Basic cell phone questions

D

Dave in PA

Joined
Sep 23, 2000
Messages
123
Hello all,
I have a bunch of newbie questions on getting a cell phone (or two, if my wife has her way).

Can anyone point me in a good direction to learn some basics about the phones? What brand, type of service, whether or not to use a phone card, blah, blah, blah. You know, just where to look for honest answers. After talking to several salespeople who seem quite biased, I'm lost.

I am looking for a bargain basement phone and service. Our intent is to use the phone only for the rare emergency or when my family can't get ahold of me at work or when my wife works late. My friends tell me that after getting one we will use it often, but I'm going to try to resist that in an effort to save some money. A good friend has (non-work related) bills in the $150-$200 range! Sorry, but that's out of my price range.

So, anyone have and advice or a place to look for unbiased information? Thanks for any assistance.

Dave
 
First thing is to really consider what you want.
You say bargain basement now but for not much more -- a lot of packages make your home phone almost unnecessary.
Especially if you're going to get two phones.
Most companies offer free or discounted calls between callers on the same service (i.e. calling on a Verizon phone to someone who also has a Verizon phone) and most offer free or discounted long distance.

Another option is a pre-paid plan.
With a pre-paid plan you pay once for the phone and then buy the minutes as you need them. There's no monthly charges but minutes are generally more expensive than on a monthly plan and the minutes do expire if you don't use them.

Type of service doesn't really matter if you're going to be using it as little as you say. Just make sure that you can get a good signal where you're planning to use it.
My sister bought a brand new phone and can get absolutely no signal in her house.
Maybe invite all of your cell phone owning friends over for a big comparison test.

Common service types are CDMA, TDMA, and GSM.
Performance is all pretty comparable.
The neat thing about GSM phones is that all of the settings are stored in a little chip that slips in and out of the phone and not in the phone itself.
If two separate companies offered GSM service in your area you might be able to slip out the one company's chip and replace it with the others witohut having to change phones.
If you were going to be travelling a lot with it I'd say GSM is a must. Have one chip for Europe, one for the US, etc.
The caveat here is that most GSM phones in the US are "locked" to use only one chip. You can find "unlocked" phones on the internet and eBay or most service providers will unlock them for you once you've completed your inital contract term.
CDMA, and TDMA phones are permanently locked and switching services always means having to switch phones.

Brand is pretty much personal preference.
Decide which features you want (number of ring tones, built in vibrator, web browser, size of built-in phonebook) and then see which makers make what you want.

Have fun
 
Do not got with Alltel as your provider. Worst phone mistake I have ever made. Pay attention to all the frigging fine print, it can and will bite you in the butt.
 
I was originally with GTE (they're now Verizon) and they had very nice customer service but not real good coverage in my area.
I'm now with Cingular (formerly PacBell) and while they have excellent coverage, they're customer service really sucks.

There's always some kind of tradeoff.
 
I have had a few so far. AT&T, Ameritech, Verizon, Sigular and Nextel.

The Nextel was a company phone and man I loved it, but then they went to Verizon because of the Free Verizon to Verizon.

I just went to a Nextel for my personal phone. I love it but as they say there are always trade offs. The Nextel area is smaller and covers the major cities and interstates but as you get into the 'boondocks' it doesn't go into Roam as other phones do.

I have 400 any time minutes
unlimited nights and weekends
unlimited Nextel minutes
under $50.00

GO in to the stores and check them out but don't fall for the pressure sale.

Gadget54
 
i use verizon because i always have service around my area, and cuz i can use it at school (new york state) without being roaming or long distance. also they're technicians are really helpful if you have any problems with your phone. i get 3200 night and weekend minutes and 300 daytime minutes for i believe 35 a month. i haven't gone over and it seems like i use my phone a lot. another thing to think about is when your nights start. with verizon they don't start until 9, cingular is 8 or 7. free nights and weekends is a great thing, you just have to think about when you will be using the phone. be sure to let us know what you decide on.

- Pete

[edited for clarity]
 
I have the Nokia on the AT&T free2go prepaid plan. I got it from
http://www.phoneshark.com
for $40, and I use the $10 cards which must be added every 45 days, and your unusued balance accumulates. It is unlikely that I will ever need to add more than that.
Also the email messaging is free.
 
I've had 2 cell phones since 1994 with cellone (now cingular) and , with
care, have never paid more than $19 a month for each one. I've just recently
upgraded to the cingular $29.95 "nation plan" that offers 250 anytime and
free long distance and roam.

