I suggest the BYOP over using the TracFone devices. They are all low end devices and they don't appear to be improving anytime soon. Back a ear ago we thought they did.

As cv91913, the Verizon CMDA phones are hard to get setup. I have had trouble with something or other when using the CDMA BYOP. On my last VZW phone I never got it fully working, Customer Support said if I restart my phone and that would fix it, never did. It took about 3 hours of support phone calls to get the basic things working, SMS and calling. I have also has success on my LG Ally, but it can only run Gingerbread.

With GSM it was much easier, all the phones I used where setup within 12 hours, It only took 30 minutes of support calls to get it fully working. I received a number of text messages from TracFone with a download link to install the APN. I am not sure if that will work on all phones, but it did for me. The whole processes was pretty easy.

If you need a phone that's good and works on TracFone, I suggest the LG G4 Beat (Use the LG-H736P version). I have the phone myself and MMS, SMS, Data and calling all work. For $200 you get a 13 MP Camera with manual mode, a 5.2 inch 1080p display, NFC, the LG G4 look and feel, the LG UX 4.0 and a whole bunch of goodies.