[h3nG]

hey, i am thinking about getting a cellphone...or some cellphones.

mainly i want to get on that family share plan. i dont know which provider to choose or where to get it from. i am under the impression that the deals vary from time to time and place to place.

so can someone recommend me a place to get it from? online or store, where ever i can get the best deal. and sprint or verizon? and maybe tell me some things to be aware of. i've heard it can get pretty bad with cellphones if you dont know what you are doing.

thanks!

 

[slick]

places like bestbuy offer good prices on phones, and if you're lucky, you can get a rebate on the phone from the phone company AND from bestbuy. thats what happened to me. the phone i bought was $100, with a $100 rebate from sprint and $30 rebate from bestbuy (dont ask me why, i guess bestbuy messed up).
get the phone from where ever you will get the best discount, the first times the only time you'll get a good deal on the phone.
also, most plans are similar now (so much competition between companies now), so go with what offers you the best coverage. cingular is a good company to go with now because they acquired at&t i believe, so there coverage is definately going to rock.
i've had sprint now for 2 years, no problems with it so far.

 

[Salt Peanuts]

I think the first thing you really should find out is how each cell phone provider's coverage is in the areas where you plan to use the cell phone. Even if a provider claims to have the best coverage in state/region/nation, if it doesn't have coverage where you plan to use it, it's useless. I had to go through this the hard way when I obtained my first cell phone few years back. At the time, since I still had a landline as my main line, I did not really use my cell phone in my house in the beginning and did not realize that it had terrible to horrendous reception there. By the time I had realized this, my two-week trial period was over, so I was contract-bound to keep the service (or pay the termination fee) for one year. I learned from this and tested two different providers before switching after my contract was up with my first provider.

Another thing to note is that not all cell phones are created equal when it comes to voice quality and reception. I would definitely test out/research prospective phones before getting one, especially if it's going to become your main line.

As for getting the best deal, I'd avoid using an online merchant (unless it's online through the actual provider). It's just a whole lot easier to deal with someone in person if any problems occur. Also, I'd avoid going through an independent dealer if you can help it (unless they are giving out unbelievable deal that provider's store won't match or something along that line) since that would mean you sign a contract with both a dealer and a provider. This means that if you need to terminate your contract early (this does happen), you'd have to pay early termination fee to both the dealer and the provider, usually just a shade under $200 each. I don't know how it works with places like BestBuy or Circuit City. I know at least Circuit City used to sell phones and services, but you only signed a contract with a provider and not with Circuit City. I'm not sure if this is currently the case with Circuit City or BestBuy.

And lastly, TWO-YEAR CONTRACT IS A SPAWN OF EVIL!


Edited for spelling.

 

[KYTGuy]

First - look at how often you use phone not your land line...maybe you won't need the expense of a cell.

Then look at who/where you will call, and compare with the advertised coverage - find the best match between your needs and the coverage offered.

Verizon was the best coverage, still may be, but the difference between verizon and the next best has drastically diminished. ATT/Cingular is a close second.

Finally look at the type of phone you might want...full on handheld computer/PDA/Telephone/MP3 player/Camera, or just a phone? Different companies have different phones avaiilable.

Some companies offer a two year plan that is not so bad - you get the newest highest tech phone to replace your tired, thrice dropped, scratched, and funny smell phone that was the latest and greatest just two years ago.

 

[Elec]

I'll also recommend Best Buy, so long as they have a model of phone that you want. They only tend to carry 3 or 4 from each carrier, as opposed to 10-15 that you'll find at the carriers' stores. The phones at Best Buy tend to be cheaper than if you go buy them straight from the carrier also. Mine cost me 50 bucks less at Best Buy (paid $50 for it after rebate, would have been $100 if I bought from Cingular). Another bonus was that I got a one year contract as a result of going through BB rather than directly through Cingular, where they would have required a two-year.

Most of the carriers are decent these days, check out coverage areas and plan deals. T-Mobile tends to be the cheapest. Cingular has rollover minutes, which are nice if you can hold back the first month or two to build up a cache. Sprint is kind of focusing on multimedia stuff (camera phones, video messaging, etc.). Verizon claims to be the biggest provider, which they are pending whatever Cingular does with AT&T. I'd stay away from AT&T right now, since their future is a little up in the air yet and they did have some of the worst coverage pre-Cingular merger. IME AT&T does tend to subsidize their phones more than some of the others so you may get a really nice phone for cheap or free from them if you have your eye on something fancy. Also, consider a national plan, even if you don't expect to travel much. You will occasionally, and it's so nice not having to care about roaming ever.

