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Cingular Pre Paid SE T237 Phone $30 Shipped!

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Originally posted by: ww4397
Originally posted by: MJGunn

It would be nice if we can get some information on the sim available on ebay. I like that rate structure but only if it is refillable. Not too crazy about the NY phone number though...
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I emailed one of the vendors on ebay, with the N.Y. prepaid sims with that rate. Reply was $value good in minutes or 45-60 days. Can't change phone number. He didn't respond either way about refillability, even though I asked him in the email.
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Originally posted by: robby69
I emailed one of the vendors on ebay, with the N.Y. prepaid sims with that rate. Reply was $value good in minutes or 45-60 days. Can't change phone number. He didn't respond either way about refillability, even though I asked him in the email.
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Thanks robby69.

Just out of curiosity, lets say the ebay sims are not refillable. Does that mean that when that card/sim expires, a new one (with the same rates, *if* available) would need to be purchased? Would that, in turn, mean that the phone number would be different with the new sim? So, a new phone number every 45-60 days? I couldn't live with that. Am I understanding this correctly?

Thanks.

 
[q[/b].

Just out of curiosity, lets say the ebay sims are not refillable. Does that mean that when that card/sim expires, a new one (with the same rates, *if* available) would need to be purchased? Would that, in turn, mean that the phone number would be different with the new sim? So, a new phone number every 45-60 days? I couldn't live with that. Am I understanding this correctly?

Thanks.

[/quote]


Correct.
I will probably go with the normal refillable .25/min ($25/90day exp plan) that is in this thread.

My new job out in the sticks only has a new 850mhz cingular tower to get service within a 20 miles of where I work.
T-Mobile (I still have a contract) or Verizon has no signal.

Since the T237 I picked up on ebay is unlocked, I am going to try out the "dual sim" adapter
I have seen advertised so I won't have to carry around 2 phones & can use my contractual T-Mobile Minutes
elsewhere & cingular prepad minutes while at work.
 
For those of you who got it, does Cingular ship them in a nice retail box, white box, or those annoying plastic packages?
 
Those are special rates only available to people in NY (or rather, activating in NY). You should have no problems refilling them. Personally I like having a long-distance number, when I had a local number I would get calls all the time. Someone would try me at home, then immediately call my cell. Now, they just leave a message if I'm not at home and I call them when I get back. They can still call if it's actually important.

I've been asked this before, it'll work anywhere there's Cingular coverage, doesn't matter where it was activated. Before this, I had a Texas number from a Speak Out phone I bought at 7-eleven there. Worked great here in TN, where there are no 7-elevens anywhere in the whole state (Speak Out uses Cingular service). I would have liked to keep the Speak Out service, but it's too much hassle to find someone with a 7-eleven near them to pick one up for me, so I got one of the Cingular plans with a NY number. Works fine for me.
 
if you aren't a big user though, the NY plans apparently have a 45-60-day expiration instead of 90. May be offset by the cheaper rates though. Thanks for the info about being able to refill them.
 
I know they initially just have 45 days (the ones I have, anyways). I think that you still get a full 90 days if you refill with a card $20 or more, unless they changed that too.
 
The phone is shipped with a nice properly packaged retail box. Other than the manual, the rest of the paper are useless.
 
Originally posted by: wmoss
The phone is shipped with a nice properly packaged retail box. Other than the manual, the rest of the paper are useless.
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When did you order it and when did it ship?
 
I called them yesterday to check the backorder status. CSR said that they are still on backorder. She also said that it was strange that her system did not have an estimated date of restocking. She said the system usually displays the number of days until the item will be back in stock. How do we interpret that interesting point?

I also mentioned to her that the web site still has this phone for sale with no indication that they are on backorder. She said she knew that but had no further explanation.
 
I'm considering this offer but does it fit my needs? I ask this question because I've never owned or used a cell phone but think I need one mostly for emergency use.
I don't go out of the house often so I wouldn't use it much but it would be good to have if my car craps out.

Another reason is I may start doing tech support for everyday people who's computers get fuglied up with spyware, adware, etc.

Lastly, I'm in Phoenix so whatever I get needs to work there.

Thanks for helping a cell phone noob senior.
 
7-eleven's Speak Out service would probably be best for you. Minutes last for a year after you buy them (with the exception of the initial purchase of the phone, it's a year from when they activated it, and since you buy it pre-activated, you might be missing a couple weeks, no biggie). Works on Cingular's towers. Only 20 cents/minute (Cingular is either 25 cents a minute anytime, or 10 cents a minute anytime with a $1 surcharge). If a local number is important to you, I checked and see that there are 7-eleven stores near you, so you could get a local number (or at least, local enough). I prefer having a non-local number, but that's just me.

I bought a T237 for myself and some of the sim cards with a New York number after my Speak Out phone was stolen. Figured it'd be too much of a hassle to find someone with a 7-eleven near them to get me another phone. Well after my order was already placed, figured I'd call Speak Out customer service to see if there was anything they could do. They sent me a new sim card free of charge! When it came, it only had $10 on it (my account balance was just over $14, was over $30 before it was stolen), called them up and they put another $4 on it to make it $14. Didn't argue about the few cents I lost, figured the sim card and the postage was more than worth it. So, I'd definitely recommend Speak Out, they've been great for me.
 
