, I started wondering about Straight Talk phones. Were they flimsy? Sleek? Modern? Was it going to be worth investing at least a solid $100.00 into one of their phones? Straight Talk is actually part of Tracfone, which typically has small, simple phones that -let's be honest here- are nothing special. I'm not an iPhone kind of girl, but I'm not into basic cell phones either. It turns out that Straight Talk has some great phones. From flip phones to sliders to Blackberry style phones, Straight Talk definitely has something for everyone. Another bonus is that while the most expensive Straight Talk phone is $373.99 with the unlimited plan, it's also sturdier than the average Virgin Mobile phone. In my opinion, it's well worth the investment when you consider that the life of a Straight Talk phone is probably longer than that of a Virgin Mobile phone. Another strong quality of Straight Talk is that about half the phones are Samsung. I did a little research and found nary a bad word about Samsung.

In terms of Straight Talk's downfalls, there aren't many, but I have noticed two, and they're worth mentioning. Virgin Mobile gives you the option with most of their phones to browse ringtones and purchase them directly from your phone. Straight Talk, however, requires that you browse and purchase from a computer. Something else I'd like to take issue with is the customer service. When I was in the process of activating my phone, I had an interesting service representative assisting me. Not only was his English speech and comprehension terrible, but he couldn't seem to locate my zip code in the system. As a result, I received an area code quite a ways outside of where I actually reside. It's a small price to pay for the money I save every 30 days, but worth giving a thought to before you make the switch.

I'm now sitting pretty with a Samsung R451C slider phone and an extra $25.00 a month in my pocket since I switched to Straight Talk. Not only that, but in typical low service areas such as train subways, I have fantastic service and am never without the ability to call, text, or check my e-mail. Virgin Mobile, eat your heart out!