SecretMethod70

OK, so I've got to get a cell phone for my job and I don't know what's good, having never had a cell phone before. I could go around and compare prices and features (which I will also do, don't worry), but it'd be cool if you TFPers could help out by telling me why your own plan choices are awesome.

Some background info:

Since I've never had a cell phone, I have no idea how many minutes I'll end up using. I'm just starting this job, so I don't know how much will be used for that either. I don't generally talk on the phone much, except with onodrim. For the job, I do know that I will be on a conference call M-Th mornings, but I don't know how long it will last. My guess is an hour at absolute most, but probably more like 30 minutes. Aside for the conference call, there are at least 2 people who I will probably be in regular contact with, plus I'll likely be using the phone at least once a week to call a large number of different people, but I'm not sure how that will translate into minutes. (No, it's not a telemarketing job )

Onodrim is currently on AT&T and shares a plan with her family. One thing we're considering is possibly getting a plan together. Again, most of her phone time is spent talking to me, and beyond that I'm not sure how many minutes she uses exactly. I doubt it's particularly high once I'm taken out of the equation. At least for the next 16 weeks, I'd be, by far, the predominant user between the two of us. After 16 weeks, my cell phone use is likely to drop dramatically.

There are two routes I'm interested in possibly going in terms of phone and usage. I could get a cheap, basic phone with no text or data or anything, or I could get a reasonably priced smart phone, in which case I'd want to be able to text somewhat often and I'd probably be interested in internet access as well. However, I don't want to spend any more than $100 max on a phone (say, a Blackberry Curve or something), and text/internet are not hugely important. They're just extra perks that would be nice.

So, what advice do you TFPers have for me? What's your plan? Who have you had the best experience with? Are smart phones worth it? Help me out here

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spectre

The best advice I can give is to have various people you know using their phones in places you are at most often, especially at home. I once had a provider that offered great service everywhere, but not in my home. It's probably gotten better since then, but just in case, give it a try. It may rule out a few companies/phones.

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RetroGunslinger

I work at a cell phone kiosk, and I always recommend AT&T to customers, even though my commission would be greater with Sprint or Alltel. I'd say go with a BlackJack II (which should cost around $70) and the Unlimited Plan with talk, text, and web, since that will cover the PDA package you'd otherwise have to buy (a $30 add-on). That'll cost you something like $150 a month (I can't remember the exact amount, but I'll post it tomorrow after work if you can wait that long).

My AT&T rep currently owns a Curve, and he prefers the BlackJack, while the manager from up in Fayetteville, NC has a BlackJack and loves it dearly. So unless you want to wait for the Blackberry Bold to come out and break your $100 rule, I'd suggest that.

These prices can change based on your location, of course.

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MexicanOnABike

I had my nokia phone for a year now and it's awesome. Still beats most phones I see out there. So I would recommend another one. as far as plans, i have a basic 200min plan and I used 57min last month. and a bunch of other features for 25$... it's great.

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xepherys

Personally I recommend Verizon. A little background... I've used: Ameritech, Sprint, AT&T, Nextel (before they were Sprint), T-Mobile and Verizon. I've traveled in my car, on the phone, to another city and lost calls with almost every provider. I've driven cross COUNTRY... TWICE with Verizon, many times on the phone across whole states, sometimes even off of the interstate. I have never "lost" a single call with Verizon, anywhere, anytime. I've had one billing issue that was resolved after a simple, QUICK phone call to VZW customer service.

TotalMILF and I have a family plan with our two phones and my mom's phone on it. You get a $200 upgrade credit every 2 years (I think this is fairly standard now), the plan prices are reasonable, and even if they are a TOUCH higher, the service and reception are well worth in it my opinion.

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RetroGunslinger

Nokias are nice. If you want a more basic phone, a lot of my customers like the 6085.

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xepherys

As for actual PHONES, if you are inquiring as MOAB is answering, I highly recommend Nokia (for cheap but working) or LG (for featured but working). <3 LG... the first gen Chocolate sucked dirty balls, but otherwise I've loved them. Nokia phones aren't the prettiest and don't have all the features, but they work FOREVER!

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JumpinJesus

I wouldn't waste my money on a cell phone. They're just a passing fad in my opinion. In 5 years, they'll go the way of the pager and everyone will be using ESP.

But, if you insist on throwing your money away on a gimmick, I'd suggest Alltel. I remember them receiving the best ratings in Consumer Reports for the Chicago area.

