In a move that is doubtless making some people nervous, Walmart has announced its very own mobile plans. In Walmart stores, or on-line, you can now buy a devices from the shopping giant on its “Straight Talk” plans – which offer unlimited talk time for as little as $45 a month.
How are they doing this?
The service has been organised through TracFone Wireless, a subsidiary of Latina American mobile operating giant, America Movil. TracFone doesn’t have a network of it’s own in the States, so it’s buying voice, text and data from other operators (mostly Verizon, so far) to power Straight Talk.
What are the rates?
There are two plans launched on Straight Talk so far. The cheaper plan is for $35 a month, and comes with 1,000 minutes voice, 1,000 texts and 30 MB of mobile data. The more expensive plan is $45 a month, and that comes with unlimited voice, text and data.
What kind of devices can you get?
Walmart is carrying three devices so far seem, all of them flip phones – including the reliable Motorola RAZR:
What we think?
I think this is a pretty damn good deal. You can walk out of a Walmart with a brand new device and 1,000 mins talk and text in your pocket for $65. I went phone shopping in San Francisco less than two weeks ago, and the cheapest I could get the same deal for $120 from T-Mobile (check out that article here). So in terms of price, this is pretty good news for consumers.
I have to wonder what the consequences of this deal are, though. You have Walmart here, buying space on networks through an intermediary… and selling it on at cheaper than the networks sell it. Frankly I’m pretty surprised that this service got launched at all – just how much are networks willing to undercut themselves? Or it could be a case of Walmart being able to afford to pay the operators the difference from their own pocket, in order to attract subscribers. If so, to what end?
I’m pretty amused by the $45 dollar tariff as well – pipping Sprint by 5 bucks a month at the unlimited game is quite a little PR coup.
Pingback: Tweets that mention Walmart boards the "unlimited" boat with Straight Talk mobile plan -- Topsy.com
Who cares how willing the networks are to undercut themselves as long as consumers are finally no longer getting the short end of the stick? It’s about time U.S. cell phone costs were lowered. Good for StraightTalk – and for Walmart for making such a good deal easily accessible.
I canceled my contract and bought a Straight Talk phone while it was still on trial, it’s great and I’m saving $55 /month (that’s a lot in my book). I have the unlimited plan and I love not getting that bill with those added extras that the other carriers think they can justify while they are actually just ripping you off.
I can make as many calls for as long as I like to any phone in America and from anywhere in America which I need because I travel a lot on business. Straight Talk is on Verizon’s network, nationwide which I must say gives me far better coverage than I had on contract.
This new plan is great. They even have some nice phones. The only thing is that it is not available everywhere. Just make sure you check before you buy. You can check availability here:
http://saveonprepaidphones.com/straight_talk_availability_check
The best thing about Straight Talk is its simplicity. I am so tired of wading through funky phone bills with mysterious charges and fees.
I really appreciate the savings, of course, but not having those awful and undecipherable bills has been a great stress-reducer.
And being on Verizon is cool, too.
I’m very happy with Straight Talk and am impressed with their coverage on Verizon.
To me, the $30 – 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts deal is unbeatable. I travel and have never had a problem. But if I ever go over, I’ll get the unlimited deal which is sick!
When I had Metro POS, it worked fine in town but as soon as I got outside the city, fuhgeddaboutit!
You get what you pay for, or in the case of Straight Talk, MORE than you pay for!
The program sounds great. I changed from AT&T service and wanted to port my old number, this is the fifth day and over three hours on my home, still hasn’t happened. They debited my credit card the first five minutes, it show on my back account that the funds were taken out. Now, they can’t find the charge. Customer service gave me a reference number the first day, couldn’t find the second, so they gave me another and a ticked number. So, the jury is still out on Straight Talk, not impressed at this point.
We switched from Sprint. We were with them for 8 years, paying 200.00 a month for a family plan. After buying the phones and the first month of service, Straight Talk is gonna save us hundred’s over the year, and thousands over a decade. Its the best damn deal out there(Period). The only downside, low tech phones. But at the cost were still saving a crapload of money. And I can switch to my Ipod Touch to email on free Wi-Fi when I find it. I highly recommend this program to everyone thats tired of paying the mainstream cell companies a fistfull of cash.It really does give you a fair service. TheSarge
I have Straight Talk. I previously had Verizon then switched to AT&T but the bills were CRAZY!.
When I heard about Straight Talk I couldn’t believe it but got it from Walmart and have had it now for 2 months and it is just sick! I’d heard that it was on Verizon and the coverage is rock steady, so yeah!