One key point to any cell phone is that everthing is based on minutes. Everthing.
While most men can control how much they talk women must be made aware that
every word they say cost money on a cell phone. Roaming cost are another issue
that will need close watching. Not only do you pay for roaming you pay toll's and
other cost on top of that ....per minute.....to use the phone outside of your home area.

So pick a plan that gives you the greatest freedom from roaming ( and some long distance
if you talk a lot at night) buy the cheapest you can get but understand fully the TOTAL
cost per minute (tax, toll etc.) to carry a cell phone even if you use it once in awhile.

There is one way to try a plan first that the cell phone companies don't want you to know.
Buy the phone outright and become a "month to month" customer. That will avoid the buy
out feature of $150 to $300 if you want out of your contract early for some reason. Not being
under contract is the best favor your can give yourself. YOU then maintain your right if choice.
You then can see the true cost of your plan when the first bill comes in. Whatever you do don't
trust the selling agent to tell you everything. They are often in it to make money on the contracts
they sell as a residual every month. That's why they don't like month to month customers. No
contract is involved so they get very little to set up the sale.

Above all DO YOUR HOME WORK ON AREA AND FEATURES OF THE PLAN.

Good hunting, Mate:)
 
First of all, I'm not a cell phone person. Nor pagers. Don't like them. I don't think that everyone needs to be electronically tethered by them. I have email and an answering machine at home. Same with work. People that really need to reach me know where I am and how to get ahold of me. The rest can leave me a damn message. When I'm in my car, or on our back deck, at a restaurant, or on vacation, I want to be left alone. I'm not going to anwer a phone in the first place.

IMO, it's a sad thing that business today has become so frenzied that folks have to check their messages, emails, and pages a half dozen times a day. I'm glad I'm not one of them. Those that willingly take on electronic leashes can have `em. More power to them.

Anyways, my wife had an Ameritech plan that eventually became Cingular. There were a couple of times that she changed plans within the same carrier to get more for her money. She even upgraded her phone once or twice. If you're paying month to month, some companies will let you do that to remain their customer. Dunno if all of them will. (She kept needing more minutes - quel surpris :rolleyes: )

Only half the problem was that she was racking up more and more minutes for work. The rest was racking up her own chatty minutes; if she has a phone, she may as well use it. *sigh*

Carriers will tie everything into your "per minute" charge, as Tightwad mentioned. Somewhere in your fine print will be even the coffee per minute that the carrier's employees drink.

It really comes down to how you're using your phone. If you get a gazillion minutes of weekend and evening minutes, but you need the phone during the day or for work, you're hosed. Some plans have 3000 minutes, but, say, only 200-300 of them "anytime", which is how they say "during the day when we can bend you over per minute".

If you never really go outside of a specific area, there's little need for roaming and long distance.

She recently got a Nextel (I dunno the carrier) from her office, so her regular phone was in mothball. She switched it over to the el-cheapo plan and put it in my car.

In five or six weeks, I've used it four times. For about 3 or 4 minutes each time. I don't like the distraction taking away from what I'm doing.

Luckily, I have a good excuse to keep things short. "Gotta go, it's a real PITA to drive a stick and talk on the phone..." ;)

I guess you need to first decide if you really want or feel you need a cellphone. They really can be great convenience (in spite of my Grinchy feeling towards them) for the right folks. They're just not for me, since life is complicated enough without them.
 
DonL has some good points about privacy due to availblity.

I survived for over 50 years without a damn cell phone and did
OK. The only real function they have for me now is cost containment
by saving time and fuel to avoid unecessary trips to do my daily buisness.
I DO NOT socialize with them. Anyone who does has to much money.:rolleyes:

Like DonL I carry one in my truck for emergency use or business use only.
the phone is never on unless I need it. My wife often burns my ears about
that 'cause she can't get hold of me whenever she wants to. So to control the
cost I check in a few time daily to catch up on family needs. Other than that
the cell phone is off. She keeps hers on 24/7 'cause we care for our 92 yr old
aunt. But her cost is controled by a hard lesson on cost one time.

It may sound like I hate women and all those who spend endless hours lining
Cell phone company pockets. Nothing could be futher from the truth. I just
unable to pay for more than I need and cell phone cost will eat you alive if
you have no discipline on using them.
 