But again, it's just a fad.

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ngdawg

We have Verizon. I researched plans, asked around, but the real deciding factor came after I'd signed up-I was the only one in my group of friends to get a signal and make calls from the summit of Pike's Peak
A basic but very good plan with Verizon will set you back $40 a month plus the government's share.
With three phones and unlimited text messaging on one (in network-500 texts allowed out of network), unlimited evening and weekend calling plus unlimited in network anytime(700 minutes out of network) it's a monthly sum of $120. Screw that "choose your circle" stuff....

mrklixx

I'd say that if you are going to spend a good chunk of time talking to somebody that has an AT&T plan, it might be prudent to go with AT&T since you will get unlimited "mobile to mobile" minutes, which means any calls to other AT&T customers will not be deducted from your monthly minute allotment. Also AT&T has "rollover", which means that unused minutes get put in a reserve in case you go over your monthly allotment.

As far as phones go, I'm using an 8925 Tilt (Link). It's a little higher than your limit ($150 for a refurb w/a 2yr contract), but it's basically a mini PC.

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Aladdin Sane

I spend very little time on the phone, so I don't need to spend a lot for it.
I use Net10, pay-as-you-go. It's 10 cents a minute, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Text messages cost 5 cents. You must buy 300 minutes every 60 days to keep it active. Unused minutes carry over. In short, I spend $15 per month. If you don't plan to talk much, Net10 is great.

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Xoote

i use pay as you go

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MSD

Verizon has the best coverage in most places, and if you bitch at customer service enough, they'll give you just about anything for free. Other than that, they suck: half of your phone's features will be locked out so they can shove Vcast and other pay services down your throat (no, you cannot transfer pictures via bluetooth or use ringtones that you didn't pay them $2 for without hacking it ,) and the Verizon universal OS is slow, bulky, and restrictive.

It took me two months of putting up with my phone slowing down every time I got a text message before I flashed it to Alltel's firmware (and another 6 before the Factory OS leaked and I could flash it to unbranded at the cost of not having Java support.)

Don't get a Motorola phone, they used to be good but they all suck ass now.

SecretMethod70

OK, new developments, and I'll likely be going out to get something on Saturday sometime...

The deal with minutes is that everyone else I've spoken to in a similar position to the one I'm starting either has unlimited minutes or wishes they had unlimited minutes. It seems unlimited minutes is the way to go. Texting is a more difficult proposition, but I know it'd be useful for the job.

What makes this interesting is that I need unlimited minutes through to the beginning of November, and then after that I probably won't need the phone for work anymore. Outside of work use, I could probably get by on 300-450 minutes easily.

I seem to recall that it's possible to buy a phone at full price and not sign a contract, making it easy to change plans or providers in the future. If that's true, one option I'm considering is getting a Palm Centro (extra bonus: the Palm OS would add another convenient work function since there's a particular app on it that we can use). The retail price is $349.99 while unlimited minutes and text would be $150/month. After November, I should be able to get by quite easily on 450 minutes and 200 texts a month for $45. That's over $100 less per month, and would make up the extra cost of the phone in only 3 months.

Is there something I'm missing, or does this seem like the best plan of attack for my situation? Does anyone know anything about the Palm Centro? Anyone used it? I went to the AT&T store tonight and played around with the smart phones there, and I was honestly disappointed by all of them, including the iPhone (it's really difficult to type well on that thing!). So, I figure if I'm not going to like the GUI on the phone, no matter which one I get, I might as well get one that I'm already somewhat familiar with and which could provide an added benefit for the job over the next few months. But I'm not totally decided, so any input on that is also welcome.

Thanks!

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mrklixx

Did you play with the Centro? For me personally, the buttons on the Centro are way too tiny. You didn't mention anything about internet, but if you go with AT&T then the Centro will not use 3G.

I have ued the Palm Treo 650, which is like the bigger, older brother of the Centro. For me it was OK, but I didn't like the restrictiveness of the Palm OS. That's the main reason I switched over to the HTC models (first the 8125, and now the 8925 Tilt). Because it runs on Windows Mobile, you can customize the heck out of it. Plus the 8925 has the slide out keyboard because, like you, I also dislike trying to text on the Iphone.

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ratbastid

Sprint carries the Centro, and they're "Simply Everything" plan is $99.

