beerman

I have never needed a cell phone before, but after this weekend's car trouble it's about time. Everyone I know is either sick of their service or paying way too much. I just need it for nights and weekends... Any suggestions?

neoinoakleys

I have Sprint PCS, I have been relatively happy. I have been with them for about 3 years now. I have to say there are a few of my buddies on it that think the service stinks, but I am happy.

Things that I would look at when considering a new plan.

First determine where and when you would normally use it. If you are always in one area and don't do any travelling, then it might be cheaper to just go with a local plan rather than a national plan.

Also consider how many minutes you will use it. Keep in mind that no matter how much you plan on using it, you will go over that amount over time as you start using it more and more out of convenience. (at least this has been my experience) This is not a bad idea, as I now have gotten rid of my landline phone and run solely off of cellular. In my case this is MUCH more economical.

Consider the features you want, and read up on the technology. GSM vs CDMA vs TDMA vs etc...Each have their advantages and disadvantages, and they should be taken into consideration with the loacl coverage of it.

I personally woul NEVER sign a contract that forces me to stick with one carrier, since great rates are constantly offered by he competition. Also, as of November 16th (I think) the mobile number portability act goes into effect, this means that cell carriers are going to be forced to allow you to carry over your existing phone number to any carrier of your choice. At this time 2 things are going to happen. They are going to start offering REALLY competitve rates, as it is going to make it easier for us to change providers and they will be making their contracts MUCH more attrtactive as this is the only way they will be able to keep you tied to them for any lenght of time.

This is just my 2 cents...anyone else?

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Cynthetiq

I have AT&T...

I have lots of friends who have different carriers.. and I can say that it depends from city to city. As far as I'm concerned... they all suck. I can't wait until there are regulations on the books that demand EQUAL service from city to city, state to state.

Like Joe Pesci said in LW4... they fuck ya...

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kurty[B]

I currently use AT&T, and am satisfied with them. My main need was to have coverage in my basement. Most of the other services didn't even get that good of signal on the main floor of my house, but with AT&T my signal is always decent and clear from down here.

The plans and pricing are all the magnificent. When I first signed up, I just got their standard plan, because I wasn't sure how many minutes I would use, and I used it for three months. My first two months I hardly used the cell phone, because not everyone I knew knew my number, and so on and so on. The last month I used a bit more (still much lower than the standard plan), and I switched to a lower minute cheaper plan. They work pretty well.

I'm an abuser of text messaging, so I tacked that on, but I don't really use the mMode junk very much. I'm surrounded by computers most of the time, and when I'm not around them I don't really want to be browsing the internet or what not other junk anyway.

I would ask people you know who have cell phones, ask them what provider they have, how good their signal is from points that may be nearby to where you'd be most likely to use your phone, and so on.

denim

Okay, you've decided you need a cell phone.

Step one: determine your requirements.

• For what do you need this phone? (determines minutes/month to buy)
• What sort of coverage do you need?
• What kind of money can you afford to pay?

If you just need a phone for emergencies, you can get by with a minimal service, from whichever company you decide to go with. Don't, in this case, let them sell you more than you need! They tend to want to get you for around $50/month.

Coverage and price plans are highly volatile. What was true last month may no longer be.

Whatever you do, try to get the shortest contract you can, if you have to have a contract. I got my phone a year ago last April, and avoided a 2-year contract in favor of a 1-year contract by paying for more of the phone out-of-pocket. The difference for me was that I comitted to pay them $600 ($50/month for one year), plus around $100 for the phone. This was better than $1200 ($50/month for two years), plus something like $60 for the phone.

My contract requires them to give me free roaming and long distance. They don't offer that any more. But you may not need it if you don't tend to travel off-network. If you're always in your carrier's coverage, you'll not pay "roaming", so coverage is important.

Ask about where they're going with their network. What standards are they planning on adding/removing over the duration of whatever contract you consider. Will you need to replace your phone soon to keep up with the network changes which are coming? If so, that adds to your cost.

Also, do the phones they offer have features you require? Different carriers offer different phones, due to the phones' capabilities and the carrier's own networks abilities.

Confused yet? Ask questions. Not just here, but of a number of carriers. Sprint, AT&T, Cingular (my carrier), others. Ask 'em all. It's just time on the web and the phone.

