Samsung Galaxy Centura Android Prepaid Phone (TracFone)

I've never seen the sense of paying well over $50/month for unlimited phone plans, many of which include UNLIMITED talk, texts and then tacked-on mobile data fees. The simple reason? I don't need to make or receive a lot of phone calls when I'm "on the go"...most of the time family/friends can reach me at home or at work!That being said, I've never really been opposed to owning a cellphone (either a simple flip phone or a more advanced smartphone); it's just that up until now I've never been able to justify the cost of the many unlimited plans vs. the little benefit they'd be for me.I decided to look a bit further into TracFone back in mid-December after seeing an in-store display and was extremely pleased to learn that I DON'T need to spend a fortune each month with Verizon Wireless! After reading a number of reviews on this particular Samsung model, I decided to take the plunge. I bought a 120-minute, 90-day airtime card (which gives you triple: 360 minutes, 360 texts and 360 MB mobile data) for $30...so for $10/month I have 2 hours of phone use and more texts and mobile data than I really need (make sure you turn OFF mobile data unless you need it; I usually use wi-fi for FREE when I'm in my house).Seriously, I can check my e-mails on the phone, surf the web, play (a few) apps...the TracFone app/widget is something I'd recommend you download and put on your home screen so that you can easily see how many days/minutes/etc you have left. Oh, and did I mention that unused minutes/texts/data ROLL OVER? Just another great thing about going with the TracFone service as opposed to the unlimited plans offered by Net 10, for instance (TracFone also owns Net 10).I've been EXTREMELY happy with the phone thusfar. In the past 3 weeks I've used about 2.5GB via free wi-fi use but only a miniscule 40MB of mobile data. (For example, if I wanted to check the score of NFL games when I was out, I'd turn on the mobile data since wi-fi wasn't available, open up the CBS Sports app that I'd downloaded, check the scores quickly, and then turn mobile data off. Same routine with e-mail: turn on mobile data, open e-mail and read my messages, then turn mobile data off. When data is used sparingly, you won't need to buy additional data from TracFone. Believe me.)The only negative I've seen thusfar is that the built-in rear-facing camera's picture quality is just OK, but that's not a major concern. If I'm going somewhere important, I'm bringing along my normal camera for picture-taking. Phone calls on this phone (in central NJ) have been clear, and the e-mail/web/app functions have been a nice convenience.In conclusion, I very much recommend this phone to low-use cellphone users who are like me: people who don't always "need" to be in touch during every waking moment with everyone they know. For the price of a C-note (to buy the phone on Amazon) and for $10/month, I'm all set. I also bought the gel skin offered via Amazon; it's an excellent idea because the phone is very slippery without the skin on and can easily fall out of your pocket/hand/etc.I'd rather pay $10/month than the $60, $80 or even $100 that many others pay each month for their phones' plans. Those monthly savings add up over the course of a year. You'd be amazed how interested some people have been when I've told them how little money it costs me each month! This is truly a smart choice!

These are fine for a minimal user of smart phone technology- if you want to send a rare email or occasionally get directions. These are no substitute for a better one for a daily user.I was switching from a flip phone because I rarely wanted to be able to use it- when traveling to catch a public transit schedule, or find an address to put into a standard GPS- for my uses it's fine. Most of the time I have the mobile data turned off because I don't want it to use mobile data for updates, and it can connect at my home or work to wi-fi for that. I do not want or need to be connected all of the time, so for me this is good.It's clunky. If you want to be connected all the time, this is not the phone for you.Significant problem- if you want to use your cell phone for a morning alarm or reminders for appointments and the like, this is not the phone for you.It has an interesting quirk where it occasionally and randomly alters your time zone. I attempted to use it as an alarm on a work trip. The time was correct when I set the alarm. Luckily my husband was there and also set an alarm. Mine never went off, when I got up and looked at it, the time was on the Hawaiian time zone instead of mine, Pacific Standard. This happened when no one was touching the phone. This has happened to me maybe 3x in the just over 9 months I've had the phone, which is not generally a problem as I don't typically use my phone as an alarm BUT it makes me uncomfortable to even attempt to use it that way when traveling, which is extremely annoying. When needing it as an alarm, I miss my flip phone. That is not how you want to feel about your "Smart Phone".The vibrate isn't strong enough so it might as well be turned off, unless it's in your pocket you probably won't know if someone called you if you don't want noise.Picture messages, video messages and messages that are sent as group texts can occasionally be problematic, taking a long time to open or producing an error.So why do I still give it 3 stars? I paid $100 for a year of service including taxes and fees, and that probably will be enough for me for the year unless I start using my phone a whole lot more in the next 3 months. There is no contract. If I drop my phone and it breaks, I'm out $80- if my husband drops his Smart Phone, he's out $600. The call quality is good, and texting is reliable. For a user like me, this phone is good enough.According to the Wall Street Journal, the average data, texting and minute plan for a smartphone costs about $2,100 for a two-year contract. However, that's not the real cost. The average tax on smartphones is about 15% and some can be as high as 20%. On top of the taxes, you need to factor in costs like overage charges and other fees. When all of these are added together, the average cost for owning a smartphone is $3,400 over two years.My 2 year cost should be literally $200. I know these are not equivalent comparisons, because someone with a really great Smart Phone is going to see benefits I can't touch, and use it more than me. But those things aren't important to me, so the cost comparison is an important tipping point.