Come On Baby, Push My Buttons!
Written: Dec 19 '01 (Updated Dec 19 '01)
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Pros: Great phone & features, 1,000 free weekend minutes, automated time keeper.
Cons: Minutes expire in 60 days if not rolled over.
The Bottom Line: If you are looking for a great pre-paid plan, look no further than the Free Up plan from Verizon Wireless.
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| Freak369's Full Review: Verizon Mobile Phone Service in San Diego |
Oh yeah baby – I’m mobile again!
Hi. I am a consumer gadget junkie. If there were a 12-step program for people addicted to high priced yet utterly useless pieces of electronic equipment – I am sure my family would have dropped me at the doorstep for help.
Face it, you’ve seen the ad for Verizon Wireless’ new prepaid cellular service. It sure does look tempting with the free 1,000 free minutes on weekends doesn’t it? $99.99 and you are out the door [plus tax of course] and you even get a $15.00 dollar card to start you off. Talk about temptation.
Well, this freak fell for it hook, line and sinker. Yeap, after going through seven [yes seven] cellular phones in the past three years I decided that I was sick of paying for minutes I didn’t use, phones that were more complicated than a ovulation kit and don’t even get me started on the size of the phones these days.
So, pre-paid was a great alternative for me. But, don’t let my five star review make the decision for you. Before you even think of going pre-paid you have to ask yourself the following questions:
Do you use the total of your monthly minutes every month?
Are you being billed a flat rate per month for a coverage plan?
Does your usage fluctuate from month to month?
Are you satisfied with your current providers customer service, user agreement, dropped call policy and phone exchange?
When making the decision to switch to pre-paid, most people will feel an immediate hesitance to use the phone for fear of wasting the minutes on the account. I got my phone today and have made a total of eight phone calls – all of which went to answering machines and I still have 141 local minutes available. But, as usual, I am getting ahead of myself here.
Who Needs Pre-Paid Service?
This phone and plan are excellent for those people that make a few calls here and there but don’t live in it. I’ll be honest here, I have a neighbor that shall remain nameless who uses over 4,000 minutes a month – and no she isn’t a doctor or lawyer, she just loves to talk on the phone. Maybe I am weird but I detest the phone – bet you thought you’d never hear a female saying that right?
Teenagers who are asking for a phone should be given this one. Aside from the fact that it is a pre paid system – you won’t find yourself getting a $200.00 cellular bill after the first month of service. Since there is no credit check for the phone or service plan – this is a great way to give them a little discipline in the realm of money management. If they have a small part time job or get an allowance, they can buy a refill card from $20.00 to $100.00 when needed. I have a few teenagers on the holiday list to buy for and after their parents give me the OK, this will be the present they get from me.
If you use a varying amount of minutes from month to month this could be a good plan as well. You can recharge your phone bank at any time online or at a variety of stores that sell the cards or at any Verizon store. The minutes are good for 60 days from when the card is activated and if the minutes are not used you can roll them over by purchasing another card or letting them expire. If you let them expire you will lose any special features you have n your phone such as the free 1,000 weekend minutes or any other perks that were given to you when you signed up for the service.
But again, I am getting ahead of myself. Lets start off with the basics.
I strolled into my local Verizon Wireless store and had about a three-minute wait to see a representative. After I told her that I wanted to try out the new Free Up pre-paid phone, it took about ten minutes before I was out the door with a new cell phone, minutes on the system and a free cell phone cover. Not bad at all. You might have to wait a bit longer if you are in an area with heavy cell phone usage since finding a number that has been non-active for more than a few months might be an issue.
With my phone I was given the 1,000 free minutes on weekends as a perk. This is good as long as I keep my phone active with valid time on the system. I also got three free months of text messaging with no obligation to keep the service, if I choose to keep it I need to call and have the service continued, otherwise it will cancel itself out at the end of February. I also have the ability to use the two-way text-messaging feature, however, this is something that my kids will probably use more than myself.
As far as the phone itself, it is a nicer size than the others I have owned. Most were too small that they slid off my shoulder or I felt like some futuristic moron screaming into it. This one is like the Goldilocks of cell phones – not too small, not too big, not too heavy, not too light. If you are a person that loves features, the Kyocera 2135pp will not disappoint in the least.
Perks & Features
Caller ID
While not yet available in all areas, this feature lets you know who is calling before you answer the phone. When I tested the phone, only my phone number came up rather than the name and number. There is no extra fee or monthly charge for this.
Cell Face
Easier to read than most, the face has a five line display that doesn’t require a magnifying glass to read the incoming information, battery charge level or signal indicator. When accessing messages or storing information, the screen is backlit in a nice green color – very nice for nighttime calls or when in a movie theater. You can also turn off the key tones on the keypad – however this will limit the features you can use [locking or unlocking the phone, sending text messages etc].
15 Ring Tones
Ranging from the William Tell Overture to various seasonal songs, there are more than enough ring tones to keep you from getting bored. I asked about downloading different tones from the internet and no one was able to answer that question. Even so, there’s enough variety to please even the most finicky person.
Alert Modes
In addition to the ring tones you can opt to have the phone vibrate or remain completely silent. This is a nice feature to have if you are at the movies or dinner and don’t want to be disturbed yet want to be able to receive calls or be alerted via voice mail.
