Getting a cell phone in the US

[iamgenius]

Hi guys. I just need somebody to clear something for me. Anyone living in the US should be able to help. In the US, I know that you can either get a pre-paid mobile phone, or get a phone with a monthly charge(Different plans apply). Now, my question is: Do I have any control over what number I will actually get? I mean, if I want a number that is easy to memorize.....will I be able to get one?

An example would be: if I'm in california, can I get a number like: 530-5555 ?

That's really easy to memorize because when somebody calls he will have to dial
(530) 530-5555

Do you see my point? Now the number doesn't have to be that good.

Another question: is there a pre-paid phone that has international roaming?


Sorry if this is too off-topic.

Thanks in advance.

 

[pm]

Usually if you ask for a special number with any carrier in the US, they will try to give it to you, if it is available. I remember my mother spent over an hour with the Verizon rep as they spelled out various words and then she ended up with one that's so easy to remember my daughter dialed her herself when she was 4 years old. Another friend on T-Mobile managed to get one of an xxx-7777 numbers after he made suggestions and they found it for him.

So it's my understanding that when you are signing up, you just ask and they will try their best (for free) to get you something that you like.

For the pre-paid question - a lot of US pre-paid phones will roam internationally. I know for a fact it works with T-Mobile USA pre-paid because my sister did this when she met us in Austria. I would assume that AT&T's GoPhone service is the same. When you buy it you have to call customer service and request this, but they'll activate it for you. But it's extremely expensive to make calls - over US$2/min or more.

 

[Binky]

You might have better luck getting a google voice number that you like. It's free to try, and you can point it at any number you want.

It's U.S. only I believe, so you'll have to figure out how to get around that...

 

[iamgenius]

Thanks for your responses guys.

So can I do the same for pre-paid phones? Will some companies allow to choose my number?

What is google voice number..........? I'll google it now, but an answer here won't hurt.


Thanks.

 

[pm]

Google Voice is a service that Google acquired from a company called Grand Central.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_voice

It essentially gives you a US phone number which you can then use to centralize communications - SMS, Voicemail, ring-through to other phones.

They will give you your own US number for free and you can choose the number when you sign up, although they seem to have a lot less selection than the main carriers do. It is only available to US residents (or at least US IP addresses). My mother - my frequent example for things - spent a long while searching and got a Google Voice number she likes - although the area code she chose was a bit odd (eastern Massachussetts as I recall, and she lives in northern California). I just took what Google Voice gave me.


In my experience you can't choose a US pre-paid phone number - they assign you one - but maybe you can change it after you sign up... I'm not sure.