I switched from AT&T to Straight Talk almost 3 months ago and I couldn’t be happier. Verizon coverage where I live is amazing, and 45 bucks for unlimited talk, SMS/MMS and data? WOW !! Or I can choose the $30 (not $35 as stated) choice and that’s still an amazing deal. The only thing that bothered me was the phone choices (lack of them to be exact), I first bought the LG290 and I loved it except that it didn’t have expandable memory. Such a disappointment for such a nice phone. So I returned that and got the Samsung R451 messenger phone… which DID have expandable memory. The keyboard was a nice feature but the phone was clunky and slippery and I dropped it constantly. No scratches though… I have to say it was durable! But I still wasn’t happy….. then I saw that they released the Samsung Finesse R810 touch screen and I was elated… FINALLY a phone I could love! I had owned the R451 for over 3 weeks by then but my WalMart let me return it and my fiance bought me the Finesse for Christmas. I could finally be happy… or could I ??
I LOVE the Finesse…. it’s a fantastic phone! Calls are clear… speaker is great… the camera takes an unbelievably beautiful picture and it even takes short videos with the camcorder !! No I have no problem with the phone, but I do have a problem with Straight Talk crippling it! Why no games on this phone? With such a nice screen to play them on I just cannot understand this! And I think you should give us the opportunity to add more apps than the ones you’ve chosen for us. I love the Facebook app and also Photobucket, but I do not Twitter or use Flickr. I’d rather have Bejeweled Blitz any day of the week! C’mon ST… you can make this phone worth the 300 bucks it cost !!
I have a friend who has Straight Talk and yea it may be cheap but the reliability and reception for this service is horrible. Why do you think Verizon cost’s more because the service is faster and more reliable it’s as simple as that. The cheap your provider is the shittier the service is. You’re better off with Sprint, AT&T or Verizon
This plan is absolutely wonderful – just $45 for UNLIMITED calls and texts. Could it get any better? I do most of my shopping at Walmart to save money so it was perfect since Walmart carries Straight Talk exclusively nationwide now. Plus this prepaid plan is on the Verizon network so I get awesome coverage. My family and I are saving over $500 a year by switching to this plan. Its too good to be true! (but it is true!)
I purchased the Samsung SCH-R451C from straight talk and the phone sucks, the features on the phone don’t work properly and customer service sucks as well. I love the $45 unlimited plan. I bought my daughter the $40 phone and her service works fine. I contacted (walmart) the store where it was purchased about a return policy or exchange and they have a 15 day return policy which wasn’t explained at the time of purchase. I called straight talk and they have a 2 week wait on reutrning a phone and receiving a new one. I should have gone to Cricket and called it a day… They should have waited and gotten all the kinks out first… Good-luck all….
Straight Talk really is a wonderful deal that is helping me save a nice bit of change every month. Instead of paying over $100 a month with my previous carrier, I’m only paying $45 for Straight Talk’s unlimited use plan and I don’t worry about overages. I used to drop calls and miss messages constantly on my previous network, but on the dependable Verizon network I have yet to drop one and I have an even greater calling area. Straight Talk even has a decent selection of quality phones that dont require any kind of contract or extreme price – everything about Straight Talk has helped me save. Despite the negative comments, I think everyone should do their own comparison shopping concerning the pros and cons of any new cell phone company they may want to join. I shopped around and I still think Straight Talk is the best deal out there.
Straight Talks plans are the best deals out there at the moment. Unlimited everything for only $45 a month, plus free 411 calls, its pretty hard to beat. The only negative comments I know of are from people who didnt understand the coverage areas before switching over. They work on Verizon’s prepaid network, and dont include the further afield roaming areas. If you’re in an area with coverage, get one of their plans, it’ll save you money without doubt.
I live in Wadsworth, OH and was curious to know what companies towers “StraighTalk” uses for cell phone reception. Anyone out there use StaightTalk and live in Wadsworth, OH that could give recommendation for purchase?
At present I have T-Mobile pre-paid and have spotty reception because of tower location. Can anyone give me any info., to help me make up my mind about a purchase?
Thank you
I have had the Straight talk plan for about a month now and I am very pleased with both the plan and the phone. I have the Samsung R 450 messenging phone and I love it!! I thank Walmart for sellingh a phone plan that doesn’t force you to be tied down to a contract with poor service. Thanks!!!
