J- currently uses a prepaid cellphone with Virgin Mobile in order to coordinate with us, her mom, and her friends. She’s had it for a while and has been pretty good at using it, although we’re not happy with Virgin Mobile’s billing and credits system. We’re looking around for a better cellphone plan for her, ideally something that limits the risks of accidental charges while allowing important contacts any time.

Mobilicity’s current 50% promotion looks tempting. Their least expensive plan is $12.50/month for unlimited talk and text assuming 12 months’ preauthorized credit, although you’ll also need to add the cost of the phone (probably $99.99). That comes out to around $250 plus tax for the year.

A comparable plan would be WIND Mobile’s Smart plan ($25/month) with unlimited calls and text. The phone would be almost free (put on the Wind Tab and paid off through phone use), so we’d be looking at $300 plus tax for the year.

Like Mobilicity, WIND offers a small discount for multiple accounts. I’m occasionally tempted to check out Wind Mobile’s $29 unlimited talk/text/data plan, although (a) I’m almost always in WiFi zone, (b) the Kindle is handy for looking things up if I really, really need to, and (c) the Nexus One battery life is a bit short, so I won’t be doing a lot of mobile browsing on the rare occasions that I’m outside a wireless network. I may switch within the next year, but I don’t mind holding out until then, as the promotional rate is good for only one year.

Will network coverage be sufficient? Fortunately, we don’t have to rely on the glossy maps published by cellphone companies. Coverage Mapper shows user-generated data for Mobilicity and WIND Mobile. Our neighbourhood, J-‘s school, and her mom’s place look like they’ll mostly be okay.

Decisions, decisions…