 

[Mr.PD]

Be thankful you have a choice.
Out here in the sticks we have 2 cell companies. No great deals from either.

I would like to chime in and suggest to not go for a two year contract.

 

[Salt Peanuts]

One of the reasons I personally don't like two-year contract is that you're possibly bound to the same phone for two years. This may not seem like a problem, but it can be if you break your phone, it breaks on you, you lose it, or get it stolen(happened to me), and you need to replace it at a full price (I realize some provider will fix/replace it for you, but this doesn't always happen). There's always adding an insurance to your service, but if you consider the cost of insurance for 24 months, the price difference (on the initial phone purchase) between two-year contract and one-year contract becomes negligible. Nowadays, I have a backup phone stored away just in case - I'm tough on my cell phones due to various circumstances and I can't be trusted not to break them, especially for two years.

And most providers will give you a discount on a new phone each time you sign another contract, regardless of whether it's one-year or two-year. It's just that they give you a better price for signing a two-year contract, usually $50 less.

And to be fair, I do agree that some two-year plans aren't so bad. For example, Verizon has a thing called New Every Two that give you $100 toward a new phone every two years as long as you keep renewing 2-year contracts.

 

[harkamus]

First thing...buy your phone from www.a1wireless.com. Chances are it will be free or very cheap. They have the latest models to choose from. This is where I bought my Motorola V300 from(for free after rebate) and where my bro got his Samsung E715(also free).

As far as carrier, I like T-mobile.

EDIT: For some reason a1wireless.com is down right now.

 

[N@Z]

Looking for the latest phones? http://www.mobileburn.com/

The Nokia 7610 looks good with a 1 megapixel (autofocus lens as opposed to a fixed lens). Keypad position feel's a little odd though. Alternatively if you can wait till the end of the year, there's the all in one 9500 or cool 6260.

 

[RYCeT]

Try Amazon, they got a good deal on tmobile phones.

 

[Hajime]

I went with Cingular. They have some good deals and "instant rebates". I don't normally buy things with rebates, but their instant rebates are the same as having that amount cut off. For example: If I bought a phone for $100 and it had a $100 instant rebate I wouldn't be charged anything. I don't know if they're the best, but I got a free phone and a good service rate. My parents use AT&T. I would have gone with that, but they charge an arm and a leg. Sprint used to be the least expensive, I don't know about now. Try to get a plan that gives you a (good) free phone when you sign up. Companies will often do this as an enticement. Cingular has three free phones as an option, Sprint has more (I think), and AT&T makes you pay.

 

[h3nG]

thanks guys. i've been looking at some of the things you all have suggested. but i was reading about the additional charges. and the cancellation fee is like $200.00 for some of these phones. that's crazy...can someone explain to me why it's so high?

 

[Salt Peanuts]

I think part of the reason the early termination fee is so high is to discourage people from buying a top-of-the-line phone for very low price and then just terminating the contract to just get the phone (then in turn selling it on places like eBay).

Also, it might be that profit margin on actual service isn't that great (they probably make a bundle on accessories and stuff, though), and this way, it'll make it more likely that a customer will stay with your service for the contract length. And if a customer doesn't stick around, then a provider will at least have an early termination fee to cover part of the cost of selling high-tech phone for low price and other assorted cost of maintaining/activating your account.

And also keep in mind, that I have heard that if you don't have a good or no credit history, some of the providers will make you put down a hefty deposit.

 

[jefemeister]

I had Sprint and moved to Verizon. It's a 2-year contract which sucks, but they seem to have the best coverage. I've only been on roam once with Verizon but they didn't charge me for it. If you do go Verizon I must warn that you stay as far away as possible from the Audiovox phones.

 

[Hajime]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salt Peanuts And also keep in mind, that I have heard that if you don't have a good or no credit history, some of the providers will make you put down a hefty deposit.

Wow, they didn't do that to me and I have very little credit history.