By: Chuck Chuck on Sunday, May 11, 2008 From: Fort Wayne, IN (United States) Experience: 60 Days
Pros: When it worked, it worked reasonably well.Cons: When it didn't their customer service was useless.Summary: The phone I purchased was flaky from the start. Took several calls to customer service for me to get it authorized. It worked acceptably for a little over a month and then quit entirely. In the meantime, I had purchased an additional 600min/60 day card and added it to my service. As my actual usage was low I still had over 500 minutes available along with almost two months. Then the phone quit completely. After a couple calls to customer service they sent me a new phone. They told me to call when I got the new phone and they would activate it along with moving my minutes to it. When it came in I called them to get the phone working. They told me that they would activate it but would not give me the minutes until they received the old phone back and checked how many minutes I had. They said they could not confirm what I had on their computer. It would take a couple weeks for them to tell from the returned phone. I sent it back as instructed. Now I had a phone that was activated but useless unless I bought more minutes. I did not as I was not sure what they would come up with next. When the time had passed, I called customer service. They told me that they could not transfer my minutes unless I could give them the serial number of the old phone, the one that they now had. They had not said anything about keeping any information off the old phone prior to my sending it to them. I threw the new phone out and called it a day with Net10.
I wish you luck if you decide to try Net10 but based upon my experience, don't expect it.
Lastly, their customer service appears to be an off shore operation, sometimes hard to understand and hear. That did not make it any easier dealing with them.
By: Unhappy Customer on Friday, May 02, 2008 From: Toms River, NJ (United States) Experience: 1 Months
Pros: Affordable phone for people that only want an emergency phone or for very limited useCons: If you have questions dont expect customer service to help you. Summary: Just got this phone. I emailed Net10 to ask how to send a picture I took from the camera to my computer. The answer they gave me was for something else entirely. So I emailed them again but this time they gave me instructions to go into the MMS screen but didnt tell me what to do from there and there are a lot of options to choose from. I sent them a 3rd email asking for the steps and they replied but they left the last step out. When I tried to click on "Send" the button wouldn't go there. I sent another email after that but havent got an answer back. Im starting to wonder if I made a mistake giving up my Verizon Cell phone.
By: Terry Jones on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 From: Palmetto Bay, FL (United States) Experience: 5 Months
Pros: NoneCons: Absolutely WORST Customer Service ever!!! Heavy accent, very difficult to understand, put you on hold every 2 minutes (oh yeah, but ask your permission first, lol), don't know what they're doing. Phones don't last - poor quality. Service is unreliable. Gets expensive when they keep forcing you to buy more minutes that you don't really need.Summary: Purchased a Motorola C155, used it for a few months, but then started having problems with "emergency use only" coming up all the time. Called Customer Service, and after TWO hours of painful attempts at communicating with several reps and 2 supervisors, they promised to send me another phone and said that I could keep THE SAME PHONE NUMBER. Of course, they changed the number, and that caused a lot of problems for me. Then that phone lasted about 3 weeks, before it started having major problems with the keypad (wouldn't dial certain numbers, would not unlock easily, etc.). Spent another 2 hours on the phone with Customer Service, and after going back and forth with a total idiot and his supervisor for what seemed like forever, they sent me another one. However, now I can't get it activated, because their phone line keeps disconnecting me, and their website says it's down because of busy traffic due to the "holiday season"???? What??? Must be a holiday in India!!
These people are the WORST, and they just want you to keep buying minutes even if you have plenty, or they'll deactivate your phone...keep the minutes you already paid for...and keep your phone number, too. Oh, and don't expect them to feel bad about it. They don't care at all about their customers. What a rip-off. STAY AWAY!!! You have been warned! I sincerely regret my purchase, and I'll be switching as soon as I use up the minutes I've got left.
By: Ric Burger on Friday, April 11, 2008 From: Albany, OR (United States) Experience: 14 Months
Pros: Cheap Rates, No fees or contractsCons: Poor Customer ServiceSummary: I like the service, and the low costs. I get a 300 minute card every two months for thirty bucks. No fees or contracts, very simple. My housemate had a lot of trouble getting the phone she wanted from the web site, and customer service kept fouling up the replacements. However I still like the cost and service. My first phone was the Nokia 1600 candy bar which essentially was free as it came with 300 minutes. I found it to be easy to bump keys and make calls I didn't know I was making. Keyguard was very hard to use, so I switched to an LG 1500 flip phone. My one fear making the change was transferring my number and minutes to the new phone, considering the problems with customer service. Guess what, I brought the new phone at Wal-Mart where they said they would handle that while I waited. Took 20 minutes, everything was fine.
