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Cell Phone buying advice

K

KoolDrew

Lifer
I finally decided that I'd buy a cell phone. Since I've never dealt with them before, I know very little about what type of plans and phones are out there. Considering I won't be using the phone that much (it will still get quite a bit of use though), I think the best option would just be to buy my minutes as I go as opposed to a plan. However, I have no idea what service provider or type of plan I should be looking for.

As for the phone itself, I definitely don't need anything fancy. A simple flip phone that isn't a pain in the ass to use and will perform well (nice reception and clarity) would be fine. Having a camera phone would be nice, but I really have no idea how much that adds to the cost, so it's not completely necessary, though would definitely be a nice feature that I would appreciate. Battery life is another thing that would be important to me, but anything except complete crap should be good enough for me in this area.

Anybody want to helpt me out? Again, I am not looking at spending a lot at all. For the phone or the service plan.
 
I just got my first phone ever recently too. Cept I don't think you're in Canada, otherwise I'd recommend Virgin Mobile; no idea who else is available in the states. Shop around for a good provider first and foremost. See if certain companies charge activation fees, 911 and 'network usage' fees. Look at reliability and finally a phone. Camera phones are pretty regular now, but if you want a reasonable one (2.0 Megapixel and up), it'll cost you about an extra $100 over a non-camera phone.
 
I second Imp's recommendation for Virgin Mobile (which is available here in the US).

I'm not a heavy cell phone user, so $20 worth of minutes every 3 months suits me just fine.
 
T-Mobile has the best prepaid plans imo. It's $100 for 1000 minutes, but can be obtained for a lot cheaper on ebay. The minutes last for 1 year, but can be extended for another year if you just add another $10 to it. I've heard the Nokia 6030 is a really good basic phone.
 
Originally posted by: BlameCanada
You really need to pick a company before you pick a phone, there are two different types of networks.
Click to expand...

I agree. The best phone in the world is crap with a bad network.

Pick a network, then check out phonescoop and howard forums. Ask people in the area about which network seems to work the best, because what is good in one area might be crap in another.
 
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