- Jul 22, 2002
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Ah, doesn't it feel good. Walking into a cell phone store and simply picking out the coolest looking phone, then telling the agent at the counter which of the wireless plans you would like. He tells you that signing onto a 2 year contract will give you an incredible discount off the phone. You smile with glee and sign for the 2-year and get 80% of the purchase price. You walk out of the store with a new Motorola RAZR with that cool Hawaiian faceplate you said would match your "fun personality", and a nice wireless plan that gives you 2,000 minutes a month with unlimited in network calling and access to the internet.
You call all of your friends and tell them to add your new number to their contacts list. You instantly go online on the phone and buy a few ringtones and wallpapers because you don't have to pay for them now, you can pay at the end of the month! And they are only $1.99 each! Why not! You've got that under your floorboard mats!
Next you text message all of your friends telling them how cool your new phone is. They text back because they have to and they would rather not be rude to you, considering your situation. They tell you to just call them, but you keep up your text messaging conversation asking rhetorical questions, which must be replied to or else you would think your friends are ignoring you.
By the end of the month, you are shocked and surprised to find that your first wireless bill is so incredibly high. You see that you used 1,203 text messages, you downloaded 14 ringtones (at only $1.99 each), you bought 23 different wallpapers because they were only 99 cents each and you used 12,128 kilobytes off the internet. Oh, and there is the $30 activation fee and $40 in state and local taxes. Your bill totals $357.86 and now you have to give up your phone because you can't pay for it.
By now, you have probably told yourself, "Oh my god! I was in that situation!" Don't feel left out though, over half of all new wireless service customers overuse their services and get huge overage charges on their first bill. It's because the only person that has helped you purchase your phone is the agent at the cell phone store. Of course, he'll say anything to get you to buy a phone and sign for a contract. He has to meet his weekly quota you know.
Here is a step by step guide to buying a new phone and deciding which wireless plan is for you.
Let's start with the one thing that makes all of this possible, the cell phone. Ah yes, Americas' latest addiction! It seems that once you get one, you can't remember life without it. For one, you are going to have to ask yourself, "What features are most important to me?"
Features included in today's cell phones include; Bluetooth, PTT (Push- to-Talk), music players, GPS (global positioning satellites) services, speakerphones, email access and web browsers. It is important that you choose which features most stand out to you. If your city commuter, it might be important to you for the phone to have Bluetooth, that way you can use a wireless Bluetooth headset on your ear while driving, which may save your life. If you're a MySpace junkie, it might be important that it have email capabilities, a web browser and perhaps a music player.
Once you have decided on the features you want, you will have to choose the phone that best matches your features requirements. You may find that there are several phones that match what you want. Then you will have to choose what form factor you would like. You can go for the slim Motorola and be just like everyone else, or you can go for the fatter phone that has a keyboard and a GPS system in it. It is ultimately up to you to decide what best suites you.
OK, now that you have your phone picked out, it's time to choose a wireless carrier. This, by far, is one of the hardest things a human can do. I mean, once you get it you are stuck for one to two years. That's a long time! But don't worry, I'm here for you!
One thing that you have to remember is that, universally, all wireless service providers charge the same amount for their services. It all depends on how they market their plans. For instance, Cingular may have a 2 year plan that costs $70 a month which includes 1,000 whenever minutes and unlimited rollover (where the minutes you don't use roll over to the next month). While Verizon has a 1 year plan that includes 2,000 minutes and nothing else for $70 a month. It's the same price, but both plans seem different. Well, they are exactly the same. Cingular may have fewer minutes, but they make it up by taking the minutes you don't use and rolling them over to the next month, giving you more and more minutes each month.
First thing that you need to know, never buy your phone from a mall kiosk or an unlicensed agent. They can easily rip your off and charge you 40% more than what you would pay online. And if you can't buy online, always go to dedicated service provider stores. If you want Cingular, go to a Cingular dealer, not 'Frank's Wireless Store'.
Also, you will have to find service providers that will cover you where ever you go. You can do this in their stores or by going online to their websites and viewing their coverage maps. Some maps are very detailed. For instance, T-Mobile provides a street level coverage map on their website, letting you know what type of reception you can receive near the corner of 5th and Williams St.
It's also important that you always choose to sign for the 2 year contract. The reason for this is simple; it will save you tons of money on your new phone. For instance, a Pocket PC Phone like mine would cost $550 with a one year plan and only $200 with a 2 year plan. This is just a good idea. Besides, if you don't like the service, you've got 30 days after your activation to withdraw from the contract without a fee.
Now that you have found a good service provider and have chosen a good plan, it's time to pick the extra features you will need. Each month, these extra features like text messaging and internet access are becoming cheaper and cheaper. For instance, there is a new company called Helio who's plans include unlimited everything for a simple set monthly fee. It also has access to MySpace Mobile for free. As of now, this is the best option for young people. If you choose a different provider, be sure to not get features you 'think' you might use. Instead of getting 1,000 text messages for $20, try only getting 500 messages for $8. With text messages, you need to remember that all incoming messages are counted towards your billed messages. So if you sent 250 messages and got a reply from everyone of those, then you would have already used 500 messages.
When you have your new phone it's important to remember that you need to be careful about your usage and mobile purchases. If you want the new Snoop Dogg ringtone, you can easily make it on your computer by just cutting out a 15 second part of the song and transferring it to your phone either via Bluetooth or a USB cable. Same goes for wallpapers.
If you can follow those steps when your buying a new cell phone and signing onto a new contract, then it should help you save a lot of frustration and, especially, a lot of money.
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