Previously, on prepaid: the options....
I talked about some of the independant prepaid companies, Virgin Mobile and Tracfone. This time around I will mention each of the Big 3 and their prepaid options.

Verizon:
InPulse - the PAYG plan offers Unlimited IN Network calling, Unlimited Night Calling, and 10 cents/min to everyone else; you get these perks at the cost of a 99 cent per day access charge.
EasyPay - Verizon's PYP plan offers two different rates, 350 minutes for $50 and 700 for $70; each rate offers Unlimited IN calling and 3000 nights/weekend minutes.

AT&T GoPhone:
PAYG - two choices. Similar to Verizon, you can get Unlimited calling within the network and 10 cents/min to everyone else at a cost of $1 daily access charge. You only get charged the dollar on those days you use the phone. Or, you can opt for a flat rate of 25 cents/min, no extra perks. The PAYG plans recently added text packages, and also offers rollover balance (when you refill your account, your previous balance will carry over with the refill).

PYP - AT&T offers four different packages, the perks increasing along with the price. 29.99/month gets you 200 minutes total; 39.99/month gives 300 minutes anytime and 1000 nights/weekends; 49.99/month delivers 400 minutes anytime and unlimited nights/weekends; and finally, 69.99/month promises 650 minutes anytime, unlimited nights/weekends, and unlimited mobile to mobile. Each package offers rollover. If you run out of minutes, you can add more before the end of the month.

T-Mobile:
It looks like T-Mo offers PAYG. The perks come with the Gold Rewards; once you buy a $100 refill card you become a Gold Rewards customer, where no matter what kind of refill card you get from then on you receive 15% more minutes and your minutes won't expire for a year. No text packages, but they cost 10 cents to send and 5 cents to receive; sidekick packages are also available for a dollar a day.

If you have family and/or friends who use Verizon or AT&T, it's probably best to get a PAYG plan with those services simply because they offer unlimited mobile to mobile, which can help save you a lot of money on extra minutes.

Do you need an inexpensive phone for emergencies but don't want to sign up for 2 years with one of the big wireless companies? There is an alternative in prepaid plans. Almost every wireless company has a prepaid option, not to mention a few extra places are exclusively prepaid.

So your decision has been narrowed down to prepaid. Now what? You still have a plethora of pleasing prepaid phone possibilities! Let's break down each prepaid service and what they offer.

When choosing a prepaid plan, you can choose from either Pay as You Go (PAYG) or Monthly plans. PAYG acts like the phone cards of old; buy a card with a certain number of minutes on it, and when that balance gets low simply buy another card. Monthly plans act similar to the rate plans you get under contract, except you are not under any obligation or commitment.

First, the exclusives:

Tracfone - GSM Prepaid carrier offers both PAYG and Monthly Plans. You can buy cards of minutes, get a certain amount of minutes for a whole year, you can even get signed up for prepaid family plans.
The least expensive phone on Tracfone is 9.99. 30 day return policy.
Notes: minutes roll over each month as long as you consistently add minutes at least once each 2 months.
Get a FREE Motorola camera phone when you purchase a double minute prepaid card on Tracfone


Virgin Mobile - Works off of Sprint's network. PAYG: Go with a flat rate or discounted minutes for 6.99/mth. Monthly plans: there are several plans to choose from; starts as low as 14.99/mth for 100 minutes, and goes up to 99.99/mth for 1000 minutes and free nights/weekends starting at 7. (Note - unlike most prepaid services that cut your usage off at your limit, you are allowed to go over your minutes with Virgin Mobile.) Messaging: when you get a package the messages are a penny each, so a 9.99/mth package gets you 1000 messages. Additional are 5 cents each.
The least expensive phone on Virgin is 19.99. 30 day return policy.

To be continued...

The SE Z300a is another prepaid phone from cingular. It is a simple clamshell with no outstanding features. Not many resources or reviews on this one.

Reviews
Cnet user reviews
Phonescoop

Resources
Cingular Support Site
Sony Ericsson official site

The Pantech C3, hailed as "the world's smallest flip phone" at its release, is a very basic clamshell with VGA camera, and is sold on Cingular's postpaid and prepaid plans.
Reviews
Cnet
Phonescoop


Resources
Cingular Support Site
Pantech Official Site (Manual and FAQ)