Heads Up on Trac Phone

Bodryn · 12-07-2010, 01:21 PM

Thought I'd give people a heads up about Trac Phone. I have dabbled in cell phones since they were the size of a small brick, but mostly did not stick with them. Lately there was an occasional need for a cell phone again so I thought for emergency use I'd get a Trac Phone rather than get into some monthly plan that I wouldn't use very much. This Trac Phone had a reasonably good signal around Minnesota and North Dakota but we spend maybe half our time in Canada.

I had assumed there would be coverage in Canada as well, as there is Trac Phone service even in some tiny ND towns, but once we reached the Canadian border, no signal at all! I even tried it one day when we were in Winnipeg, a city of about 633,000 people. NO SIGNAL AT ALL! During winter travel it would be nice to have one cell phone for both sides of the border. I would certainly like to know of one good cell phone choice that could at least be used for emergencies.

Any suggestions are welcome.

jcjacob · 12-17-2010, 09:44 PM

Timely question, Bodryn.

I just got back from three weeks in Spain and Portugal, and my Verizon HTC Incredible had no service, not even international roaming anywhere that I went. I will be making two extended trips abroad in 2011 and have just started looking for a means to have mobile availability to make and receive calls in the event I need to be contacted in an emergency.

I will post again with the results of my search, and hopefully I'll find some viable options.

Bodryn · 01-07-2011, 05:04 PM

This is definitely a case where a little standardization might be in order! I guess the privatization crowd might disagree. I remember when Betamax was the big thing, but regular VCR tapes won out.

12-07-2010, 01:21 PM	#1
Bodryn Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Minnesota; Manitoba Posts: 90	Heads Up on Trac Phone Thought I'd give people a heads up about Trac Phone. I have dabbled in cell phones since they were the size of a small brick, but mostly did not stick with them. Lately there was an occasional need for a cell phone again so I thought for emergency use I'd get a Trac Phone rather than get into some monthly plan that I wouldn't use very much. This Trac Phone had a reasonably good signal around Minnesota and North Dakota but we spend maybe half our time in Canada. I had assumed there would be coverage in Canada as well, as there is Trac Phone service even in some tiny ND towns, but once we reached the Canadian border, no signal at all! I even tried it one day when we were in Winnipeg, a city of about 633,000 people. NO SIGNAL AT ALL! During winter travel it would be nice to have one cell phone for both sides of the border. I would certainly like to know of one good cell phone choice that could at least be used for emergencies. Any suggestions are welcome. __________________ Members don't see ads in threads. Register your free account today and become a member on Tech Today Online, gaining access to posting privileges, contests, free plug-ins and other downloads, unlimited online storage for your photographs, reviews, free marketplace listings, and much more. __________________ Bodryn ======== "Where are we going? And why are we in this handbasket?"

12-17-2010, 09:44 PM	#2
jcjacob Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Doylestown, PA Posts: 159	Timely question, Bodryn. I just got back from three weeks in Spain and Portugal, and my Verizon HTC Incredible had no service, not even international roaming anywhere that I went. I will be making two extended trips abroad in 2011 and have just started looking for a means to have mobile availability to make and receive calls in the event I need to be contacted in an emergency. I will post again with the results of my search, and hopefully I'll find some viable options. __________________ -John

01-07-2011, 05:04 PM	#3
Bodryn Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Minnesota; Manitoba Posts: 90	This is definitely a case where a little standardization might be in order! I guess the privatization crowd might disagree. I remember when Betamax was the big thing, but regular VCR tapes won out. __________________ Bodryn ======== "Where are we going? And why are we in this handbasket?"

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