My first cell phone?

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Hi AT folks.

At 26 years old, I'm finally giving in and deciding that getting a cell phone is a good idea. I've gone this long without one and don't plan on using it much. I had a land line along with DSL at my old place, but have cable internet at the new place. Rather than paying for a land line there, I'm thinking I'd rather just have a cell phone.

Forgive me if I don't provide the right information.

Location:
Madison, Wisconsin

Intended usage:
Voice only? (No texting necessary)
Would be my only phone (No land line at home)
Relatively low usage in terms of minutes (I talk to family and my gf almost exclusively... other communication is via e-mail. I'd guess total minutes is 60 per month?)

Goals:
Cheap (hopefully both in start-up cost and monthly cost)


I don't know what else information I should provide. If there's a great site or something out there that will let me figure out what's best for me, please let me know.

This is something I really don't care much about at this point other than knowing that I don't want to get ripped off. I hate talking on the phone in general and will likely only be making a few calls a month. I can use my work phone at the office, so I suspect it will be rare when I need to actually use this thing.

I'm kind of at the "don't know where to start" stage since I've never had a cell phone before. My parents both have cell phones, but both are getting theirs through work and they haven't gotten back to me on whether or not there's a special rate for adding family members and such.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[SunnyD]

Fisher-Price My First Cellphone?

Sorry, that's what your thread title made me think of.

What network does most of your family use? I'd go with something like AT&T's or T-Mobile's prepaid that has free mobile-to-mobile (choosing whichever network more of your family uses). For $60 minutes a month, no sense in getting anything other than a prepaid phone especially since you're not using it for internet or texting.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: SunnyD
Fisher-Price My First Cellphone?

Only $15!
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp...80&e=product&pid=38819

Thanks SunnyD!

 

[pm]

Yeah, I'm going to suggest a prepaid plan too.

My recommendations are:

• Virgin Mobile - http://www.virginmobileusa.com/
  Boost Mobile - http://www.boostmobile.com/
  T-Mobile - http://www.t-mobile.com

With T-Mobile, you can do $100 for 1000 minutes. With Virgin, their website is down right now, but a co-worker says they are the cheapest. I think it's $50 for 1000 minutes. Boost is $0.10/min.

For phones, get something basic with good battery life. From Virgin, the Nokia "shorty" ~$30 (I think, site is still down). From T-Mobile, a Nokia 2760 ($20).

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Awesome

Thanks guys!

 

[Rottie]

Go with boost mobile or tmobile they are the best and cheaper no credit check in case you got the worst credit history

 

[Rottie]

Stupid double posts

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I just looked very briefly at them.

Just so I have this straight...

If I get one of these pre-paid plans or pay as you go, then I can call anyone (cell or land line) anytime in the US and it's $0.10 per minute?

 

[jalaram]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I just looked very briefly at them.

Just so I have this straight...

If I get one of these pre-paid plans or pay as you go, then I can call anyone (cell or land line) anytime in the US and it's $0.10 per minute?

Yep. One thing I like about my T-Mobile prepaid is that the 1000 minutes is good for a year. I.e. I don't have to worry about renewing my minutes every 30 or 90 days like some plans. Plus, if I still have minutes when that year expires, a $10 refill will extend my existing minutes for a whole year. Downside is no data plan. The T-Zones is pretty weak, but it does allow me to check sport scores and CNN News.

I've heard AT&T's PaYGo $100 refill card is also 1000 minutes and good for a year.

 

[pm]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
If I get one of these pre-paid plans or pay as you go, then I can call anyone (cell or land line) anytime in the US and it's $0.10 per minute?

Yes. Or $0.05/min on Virgin Mobile (which is now part of Sprint).

But, as jalaram mentioned, the problem is the minutes expire if you don't use them within a set period. So you can't buy, for example, buy a $20 prepaid card and then use it 2 minutes a year for 10 years. Some minutes expire in months, some in a year. Usually you need to spend $100 to get minutes that expire within a year.

Another thing to consider is there really is only 4 carriers nationwide. There are some local ones, but the prepaid providers mostly are leasing time on a nationwide carrier.

BoostMobile is part of Sprint
Cricket leases from Verizon
Virgin Mobile is part of Sprint
Tracphone uses AT&T and T-Mobile mostly but also Verizon

So should you opt for one of the above, you can check coverage in you where by asking friends about them. If you opt for something else, check Wikipedia to see who they are using for service.

 

[Pliablemoose]

YY, I'm going to suggest something completely different...

TMobile through Amazon, buy something like a BB 8900 (free), get the 1K anytime minute plan for $39/month.

Sell the BB on eBay, make ~$300.

Buy a prepaid phone (for ~$30), put your sim card in it.

You have paid for 9 months of of your plan by reselling the BB.

 

[Parasitic]

Well, make a list of people you think you'd make calls to, and figure out which carrier they use. This is important especially if you want to be on a contract plan.
If internet is abundant you can probably get away with not having data services on your phone.

If you're going prepaid, the BEST deal you can get right now is $40 unlimited talk and text from PagePlus, a MVNO reseller for VERIZON WIRELESS. Simply go to Target or Walmart and pick up a prepackaged Verizon InPulse phone, then call PagePlus to activate it. You don't need to activate the phone with Verizon first.


http://www.pagepluscellular.com/

That is if Verizon has decent enough coverage in your area.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
YY, I'm going to suggest something completely different...

