Low-cost cellphone options

CLARK HOWARD IN TOWN

Consumer warrior Clark Howard will be one of the personalities at Meeting of the Mouths, Farewell to Boortz, on Sept 27 at Trent Arena in Kettering. A sendoff for the retiring political talk radio host Neal Boortz, the event gives you a chance to get up close to the biggest and brightest names in talk radio. Tickets are on sale now at www.newstalkradiowhio.com.

ABOUT CLARK HOWARD

Find more answers to your consumer questions, plus Clark’s new book “Living Large in Lean Times,” at ClarkHoward.com. Listen to Clark Howard weeknights from 6 to 9 p.m. on AM1290/95.7FM News Talk WHIO.

Looking to save money on your monthly cell phone bill? Don’t pay big bucks to a contract wireless carrier. I want to let you know about a few of your other low-cost, no-contract options.

A deal from Metro PCS has been extended. It’s a $25 per month offer for unlimited calling and unlimited texting. That works out to be $300 annually — including all taxes and regulatory fees — making it among the lowest price points of this type in the country.

There are only a handful phones you can use on the plan: the Kyocera Presto, Huawei Pinnacle, Samsung Contour, LG Select, Huawei M735 Blue, LG Beacon or Samsung Freeform III. All phones are priced $49-$69 (plus a $10 activation fee).

This offer works best in Metro’s home markets. Though when you travel, they buy coverage for you from other cell phone carriers. But it’s really based on your home market. Visit MetroPCS.com to see what kind of coverage you can get.

The $25 offer is active through Aug. 31, but you can remain on the plan as long as you like if you abide by its terms.

Meanwhile, there’s a more experimental deal from a company called Republic Wireless.

For $19 per month, Republic Wireless customers get unlimited calling, texting, e-mail, and web on a Motorola DEFY XT — all with no contract. Of course, the no contract part means you pay the full retail price of $249 for the phone (plus a $29 activation fee).

This is an invitation-only service, so visit RepublicWireless.com to sign up today as a beta tester. With junk fees, the Republic offer works out to be about $21 a month, making it the absolute cheapest plan in America for this kind of service.