By: Nancy Martyn on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 From: Chicago, IL (United States) Experience: 3 Months
Pros: Price is rightCons: So-So Customer ServiceSummary: Switched from AT&T Family talk to Net10 as I was sick and tired of all the taxes and surcharges on my monthly bill and wanted to control costs and minutes used by my two teenagers. Net10 has worked well for us although we had a little confusion with the porting of our phone numbers as I found the instructions at the web site a little confusing - but a call to customer service corrected the problem - and the next two ports I did successfully on the Internet and were complete within 1 business day. I don't know where Net10's call center is but I did have a little problem with understanding a couple of their people - their English was fine but they had very heavy accents but we were patient with each other and it worked out. I haven't had a problem with coverage area, reception, dropped calls but I am not a heavy cell phone user only 200-300 minutes per month. If you want all the bells & whistles Net10 is NOT for you. With AT&T I had a Motorola Razr with Bluetooth - you WILL NOT find a comperable phone with NET10 and I do not believe that any of their current phones support Bluetooth technology. In summary: if you want cell phone service at a true 10 cents per minute with no hidden fees this is the way to go.
By: Shasta McNasty on Friday, March 28, 2008 From: Alexandria, VA (United States) Experience: 3 Months
Pros: Inexpensive mobile phone. No contracts to sign. For $30 you get the phone AND 300 minutes of talk time. If you don't like it, you just toss it.Cons: Poor customer service communications skills. If you ever need to use their customer service, you will be disappointed.Summary: I had a business friend visiting from Europe. I thought it would be wise to get her a cheap Net10 phone so that she could call me if she needed anything while visiting and to call her family in Europe (since overseas calls are only 15 cents a minute - great price).
Well, I purchased the phone and then activated it on the internet. They gave me a 10 digit number that I assumed was the new phone number. North Carolina area code? Oh well, no matter, it's 10 cents a minute regardless of roaming. The next day I got a message on the phone with the REAL phone number. They gave me a VA phone number, but I wanted a 703 area code and somehow I got a 540 area code. Again, not a biggy, since my friend would be using it.
Gave the phone to my friend and we attempted to make a call to her home in Europe. Service Not Available is what it said. I went home and read on the Net10 website that you have to ACTIVATE the international calling feather FIRST. Why didn't they state this somewhere in the user literature? No problem. I activated the international service online. Then it said it would take up to 72 hours to activate the international feature. Hmmm. So, I waited 3 days. Phone still would not call overseas. Waited till the 4th day - still not working. I activated it again online. Waited another 4 days. Still not working. By this time my friend was already leaving to return to Europe. I ended-up paying much more for her phone calls because she called her family from the hotel I had put her up in. My grand plans of saving money did not work.
I called customer service to explain that I wanted to do two things; change the area code to 703 AND add the international calling feature. The man on the phone said no problem. He got the international calling feature to work in an hour (not days!). But, when I called back to ask about the area code change, I was given the run around. They had to mail me a new SIMM card, and deactivate my phone for a week until it arrived in the mail.
One last feature on my phone that does NOT work is the adding airtime on the phone. When I go to the Add Airtime screen on my Nokia phone, it simply reads Not Available. I added minutes on the internet, but then had to call customer service again when the minutes never showed on my phone after 2 days. They finally solved the problem.
Summary: Cheap phone service. Great for kids or friends from out of town. Just hope you don't have to call their customer service center.
By: Brad Pendley on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 From: burley, ID (United States) Experience: 60 Days
Pros: 10 cents/minute- if you can get it to workCons: You name it, CS, phone, plansSummary: We have been using net 10 for 2 months with nothing but trouble. We have had to have the phone reset multiple times. The automatic minute plan did not work so they shut the phone down. Had to get a new SIM card. Spent 3 more calls to get it to work. Then they changed our number, even after being told it would not change. the only way we knew the number changed was by looking at the caller ID on the home phone. Many times we have c alled and had to hang up to try and get a person we could understand. Nothing but trouble and NOT worth it.
By: L J on Friday, February 15, 2008 From: Honolulu, HI (United States) Experience: 1 Days
Pros: None...the price was too good to be trueCons: I couldn't even activate my phone...customer service was completely inept.Summary: Automated line hung up on me 4 times before I finally got on the phone with what they call "tech support"...what a joke! I do not have a problem with language barriers...and was extremely patient and polite with the first line "tech"...she kept repeating what ever I said and then would explain that my phone was inactive... The reason I was on the phone is to activate the phone I KNOW the phone is not active. Finally reached a supervisor after 3 attempts from the front line to contact a supervisor...Trish deferred me to fax all of my info and receipt from the phone purchase...why was that so hard? Forget this...all just to activate the phone! I will pay Verizon, their customer service is worth having to have their contract!
By: Jerry Hiro on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 From: Muncie, IN (United States) Experience: 2 Years
Pros: Reliable and I'm only paying $15.00 per monthCons: Can't take pictures and isn't colorful.Summary: If you want a cheap phone for communication instead of texting or taking pictures, this is for you. I have a camera for pictures, and a pc for messages. I have found that ALL cell phones get the same signals.... it's not the phone.