I just canceled my 2 year plan with Centennial Wireless (now AT&T) for $250.00. I purchased the LG290C through Straight Talk for $80.00 and am loving it. It’s a great phone for the price with quite a few neat features. The talk quality is excellent. I’m actually getting a lot clearer service with Straight Talk than with AT&T. I was paying $70.00+ a month for around 800 minutes prime time, limited 10 messages on voice mail, and .25 cents per text message sent….with no web access. AT&T tried to sell me a no contract service at $60.00 a month, limited everything, and the cheapest phone which was a cheap flip phone for almost $150. I am so happy with my decision. Like others though, I would love some games. Hopefully as this service takes off, more applications will follow…it only makes financial sense for StraightTalk.
Straight Talk is the best prepaid service around. I couldn’t be happier with my switch to a no contract plan, it is saving me over $500 a year! On top of that, it is on the Verizon network so that means AWESOME coverage. It really is a great plan and I have yet to come across any problems with it. I reccommend it to anyone trying to save some extra $$$ the smart way
Straight Talk truly has been in the words of Martha Stewart ” A Very Good Thing”. I used to have T-Mobile service and I was satisfied until it became time to renew my contract. As soon as it became time to resign for another two year contract T-moblie stated that not only do I have to pay upwards of 150 dollars for not even the most updated phone, but also an $18 upgrade charge on top of only getting 300min/5faves peak hour min for $70 a month. To say the least was not impressed by the results of their current “So called Deals”. I switched to Straight Talk and within the first day of receiving my phone from the website I ported my number and began service immediately, and have not looked back. I got the $45 dollar a month plan and enjoy not having to think about minutes all the time , but also the service has been excellent. I have had a few dropped calls here and there but no more or less than any of the other providers I have been with thus far. There are always pro’s and cons to every service provider , but the bottom line of the no fee straight forward talk has truly sold me.
customer service is in south America and and they lie like a bear skin rug! once the service gets going it is fine! now if i could find the razor phone some place!
After paying $170 a month for 3 phones (me and 2 teens) I was glad to see Straight Talk..I admit I miss my BlackBerry..BUT I’m saving a ton and I don’t have to worry about my kids going over.. I only have one complaint…I found it impossible to get our numbers ported..and customer service was dreadful while i was trying to get it done. That being said..we just accepted new numbers and are very happy with the service and the network..and my bank card…is thankful.
I’ve had several phones T-Mobile, Cingular, and other prepaid plans but Straight Talk is the best!!!
I got the strait-talk – 1st month is beautiful but just wait til you refill .. if u let the service run out ( u dotn fill it befor the end of time{ screwy things happen — i had couple hours talk time left and didnt refill when service end date at midinight occurred (would anyone) ?
so a day or 2 went buy . had to call and talk to these spanish speaking accent people that u can barely understand for the most part and they repeat a stupid script and dont seem to care (thoug the script says ‘ i apologize’ and ‘actually ‘ .. ) talking to service is just annoying in the most basic sense –
so the tech support guy got it working .. it worked fer 1 day .. then stopped .. tech support guy says ‘i dont knew why it stopped but us shouldnt have let it run out .. bad things happen when u do that ‘ — ‘ ill give u an extra 2 das of credit ‘ end of service caem, i got texts saying refill, and then n.. bam.. service off — no extra 2 days — service people and tech support cant find record of ‘additional days for service outage ‘ — they cannot credit me days or minutes ! i just have to add my new card .. thats it ..
THEY SUCK ! good for 1 month .. then IT SUCKS !
i have a straight talk phone which i have only used for a few months. as far as the price for the service i am happy 45 dollars for unlimited phone use i think thats a good deal. however i am having problems with my phone now. i just made a call and when i went to hang up the screen froze up and i cant get it to do anything now , i have tried pressing all differnt buttons but the screen is still frozen showing the last number i called . any suggestions please help.
I’ve been prepaid for years, first with T-Mobile, then with Virgin Mobile. I was happy with Virgin Mobile until I moved to Vermont. Like most prepaid carriers, Virgin Mobile uses Sprint towers, and Sprint has very few towers in Vermont. Up here, the choices are AT&T or Verizon. I didn’t want to end up stuck in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, so I started looking for a new cell plan.
I didn’t like AT&T Go Phone, Verizon’s pre-paid plan was too expensive, and TracFone doesn’t offer web access. I was on the verge of signing a contract when I discovered Straight Talk. I’m a light user, and the $30 plan gives me 1000 minutes, 1000 text messages (including picture messages) and 30 mg of web access for 30 days. I have the Samsung R451C; it’s not a smartphone, but I can check my e-mail, check the weather, and get directions.
The only problems I’ve had with the phone are lack of games and lack of a timer. It has a stopwatch, but not a timer. It also doesn’t work outside the US (I live near the Canadian border), so I bring my T-Mobile phone when I got to Canada.
