Best pre-paid deal / phone in Midwest?

[gammamonk]

I'm moving back to the States in 2 weeks, after 2 years abroad. I'm a very light cell-phone user, but I need to have one. I want a prepaid so I'm not forking over $40 a month for hundreds of minutes I won't use. What's the best deal? I'll be living in Madison, WI if anyone has experience in the area.

Do any pre-paid phones have email? I use email on my phone in japan everyday. It's fantastic. I'm 2 years out of touch in the States, what do you use for texting?

You should see the phones in Japan. I emailed a photo of myself on Mt. Fuji to my mom, while on the top of Mt. Fuji! They're amazing. GPS, QVGA, and many other impressive combinations of letters.

 

[Macky-Mac]

i've been using virgin mobile for several years and I've been happy with it. You have to buy a phone from them of course but their rates aren't bad, something like you have to add $20 every 90 days......as a "lite" user I was only using $8 or $9 a month so it worked fine. I use it for text messages too. Don't know about their email services, check their website. FWIW I was using it in the Chicago area when I was in the midwest

 

[gammamonk]

Macky-Mac, good call on Virgin Mobile. I had already checked T-Mobile and Cingular, and they were both $0.25/minute. Virgin Mobile's website says it's $0.18/minute. When I get back I think I'll check them out.

Thanks

 

[gammamonk]

Update:

Walmart sells a prepaid phone called "Net10" which is 10 cents a minute with no fees whatsoever. $30 gets you 300 minutes, which last 60 days. It's a good deal.