Rating: 
Summary: Lack of Service
Review: Initially with this phone I was happy, until the last 6 months when I was unable to purchase any additional airtime online. Instead I had to call some 800 number, which sounded like I called someone's basement with credit card information. When I contacted customer service with this problem, they did absolutely nothing! Needless to say I am discontinuing all services with Tracfone.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, Simple, Inexpensive Phone...Great Coverage!
Review: My Wife and I both use Tracfone and are very happy. If you use less than 50 minutes or so a month you can keep this phone active for less than $9 a month. I cancelled my 29.99 Sprint plan and am saving a bundle.I also gave my mom one for Christmas... If you are going to buy or activate a new tracfone you can get 100 minutes free through Tracfones Refferal program. E-mail me at scottyjny@yahoo.com for a refferal.
Rating: 
Summary: solid & plain >>> Need a referral? I'll paypal you $5
Review: Nokia makes very durable phones. I've been happy with mine, and the alarm clock feature is one you won't find on Motorola - I use the alarm all the time. Reception and volume are good. Sometimes the battery does unlatch and come off the phone when dropped (oops) but you should be juggling it anyhow. The BIG disadvantage is it does NOT have vibrate. Tones and volume are good and it's a great deal for the $. If you'd like I can refer you to Tracfone and you and I both get 100 minutes. I'll also paypal you or send you a check for $5. It's a cool deal; I'm scrybbler at hotmail. Tracfone service has historically been awful. They clearly contract it out to an overseas cust svc unit - chaos and truculence. HOWEVER, the last two times I had to call (routine things like having gotten a new phone), it was great. They were quick and responsive, and if I had a problem the couldn't fix (understandably) they gave me some minutes to compensate. They're learning! Just keep track of things and get the names of the reps you talk to. And an average customer never really has to deal with them anyhow.
Rating:
Summary: Good phone, Tracfone service is nothing special
Review: Not yet ready to make the plunge into a cell phone contract, I decided to purchase the Nokia 5125 phone with the Tracfone service in March of 2003. After a year of service, my feelings are mixed.When I first purchased this phone, it came with a full year of service, which was definitely a plus. I experienced uninterrupted service until March of 2004... of course, assuming there were enough minutes on my phone. The phone also came with an extremely valuable coupon book that gave many free minutes. On average, I figured the phone to cost approximately 33 cents a minute with the bonus airtime coupons applied. Although this was definitely not the phone to use for casual chatting, it was good for those quick calls while on vacation or a backup for emergency situations. Fast forward to Summer of 2004. The coupons are unusable now, since the airtime card minutes have changed amounts. Buying a $20 card for 40 units with no extra bonus coupons to use average the calls to 50 cents a minute, which is expensive for any reason. Tracfone's service, while not bad, was nothing to praise either. There were many times the phone would roam in an area that I was supposed to have local coverage. A roaming Tracfone takes 2 units away for every one minute... which would currently mean $1 a minute! I e-mailed Tracfone about the problem, and unsurprisingly got no response. However, I called their customer service department and received a new set of codes to put into my phone, and was also given extra airtime units to replace those lost from the roaming charges. There are a few areas (right off major interstates even) where coverage is spotty, but isn't that expected of any cell phone company? Although I have not yet used Virgin Mobile, I am considering no longer using Tracfone and going with them, since their rates are much cheaper and the phone options are much better. While this Nokia 5125 might have been a state-of-the-art phone two years ago, today it is big and bulky compared to modern day cell phone models. This is of course no problem if you only plan to keep the phone in your glove box, but if you plan on carrying it around, it can be an annoyance. I have heard many horror stories about contract based cell phone companies... outrageous romaing charges, hidden taxes and other fees, and strict guidlines regarding the cancellation of policies to just name of few. These are the reason why prepaid phones are much more attractive to me. While they may be more expensive by the minute, I am not paying for minutes I don't use... nor am I tied down to anything. There are many prepaid services out there, which is why it is good to research many of them before chosing one in particular.
Rating: 
Summary: It's all about VALUE!
