Holiday Gift Guide 2004

Intro Consider Prepaid Keep on Talkin Feature Focus Discuss

Just In Case Leaving Home

Before you go off researching which network is best for your loved ones, there are few types of people who are probably better off with prepaid phones and plans than with the big five carriers. If they fall into either of these categories, your work here is done.

There are people, maybe like some of your parents, grandparents, or other older relatives who still refuse to use a cell phone, but say they'd like one to have in case of an emergency. They're just going to leave the phone off sitting in their purse or glove compartment until some suitable occasion arises, and then they'll turn it on and call to tell us they'll be two hours late for dinner one Christmas. Many of us just get another handset and add them to our family plan, or hand them down one of our old phones and help them subscribe to a cheap monthly plan, but this is a waste since emergency users are where prepaid really shines. Why pay $20-30 a month for a cheap plan when most these folks will barely use $30 a year in pre-paid time. We would recommend a number of prepaid networks, but 7 Eleven has two huge advantages: you can top your minutes up at selected stores all around the country, and minutes are valid for a year, not just a few months - perfect for infrequent users.

7 Eleven prepaid service: Nokia 3100
(Out of all the new phones on 7 Eleven's new GSM prepaid service, the 3100 is the only one with a normal keypad, so it won't confuse your older relatives.)

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