Contract or Pre-paid? Need opinions

[Curt]

Alrighty then!

Looking at getting a new phone, and I am now deciding between the options of:
Wal-Mart's Straight talk No Contract plan($45/mo, unlimited everything)
or
Verizon unlimited text/voice + 6gb data($130/mo)

The question of the phones in question goes no contest in favor of Verizon's offering of the Samsung Galaxy S4 vs ST's offering of the Huawei Ascend Plus.

Which would you go with? Do you find that pre-paid plans that run off the same towers as your preffered provider get equal coverage?
And lastly, is the gap in tech worth the additional cost?

Info about the phones(that I care about):
Huawei-
4" display
5 mp camera
Android 4.0 OS
Swype feature
1 Ghz processor dual core
average video card
2.7gb internal storage with 32gb microSD compatibility
$195 with $45 unlimited card



Samsung-
5"
13mp camera
Android 4.2 OS
Swype
1.9 Ghz quad core processor
good video card
32gb storage
$250 with 2 yr contract

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Go with the prepaid if you don't use your phone very much, are okay with using last years mid-level tech, and are prepared to deal with abysmal customer service.

A lot of the older folks at my work have various prepaid and pay-as-you-go plans and they all are constantly complaining about the quality of customer service and the outdated hardware.

If Verizon isn't going to break your bank, go for it, they have one of the best overall networks in the US and offer the same range of great devices other carriers do.

Might as well play devil's advocate to myself, you might want to avoid a 2-year contract if:
-You going to be moving further than 100 miles in the near future.
-You need the coolest/newest device every few months.
-You want to spend as little as possible on service.

 

[troyguitar]

abysmal customer service.

That's not unique to prepaid

Verizon especially KNOWS that they have the best phone/data service possible in most areas so there is absolutely no incentive for them to offer good customer service. If you want a phone that works well, you have to go Verizon whether they are dicks or not.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

That's not unique to prepaid

Very true, but if you can imagine, it tends to be even worse with prepaid.

 

[Curt]

Go with the prepaid if you don't use your phone very much, are okay with using last years mid-level tech, and are prepared to deal with abysmal customer service.

A lot of the older folks at my work have various prepaid and pay-as-you-go plans and they all are constantly complaining about the quality of customer service and the outdated hardware.

If Verizon isn't going to break your bank, go for it, they have one of the best overall networks in the US and offer the same range of great devices other carriers do.

Might as well play devil's advocate to myself, you might want to avoid a 2-year contract if:
-You going to be moving further than 100 miles in the near future.
-You need the coolest/newest device every few months.
-You want to spend as little as possible on service.

Verizon it is! I was on Alltel when they merged with Verizon, but I was not paying for it(was 16), and never had to deal with their CS reps. I just enjoyed alway having coverage

 

[texshred777]

Well, I can say that if you have tracfone, have to dial 911 but are cut off...good luck.

They are one of the only services who will not do a cell phone "ping" or trace to find your location for emergency services. Now, if an officer will wake up a judge to get a subpoena for your info, then perhaps within a week you'll get help coming.

 

[Curt]

I have decided on Verizon, and with only 1gb of data(I usually only browse/stream at home, or in places with WiFi), I can get away with a better phone, and better service+phone insurance for a mere 52 dollars more a month. The phone replacement alone is worth that to me.
When I was on Alltel, I went through 3 phones due to being a jackass and skating with them in my pocket. My parents must have spent $600 on my phones in those two years alone, so the $9 a month for full protection insurance seems like a smart choice to me.