Can't help with I-anything questions, but we have a pre-paid Verizon phone. As you said, we rarely use it, but sometimes you have to have one.

I put $100 at a time on the account. On the plan we use, it's $1.99 a day (for all the calls you want-and talk as long as you want) but ONLY on the days you use the phone. If I remember right, another plan offers .99 a day plus .10 a minute...or something like that. Again, ONLY on the days you use the phone. You can buy as little as $30 at a time, but those minutes expire at the end of 30 days. The $100 is good for a year.

The phone will connect to the internet...I think it's .99 a day (24 hours). When we first got the phone I was able to check emails and check in on the chipboard...but now I don't remember how! (And I lost the instruction book a looooooong time ago ). Oh well...