Review: OK, this phone is a bare-bones, no frills product that is as easy to use as they come. I have owned on for a year now and have had no problems with the phone at all. It still carries a charge for a couple of days. The service that Tracfone provides is what I like best. Granted, if you use a cell phone more than 200 minutes a month (a rough estimation) then a contract service would be cheaper by the minute. I usually put 20-40 minutes a month on mine and it ends up costing me approx. $10-15 a month (phone cost + 1 year service prepay card + additional minutes). The more time you purchase, the better the deal gets, to a point. Since Tracfone uses other companies' infrastructure, their coverage is always the best. I don't know how they calculate when a person is roaming or not but, while traveling from NY to FL, I was not charged for roaming while calling from most places I visited. In fact, I was almost 250 miles from home before the phone went into roaming status. I'm not sure how it all works but, I like it.
Rating:
Summary: It's all about VALUE!
Review: OK, this phone is a bare-bones, no frills product that is as easy to use as they come. I have owned on for a year now and have had no problems with the phone at all. It still carries a charge for a couple of days. The service that Tracfone provides is what I like best. Granted, if you use a cell phone more than 200 minutes a month (a rough estimation) then a contract service would be cheaper by the minute. I usually put 20-40 minutes a month on mine and it ends up costing me approx. $10-15 a month (phone cost + 1 year service prepay card + additional minutes). The more time you purchase, the better the deal gets, to a point. Since Tracfone uses other companies' infrastructure, their coverage is always the best. I don't know how they calculate when a person is roaming or not but, while traveling from NY to FL, I was not charged for roaming while calling from most places I visited. In fact, I was almost 250 miles from home before the phone went into roaming status. I'm not sure how it all works but, I like it.
Rating: 
Summary: Blech
Review: One of the dying breeds of phones. The bulkiness of it, the pointiness of it, the lack of control on the menus, many phones easily surpass it. The lack of a vibration feature is simply unbearable. If you're somewhere where you do not want the phone to ring, but you are expecting a call that you can take outside, such as a movie, you have to keep the phone out right in front of you so that you can see it light up when someone is calling. This is not only tiresome, but a great way to lose your phone. Don't bother with this phone. Just put in the ten or twenty extra dollars and make your life more livable. Great. Now I'm all depressed. One nice feature is that it gets good reception, but that has become an industry standard as well. And i must add, this phone's "missed call" system is nothing short of frustrating. it doesn't tell you the most recent missed call, no, it makes a list of about 6 people that have made missed calls, and if someone calls you that is already on that list it won't tell you which one it was. This leaves 6 possible people that might have called you. Thanks, Nokia, for ruining my life!
Rating:
Summary: Best Emergency Phones we ever tried
Review: The low cost of service makes it possible for our family to keep a phone in every car, and to make sure every kid carries a phone. The contract phones we had on the family plan costed a fortune every month, whether we used the phones or not. The other extreme was the month the kids exceeded their minutes, costing an extra 60 cents a minute on our plan. Having no phone bills now is wonderful, and the kids can see their balance to budget their phone time, and use it only when very important. We had some trouble roaming, but no problems since we learned the *18 follow-me trick. The signal and service is far better than all the other plans we had, but as always there are a few dead spots, especially in the Everglades. We have recommended this phone to our friends and family, and enjoyed the bonus minutes we all get. Everyone is thrilled with the high service and low cost so far!
Rating:
Summary: ... check first
Review: The Nokia 5125 doesn't work everywhere in the US, however the Nokia 5180i (availabe from Amazon) does - because it's a CDMA. My phone came with 10 free units (20 if you activate on line). You can also get 100 free units by E-mail from Tracfone if you *activate* your phone after a friend (who already have a Tracfone) refers you (he also receives 100 minutes). 120 units out the box is a good deal. If you don't know anybody you can E-mail me, I'll make sure you receive the 100 minutes deal. My E-mail : second_tracfone@lycos.com You can buy more unit at Amazon or Tracfone. One minute will take one unit if you phone from your area code and two units if you phone out of it (roaming) however local and long distance are the same rate. If you want to move, you can change your area code and phone number (maximum four times a year) by calling Tracfone. I'm in a digital area so the sound is great, however I'm *not* in an area with text messaging available. You can set up your voice mail by calling your number from another phone (to save your units) and by using # to set your password and voice greeting.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Money Eater
Review: yes, this phone does do what a phone is supposed to but charging 36 cents a min. is apphaling! it is huge and clunky(the 80's sure did strike back)you can't hear a thing when you are talking and the ringtones are boring! my advice:give this phone to the kids, but I'm gettin' a Virgin Mobile K-7 Rave next month!
| 
