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Does anyone have any recommendations for a prepaid cell phone?  I have a coworker who's in town for a couple weeks who needs one for personal use. 

I've been looking at T-Mobile, Cricket, Boost and AT&T.  It looks like he can get a phone pretty cheaply, but how exactly does the prepaid part work?  Is it like a phone card that's tied to the cell phone, number you call to add more minutes?

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With most prepaid phones you buy minutes. AT&T has a gophone option which does allow you to buy more minutes at any time. Presumably through an automated service using a credit card.

Instead of paying after your usage (like most contracts) you pay before. In the case of AT&T you when you the phone, and most come with minutes and you can call to add more at anytime. Some prepaid phone minutes do expire so I would make sure to check for that as well.
You can buy minutes at better prices online as opposed to brick and mortar locations. You often save 5-10%, more-if you search for coupons, plus no sales tax.

I use Callingmart.com
I used to use a Boost mobile phone for work (actually, if your friend wants to borrow it, I'd lend it. I never use it anymore and there are still minutes on it). I think the actual phone was around $40 and the minutes were pretty cheap- you could buy them online or at 7-11 and places like that. The only thing I found annoying was, the 'chirp' function cost $1 per day. But I suppose the average cell phone user isn't using the walkie-talkie thing anyway.
As a low-time user who didn't have a cell phone until last year, I went with the T-Mobile prepaid. They offer 1000 minutes for $100, and the minutes don't expire for a year. Texts cost essentially a minute on this plan. The phone was ~$25 and came with 10-20 minutes as well.

You can just buy a prepaid SIM if you already have a phone to use that's compatible with the network. slide in the SIM, activate it (through the phone or online, I forget), and then you can add minutes at stores, online, or through the phone.

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