A Look Back at some big Things that Happened with Tracfone in 2013
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| Happy New Year Everyone! |
Plus, many of the things that happened in 2013 may have a big affect on what's in store for 2014 from Tracfone, so here we go!
Beginning of 2013 - LG 840G Gains Popularity
While the LG 840G was actually released in 2012, it saw a huge rise to Tracfone'a most popular cell phone in the first half of 2013. The touchscreen combined with WiFi, Triple Minutes for Life, access to Google Maps and many other nice features made it a great phone to upgrade to for many longtime Tracfone users.It was a step up from most other basic flip phones and allowed Tracfone customers to get a taste of the potential a smartphone could have. But the LG 840G wasn't quite a smartphone, with no access to popular apps like Apple or Android phones had.
But the phone's success may have helped encourage Tracfone towards what became one of the biggest news stories for Tracfone in 2013.
Two Words: Android Smartphone
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| Tracfone's Current Smartphones |
Rumors started filtering in around early summer, about the possibility of four Android powered phones coming to Tracfone. Many held their breath to see if this would actually become a reality, because the lack of a Tracfone smartphone had long been one of its disadvantages.
Around mid 2013, the rumors became truth as the Samsung Galaxy Centura and ZTE Valet were the first Android Smartphones to show up in stores on on the Tracfone website for use on their prepaid network.
Not long after this, two more smartphones also showed up, the LG Optimus Dynamic, and the Huawei Glory. While these phones are not the newest smartphones on the market, they are all Android smartphones, offering access to Android apps and features that Tracfone users had never had access to before.
Something of a 'new age' was ushered in with these smartphones, because up until this point, Tracfone was really only seen as a no frills, budget cell phone service provider. But now, they still have the prepaid, wallet-friendly cell phone service but with feature-rich smartphones that leave the consumer with no sacrifices made.
While using a smartphone with Tracfone prepaid service isn't for everyone, and not all Tracfone customers were jumping at the chance to buy one of these new phones, it was a great step forward and a big change for Tracfone in 2013.
A Piece of News that May Have Flown in Under the Radar
One bit of news that came out at the end of 2013 may have one of the biggest impacts on consumers going forward.Tracfone announced that anyone can now bring their own cell phone to use with Tracfone prepaid service. So instead of being forced to use one of the phones Tracfone sells, you can choose your own, and then sign up for Tracfone service.
There are some limitations at this time. Only CDMA cell phones are being accepted at this time, and no iPhones. You will want to check and make sure you can bring your phone to Tracfone before actually making the switch. You can do that on their website. Visit the link above if you need more information.
2013 has been fun, and we've seen some big things happening. But 2014 may prove to be even more eventful, with the high possibility of more smartphones coming to Tracfone.
What to Expect from TracfoneReviewer in 2014
We are excited for 2014, and we are making plans to provide more information and better resources for you, our valued visitors. We will also be working hard at keeping the Tracfone Promo Codes that everyone loves updated for each month.What do you want to know more about? Now is your chance, leave a comment with what questions you want to see answered, or what articles you would want to read!
We are going to continue providing reviews of Tracfone cell phones as they come out, and other informative articles that will help you save money, learn more, and get the most out of Tracfone.
We will also try to keep you posted on the latest news and updates from Tracfone as we learn more about many new and exciting possibilities. So stay tuned!
Thanks for visiting, and for making 2013 a great year for TracfoneReviewer blog, stick around, because 2014 will be even better! Happy New Year!
9 comments :
How are you going to know if a smartphone you want to BUY will work with Tracfone when you don't have the Serial number to check it on the Tracfone site??? I'm still using the old flip phone and would like to get the Samsung s3 mini but have no way to check if it will work. Any ideas??? There's no access to the serial # until you buy it!
I'm having a hard time finding out whether a Nokia Lumia 520 Windows 8 phone marketed as an ATT 'GoPhone' is usable with Tracfone, whether it would need unlocking to do so, and if this would involve additional expense (buying unlock codes off EBay?).
I have two questions regard the Android smart phones.
1) I have heard this answered both way (by Tracfone support personnel): Will these smart phones work anywhere in the country where Tracfone has a viable CDMA signal or are these phones confined to work only in the area (such as a zip code) where they are activated?
2) In the Android phone specs you quote (taken from the selling literature) "GPS," "GPS enabled," and "GPS capable." Do these terms mean the same thing or are they different?
Yes, GPS, and the other forms of this just means it can do GPS things like use Google Maps.
Peter...and the answer to the first question?
My Valet is less than 3 months mine. Im at an event Takin pix and now getting a "cannot connect to camera" message. No reports of this for Valet, but mine has quit working. This bites!
Will Tracfone be releasing any new Flip phones which would have triple minutes for life? All their flip phones until now only have double minutes.
i have been with tracfone for many yrs.was excited to see android phones coming,but now i won't get one.too many issues going with the phones.ive read hundreds of reviews,issues,etc.and the Big complaint is the 3 bucket system.im with everyone on this issue.if you don't do much calling,but a little more texting and web,you are sunk.why on earth would they do that? others say they would be willing to put larger amt.of min.on android,but let them use the total of min.as they wish,not in buckets.some people said they have spent more money filling the buckets than on some other carriers.will wait and see what happens.maybe tracfone will redo this problem.i hope so,and many others as well.if you love tracfone,then you want the best for us and them..
What is the difference between the minutes on an "Airtime" card versus a "data" card or a "Messaging" card? Tracfone sells all three types of cards but I don't know the difference. I had about 1800 "minutes" of airtime on my old phone. Transferred to my Samsung Android phone this shows up as 1800 minutes for AIRTIME, 1800 minutes for DATA, and 1800 minutes for messaging.
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