Here are my quick thoughts:

I've been singularly unimpressed with the all-digital plans, PCS, etc. They sound good when you get reception, but digital coverage remains spotty, even in well-populated areas. I live and work in the middle of Silicon Valley, and my Sprint PCS phone often roamed at both work and home (all-digital phones roam when they can't get digital service. digital/analog phones can fall back on the local analog system). My buddy had the exact same thing happen with his Cingular phone -- again, he lives and works in well-populated areas of Silicon Valley. In short, all-digital is a craps shoot: take your phone to your home and work and anywhere else you'll be using it, and if you don't get a strong signal, take it back while you can.

AT&T's digital/analog service gets great coverage, with excellent analog fallback when there's no digitial coverage. My big problem with AT&T wireless is that they are the only service that does not offer a free 14.4k ISP service for wireless email & web access.

That left me with exactly one choice: Verizon. Like AT&T, they have a digital/analog service where much better coverage than any of the all-digitial plans. Like everyone else, they have a free 14.4k ISP service. The only downside is that for many of their good plans, you have to sign up for 2 years instead of just 1.

Joe
 
I have been with a number of different plans, carriers and phones and I have my definite opinions about most of them. I currently have Cingular (as does my wife) and I use my for work and use it ALOT! My wife uses her for while she is around town and that's about it.

As someone stated earlier, coverage and the minutes that you are "allowed" during the time that you really NEED them. 5000 night and weekedn minutes means nothing to you if you need them during the day, etc.

In Nashville we have a phone company called Cricket. They started their first market in Chattanooga and added Nashville. You might want to check to see if they are where you are at. Cricket gives you unlimited minutes (yes UNLIMITED) for a flat rate (I belive $35.00/mo) but does not include long distance. The coverage is fairly comparable to most of the other digital plans, but is alittle spotty in the outlining areas. We had these at work for awhile (my old job) and they helped us because of the amount of minutes we were putting on our phones. I don't have one now, but they certainly might be right for you and your situation.

I have been totally impressed with Cingular and NexTel. NexTel is great if you have alot of phone-to-phone communications going on within NexTel's system with the 2-way radio. I currently have Cingular with 1000 anytime, 3500 night/weekend, free long distance and free roaming (NICE FEATURE) and mine costs $99.00/month and is great. I am on the road and I live out of my car/office so it is ideal.

Good luck and happy talking!

David
 
100 dollars a month!! damn that's a lot of money in a year. but if it works for you i'm not here to tell you it's bad. i will say that i don't think people that use their phones for socializing have to much money, i get so many night and weekend minutes i have to socialize to come close to using them up. i like the plan i'm on though

- Pete
 
Mind you...this is THE form of communication for me for work. My line to/from customers, co-workers and corporate. It is also for my personal use...if you factor all that in, it's pretty reasonable.

Thanks for the reply though.

DPS
 
Make sure you get everything down in writing. And as mentioned previously, really watch the availability of your minutes and the size of your local service area. Roaming charges can quickly double or triple your monthly bill. I am personally about to get out of using cell service, once I got over the novelty factor I hardly ever use it any more. My 400 minutes has a remainder of 380 to 390 minutes a month and of course, they DON'T transfer to the new month. Prepaid is probably a better option for someone with my usage habits. YMMV
 
All I can say is...WOW! Thanks to everyone for the information, as it's been very helpful. The website listed by cockroachfarm is wonderful.

I think I'll still take my time and speak to several of my friends and co-workers. So far, what I've learned locally is that PCS One sucks bad. I've gotten good comments on Cingular, Nextel and AT&T.

I still want to look into the Tracfone which uses phone cards. If we don't use the phone often, this might just be the best value for us.

Thanks to all for the assistance.

Dave
 
Dave, One parting thought. IF just If your are able to go with cingular.
They offer the best deal so far for a lightweight user, such as I am.
For $29.95 "Nation plan" you get 250 anytime ( calls you get are
also counted even if you don't answer them . Which is about normal )
and 1000 night and weekend minutes with NO roaming ( a huge
plus) and NO long distance charge. All will count on your minutes
but with care all you'll ever pay is $29.95 + tax per phone.

Also I've found Cingular service to be OK ....If your are patient
and persitant. I've been a customer of theirs for years, and once
I learned my way around, never any suprizes. They are growing
and will be around for awhile. One thing I like is the phone don't
go dead off the intersate when your back in the country. :D :D
 
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