Tracfone Android News - Use Any CDMA Phone at Tracfone

Now You Can Use Any CDMA Android Smartphone with Tracfone Prepaid Service

Tracfone Android News!

We are covering some exciting Tracfone news as it develops:

There were rumors that Tracfone would soon allow users to bring their own Android Smartphones to use on Tracfone prepaid networks, and we recently noticed confirmation of this.

Tracfone states on their website that you can now bring your own phone when switching to Tracfone.

Yes, this means you don't have to use one of Tracfone's cell phones to use their prepaid service! While Tracfone recently released four Android Smartphones for use on their prepaid network, these phones are a few years behind modern smartphones. But now you can pick the latest and greatest smartphone, and still use it with Tracfone.

Unfortunately you can't bring any phone, but you can bring any CDMA Android Smartphone, which gives you some pretty advanced options, like the Samsung Galaxy S3. Tracfone does mention that Apple and Blackberry phones won't work.

How You Can Use Your Existing Smartphone with Tracfone

Here is a quick guide for how you can pick a cell phone and use it with Tracfone prepaid service.

If you already own an Android Smartphone, and want to check if it will work with Tracfone, start by checking if it is a CDMA cell phone. If you use Verizon service, then it is CDMA. You can also check by looking for a SIM card (sometimes under the battery). If the phone has no SIM card space, it is CDMA. (learn more about the Difference between CDMA and GSM here)

Screenshot about using any Android Smartphone with Tracfone

Next, you will want to go over to Tracfone and check that your phone will work, and that you will have service in your area, by entering your ZIP code and phone's serial number.

From there you can simply follow the steps as Tracfone will have you purchase an access code, transfer your number (you get to keep it), and buy airtime.

What This Means for Tracfone Customers

This is exciting news for Tracfone customers and non-customers alike, because it means that you will have access to a much wider range of cell phones to use with Tracfone prepaid service. Do you like the features of an Android Smartphone, but don't want to pay the high costs for a contract service? Now you have some options.

This also means that Tracfone is moving towards allowing more and more different cell phones for use on their prepaid service.

You can still purchase their existing Android Smartphone offerings, the Huawei Glory, ZTE Valet, Samsung Galaxy Centura, and LG Optimus Dynamic. These phones come at a relatively low price compared with other smartphones on the market. But if you want the best Android Smartphone to use with Tracfone, now you can do that!

We will keep this updated as more information becomes available, and details are clarified. Please be sure to leave a comment with any questions or thoughts.

You can also take a look at our Holiday Tracfone Gift Guide or check out our most popular page, the Tracfone Promo Codes.

Don't forget to share this with friends and family who might want to know about this exciting Tracfone news!

Flash player for Jolla smartphone

Notes (IMPORTANT)

• Jolla's own Sailfish Browser does not support flash content, and there is no official support coming afaik.
• Adobe flash player installed by instruction here must be updated manually.
• Using an old version of Adobe Flash player might cause security issues. When writing this guide, latest official Android version is 11.1. For other operating systems, like Linux, version 11.2 is already published.
• Jolla does not officially support 3rd party stores, like Aptoide which is mentioned in this guide. Use 3rd party stores with your own risk.

How to Install Adobe Flash player for Jolla Smartphone (unofficial, read Notes)

1. If not already done, install Android support from Jolla store. For this you need to be logged in with your Jolla account (Settings -> Accounts -> Jolla, white spot active)
2. Long web address to write: Use your phone internet browser (any), and go to http://download.macromedia.com/pub/flashplayer/installers/archive/android/11.1.115.69/install_flash_player_ics.apk
3. The install packet: Flash player for Android* is downloaded to your phone. Close the browser
4. Go to Settings -> Transfers and click the downloaded packet. It should install to your phone. 

 * Legal note: Distributing Adobe Flash player is prohibited elsewhere but in Adobe's own sites macromedia.com, adobe.com or via their official partners. For your own security, make sure you download the install packet fromtheir own web site (like the link above, including text http...macromedia.com/) in the very beginning of the address. If you find a similar apk from 3rd parties, please report it to Adobe.

