Along with the fierce competition in providing quality and affordable prepaid cell service, the price of prepaid cell phones has also declined tremendously in recent years. We present our pick for the best prepaid cell phone for under $50 here.

The Motorola EM326g Prepaid Bluetooth Camera Cell Phone from Net10 is a good looking and easy-to-use phone that will add color and efficiency to your daily life. A little about the company providing the service here: Net10 received top marks in 2009's JD Power and Associates Prepaid Wireless survey. It was named the #1 best prepaid wireless service. According to a spokesman from JD Power and Associates, the Net10 cell service is straightforward and easy to use.

Now they've really driven things up another notch by packaging an outstanding Motorola phone along with 300 minutes ($30 value) of their service usage, making this the best prepaid cell phone deal in the under $50 category.

Stylish compact design & clear reception

The phone is stylish in design, small and compact in size. It will easily fit into a smaller purse, or pants pockets. The keypad is adequately sized - most users felt it was easy to dial on. The great thing with a slider phone is once you end a conversation and slide the top over, you will not have the phone accidentally dial out to someone on your contact list or even a stranger. The sound quality is good as Motorola phones usually are. Cell service reception is powered by the national networks of AT&T and T-Mobile, and users have reported good reception even in places they did not expect to.

For texting, the phone has a predictive typing feature. Net10's plan supports texting at 5 cents to send or receive each message.

1.3 Megapixel Camera

Most prepaid cell phones have VGA cameras, so the added resolution allows users to take much sharper pictures for good looking 4 by 6 prints. It even has built-in white balance and exposure controls. Pictures can be sent via picture messaging, connect to a computer using blue tooth, or downloaded to your PC using a USB cable. Music Entertainment: MP3 Music Player & FM Radio For fun and convenience, you can combine your phone, MP3 player and portable radio into one device now. There is a microSD slot for more storage space. At the time of this writing, Net10 has sweetened this bundle with a free 2GB memory card.

A Host of Other Features

This phone is feature rich with a wide range of tools to keep you organized and entertained. In additional to what has been mentioned, it also acts as a voice recorder to take verbal notes on. There's a speakerphone, multiple ringtones, digital phone book, alarm clock and games.

Best value prepaid cell phone

The price of prepaid cell phone for $50 includes 300 minutes and 60 days, which is a $30 value. Minutes are 10 cents each. Subtract that and the phone is only $20! More importantly, the phone can continue to operate inexpensively going forward for as little as $15 a month through Net10.

During special promotion periods, Net10 is loading this up with goodies like a free accessory kit that includes a car charger and headset, USB cable and 2GB memory card. That is on top of the $30 for 300 minutes of talk time included. All things considered, this whole package is doubtless the best prepaid cell phone for under $50.

Click here to see if the Motorola EM326g Prepaid Cell Phone deal is available in your area