pre-paid cell phone?

[kimchicowboy]

well, i'll be back in the States for about 12 days in the summer. it'll be really convenient to have a cell available since i'll be moving around a lot visiting friends and family. how much would it cost to get a pre-paid cell phone? i'm pretty poor so the phone can be a nokia 5900 for all i care. would it be worth it to rent a cell from the airpot (SFO) for 12 days?

i think my cell phone from korea would work (a friend from korea visited the States a few months ago and her korean cell phone worked in Cali) but the roaming charges would be crazy.

thanks for any help.

[ramazank2]

If your phone is unlocked I believe you can get a prepaid SIM card and not need to buy a phone. I am trying this in my trip to china this summer.

[brain]

Yes, Korean roaming charges are pretty expensive. SK charges you like a mother. Get a TracFone deal. Some of them are like $40. The airport will charge you WAY more than that.

[look_ma]

you could be a very bad bad person and purchase a prepaid plan, use it, then return it with in the days. Most retailers will just take it back.

[ray]

buy a prepaid virgin mobile phone.

[kimchicowboy]

If your phone is unlocked I believe you can get a prepaid SIM card and not need to buy a phone. I am trying this in my trip to china this summer.
i wish. unfortunately, china took europe's route to use GSM cards while korea and japan went the more american route. i still love my phone (besides the fact that i can't understand 90% of the menu options). heheh.

ray, where can i get the virgin mobile pre-paid phones? how much? thanks for the heads-up.

[ray]

i wish. unfortunately, china took europe's route to use GSM cards while korea and japan went the more american route. i still love my phone (besides the fact that i can't understand 90% of the menu options). heheh.

ray, where can i get the virgin mobile pre-paid phones? how much? thanks for the heads-up.

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/

Pay As You Go
No contracts
No monthly bills
No hidden fees
No extra charges for weekend, night, or long-distance calls
Pay only for the minutes you use
Free voicemail

On their website, the cheapest phone is $70. Do a store locator search on their website. There were 30 stores in or around downtown San Francisco that I saw of. You may be able to get a better deal in the store.

Service Cost
Voice calls 25 cents a minute for the first ten minutes each day. 10 cents a minute for each minute after that
Text Message 10 cents to send, free to receive
Ringtones Ringtones for the Vox 8610 cost between $2.00 and $2.50 per download depending on the song.
Ringtones for the Slider V5, Vox 8500, and K7 Rave cost $2.00 per download. Ringtones for the Party Animal and Super Model cost $1.00 per download.
VirginXtras 10 cents per day to browse + cost of application. Ringtones and Voice Greetings are free to access.
411 $1.50 + Airtime
International $0.25 to $0.75/minute + Airtime

I guess this is relatively expensive, but you can always keep the phone for the next time you return to the states and use it again and again and again. Just be sure to deactivate the phone before you head back to Korea.

[brain]

Some of the places you can buy it are Bestbuy, Target, college bookstores, etc.