Buttons
The touch pad buttons are raised and individual – which makes it almost goof proof when entering numbers or names in your phone book. The numbers are not in raised ink so you won’t be able to find a center point just by touch – but there are two small raised nubs on the phone itself – just between the 3, 5 and 8 keys.
Allotment Timer
When you go to place a call you will hear a computerized message telling you exactly how many minutes you have left for the call you are about to place. This adjusts to both local and long distance calling, so you’ll always know exactly how much time you have left in your bank.
Tools
Every gadget lovers dream has come true. This phone sports a calculator, alarm [daily, weekly or monthly], stop watch, time display, multilingual [English or Spanish], a 200 name phone directory and the all too popular Srk n’Txt feature that allows you to message anyone with a text message. The phone book is very easy to set up but it does take a few minutes getting used to the scrolling feature.
Monthly Service Fee
Sweet. There is none. That’s right, there is no fee to keep your phone alive. Providing you keep your account active and don’t run out of minutes – your account is free. Even if you let your account go dormant and allow your minutes to expire – there is still no fee. You own the phone free and clear and can use it within the Verizon network.
Battery Charging
This phone comes with a plug in recharger rather than a slide in charge base pack. For me this is nice since it takes up less space and is one less thing to move when I clean. I have charged the phone for three hours and unlike most other charges, this one is completely cool to the tough. Others felt like they were ready to burst into flames. The phone came with about half a charge on it – more than enough for me to sit in the parking lot and fiddle with it.
When fully charged you phone should have up to 240minutes of digital usage time and up to 150 hours of stand by time. However, we all know that to get the best usage from your phone and recharge, you should completely deplete your battery before recharging. My phone took a full charge [from no battery power at all] in three hours. I’ll update this review as time progresses to report on how much time I actually get from a charge.
Vanity Options
The Kyocera allows you to swap the faceplate when you get bored with the blue see-through panel that it comes with. They faceplates range from $5.00 to $29.00 depending on the color, medium and style you choose. You can also purchase a hands free headset if you will be using the phone while driving*.
Service Plans
Since this is a pre-pay plan, there is only one option, buying more time. However, there are various denominations for you to choose from. There are cards as low as $20.00 and as high as $100.00 and unlike some plans, you can recharge as often as you want [some plans allow you to only recharge a certain amount so minutes at a time]. The value of the card depends on when you use it and what dollar amount you recharge at. Right now there is a rebate with the price of the phone; $30.00 cash rebate via mail or a $50.00 recharge card via mail. You can buy as many cards as you wish at a time and they do not turn active until you scratch off the number on the back of the card and call to add the time to your account. This is nice to know if you find yourself with minutes expiring – just zap the time to your account to keep it active and roll the minutes over for another 60 days.
The price per minute isn’t too bad however if the Cricket service were available in my area I would have chosen that over this. Cricket is a par per month, unlimited number of minutes plan with no credit check, no activation fee and free incoming calls.
You can recharge in a variety of ways. From your cellular phone simply dial *611 to pay by credit or debit card and have the time instantly added to your account. If that isn’t your bag baby, you can visit the Verizon website at www.verizonwireless.com to add minutes on the secure server. If you are still not feeling safe about internet transactions, you can take your phone to any authorized vendor or any Verizon customer service center to buy the cards and have them add the time or save the card until later.
Be sure to ask about the free weekend minutes as well. This is well worth the price of the phone since it also includes the long distance and toll calls.
Customer Service
When I had my standard wireless service with Verizon they seemed less than organized. I had to keep track of my dropped calls, incorrect billing statements and wait on hold for extremely long periods of time to talk to a human. Now, I just stop by my local office and deal with friendly people who really seem concerned with the customer service aspect of the business. I was given a free faceplate since they couldn’t answer a few of my questions but was given the toll free number to call the next day to answer the questions.
You can access the Verizon system at their website www.verizonwireless.com if you would like more information on local deals with the Free Up service in your area.
Service Area
This is the tricky part. Since this is a tri-mode phone you should be able to have virtually non-stop service no matter where you go. Unless you venture into my house that is. I have no reception inside the house unless I stand in the entryway to the front door or between the garage doors in the basement. Make sure you get a print out of the service areas in your neck of the woods before you buy the phone to make sure you’ll be covered wherever you go.
The Bottom Line
You really have to look at all the aspects of this program before you commit to it. And lets face it, when they say there is no commitment, there really is one. If you lapse on the minutes or don’t keep it active – you face losing your perks as well as having to possibly pay a re-activation fee. This is one of the questions that the sale representatives could not answer at the store. I will update this when I get a solid answer. Still, it seems silly to let is lapse when you get those sweet 1,000 free weekend minutes for free.
This is also a great plan for those with less than perfect credit or those not willing to commit to a two-year contract. This is the perfect phone for a teenage to have since it eliminates those huge cellular bills and allows them to have the responsibility of paying for the service ahead of time as well as maintaining the account. If this sounds like something you might find beneficial, I highly suggest that you check out the website at www.verizonwireless.com and enter your zip code to see the specials in your area.
So far I am as pleased as punch about this phone =- from the features to the weight to the overall performance. Rest assured, if something happens I will update this review with any and all information.
Wishing you and yours the seasons best…
^V^ Freak ^V^
* = Please use your phone responsibly and avoid using it while operating a vehicle. Each year thousands of car accidents needlessly take place because of people on cellular phones. Many states have implemented laws regarding the use of cellular phones while driving. Please abide by the letter of the law and keep the roads safe this holiday season.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $99.99
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