Refilling hasn’t been a problem. I buy service cards at Wal*Mart, and Straight talk sends text messages reminding me to refill. I haven’t missed a deadline yet.
Straight Talk uses Verizon towers, so I have service almost everywhere. Reception at home isn’t great (1-2 bars), but that’s due to location. My GPS and my husband’s phone (AT&T) can’t get a signal, either.
If you’re a light user who doesn’t want to watch the clock, Straight Talk can be a great alternative to limited prepaid plans or expensive contract plans. I feel like I have the best of both worlds.
I feel sooooo free after being in contract phones for 12 to 13 years. I just bought my ST phone today, and got my phone number ported to my new phone in less then an hour. I did it online, gave the info it asked for, and was very painless. and saving about 50 dollers a month is more then worth the 138 dollers cancelation fee for my contract. Thank you ST.
Love It! Finally I could fire At&T they’re thieves with the worst customer service and overpriced plans with tons of extra charges and taxes. Straight talk has been great since day 1. My AT&T phone number was transfered in 2 hours you just need to make sure when you call to transfer that you have your password that you use online to access your account, otherwise it will take 3 days. The only glich I’ve had in 3 months is that once in a while the service tells me I have to buy more time when I actually dont. Just simply hang up and redial. The unlimited 411 service has saved me a lot of money compared to AT&T’s $3 charge. Just make sure you check the coverage area before you buy.
i have had straight talk for about a month now with the messenger phone. it is great for calls and texts but boy does it suck for web. i am really disappointed because unlimited web surfing was part of the reason i got it. i have been barely able to get on any web page without getting an error or the phone reseting itself. i am surprised i couldget on thi site. i cant wait to g ck to verizon and a real smart phone.
I have been with Straight Talk for four months now and can’t be happier. I can’t believe I was paying almost $150 a month for T-Mobile for basically the same deal. I like my texting phone as it is very easy to use and has just the right amount of features that I need. I have yet to be somewhere and not have signal. Oh yeah! No dropped calls here! That’s right. I have yet to have a dropped call with the Straight Talk service.
My daughter started college this year and before she left, we went out and got her the phone she wanted and enrolled her in the autopay program for the $45 unlimited minutes, text, and web. No surprises hear. My credit card statement will show $45 no matter how much she talks, texts, or uses the web service. If you have heard of this service and have not switched yet, you must enjoy spending money needlessly.
Well, after my 1sy week this just RAWKS! To go from 6 lines and 512 bucks to 6 lines and 270 bucks and get the service coverage I got? This is absolutely awesome! I have zero issues c/s was a lil hard to comprehend, however, it went off without a hitch. I’ve been reading these posts and it seems that a lot of complaints are folks who let them run out, call to get something for NOTHING and STILL complain no service, it’s horrible blah blah. you have 30 days to refill, if you don’t? You get no service. Kind of simple really. Anyways I certainly love this straight talk service!
I switched from a 450 min per month Verizon plan that was costing about $47 with taxes to a 1000 min per month Straight Talk plan for about $32 with taxes. And get this! Service is on exactly the same network! Even the voice mail prompts are in the same voice. But beware of the customer service. The web site is a joke and has not worked for two months to set up auto refill. You gotta call India even to activate a card you buy at Walmart.
My Straight Talk plan works great for me. I’ve got unlimited talk time for $45 a month with no hidden costs and am not tied to a contract so if I was unhappy with the service I could just switch over to something else without having to pay any penalty fees.
Howdo you port your numbers and how fast can it be done and what do you need to know to port your numbers. Thanks
I just had to chime in. I used Verizon for years and finally got tired of paying for services I never used. Even scaled down as much as possible I was paying over 100 bucks a month, and when I tried to switch services it was always such a hassle I finally gave up and went to Straight Talk.
I’ve used it now for about 8 months, and I am very happy with the service. The 411 kind of sucks due to the computer program that plays commercials and not being able to talk to a live service tech. But that it my only complaint.
I always have service. The 1000 minutes/texts are more than enough. Rollover would be nice, but for 30 bucks a month I can hardly complain. I don’t pay for stuff I don’t use, and Samsung phone with the Qwerty keyboard has served me well. I also have used the LG 260 I think, which was very basic but I never had any issues with it.
