Interesting read... I myself have a Tracfone LG16C this one here:
http://tracfonereviewer.blogspot.com/2015/05/lg-lucky-l16c-tracfone-android-review.htmlAnd for myself I am too cheap to buy into an expensive plan for the fact that I dont need to use my phone much, but when I do need to get online while on the road I will just connect to a open free wifi connection with it and use their wifi for texting through facebook etc with friends and family.
I pay $19.99 every 3 months for it and the phone cost me $9.88 at walmart.
The phone was actually such a good deal for $9.88 marked down from $49.99 that I bought 3 extras. I figured if this phone takes a swim or I shatter the display or digitizer etc I can just move my number over to another phone. Walmart banned me from buying more than 3 of these. I tried going back a different day to deal with another employee and they were I guess given a description of me to not sell any more of these cheap android tracfones to. I was told its a limit of 3 per family. I paid cash and I think because I wanted to but 5 for the price of 1 normal priced they figured I'd be back to get more at the deal of less than $10 a phone for a $50 phone.
Anyways, I do have a mobile data plan on my phone thru tracfone and for anyone who wants to watch videos or use 3G mobile communications, they should probably avoid a tracfone as for 180 MB of Data and 180 minutes of phone time for a 60 minute card for $19.99 every 3 months in which they tripple the time and data currently, for me its worth it because I go into settings and enable and disable my 3G service so that my data plan doesnt trickle with weather updates and whatever else nonsense data is communicated with software/services on phone at my expense and so if I am away from wifi and need to check online for something such as a tattoo shop location that other day in which my GPS in my car said you have arrived and Im looking around like ....where? I was able to pull into a parking lot. Get out my phone and enable the 3G which took just 5 seconds, google search for the tattoo place and see a picture of the store front. I then realized its location. Then shut the 3G mobile service back off to avoid data plan waste and got there to get ears repierced. But for others who need more than 180MB of data in 3 month window they will want to not skimp out and pay much more than $6.66 a month is what it comes out to for me at $19.99 every 3 months.
The first month that I got my tracphone last July I left the 3G active and 180MB was drained out of it in about a month, and the worst thing is that when looking at the data history in which it shows mobile data usage, it was wasting 4 to 6 MB a day and even better there is a priority of service issue in which 3G seems to be a higher priority than home Wireless G WiFi. So when at home thinking I was using my free wifi, I was getting cheated and it was going over 3G mobile against my data plan. So I learned fast went 2 months with no 3G mobile plan because I refused to pay them any extra and instead used Mc Donalds, Dunkin Donuts, Hotels, and other free wifi that was around to use for mobile data for free. Then when I added a new card with a new 180MB data block, I made sure that mobile 3G was disabled in settings until I absolutely need it. Then use what I need and then disable it again, but when at all possible I use the free wireless where available.
So my tracphone I use as a portable computer very limited in its use compared to a home computer but I have the ability to web search or surf when at a wifi hot spot for free and avoid wasting say $1200 or more a year for a phone/data plan.
Lastly ... Battery Life lasts so much longer up to 30 hours with phone not used and mobile 3G disabled so its not constantly transmitting to a tower. My phone was going from 100% to empty in about 6 hours when in areas where there was no service and the phone will go maximum transmission strength trying to reach a tower in which its not programmed smart enough to know that your in a building where there is no cell or 3G signal so give up trying. So it will drain the battery rapidly trying to establish a connection to tower. The phone with 3G enabled where close to a tower the phone lasted longer. So thats my basis that it must ramp up its transmission wattage to try to seek a handshake with a tower at the cost of the battery life.
As far as this phone goes... Im quite happy with it. My wife has a samsung that I have wanted to throw against a wall. Her samsung locks up and lags at times even after factory reset. This LG I havent had any problems with. 4GB storage is small so pictures and video games eat up space quickly with OS eating up almost 2GB of the space on the 4GB SD. No higher end FPS or racing games etc, but puzzle games and candy crush jelly type games although I stopped at level 43 on candy crush jelly because its frustrating and designed be complex and and not give enough moves in free play ... baiting you with extra moves available at the cost of paying real money to beat a level which I refuse to get sucked into the money game they are playing!