TMobile through Amazon, buy something like a BB 8900 (free), get the 1K anytime minute plan for $39/month.

Sell the BB on eBay, make ~$300.

Buy a prepaid phone (for ~$30), put your sim card in it.

You have paid for 9 months of of your plan by reselling the BB.

Nice!!!!:thumbsup:

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
YY, I'm going to suggest something completely different...

TMobile through Amazon, buy something like a BB 8900 (free), get the 1K anytime minute plan for $39/month.

Sell the BB on eBay, make ~$300.

Buy a prepaid phone (for ~$30), put your sim card in it.

You have paid for 9 months of of your plan by reselling the BB.

1. Amazon says it's not available for my zip code... does that matter? Is that an indicator that I will not get coverage here?

2. During the checkout process, Amazon gives me a radio button to select a BlackBerry service that's required in addition to the regular plan (cheapest option is an additional $24.99/month over the $39.99 phone plan)

3. That seems like a lot of work

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Parasitic
Well, make a list of people you think you'd make calls to, and figure out which carrier they use. This is important especially if you want to be on a contract plan.
If internet is abundant you can probably get away with not having data services on your phone.

If you're going prepaid, the BEST deal you can get right now is $40 unlimited talk and text from PagePlus, a MVNO reseller for VERIZON WIRELESS. Simply go to Target or Walmart and pick up a prepackaged Verizon InPulse phone, then call PagePlus to activate it. You don't need to activate the phone with Verizon first.


http://www.pagepluscellular.com/

That is if Verizon has decent enough coverage in your area.

I found out yesterday that the two people I'd be calling the most are both on US Cellular.

So to find out what providers have good service in the area, I should just ask friends in the area?

 

[jalaram]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Parasitic
Well, make a list of people you think you'd make calls to, and figure out which carrier they use. This is important especially if you want to be on a contract plan.
If internet is abundant you can probably get away with not having data services on your phone.

If you're going prepaid, the BEST deal you can get right now is $40 unlimited talk and text from PagePlus, a MVNO reseller for VERIZON WIRELESS. Simply go to Target or Walmart and pick up a prepackaged Verizon InPulse phone, then call PagePlus to activate it. You don't need to activate the phone with Verizon first.


http://www.pagepluscellular.com/

That is if Verizon has decent enough coverage in your area.

I found out yesterday that the two people I'd be calling the most are both on US Cellular.

So to find out what providers have good service in the area, I should just ask friends in the area?

Cell companies usually have coverage maps on their websites, but friends are the best way.

 

[akugami]

I'd have to agree with the others on the prepaid route. Seems you'll save a lot of money in the long run. Keep in mind that the $39.99 plan you signed up for usually has about $10-15 in taxes. Many of the taxes are set by the government such as for 911 so you can't escape them.

For those worried about data plans for internet usage on his phone. All he'd need is some kind of phone with WIFI. Let's face it, if he's lasted this long without a phone, he's not exactly worried about being connected while on the go. Having the option for WIFI is likely good enough for him.

How in the world you went so long without a phone is beyond me. When me and my friends were teens we all had pagers. Then when cell phones got cheaper we all got them. And I'm someone who only uses about 150 minutes a month. Most of my phone calls are less than two minutes because I prefer talking face to face with my buddies. The wife says enough stuff when we're at home so I don't want to talk on the phone with her too long either.

 

[Chapbass]

id look into us cellular if thats what everyone is using. absolute cheapest possible, but tbh, a prepaid is probably goling to be the way id go.


Think about it, if you don't use ANY Time at all a month, you dont get hurt at all. If you happen to go over another month, its a little more, but overall id say your cost of ownership will be lower.


PS: You're in madison? We need to get together and talk home theater stuff! I'm in the northern part of chicagoland, up by vernon hills. probably 60-90 mins from you. Drop me a PM sometime if you wanna get together!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Chapbass
id look into us cellular if thats what everyone is using. absolute cheapest possible, but tbh, a prepaid is probably goling to be the way id go.


Think about it, if you don't use ANY Time at all a month, you dont get hurt at all. If you happen to go over another month, its a little more, but overall id say your cost of ownership will be lower.


PS: You're in madison? We need to get together and talk home theater stuff! I'm in the northern part of chicagoland, up by vernon hills. probably 60-90 mins from you. Drop me a PM sometime if you wanna get together!

I'll ask around what friends are using and what their opinions are.

My gf is actually not happy about US Cellular's coverage at the new place. I'll have to see if that gets resolved first before getting a phone and having a similarly crappy experience

Yeah, I'm in the Madison area. My theater is not in good shape right now though
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/Y...DAjello/SettingUp2.jpg
I took today off with the intention of getting everything hooked up, but a couple hours later and it looks about the same as it did when I started

I wouldn't want to give out my exact location though since there might be an ATOT scavenger hunt activity required for that information from me (tentative details at the end of this thread)
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2245360&enterthread=y

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Now selling clues to the scavenger hunt! $50 a clue!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Now selling clues to the scavenger hunt! $50 a clue!

Nooooo!