How to use flash content on Jolla

• You need an Android web browser, as Adobe doesn't offer support for Sailfish. Any browser should do, but this is tested to work at least with Firefox. Simply start your Android browser and go to site including flash content.

How to Install an Android web browser to Jolla

• A lot of Android browsers are available in a lot of different app stores. To keep the guide here simple, I use only one example: Installing Firefox from Aptoide store

1. Open your phone browser, go to address m.aptoide.com/installer. Install Aptoide store (close browser)
2. Open Aptoide store and search Firefox. Install the application (close the store)
3. Close the store - Your browser is now ready for use in the Launcer view (applications screen)
   
   If you want, you can move the icon up to the home screen quick menu (first four applications of your launcher view are shown on the home screen)

Next guide coming up at reviewjolla:  

How to Install GO Launcher EX on Jolla, enabling better view on installed Android applications.

Jolla: Coming soon

Short review to current topics of Jolla conversation going on, soon to be news:

15-Dec-2013 Updates from Jolla

• Another bug fix release for Sailfish OS is promised before end of the year
• New features to Sailfish OS is promised at Q1/2014 (meaning between January and March)

15-Dec-2013 Pre-order customers are still waiting their Jolla phones

• Latest statement from JollaHQ: "Due to tech problems with shipping a number of pre-orders might be delayed. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience!"
• Few hundred phones are received by pre-order customers outside Finland
• Some more customers have received email and post office tracking codes for their phone
• More that 2000 orders have status "In picking", first ones standing unchanged for 4th day
• Additional to that, about 2000 orders outside Finland & over 2500 orders in Finland are still pending with status "Paid"
• Jolla has contacted their waiting customers nicely. Community seems to be forgiving for possible delays after the company's informing policy showed some undestanding towards customers.
• More than 300 customers have been following their orders on a community worksheet 

13-Dec-2013: DNA Stores running out of Jolla phones

The new product is either very limited or very popular. First DNA store to run out of Jolla smartphones phones was the most popular one at Kamppi, Helsinki. Finnish people who haven't orderd Jolla yet should now hurry up and find a DNA Shop to ensure having a new finnish phone for Christmas. Next shipment to the empty shops is expected to be delivered at Tuesday.

Despite that, DNA has started selling Jolla to finnish customers also in their web shop

• No orders outside Finland allowed via DNA - Not even to Åland (part of Finland).
• Price for the phone in Finland is 399 EUR. Contracts are also possible. Phone is not SIM locked.
• Foreign customers are hoping for Jolla to start a new campaign or to enter their own country How about Åland?
• Only country informed to start selling so far is Portugal. Estimated start there on Q1/2014
• Jolla has plans to go wider in Europe, and enter China, next year.
• Link to DNA shop - Jolla (For customers living in Finland only)

Tracfone Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas Gift Giving Ideas with Tracfone

With Christmas and the holidays fast approaching, it can sometimes be very challenging to figure out gifts to get friends and family. Well we are here to help! This is our 2013 Christmas(or for any occasion) Gift Ideas Guide.

Tracfone Gift Guide for Christmas by TracfoneReviewer

This guide will help give you ideas and share some of the newest and best cell phones and accessories available from Tracfone. Use this guide to get a heads-up on some of the newer stuff available from Tracfone.

For those who might not know, Tracfone is a low cost, prepaid cell phone company that offers phones for $100 or less, and prepaid minutes in varying amounts.

In this guide, we will cover the latest and greatest Tracfone cell phones, cell phone accessories, and prepaid minute cards to give you a jump on what to buy others (or yourself...) for Christmas.

So let's get to it!

Cell Phone Christmas Gift Ideas from Tracfone

These phones are some of the best and newest available from Tracfone. All use Android OS, making them powerful, functional, and full of great features including tons of apps from Google Play.

A Tracfone cell phone can be a great gift for young teens, or anyone who doesn't have a cell phone and either wouldn't use the phone too often, or needs to learn not to talk and text all day!

