Rural chick needs a new phone :)

[mellie815]

Hi everyone,

I live in a rural area in Ohio with ONLY Verizon coverage and it's lousy at that. Rarely can I get 3G and nothing higher. I use StraightTalk and need to get a new phone, BUT, it has to be CDMA Unlocked to bring it to ST. All I can seem to find are unlocked GSMs but there is zero coverage where I live for that.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 looks nice but geez! That's a lot of cash to slap down on the ST version and I believe it's the 'best' CDMA they offer. I absolutely do not want an iphone either.

Can anyone help me? I have found that going to the ST website with an EIN isn't always correct and I don't want to buy something that I can't return or use. I would also love to be able to use KitKat and I haven't seen a ST phone yet that lets you update OTA.

When I do the Wallyworld or ST zip code search, the 'best' phone they offer that uses CDMA in my area is the Samsung Gal3 but at $399? I can't handle that.

Can anyone help? I can provide zip if that helps.
Thank you in advance!

 

[breadnatty08]

I would definitely recommend the Moto G (CDMA). Only problem is it may be strictly tied to Verizon and can't be unlocked to use on ST. Possibly look into it?
I love mine, by the way.

 

[mellie815]

Thank you, breadnatty08!

I had an LG Optimus Showtime that was pretty good from ST but a few weeks ago, I rooted it. All was fine for about 5 min and then it rebooted and has been bricked ever since

The Galaxy Ace Style is a step down in a few ways for me. It was all I could afford of ST's phones at the time. It has a smaller screen, a crappy camera and no flash. I was very bummed to buy a new phone that was actually less 'loaded' than my 2 year old one. Though the LG had a slow processor and only Ice Cream Sandwich, it was a nice little unit.

I'm terrified to buy a phone that doesn't work and then be stuck with it. I constantly see conflicting info on being able to use 'Verizon' labeled phones with ST. Some say you can, some say no.

If we had GSM coverage out here, I could have the world for next to nothing but, alas, has to be CDMA for me for now.
I will look at the Moto. Just curious. Would you be willing to enter your EIN # onto ST's site to see if they consider your Moto model compatible? You don't have to have any sort of account. Supposedly, their EIN tool will tell you if the make/model phone will work with their BYOP program. If it's compatible, I would be able to buy with more confidence

 

[kate]

Going from memory - I think the Verizon Moto G has to be used with Verizon for around 6 months before you can take it to another carrier.

You could also get Verizon prepaid service with the Moto G, same price at $45/month but it only includes 500MB compared to ST 3GB.

Verizon Wireless Prepay -Verizon Wireless