Okay, I know what a cell phone is. I don't have one. I want a pay as you go, no contract plan with good coverage. Like I used to with the last cell phone I had, which let me pay for a chunk of minutes and go. No internet or anything like that. I added minutes when I needed them. I rarely used it.
This looks like what I want, I think, but what does 'unlocked' mean and when I went to Straight Talk I had trouble finding a prepay option.
Does the old fart basic phone I want still exist?
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Also what's a sim card and why/when do I need one?
The mobile phone market is in a state of constant evolution. To me, the current evolution is making things better as far as technology, but worse as far as consumer choice in providers.
I used to buy 'unlocked' phones (smartphones) for years. An 'unlocked' phone is for people that don't have a contract/loyalty to any specific provider, and they used to work on any provider's network that supports CDMA (2G) or GSM (3G) networks. These days in the US, not so much. I think unlocked phones are more popular in other countries because they sell dual-SIM units. Why would you want a phone with dual SIMs? Because in places like Europe, talk and data accounts can vary greatly and can be expensive. Dual SIMs like the BLU model you posted gives the user the opportunity to have one SIM for talk/text and one strictly for internet/data. It won't make too much sense until you travel outside of the US mobile network frequently.
What is a SIM card? It is a tiny card with an RFID chip (basically a microcomputer chip) that slips into a slot in the mobile device. It basically interfaces with and activates your phone with a subscriber number (phone number) allowing it to authenticate/connect to nearby cellular towers. It also may store a limited amount of your contacts/texts.
I live in a very rural area, so for me, the most important factor of my mobile usage is coverage. In my area, Verizon is the best I got. But I hate this company with a passion. I hate their customer service. I could try voting with my wallet, which I've done in the past, but if I want my calls/texts to go through, unfortunately, I have to put up with Verizon. Your mileage and location, of course, will vary.
You would probably do well just buying a prepaid Jethro/Jitterbug/Nokia/BLU (Called basic cell phones) from Walmart via Straight Talk/Cricket/Total Wireless/TracFone. Again, your location may vary, but in mine, all four lease Verizon towers for their coverage (subsidiaries of Verizon).
Best of luck in your search, and hope that helps.
