TracFone's Straight Talk Prepaid Releases New Phones

Straight Talk's prepaid phone options have just gotten a little better. Straight Talk Wireless, the affordable prepaid brand owned by another affordable prepaid brand, TracFone, has two plans that have gained quite a bit of traction in the past couple years since they have been released into the market.

The Straight Talk Plans

The first plan, the so called "All You Need" plan costs $30 a month and gives subscribers the use of 1,000 minutes of air time and 1,000 text messages. Clearly, this is quite a bit of talk time and texting and many people could easily make due with these numbers. This Straight Talk plan also provides 30 mb of data transfer, which can be used for web browsing.

There are people who may want more out of their cell phone plan, while also keeping a low-cost, no contract prepaid plan. For these people, there is the Straight Talk Unlimited plan, which costs $45 per month and gives subscribers unlimited voice, text, web browsing, and 411 calls. Clearly, it's a comprehensive prepaid plan meant for people who use their phones a lot.

The Phones

Straight Talk has a good lineup of cell phones to choose from and the company just recently added a few good phones. One of the most talked about releases recently is the Samsung Finesse r810c, which was previously in an earlier incarnation available on MetroPCS prepaid plans.

The Finesse is a smartphone-like phone with a large color touchscreen with a full virtual keypad and an html browser which makes web browsing easy and fun. The Finesse is the best phone Straight Talk has to offer at this point.

The Samsung R355C is another solid phone that works on the Straight Talk Wireless plans. Sure, it's not the most amazing phone in the world--the camera leaves a little to be desired--but it gets the job done. The R355C does have a nice, solid, "slab-style" look to it, resembling in some ways a BlackBerry.

It is known as the "QWERTY" since it has a prominent keypad on its body. This makes it accessible for texting, which is a huge plus for the Straight Talk plans, since with each one you get either 1,000 text messages or unlimited text messages. This phone is a good option for people looking to save money on their cell phone bills, people who want a solid prepaid phone, and those who don't want to totally sacrifice having a pretty good cell phone. Let's be honest: a lot of the prepaid phones out there are not that desirable.

The Straight Talk LG 620G is a very affordable slider phone that has a sleek, stylish look. It is the kind of phone that has some functionality while it's slid closed in addition to what it makes available while its open. The LG 620 is a GSM cell phone complete with a built-in MP3 player and microSD card slot.

It is a good middle of the road phone that won't break the bank (it costs less than $70), but also won't be winning any beauty contests. Still, that being said, it is a solid phone that should get the job done for you and save you money in the process.

Should You Buy One of These Phones?

You are the only person who knows your phone habits. It is important for you to dig out your past 6 months of cell phone bills and analyze your minutes used, text messages sent, and whatever other services you may use. Then, you should compare your average monthly payment against the monthly rate of one of the plans mentioned above.

For good measure, you should also look at competing prepaid plans from Net10, TracFone, and T-Mobile. The more research you do, the better deal you will find. Another thing to keep in mind is finding a prepaid plan that works well in your area. If you hear that Straight Talk works well for a co-worker or family member, your decision to go with the company will be much stronger. Local reviews always carry a lot of weight.

Good luck in finding your next prepaid cell phone.