Originally posted by: josetann
7-eleven's Speak Out service would probably be best for you. Minutes last for a year after you buy them (with the exception of the initial purchase of the phone, it's a year from when they activated it, and since you buy it pre-activated, you might be missing a couple weeks, no biggie). Works on Cingular's towers. Only 20 cents/minute (Cingular is either 25 cents a minute anytime, or 10 cents a minute anytime with a $1 surcharge). If a local number is important to you, I checked and see that there are 7-eleven stores near you, so you could get a local number (or at least, local enough). I prefer having a non-local number, but that's just me.

I bought a T237 for myself and some of the sim cards with a New York number after my Speak Out phone was stolen. Figured it'd be too much of a hassle to find someone with a 7-eleven near them to get me another phone. Well after my order was already placed, figured I'd call Speak Out customer service to see if there was anything they could do. They sent me a new sim card free of charge! When it came, it only had $10 on it (my account balance was just over $14, was over $30 before it was stolen), called them up and they put another $4 on it to make it $14. Didn't argue about the few cents I lost, figured the sim card and the postage was more than worth it. So, I'd definitely recommend Speak Out, they've been great for me.
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I'm a little new to this stuff too. Maybe you can help me. Does each sim card have a phoe number associated with it? Would getting new sim cards mean getting a new phone number too?

Thanks.



 
Yes, each new sim card comes with a new phone number. Now, you can just add funds to your prepaid account before it expires, and your existing balance carries over (let it slip a day though, and you'll probably lose your previous balance, but can keep your number).

The exception to this, would be if you ordered a new sim put wanted your old number ported to it. I don't know how all companies handle this, it seems cingular is set up to let you do this. If the sim card has already been activated though, I don't know if it could be changed without needing to buy a new sim card.
 
Originally posted by: bupkus
Link to 7-Eleven SpeakOut cellular offer
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Thanks for the link. Can you just buy the sim card for this service so that it could be put into the T237 phones this deal is about? That is what I might be interested in doing. Or, do you need to buy a SpeakOut phone to get the sim card?

PS: Over on FW, some guys are saying that the terms and conditions of SpeakOut are changing. Something about a monthly fee... I'l have to go back and check.
 
I just called 3 local 7-elevens, two say they have nothing and the third said they only sell the calling cards. I have no idea what the deal is, "Tank you."
 
Dont know if this has been said already, but I used to work in a cingular store for 9 months. They are not too bad of a company and the prepaid plans if managed correctly can be a good deal if they fit your talking habits. However I wanted to inform everyone how bad this phone sucks.

The company that I worked for pulled all of these phones and the model before it (i think T216?) out of its stores (70+) and refused to sell them because they are junk. Some of them turn out to be ok but over half of them we sold were returned within the thirty day return period non-operational for various reasons.

There are better used phones for sale on ebay that you would be much happier with, and you can activate any cingular gsm phone on prepaid, not just the kit phones. Any store should have a "Prepaid Activation Kit" which includes a sim card and $10 worth of minutes for $15.
 
Originally posted by: rgreen83
Dont know if this has been said already, but I used to work in a cingular store for 9 months. They are not too bad of a company and the prepaid plans if managed correctly can be a good deal if they fit your talking habits. However I wanted to inform everyone how bad this phone sucks.

The company that I worked for pulled all of these phones and the model before it (i think T216?) out of its stores (70+) and refused to sell them because they are junk. Some of them turn out to be ok but over half of them we sold were returned within the thirty day return period non-operational for various reasons.

There are better used phones for sale on ebay that you would be much happier with, and you can activate any cingular gsm phone on prepaid, not just the kit phones. Any store should have a "Prepaid Activation Kit" which includes a sim card and $10 worth of minutes for $15.
Click to expand...

The T226 was its predecessor.
 
Originally posted by: aphex
Originally posted by: rgreen83
Dont know if this has been said already, but I used to work in a cingular store for 9 months. They are not too bad of a company and the prepaid plans if managed correctly can be a good deal if they fit your talking habits. However I wanted to inform everyone how bad this phone sucks.

The company that I worked for pulled all of these phones and the model before it (i think T216?) out of its stores (70+) and refused to sell them because they are junk. Some of them turn out to be ok but over half of them we sold were returned within the thirty day return period non-operational for various reasons.

There are better used phones for sale on ebay that you would be much happier with, and you can activate any cingular gsm phone on prepaid, not just the kit phones. Any store should have a "Prepaid Activation Kit" which includes a sim card and $10 worth of minutes for $15.
Click to expand...

The T226 was its predecessor.
Click to expand...


Thanks! Its been awhile since I sold one, I was close at least.
 
I remember years ago my nephew game me an old cell phone he was no longer using. I ended up throwing it out. I didn't know a cell phone could be "unlocked" so any (similar) service can use it. How can you know if a used cell phone can be applied to some service?
 
GRRRR WTF. I tried to put my AT&T subscription service SIM into it and it says "please insert correct SIM." Now I could understand this if it were not an AT&T or Cingular card, but come on! It looks like it's locked for Cingular's prepair cards. This sucks; time to get ANOTHER new phone. If anyone knows a way around this, please let me know. Thanks!
 
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