Prepaid or postpaid?: The fight for your cell phone dollars (Smartphones Unlocked)

This article originally published 11/11/2012 and was updated 1/25/2013.

By definition, the no-contract carrier model is designed to save you money over a two-year contract agreement, the latter of which reigns supreme here in the U.S.

The question is: How much do you really gain by going prepaid, and what do you lose from the subscriber experience? Without a doubt, no-contract carriers like MetroPCS, Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, and Cricket Wireless can dramatically cut your monthly cell phone bill, but there are trade-offs.

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  by Jessica Dolcourt via CNET