# I need a phone for a week... what are my options?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-phone-for-a-week-what-are-my-options/371952>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 8, 2006, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-phone-for-a-week-what-are-my-options/371952 "2006-09-08T17:58:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-phone-for-a-week-what-are-my-options/371952/1 "2006-09-08T17:58:07Z")

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I may be going on a business trip to California soon, and the people I’m going to see need to be able to contact me at any time during the week.

I do not have a cellphone, and I don’t want one, except as a temporary thing. I don’t know anyone who can lend me their cell for a whole week. The trip is for _my_ business, not my employers, so they won’t issue me one, either.

So… any ideas?

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**Author:** ![934spe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/9/90db22/32.png) [@934spe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/934spe)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-phone-for-a-week-what-are-my-options/371952/2 "2006-09-08T18:01:08Z")

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Pay as you go type service maybe?

No contract, you pay for what you need, but you will still have the cost of the phone…

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**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-phone-for-a-week-what-are-my-options/371952/3 "2006-09-08T18:09:36Z")

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It appears that a number of companies rent cell phones. [Phonerentalusa.com](http://Phonerentalusa.com) has plans in the US with a 25 dollar minimum on usage, no charge for the phone itself for the first week. Might be something to look into.

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**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-phone-for-a-week-what-are-my-options/371952/4 "2006-09-08T18:26:48Z")

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You can get a Virgin Mobile phone for $40 with 40 bucks worth of airtime.

[Virgin Mobile](http://www.virginmobileusa.com/phones/phoneDetail.do?skuId=VM2125)

Once your $40 of airtime is up you can just toss the phone or save it and buy more airtime if you need to make future trips.

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**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-phone-for-a-week-what-are-my-options/371952/5 "2006-09-08T18:34:47Z")

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There are lots of pay as you go phones. They are relatively inexpensive - $20 to $30 for the lowest cost models. This is probably your best bet for travelling as you won’t be liable for any damage to a rental.

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**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\
**Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-phone-for-a-week-what-are-my-options/371952/6 "2006-09-08T19:33:33Z")

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Thanks! Exactly what I need to know. 🙂