Also, note that, as I understand it, an outgoing call to 911 has to be honored even if you don't have an active account. I don't know that I'd rely on that, though. Usually, it's important to be able to receive calls in case your rescuer needs to return your call "WHERE did you say you were??" and such.

Cynthetiq

also check out the consumer reports website...

http://www.consumerreports.org/main/...FADID=00000003

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BigBlueWrecking

I am an AT&T fan. Their service has been good in the five cities (all big) I have lived in the last couple of years. It also works well in the small rural areas outside of the city I live in now.

Prae

I use AT&T myself. I have a 29.99/month plan and I paid (after rebates) $49.99 on my cellphone (Nokia 8265, love the blue background light).

So its 29.99 a month and 49.99 for your cell-phone. If you sign a 2-year contract, the activation fee is waived (which is what I did). Just go to www.attwireless.com and look up their cell phone/plans.

Hell, use google.com and type in 'cell phone plans' - that is how I learned the basic shiat.

Jolt

The people you're asking *here* live all over the world. You'd do better to ask *local* people who have phones, if they've had any problems with coverage, if there are multiple providers in your area.

I live in a medium-sized metro area and there are still plenty of "holes" where some carriers don't cover...and there are at least 7 companies that offer service in this area.

If you only want it for what-if purposes, or don't plan to use it very much, the best deal is most likely prepaid.

Whoever has the "best deal" this month probably won't next month. Cellular rates and service plans are disgustingly volatile.

sierra2774

I have Alltel and I get great coverage. I have never had a problem with it.

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MSD

I've worked selling cell phones. In the US, just get Verizon. Nobody else compares to their coverage areas and signal strength. REgardless of what Consumer Reports says, Sprint is next, followed by Nextel, then Cingular. Other than that, if you want to leave major cities, nothing works consistently.

So, to recap, get Verizon.

toxic515

I have ATT's Go phone. (I hate contracts) I've used all of the major carriers and frankly prefer ATTs coverage for my needs. Most carriers have a free nights and weekends deal with all but their cheapest plan, so you don't have to buy too many "anytime" minutes to take advantage of that.

In spite of Self Destruct's advice, I found Verizon here in the Dallas area to have fair coverage at best, and in the rural areas it was abysmal. Nextel was only useful in the major metro areas, and Sprint simply won't work inside my office building.

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snowace56

I have At&T Wireless GSM. Its great in town and in major towns. but small towns and rural areas your fucked. I'd go with if you are planning in staying in town for the most part, go with that. But if you aren't go Nextel, they are by far the best company.

VirFighter

I've got Verizon. Good signal and coverage overall. The only time I lose it is if I'm in someone's basement or something like that. I have never lost it on my trips to and from Atlanta or my trips to the rural NC mountains or to the coast. I think Verizon has the eastern portion of the nation pretty well covered.

Not sure if this is important to you or not but Verizon does restrict your freedom when it comes to how much you can modify your phone. I've got a Motorola T720 and I should be able to download stuff off of motorola's site but with Verizon I can only go through their "Get it Now" junk. Providers like T-Mobile provide more freedom as far as that is concerned.

The only service I would really recommend against is Alltel. One of my friends has it and get horrible service here in Raleigh. My uncle used to have it and got horrible service wherever he went it seems like. He would be driving down home from work and would hit holes in coverage where he would just drop conversations. Other times it just flat out could not get service. When we were in Alltel stadium in Jacksonville he couldn't get service... but my Verizon phone could. I found that quite amusing personally.

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Justin

I personally did not like the GSM service I had with t-mobile. I had dropped calls and the phones they gave me werent that reliable. (those "free" nokias) After I worked for Sprint as a vendor selling their service in stores I fell in love not only with the clear reception (even in my house!) but the wireless internet features were great.

Your milage may vary, but depending on where you live go for the one that has the best reception.

In my area (Long Island, NY) Sprint and Verizon are pretty good and T-moblie/Cingular were so/so.

Personally i'd go with sprint since they are offering so many rebates on phones. I strongly suggest the Sanyo 8100 w/ camera.
Excellent reception on this!

boatguy234

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punx1325

I have AT&T. I'm pretty happy with their GSM service. I got a free nokia too! I pay 34.95 for 500 anytime minutes, and unlimited nights/weekends. The biggest problem is service in rural areas, they are still expanding the service, but thats the way will all GSM providers. Getting e-mail on my phone is pretty cool.

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