These Android powered prepaid phones are each around $100 (some even less) and come with everything you need to activate them right away. You can even use an existing number if you want.

Here are the four Android Tracfone Christmas gift ideas:

ZTE Valet

ZTE Valet - With great features like Android 4.1, WiFi, and Triple Minutes for Life, this is one of the top Android phones from Tracfone. Some users report low signal strength on the WiFi, and you can read our complete review of the ZTE Valet to learn more. It does come with a free 4 GB Micro SD card. The Valet can be found in many stores and online, but we found it on Amazon at $15 off!

Huawei Glory - Running Android 4.0, the Glory has many of the same great features as the Valet, and even has an FM Radio! Check out our review of the Huawei Glory for complete features and specs. It can be found on the Tracfone website, or from many other major retailers.

Samsung Galaxy Centura - A great phone from a well known brand, the Centura also runs Android 4.0, and has WiFi, Triple Minutes and much more. Read our full review of the Samsung Galaxy Centura for all the details, including how to check your balance from the phone. The Samsung Galaxy Centura is available in many stores and websites, but you can get it on Amazon for $30 off!

LG Optimus Dynamic - Last but not least, this phone resembles the LG 840G in some ways, but comes with many more features, most notably Android 2.3. Get our review of the LG Optimus Dynamic for more information. The Dynamic is available in many places online and in store. We even found it on Amazon for just $60! (prices are current at time of posting, but may change!)

All four of these phones will make a great gift. But if you're looking for something that just does the basics like calling and texting, you might be interested in the LG 840G or the Alcatel 382G.

Cell Phone Accessory Gift Ideas

With cell phones, it is always nice to have plenty of accessories, whether that consists of car chargers, touchscreen covers or sturdy cases, below are some of the best options for your Tracfone device.

Tracfone Covers - A cover for your cell phone is one of the best ways to protect it form scratches, and even from dropping it. Covers come in many different colors, costs and levels of protection. Be sure to get the right cover for phone, as they come in all kinds of different sizes.

One easy way to find covers for your cell phone is to head over to Amazon and then search for the name of your phone, followed by 'cover' or 'case'. There should be plenty of options to choose from.

Charger and Accessories - Sometimes it's nice to have a car charger, or other accessories that make your phone more convenient to use. Some cell phone bundles come with extra accessories, but you can also find lots of options on ebay or Amazon.

Tracfone Prepaid Refill Cards

A 1 year/400 minute card

Let's not forget about the prepaid minutes! If you know someone who uses Tracfone, one of the best gifts you might be able to get them is a prepaid refill card that will give them extra minutes for talking and texting.

Tracfone refill cards come in sizes ranging from 60 minutes for $20 to 450 minutes at $80.

One of the best deals is to get the 1 year/400 minutes card which gives the user 1 full year of service with 400 minutes.

You can find Tracfone prepaid minutes in most stores and online.

------------

We hope this gives you some new holiday gift ideas to help find something for your friends and family!

Definitely go check out our Tracfone Promo Codes if you don't already know about that!

You might also be interested in learning about the Difference between GSM and CDMA Tracfone devices (and which is right for you).

Thanks for visiting, and leave a comment with your top gift ideas, or any questions you might have!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The First One - On My Ground (updated)

Screen capture, DNA Store in Finland telling Jolla will be available soon

Updates 12.12.2013:

• Jolla has officially apologized for the delays at their webshop support site
• Shipping to outside Finland is starting. Yesterday 800 of these pre-orders were updated to "In picking" status, today the number has been growing. There are at least 4000 customers waiting for their new phones outside Finland. In additoin to that, most of the finnish 1st pre-order customers are still in the waiting queue, while 2nd wave customers in Finland are picking their phones.
• DNA shops have received only a limited amout of phones, but enough for all their shops in Finland. Some have been already sold to public, some are reserved for 2nd wave pre-order customers until Saturday morning.
• Jolla hasn't officially informed the amounts of orders or sales, nor how many phones are delivered to DNA. A longer while ago, the latest official statement of amounts was that pre-order campaigns have gathered about 20 000 interested customers in 136 countries. How many of these have actually ordered the phone is unknown, but by the information I've received from other customers, I carefully dare to estimate that Jolla has sold mre than 10 000 phones by now. 
• Customers are busy tracking what's happening at the back door of Jolla, more than 250 orders are followed on an online worksheet. Only a Jolla community can do something like this!