I've been with them a very VERY long time, so when I call, I'm routed straight to luxury concierge customer service, and I have a sweeeeeet plan that the general public can't get. I hear horror stories about their line tech support people, but my experience has mostly been that the phone service itself is strong enough, I don't need a lot of support.

Poppinjay

I've been with ATT, Sprint, Cellular One (remember them?), and Verizon. Verizon has the best coverage by far. I even get a signal on the metro underground. With our plan, minutes are unlimited as long as you're talking to other Verizon phones. Otherwise, we have some ungodly amount of minutes that we barely use, for $50. I have the cheap ass schu Samsung, while my wife has a government paid for blackberry. She secretly runs everything with it.

I love the 5 friends ad where the teenage girl puts in five numbers, then her little brother puts in the same five, and says, "your friends are *hot*."

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ngdawg

Those commercial get me rolling the eyes-my daughter alone has about 40 numbers in her phone, texts incessantly all day and night. "Five" friends? Those kids are sad...
I found a way to bypass any texting charges-I text thru Yahoo. My messages go to the phone numbers I have stored in Yahoo and I get back replies in it. Most IM's offer that and 'm trying to get my daughter to utilize it more as she keeps going over her out-of-network allowance of 500 per month.
SM, that sure seems like a huge outlay in the beginning....

PonyPotato

I have the Centro, as well as a Simply Everything plan (I got 450 minutes/month, though). Sprint will allow you to change between plans within a grace period without extending your contract - I believe it's 90 days or so? I've changed phones/plans/add-ons/etc. often with them for the last month, and I didn't have to extend my contract until I used my phone upgrade credit.

With the upgrade, I paid $150 for my Centro and I'm getting a $50 rebate. I believe it's $100-150 to get it with a 2-yr contract as a first-time customer.

Personally, I absolutely love my Centro.. but I have small fingers, so the keyboard isn't too bad for me. It's a really great size, has some really nice features, and I absolutely love being able to access my work email no matter where I am.

I vote Sprint. I've been with them for at least two years and I've signed on for at least two more. I actually used to have Nextel, but the service sucked in OSU's dorms. Sprint is the only carrier that works inside all rooms in my parents' home, and I rarely have calls dropped unless I try wandering into the bathroom or laundry room while still on the phone.

If you have any questions about the Centro or the Sprint Simply Everything plan, let me know. If I can't answer them, one of my best friends is a Sprint rep.

(And for the record.. I HATE AT&T and I'm not a huge fan of Verizon, either, though they're more acceptable than AT&T. I also have mobile broadband through Sprint.)

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SecretMethod70

I really would prefer to go with Verizon or T-Mobile or Alltel, but I'm looking mainly at AT&T because then it'd be much easier and not cost anything to switch onodrim over to my plan later on.

Thanks for all the input though, it's helping out!

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Milkyway

FYI, I don't know about the other carriers but if you have verizon the contract is to have service with them not to have a specific plan. You can change your plan at anytime and add new members at anytime, what you can't do is end service or delete members unless the contract is up. I have verizon and have been pretty happy, have had them since 1995 when they were ameritech and have never had a good enough reason to leave. They always work with me when my budget is tight and I want a cheaper plan or when I need to use my phone more and want to up my minutes. That being said I know people who hate verizon.

So the bottom line is there are pluses and minuses with every carrier and the grass is always greener on the other side-just like everything else in life. LOL

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xepherys

FYI - You can still get the contract reduced rate for the phone and change your plan anytime with Verizon. TM and I have changed our plan, both up and down, no less than 3 times. *shrug*

Seriously? Milky? LOL

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SecretMethod70

Cool. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to visit AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Alltel to speak with representatives and hopefully get something before the day is through. Thanks a lot!

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thingstodo

Whatever phone you get I would suggest you make sure service will be good everywhere you use the thing. It doesn't matter what bells and wistles you have if you can't make and receive calls! And if you only plan to text smart phones won't be much good. They are awesome for e-mail, especially if you can sync 24/7 with your company's servers.

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SecretMethod70

Thankfully, one perk of living near the 3rd largest city in the country is that pretty much every network is strong here. I'm not going to be doing traveling outside of the area, so I'm not really worried about that too much.

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

SecretMethod70

Got the Palm Centro today. Seems good so far. Thanks for everyone's input!

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Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

dy156

I hate sprint, but their new unlimited for $99 is a good deal. However, if our significant other is with AT&T and that's most of your talking- that's your best bet.