By: Pat McCormick on Thursday, February 07, 2008 From: Rochester HIlls, MI (United States) Experience: 90 Days
Pros: 10 cent minutes good.............Cons: Terrible company,they don't care about their customers.Summary: Bought minutes, were not added to my phone, I called them to add them and they did, but did not extend my service date and deactivated my phone. I spent 2 hours between two calls with them and they would not give me my service extension without me buying more time. I talked to two managers and both of the hung up the phone without answering my question. Company is a mess, they don't know how to handle any technical issues. STAY AWAY
I'm "at" the Motorola Virtual Press Conference where they're launching the Krave ZN4 for Verizon. No surprise here, as this device was leaked far and wide. But it still sounds pretty interesting - it's a flip phone with a touchscreen and an "interactive flip." Apparently the clear plastic flip cover has touch controls so you can access frequently used functions without opening the device up.
Krave looks like it's going to...
Noah gets his hands on two new flip phones with some power under the hood: The BlackBerry Flip 8220 for T-Mobile and the LG Lotus for Sprint. Will your next smartphone be a flip? Also, more on the Android "G2" rumor, and news on tons of new cell phones.
Did you listen to this week's podcast, Noah's Bark #7? If so, you heard Noah's list of his Fave Five cell phone TV commercials of all time. Watch 'em for yourself here and chime in: What'd he miss? What's in your five? Let us know in the comments (with links if you can find 'em). 1. T-Mobile "Pookie" Commerical with Charles Barkley and D-WadeThe series with The Chuckster and D-Wade is my all-time...
What’s Good: Universal landscape mode and universal landscape QWERTY; optically-enhanced action button functions as a scroller or track pad; appropriate use of haptic feedback and accelerometers; excellent 5 MP camera with LED flash, auto-focus and face detection; secondary cam for video calls; embedded GPS; FM radio and overall A/V-friendliness; large, welcoming and sensitive screen; it's a generally comfortable phone that makes you feel cool...
Part 2 of Noah's 2-part review of the BlackBerry 8220. The first-ever BlackBerry flip phone hides the buttons away for a sleek look, but does it have the juice to keep Crackberry addicts happy?
Part 1 of Noah's 2-part review of the BlackBerry 8220. The first-ever BlackBerry flip phone hides the buttons away for a sleek look, but does it have the juice to keep Crackberry addicts happy?
The first ever flip BlackBerry is a winner, so long as you play to its strengths. While the 8220 is very large for a modern day flip phone, it's lightweight and slick looking enough to trick you into thinking it's a little smaller than it really is. I've had the 8220 for just under a week now, and I very quickly grew used to carrying it around in my pocket. No, it's not as thin as a RAZR or as small as a low-end sliderphone,...
If only my BlackBerry would flip shut! Hey, it does! Noah unboxes the new BB Pearl Flip 8220 for T-Mobile and gives us a (long) quick tour around the phone.
Carrier: AT&TRetail Price: $99.99 or via ebayContract Price: $49.99 or via Let's TalkHot Feature: Video captureThe Samsung A637 is a complete messaging phone perfect for anyone who wants all the features without the fuss. Key features include 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, Instant Messaging capability, MP3 player, GPS, XM radio and video sharing.
Carrier: T-MobileRetail Price: $159.99 or via ebayContract Price: $29.99 or via Let's TalkHot Feature: Music PlayerThe MOTO ACTV W450 available in mandarin orange and canary yellow sports the familiar Motorola clamshell design. Key features include a 1.3 megapixel camera with video capture, stereo Bluetooth, MP3 player, microSD slot, speaker phone and picture messaging.
Lane Jensen in Oregon here and I have a great trick that works for all Verizon phones to get better signal. First, you need to be within about a 5-10 mile radius of where you are going to use your phone the most. Secondly, instead of dialing the normal *228 for activation, dial *22899 and it will take you instantly to the programming music and update your phone. No more having to go through the prompt and listening to the same old voice saying,...
Fierce! It's the unique new LG Lotus for Sprint - a square-shaped clamshell with a full QWERTY board inside. GPS, Sprint TV & Music, 2MP Camera, HTML Browser, Mobile IM and Email ... Noah checks out this fashion-forward feature phone.
Hey, look what just came! Thanks, Vanessa ;-) Here are some photos of the black LG Lotus for Sprint. The QWERTY board feels GREAT so far, as those bubbled chiclet-style keys make up for the relatively small size of the layout. Sprint's new One Click UI is sort of cool and helpful and sort of overdone; I'll have to play with it more, but I hope it winds up being handier more often than it gets in the way. And I'm...
D'oh! It's a real, live Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. In a box! Out of a box! Happy Friday!See the full gallery on Fosfor.com(Via MobileCrunch)
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October 6, 2008 - Cogratulations to Omar Flores of TX. He is our week 17 winner of a brand new Motorola Q9m. "It feels good to know i won, I really did not expect for me to win, it came of great shock to me, thank you phonedog.com for the awesome phone!"