Overall, Straight Talk saves me a ton of money and since I use my phone for basically two things: calls and texts, it suits me perfectly. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
well i guess you get what you pay for. i am not a talker so i got this phone for the txting and unlimited web access, damn was i disappointed. it may be cheap but alot of good it does me to have it when the internet is so shitty. i have never had a phone i so wanted to bust into a million pieces and set on fire, its really that bad. to start with i have tons of supposedly compatible music files i cant even play, it will hardly load a web page without issue, there are no games or music and even on my older than dirt at&t phone i could get on youtube. then theres the fact that like others before me have mentioned, it just stops working altogether even though i have plenty of minutes and theres hardly any service even in my own home. seriously wtf straight talk?! why did you guys rush this load of shit into production? the affordability is just not worth the loss of features and i wish i never got it… grrrrr…
I’m so happy to be on ST, I don’t play games nor use the internet on phones so I’m good. I’ve been overcharged for yrs on Verizon, then scaled down to a plan they had for $46 with 700min and no texting. I did this until my contract ended with them, determined not to hand over anymore money to them. I’m at Wal-Mart alot so I decided to pick up the LG phone and my card and I’ll get a card each month. I’m so glad to be saving money and getting more for my money w/o worrying about overages and checking minutes like I was before w/ Verizon.
I am new to the whole ST thing but I just read the terms of service and it said that it can discontinue your service if you use it to much and I bought the $45plan is this true???
We’re shopping the prepaid cell phones as well to save money. Straight Talk offers the best plans to meet our needs. One user has very high phone usage and the unlimited plan offers the best pricing. The other is much less and the $30 all you need plan is perfect. That’s what’s great about this, pick your plan based on your needs and change as needed. Puts the customer back into control and without a contract. Good to know that you can port your current number if needed.
Was with Verizon for 13 years and finally got tired of paying too much for nothing. Even scaled down our plan to $100 a month which gave me and my wife only 700 talk and 500 text for our 2 phones. I really hated all of Verizons weird fees.. dollar here, .50 cents there, on what was supposed to be $60 for 2 phones ends up well over $100
Picked up a Smart phone $45 a month plan and another phone $30 a month plan and ported my phone number that i had for almost 16 years and hers with no issues. I think we are on the ATT network, and now I finally have a phone that works in our home, lol… what a concept, a cell phone working in the house.
So far so good but I hear the cust service with ST is the worst, but like I said to the Verizon Techs, you may have great cust service, but then again I shouldnt have to be calling you over phone and billing issues……
Had verizon for 12 years with extra fees and charges every month S Talk is great . the web service sucks hope it improves like the phone !!
I had been with Verizon for 15 years. Service was fine, but the bills were too high. I bought my Straight talk last week. My phone number was ported over within minutes, and have loved my phone and service ever since. I have the R355 C phone. Web works fine on it. I was told by the Walmart personel that if the phone has a C in the model number, it will run off the Verizon towers, otherwise it will be AT&T or T mobile. We live in a good verizon area. I have had no dropped calls and the web works everywhere I’ve been so far. I’m very happy. I will make sure that I put a new card on it before the old one expires. I do wish that there were games on the phone, but I’m not used to having them, so I don’t miss them. It makes a nice music ipod though. I’ve transferred songs from my laptop to the phone via usb cable.
Is there an unlimited internet, talk and messaging plan?
I have straight talk for two years now. Its gotten better with its customer service at frist it was bad when you have to speak to someone that you could not understand. My daughter first phone broke within a week. So straight talk said I had to send the frist one back to them which I did. And when I call one person would say they never received it. And anotheir would say they recevice it and would send us a phone it never happen. Everytime I call they repeat the same thng to me. I even had the tracking number and day and time and the name of the person that sign for it. And they still claim they didn’t recevie it. So I end up buying anotheir phone. After dealing with them for two month and my daughter without a phone which was terrible when I have a daughter that is very active and sports. And the customer service people were so rude to me when it should had been me so upset. And when I ask for my daughter to have the same number they said it would be fine. What happen she end up with a new number eithier the customer service man was new at his job and had no ideal what I was asking for. But otheir than that my own phone lasted a year. Which was past the date for a new one due to their warrantly but whos to say they would send me one back due to my experience on my daughter phone. And my daughter lost signel alot in the house but my phone was okay but just went blank the screen would not light up and I lost all of my mumbers. But as far for the price of the phne charges I can complain about that at all but when they say auto refill they mean auto refill in 30 days I didn’t know at frist which end up costing me over draft fees. I was thinking if you fill on the 3rd it would be the 3rd it came out of your bank. Now I know Am sure am not the only one that had expercience that. I hope eveerybody have a bless day.
Hey there! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting fed up of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at alternatives for another platform. I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
Um. Actually we are using WordPress