Original article:

Jolla Smartphones come to the DNA Shops in Finland. From DNA:

• Jolla phones are available to public in Finland starting 11-Dec-2013
• Finnish 2nd wave pre-orderers, who have chosen a DNA Store, can have their phones too
• Jolla starts shipping phones to 2nd wave customers at the same day
• All first wave pre-order customers, both in Finland and outside Finland, haven't yet (10-Dec) received their phones, or tracking codes for the shipment. Some finnish first wave customers have the phone In Hand, many see it shipping at the moment. Jolla is currently shipping as many first wave phones as they can (each worker only has two hands here in Finland).

Jolla Smatrphones outside Finland are shipped on this week. From JollaHQ:

@Florian_Si @JaarkDS @qrosh @HelinaT @SimoRuoho @JujuDHighlands EU shipments go out this week, please stay tuned. Thanks for your support.
— Jolla (@JollaHQ) December 10, 2013

I personally understand that Jolla must prior things in Finland, as Finland is the only country with an operator agreement between DNA and Jolla, but I'd wish them to inform their customers better in this matter. Outside Finland, customers are obviously expected to be satisfied for "The First One - On My Ground". This has caused some whining and few ugly posts around the community, and not without a reason, as Jolla hasn't been totally open for their customers  in each country and each pre-order wave. In my opinion, the whole mess could have been avoided with a simple, open minded message to all 1st and 2nd wave customers: "We are sorry, we can't ship all the Jollas in the true prority order, due to an important operator agreement in Finland. However, your Jolla is arriving in a time promised to you. Please have patience... Please contact... etc."  As simple as that. Hopefully this is the future.
Tweet from JollaHQ, concirning customers outside Finland:

@JujuDHighlands You will be the first ones to receive it on your home markets. Thanks for your patience.
— Jolla (@JollaHQ) December 10, 2013

Well, I suppose that the  community just hopes all the best for Jolla - this was a small mistake, compared to all possibile walls which a startup company might have run into. entering the mobile market. First wave customers are, however, getting their phones shipped before other 2nd wave customers outside Finland. In a way, they can be seen as the topic here state: "The First One - OMG"

Press release DNA Finland 10.12.2013:

Jolla smartphones available from DNA Stores from 11 December

Jolla smartphones will go on general sale in DNA Stores from 11 December. That is also the day when the 'second chance' pre-bookers can collect their phones if they have selected a DNA Store as the collection point.

"At this point, only a limited number of phones will be available, but they will be shipped to DNA Stores all over Finland, and, in addition to pre-bookers, will be available to the general public, as well" says Cedric Kamtsan, DNA's Business Director in charge of the Jolla project.

The first batch of Jolla phones went on sale at a launch event arranged by DNA in Helsinki at the end of November. At the launch event, DNA offered the fastest pre-bookers the opportunity to buy their phones among the first 450 owners of Jolla smartphones. Deliveries to all other 'first edition' pre-bookers are in full progress.

Second phase pre-bookers from Finland can collect their phones from a DNA Store or by post from Jolla, according to where they have chosen the delivery in advance. Deliveries to second phase pre-bookers will begin on 11 December, both by post and from DNA Stores.

Phones due for collection from DNA Stores will be held at the DNA Store selected by the customer until 13 December - byers will get an SMS confirmation today. Any phones not collected will be placed on general sale on Saturday 14 December, but pre-bookers will naturally have a chance to collect their phones, subject to availability.

DNA has played an integral part in the product development and commercialisation of Jolla smartphones and is the operator with the exclusive right to sell Jolla phones in Finland during the launch phase.

Jolla is powered by Sailfish OS, a truly open and distinct mobile operating system. Navigate effortlessly with the gesture-based user interface and load the phone with top Android (TM) apps. More information on Jolla at www.jolla.com.

