Straight Talk, a no-contract provider available both online and at Wal-Mart stores, has introduced its first Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Precedent.       Now consumers can take advantage of Straight Talk’s incredibly low $45 price for unlimited voice, text and mobile web on a phone where the data component is actually meaningful.

Why is this a big deal?    Until now, Straight Talk’s $45 unlimited plan looked very attractive against the cost of similar plans for the major carriers.   However, their phone selection left much to be desired.   Now, with the addition of the Android phone, customers get a complete mobile experience, including access to hundreds of thousands of Apps, for a fraction of the cost of similar service on other carriers.

How much do I save?   Unlimited talk, text and data with a smartphone ranges from $80 on T-Mobile up to $120 on Verizon.  This is a savings of up to $1,800 on a two-year contract.   Even better, no contract is required.

What about service quality?  Straight Talk buys airtime and uses the network of the major carriers (Sprint for this phone).   Service quality/coverage will be roughly the same as if you were a Sprint subscriber.

About the Samsung Galaxy Precedent:   This Android 2.2 device features a 3.2 inch touch screen, 2 megapixel camera with video capture and playback, Bluetooth, GPS and high speed data via 3G and Wi-Fi.   Battery life is up to 6 hours, with standby up to 9 days.   The Galaxy Precedent is M4/T4 hearing aid compatible, the highest ranking.   In addition, the phone lets you have 5 home screens and supports microSD memory cards of up to 32GB:  a 2GB card is included with purchase.

To buy Straight Talk:   You can buy online, or at Wal-Mart stores.    You can keep your existing phone number in most cases.    

Straight Talk, a no-contract service that offers two of the cheapest cell phone plans currently available, announced this week that they have expanded their service to include the AT&T network.  Previously, Straight Talk was exclusively running across the Verizon Wireless network.   This change will expand the number of locations where Straight Talk is available, as there some locations not yet covered by Verizon.

If both AT&T and Verizon are available where  you live, the network you use with Straight Talk will be dependent on the phone you choose.   AT&T works on GSM technology, while Verizon uses CDMA, and the technology is not compatible.

How to Choose a Network

If you live in an area served by both carriers, the Straight Talk website will offer you phones from both carriers. However, if  you know Verizon (or AT&T) has better coverage where you live, you will probably want to get a phone that works on the better network.

While not explicitly providing this information on their website, Straight Talk has made it easy to tell.   Just look at the letter code at the end of the phone model.  If it is a “G”, it is a GSM phone and will work over AT&T; if a “C” it is a CDMA phone and will work over Verizon.   For example, the LG100C is a CDMA phone, while the LG620G is a GSM phone.

Straight Talk Plans

As mentioned earlier, Straight Talk has a couple very attractive rate plans, particularly if you are a fairly heavy voice user and also want to use text and data.   For $30 a month, you get 1,000 voice minutes, 1,000 text messages and 30mb. of data.  For $45/month, you get an unlimited allowance of all.  Both plans include calls to 411 at no extra cost.

To make sure Straight Talk is best for you, compare it to other prepaid and no contract cell phone plans.