What are disposable cell phones?

While most prepaid cell phones are not disposable phones, most disposable cell phones are prepaid phones. Disposables have not really caught on in the U.S., since pretty decent prepaid phones can be purchased, on sale, for as little as $20 or even $10, while some disposables cost upward of $50. Prepaid carriers also offer advanced phone equipment that can cost over $100 and comes with a year warranty; such phones are hardly disposable.

There are different concepts of disposable cell phones. The phone is often an unlocked phone usable with almost any carrier, but not necessarily. The instrument has very limited functionality: you can talk, and you can text. It might not have a display of any kind. It might come with minutes, or you may need to contact a prepaid carrier to purchase minutes. But the main idea is that the phone is ready to go, or just about; requires no contract or any kind of sign-up; and is cheap enough that you're comfortable tossing it after using it for just one vacation or even just one hour of talk. Some companies offer a small refund on phones returned for recycling.

Because there is no record of a purchaser, disposable phones are suspect tools of terrorists, recent news articles state.