Pictures of the Jolla phone and DNA's product launch event in Helsinki on 27 November 2013

More information:
Cedric Kamtsan, Business Director, DNA Ltd, tel. +358 44 906 2377, cedric.kamtsan@dna.fi 
Jolla media contact: press@jolla.com  
Riitta Luhtala, Communications Manager, DNA Ltd, tel. +358 44 044 1040, riitta.luhtala@dna.fi 

DNA Ltd is a Finnish telecommunications company providing high-quality, state-of-the-art voice, data, and TV services to private customers and corporations. DNA’s 3G network reaches five million Finns and is constantly expanding, and the 4G networks are reaching new cities and urban areas all the time. In 2012, DNA recorded a turnover of EUR 769 million and an operating profit of EUR 56 million. DNA Ltd has more than 3 million mobile communications and fixed network customers. DNA and WELHO are registered trademarks of DNA Ltd. The Group includes also DNA Kauppa, the largest operator retail chain in Finland. For more information, please visit www.dna.fi.

About Jolla: Jolla Ltd., headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, is developing mobile devices and the open operating system, Sailfish, based on the heritage of MeeGo project. In addition to its R&D sites in Helsinki and Tampere, Jolla has offices in Hong Kong. Please see jolla.com/press for further press and media materials.

Could Jolla drop Beta sign with Sailfish Laadunjarvi?

Sailfish Laadunjarvi 1.0.1.10
- picks from the changelog

HowTo: Settings --> About product --> pulley menu, check for updates

Important note: The release date of the next Sailfish OS, or its changelog is not officially informed by Jolla. Other updates are possible, and we might also see another release, either with less or more fixes. It's also common in an OpenSource community to walk several paths, developing several versions at the same time and compiling them together to make a new distribution (See the amount of different Linux distributions, image at right.

• Beta related bugs fixed in Sailfish Laadunjarvi

• WLAN password input improvements
• WLAN connection possible to change directly from one hotspot to another
• Notification banner visible when checking updates without internet connection
• USB MAC address does not change anymore between connections in developer mode
• Mobile data switch status (toggle on/off) is shown on the Settings cover
• Application downloads are now more resilient to failures
• Improvements in Bluetooth pairing
• DTMF tones are not skipped when user rapidly presses keys
• Fixed a case when incoming call is silenced and there is still sound played after call ends
• Active cover shows contact names
• Support for sms: URL in Messages
• Facebook notification will not appear repeatedly anymore
• IM accounts now connect without needing to reboot device, after adding them
• Audio and video are now in sync while playing youtube videos
• Browser does not crash when playing multiple video
  More at the full changelog
• Remaining bugs and other issues reported by users
  (not stated to be fixed, but before the official release is here, it's still possible)
• 4G/LTE connection.
  - Official statement: LTE supporten countries and operators will be published later
• Social media feeds missing some posts.
  - No news about development
• Battery usability hours, reported poor by some users
  - Under development
• Landscape mode for some sailfish apps missing
  - No news about development
• Navigation feature to the HERE Maps
  - No news about development
  - UPDATE: Navfree (Android app) reported to work better now. Navigation with open maps is finally possible, and the app can even be used offline.
• Synchronization issues (contacts/events/emails)
  - No news about development

Sailfish Laadunjarvi ?

So, we have an update named by a lake. This name translates as "The lake of quality". Jolla has stated that they are using lakes of Finland in naming updates of Sailfish OS. There are 187 888 lakes in Finland, including the small ones, so we might have more than few updates coming. Looking at the size of Laadunjarvi, we could speculate that this is not a remarkable update - I'm holding my breath for Sailfish Saimaa ! However, having first changelog visible is something I wasn't expecting yet. Great work!

Näytä suurempi kartta
Google map link

User Report Tool: Jolla smartphone Apps

Reports so far (filtered)

This result table is filtered to show only app name, rating and comments shared to users. For more detailed results, or sharing the report tool, please contact (see DIT)