Why Prepaid Android Smartphones Are Here to Stay

I put off buying a smartphone for years because the costs of a data plan were so high that I knew that I couldn't afford it. Worse, I knew I'd be tied to that contract for years, even if I somehow became unable to pay for it.

Fortunately, there's a new game in town for people who want smartphones, with touch screens and apps and all that good stuff. It's called Android, Google's open-source operating system, and it's what powers the best smartphones available from prepaid, contract-free carriers: Outfits like Virgin Mobile, MetroPCS, and iWireless.

You may not have heard of them, and their prices -- up to $300 for a smartphone less powerful than a $99 one from Verizon -- may seem off-putting. Nevertheless believe it or not ...

Why? Because that "$99 smartphone" to tell the truth costs up to $599. The reason it's so cheap up front is because you're paying for the rest of it over your two-year smartphone contract, which can run up to $70 or more per month. And if you decide to switch smartphones or wireless carriers, prepare to pay the rest of its cost in the form of an early termination fee.

Prepaid plans run closer to $25 to $45 per month, so that $299 Motorola Triumph will pay for itself in less than a year compared to a wireless contract from Verizon. All in all can't afford to spend that much up-front? Try a basic Android smartphone like the LG Optimus, for only $129 from iWireless. You may have seen it already, because ...

That LG Optimus? I saw it for sale at Kroger, along with several other Android smartphones. Everyone and their dog is getting in on the prepaid business; you'd think people wanted cheap smartphones or something!

More than that, a lot of them get reception everywhere. Carriers like Cricket and MetroPCS are more often than not limited to large cities, nevertheless iWireless and Virgin Mobile use Sprint's nationwide network. In the meantime, AT&T's GoPhone plans offer a la carte options on its network. So either way, you get access to a top-tier wireless carrier's network, without having to pay those huge monthly fees.

There is an element of gambling with a la carte plans like AT&T's GoPhone, where you buy voice and data packages separately. I tried to buy them as cheaply as possible, nevertheless kept having to repurchase my $15 100MB data plan because I used it up so fast. Switching to the 500 MB plan for $25 a month fixed that, yet it as well meant I ended up paying more than I thought I would going in. I as well thought I could do without voice minutes by using a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) app, nevertheless that didn't work out either.

When shopping for prepaid plans, make sure you know what your needs are for data and voice minutes. As well, try to buy a phone you actually love, so you don't have to upgrade shortly. Either way, have fun!

Open-source software enthusiast

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about innovation and electronics since 2008.