so my father-in-law tells me he wants a prepaid cell phone just in case of emergency....he said he saw a bunch of them at target and wants to get the camera phone kind where he can take pictures

i don't know anything about prepaid cell phones....how would he transfer the pictures off his camera so he can print them out? that's what he wants to do

6/25/2008 10:42:39 AM

if he wants a prepaid phone for emergencies then thats one thing

but if he wants it to use as a camera and print off pictures i'd say he would be better off getting a cheap and simple phone and get a separate digital camera.

the lenses and resolutions of camera phones are getting better, but imo the pictures i take with my phone aren't even close to print-worthy and i have a 1.3mp lense that takes 1280x1024 pictures (decent?). it would also probably be easier to transfer pictures from a digital camera to his computer and printer than a cell phone would

to answer your question though, he could send himself an email with the pictures attached, given the phone has the emailing capability. or in my case, i have a pocket pc that syncs to my computer via a usb cable, in which i can just move them over by clicking and dragging

6/25/2008 10:57:46 AM

keep in mind he is stubborn and not tech savvy
he just wants one thing to carry.....phone and ability to take pictures

he doesn't have a computer so transfering via usb cable will not work, also not sure if these prepaid phones have usb connection

i guess his only route is email to him but how does the prepaid service charge

or..are there prepaid phones with storage cards?

6/25/2008 2:03:49 PM

haha scratch the emailing to himself since he doesn't have his own computer

so i think ideally he wants a prepaid phone with storage card..so he can just take storage card to photo developer

6/25/2008 2:06:35 PM

ok so after 2 weeks of research, the prepaid cell phones aren't economical...most of the plans require you to recharge every 30 or 90 days.....if i want to buy a 1 year plan it's like $90 for virgin mobile...

my father-in-law only needs this for emergency and paying $90 for 450 mins of which he'll probably only use 60 mins at most the whole year seems like a waste not to mention i have to buy the phone too...

any other means? do they sell disposable phones with already like 60 mins precharged?

7/14/2008 1:14:25 PM

define "emergency"

any phone can call 911 whether it has any "minutes" left or not.. if he's just wanting it for that kind of emergencies

as far as using it for a camera.. it's just a bad idea, period.

7/14/2008 1:50:04 PM

^

7/14/2008 2:27:46 PM

just get a camera

7/14/2008 2:32:09 PM

yea this whole idea just doesnt really make sense, no offense. he just needs to get a camera and a phone separate.

7/14/2008 2:41:10 PM

no no no forget the camera...that's the least of his needs now..he just wants a phone for emergency.

by emergency i mean call us if his car broke down.....which it has before...

7/14/2008 11:51:17 PM

if you get a prepaid phone. get one with free min. included in the box. then you can turn it on and use it when you need it, but not before, b/c it will expire. get it?

7/14/2008 11:58:35 PM

can you use a calling card on a prepaid phone?

7/15/2008 9:50:58 AM

Quote :

"no no no forget the camera...that's the least of his needs now..he just wants a phone for emergency. by emergency i mean call us if his car broke down.....which it has before..."

hmm, surely somebody sells something that doesn't expire like most do. he could always just not activate it until he needs to use it. the biggest problem with that is if something happens during the activation process he might need to call from a landline to get through the process

that's very rare though--I'd say that is his best/cheapest bet

(although honestly I think after he gets a cell phone and starts using it he'll start using it more than he expected and this will work itself out)

7/15/2008 10:00:31 AM

get him an at&t go phone: http://tinyurl.com/36om4m

you can get them as cheap as $10, there's no contract, free shipping, online activation (you don't need to go to a store), and you get 10 minutes of free air time with your purchase (i think...i got a samsung A437 to unlock, and it was $20 with 10 minutes in free talk...i haven't used it yet)

[Edited on July 15, 2008 at 10:32 AM. Reason : .]

7/15/2008 10:31:48 AM