Need cell phone help.

[bupkus]

I have never owned a cell phone so now that relatives have convinced me I need one I don't know where to start. I get very few calls and I seldom make calls so I don't want to find myself in a plan where if I bail I have a $600 penalty.

I googled it and found some stuff but they talk about cool features when all I need is a phone for emergencies or whenever. I tried BestPrePaidSolutions but their phones look like old discontinued models, too big and fat. I suppose I would like a flip phone, cause I probably would like to just slip it into my pocket. I actually had a cell phone (Ericson) years back, but after a couple weeks the belt clip slipped and it fell, more than once. I discontinued it after about a month.

I don't know where to start-- so many models, so many plans. I really don't even want one, but I suppose I could use one if like I were to get separated from someone in a mall, etc. Oh, yah, I'm on a fixed income so I need to be cheap.

Thanks.

 

[Ilmater]

Last time I looked (and this has been a few months), Virgin Mobile had the best prepaid plans by quite a bit. They also have the highest-rated network of ANYONE (even Verizon) pretty consistently. I'd check them out. They also have cool phones.

 

[kornphlake]

If you're doubtfull you'll use one the don't get one. I bought into the cellphone thing and ended up moving 3 months after signing a 1 year contract to an area where I didn't get any service at all, no digital, no analog, no signal at all. So much for saving money on long distance at night and on weekends, so much for having an alternate phone number people can contact me with. That was one of the most regretted decisions I've ever made and with their fines for terminating the contract early it ended up costing more to terminate the service than to keep it for the rest of the year and only use it occasionally when traveling or during lunch breaks at work. Look at the fine print on the prepaid plans too, you have to buy a certain amount of minutes every 30 or 60 days, depending on the plan if you don't use all your minutes in that amount of time you loose them, with others while the minutes don't expire you have to buy more to have access to the minutes you've accumulated after so many days. It ends up being a lot of money either way for someone who doesn't plan on using 300 minutes a month. I'd actually suggest a set of FRS radios if you'd only use a cell phone to find your spouse when you're at the mall. You can get a good pair for less than $50 and you'll never pay monthly service charge.

 

[bigal40]

I have a tracfone and it gets very good reception. I was in the middle of nowhere in alsaka this summer and was able to get reception when the guys i with got no reception (tmobile, att and cingular i think)
heres a link 1 year of service 500minutes and a v60i flip phone for 200 bucks.
http://www.tracfone-orders.com...GSM4&techzip=33594

 

[bupkus]

I've lived in the same house now for over 15 years so I'm not likely to move soon and if I were it would be in the same city. I never make long distance phone calls, and on the rare occasion it would be from my land line.
As for the FRS radios, I don't know anyone with those things and so I don't think they would work for me

I was hoping that in these closing days before Christmas I could finally find an offer that I could live with considering low usage.
I don't want to spend more than $25/month and I want a phone that is small and reliable. I'm 55 years old and I don't need a camera although internet connectivity is cool for using dexonline, but not a necessity. I just want a small cheap phone.

 

[bupkus]

Originally posted by: bigal40
I have a tracfone and it gets very good reception. I was in the middle of nowhere in alsaka this summer and was able to get reception when the guys i with got no reception (tmobile, att and cingular i think)
heres a link 1 year of service 500minutes and a v60i flip phone for 200 bucks.
http://www.tracfone-orders.com...GSM4&techzip=33594

Interesting. I'm checking the website and the offer you linked to is... oh, you entered that, too.
How is the v60i phone?
Do I understand correctly?
$200 for 500 minutes and a phone and then I will need to buy more minutes every 60 days to continue the service, so $20 per 60 days is my minimal month cost? At $10/month that sounds too good to be true.
I must have misunderstood.
$200/12=$17/mo plus $10/mo=$27/mo/first year.

Sorry, just noticed this forum is for computer hardware only. Please reply with links to forums that discuss my cell phone questions.
Thanks.

 

[w00t]

Originally posted by: bupkus
I've lived in the same house now for over 15 years so I'm not likely to move soon and if I were it would be in the same city. I never make long distance phone calls, and on the rare occasion it would be from my land line.
As for the FRS radios, I don't know anyone with those things and so I don't think they would work for me

I was hoping that in these closing days before Christmas I could finally find an offer that I could live with considering low usage.
I don't want to spend more than $25/month and I want a phone that is small and reliable. I'm 55 years old and I don't need a camera although internet connectivity is cool for using dexonline, but not a necessity. I just want a small cheap phone.

i find that cool how u are 55 and go to these forums way cool i wish my grampha new alot about computers.
i am sure you can find some cell phones good for your needs i just dont know about cell phones and dont own one.

 

[bigal40]

Originally posted by: bupkus

Originally posted by: bigal40
I have a tracfone and it gets very good reception. I was in the middle of nowhere in alsaka this summer and was able to get reception when the guys i with got no reception (tmobile, att and cingular i think)
heres a link 1 year of service 500minutes and a v60i flip phone for 200 bucks.
http://www.tracfone-orders.com...GSM4&techzip=33594

Interesting. I'm checking the website and the offer you linked to is... oh, you entered that, too.
How is the v60i phone?
Do I understand correctly?
$200 for 500 minutes and a phone and then I will need to buy more minutes every 60 days to continue the service, so $20 per 60 days is my minimal month cost? At $10/month that sounds too good to be true.
I must have misunderstood.
$200/12=$17/mo plus $10/mo=$27/mo/first year.

Sorry, just noticed this forum is for computer hardware only. Please reply with links to forums that discuss my cell phone questions.
Thanks.

The linked gives you one year of service. You have 1 year to use 500 minutes. If you run out you can buy more and it extends the time your minutes expire by 60 days. I have not used the v60i but i have the v66 which is similar and it is a sturdy phone that has lasted me for 2 years now. YOu might want to make sure that the v60i works where you live, I put in my zipcode. GO to tracfone.com and then click on buy phone and it will ask you to enter your zipcode. The v60i should be available in all areas but i am not positive. So heres the breakdown month by month.

$200(phone and 500 minutes)
200/12=17 bucks a month

I just looked at the deal i linked you again and it has the Double minute card which means that if you buy any other minutes you get double. For exapmle if you bought 400 minutes(which costs $80) you get 800minutes and it extend the expiration of you minutes by 60 days. When you year expires you can buy another year card and 300minutes for 150 bucks.(they sendyou emails with codes for extra minutes so it shouldn't be hard to get 500).

 

[bupkus]

Originally posted by: w00t

Originally posted by: bupkus
I've lived in the same house now for over 15 years so I'm not likely to move soon and if I were it would be in the same city. I never make long distance phone calls, and on the rare occasion it would be from my land line.
As for the FRS radios, I don't know anyone with those things and so I don't think they would work for me

I was hoping that in these closing days before Christmas I could finally find an offer that I could live with considering low usage.
I don't want to spend more than $25/month and I want a phone that is small and reliable. I'm 55 years old and I don't need a camera although internet connectivity is cool for using dexonline, but not a necessity. I just want a small cheap phone.

i find that cool how u are 55 and go to these forums way cool i wish my grampha new alot about computers.
i am sure you can find some cell phones good for your needs i just dont know about cell phones and dont own one.

Thanks for your comments, but if you really want to get blown away, here it is.
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"Rumble, young man, rumble."