I just wanted to drop a line here and let you know that I’ve updated the TracFone promo codes for May, 2012, and there weren’t many changes. In fact, for the first time that I can remember since I’ve been keeping track, I didn’t find any new codes to add to the list. At the same time, none of the previous codes have expired since last month.
This continues a trend that many people have been pointing out, that TracFone doesn’t seem to be putting out as many codes as in the past. It’s possible that this is somehow related to the addition of “Triple Minute” phones to the TracFone lineup, although I don’t recall a similar decline in available bonuses when Double Minute phones became more prevalent several years ago.
Whatever the relationship may be, there definitely have been fewer bonuses available in the past several months. If you are someone who buys TracFone minutes regularly and relies on these promos to maximize your airtime, you might want to re-evaluate whether you are currently getting the best rates on your minutes. The recent post comparing the per-minute costs of various pay-as-you-go plans might be helpful.
Also, I put together a sort of unboxing video and introductory Samsung r455c Review video, which you can watch below. If you have any interest in this phone, you can check out the full review at Samsungr455c.com. Here’s the video:
Wow, this is huge news for many, many loyal TracFone/Net10/Straight Talk customers. One of the most frequent complaints I hear from customers of these companies is that they have quite a poor selection of phones that run on the Verizon Network. It’s only one, but now those people finally have the option of a true prepaid smart phone to use and still get Verizon coverage.
The Samsung Galaxy Proclaim is an Android device now available (for pre-order, shipping in 1-2 weeks) from both Net10 and Straight Talk for $179.99. To see for yourself, go to StraightTalk.com or Net10.com, and enter ZIP code 54747, which is an area with only Verizon coverage.
While this looks to be an entry-level device as far as Android phones go, I expect it to be a very popular phone since so many people have waited for so long to get something like this that uses the Verizon network.
Here’s a look at some of the specs:
3.5″ HVGA capacitive touch screen
1 GHz processor
Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
Swype text input
speech to text
3MP camera with video recording
Gravity Sensor / Tilt & Shake
TouchWiz 3.0 UI
Includes 2GB microSD card
Coincidentally, Verizon themselves recently unveiled a no-contract smartphone plan, and the first phone there looks like a twin of the Samsung Galaxy Proclaim. The big difference is that if you go directly from Verizon, you’ll pay $80 a month, while with Straight Talk or Net10 you’ll pay $45 or $50, respectively.
The Proclaim, then, seems like a great deal on its face, but it’s worth pointing out that other users of Straight Talk’s “unlimited” plan (on the AT&T network) have run up against some pretty hard limits. It seems that Striaght Talk has developed a habit of shutting down user accounts if they exceed that 2 GB monthly limit, or a limit of approximately 100 mb per day. If you’re not aware of the data your phone is using, it could be easy for a first-time smartphone user to blow through these limits.
Still, if you are in one of the many areas in the U.S. where Verizon is your only viable carrier, and you want a prepaid smart phone, this seems like a very appealing choice. I’d just caution you to use an app like “3G Watchdog” to keep tabs on how much data you are using. Make use of WiFi when it’s available to you, and use the Androd “settings” menu to turn off 3G data when you don’t need it, just to be on the safe side and keep your data usage down.
I lately haven’t been reviewing every new phone as it comes out, but I’ll definitely be taking a look at this one and running some tests to see how it works for me. I’ll be posting a video as soon as I get the phone in my hands, hopefully toward the end of next week. If you want to follow along with my review, I’ll be posting the occasional update here on prepaidphoneguy.com, but I’ll be posting the bulk of my info at SamsungGalaxyProclaim.net (this is a brand new domain, so nothing is posted there just yet).
In the mean time, you might want to take a look at these links to learn more about the Samsung Galaxy Proclaim:
The following was written by “RZOMBIE79.” She has been helping people with their TracFone, Net10 and Straight Talk questions for years on various forums, and she and I recently connected. She shared this with me, and I thought it was too good not to pass along and publish it for everyone else to learn from [...]
First, I want to apologize for being so “absent” from the blog lately. I have several other projects going on and they are taking up a lot of my time lately. But I did want to pass along a deal that I’ve heard about it.
If you are considering Net10’s LG Optimus Net, I think this [...]
For the current TracFone Promotional Code database, click here.
I revised the code list again last week, and didn’t have a whole lot of changes to make. Here are the newest codes I’ve added to the list:
28805 for 20 bonus minutes on a 60-minute card
94074 for 60 bonus minutes on a 120-minute card
86692 for 40 bonus minutes on a [...]
The SIM-only, “bring your own phone” plans that I posted about last week are now live, for both Net10 and Straight Talk. As expected, these plans will let you use just about any phone you want on Straight Talk’s $45 unlimited monthly plan, or on Net10’s $50 unlimited option.
A word of warning in advance: this [...]
(Note: Many thanks to The_Sweeper and Tracfancier for calling this to my attention so quickly!)
There is some big news developing in the prepaid phone world. While there hasn’t been official announcement yet, Straight Talk representatives have been making comments on their Facebook page indicating that they will be offering a “SIM-Only” product.
Here’s what one Rep [...]
I guess it’s been a while since I actually finished my work with the Samsung t528g, but I wanted to take a minute here to share my thoughts on it and point you to the full review. I created a separate site for the Samsung t528g review, which you can find here.
If you don’t want [...]
I had initially looked at the details of this phone and decided not to do a Samsung t404g Review when it first came out. After having a lot of people ask me questions about it, however, I decided to give it a try. After using it extensively, I can say that I probably won’t be [...]
