Nokia 8290 + accesories for $45 otd with 1 yr plan at pac bell.

[rol]

There seemed to be interest in this on another thread so i decided to sum it up here.
Here is the original thread
http://forums1.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=40&threadid=244403

Just got mine last weekend (8290) from Monterey Park in LA for 45 bucks OTD with car charger, belt clip, hands free kit, and free faceplate. Free roaming so I am using it up in San Jose, but I have an LA #, In 6 months, I can change it to a norcal # if I want to.

Stores in LA are selling the faceplates for 10, the front and backs with the switch to pop out the keypad cover for 20.

OK, I just got off the phone with him. He welcomes any business, his number is

6264580888
6266149198

he has 2 locations, so he is either at one or the other. you can tell him that roland sent you, but i dont get jack crap from this so i dont want to hear jack crap about referrals. but this will jog his memory and get you the other free stuff that i mentioned. i got 2 phones, that is why he hooked me up with that deal, but that is not his normal deal.

Ask for Tony.

Disclaimer: Make sure you verify all this before you drive out there cuz I am not responsible for this deal changing- getting cheaper or more expensive.
[*]http://forums1.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=40&threadid=244403

 

[Smokey0066]

does this guy have an emaiL?.. is there anyway i can get the phone without activation??.. i'm out in the midwest here and they want roughly 170 for just the phone.......

 

[pancho619]

thanks rol, I'll be paying him a visit this weekend.

-- pancho

 

[Blindman]

Got friends in the cell phone business pulled 5 T28 for me before. Looking for one of those phones for free, though. Like you sister need it up north. Anyway . . . the accessories you got, is it aftermarket stuff or original?

I would be careful with aftermarket chargers . . . most are cheep meaning it suck. Sometime shorting out your electrical componets. Ask around a bit. The extra money you put in the charger might save you some money later on.

 

[directcom]

^

 

[directcom]

^

 

[DecoY]

looks like a great deal. I want in totally but a little bit more info ? what's the price on the plan?

basically, I'd like to know how much is it for the phone + service + everything for a year

 

[dtran42]

i'm guessing it's 45$ plus tax for the full price of the phone, which is gonna be around 15$ tax or so, then u gotta sign up for a 1 yr. contract...which is about 30$/month....

 

[axelfox]

This is a probably NO, but can you sign up in one area code and have the phone for another? I go to school in LA (near Monterey Park, actually), but I want a 714 number.

Thanks

 

[VivYip]

Umm, just in case ( I personally think this $45 is a better deal) but there's also another place that sells the same phone for 70 dollars for about the same stuff (headset, car thing, and the promotion for 6 months free email messaging) in Covina. He has two stores in the area, so I don't know if it's the same guy (Knowing that guy, he might match it, but I'm not sure since I can't find the business card he gave me)... 1 yr contract also. oh well. it's been a long time since i've posted in the forum. sorry if this is bad.

 

[BiggieN]

i'm sure they can get you any area code you want providing they have it...

 

[rol]

OK time to answer a few questions:

Blindman- For the accessories, the home charger and hands free kit were Nokia; but the car charger and the faceplate are aftermarket.

DecoY- The plans are pretty much the same for PacBell. They have free roaming in california and nevada (if you purchase in those states). What might be best is to go to Pac Bell's site and use area code '91108' for your plan search. This should show you all the plans in So Cal.

dtran42- OTD means no tax on the phone. It is 45 dollars out the door. However, I think there is an activation fee.

axelfox- I am sure you can get a 714 area code. You can get all So Cal area codes except San Diego, since it is a separate zone.

Keep the questions coming, I'll try to answer them; but personally, in my limited search, I found this to be the best deal, so I got this. And in 6 months, I will change the # to a 408 (San Jose or NorCal) phone number if I want a local cell, or if my friends begin to b*tch.

 

[? (=Þ)]

My question thou, how does pacbell service compare to AT&T's? How aobut specific areas in southern california. One friend says Pacbell is better than AT&T in the montery park/alhambra areas.

And, do you have an address to the montery park store? Id prefer to just stop by when i get a chance.

 

[FOBSIDE]

thats not true. my friend actually sells cell phones in monterey park and lives there too. he says pac bell sucks in a lot of areas in monterey park. i have verizon right now and im pretty satisfied. i get reception in classes, in elevators, and in starewells which is pretty crazy. verizons phones are a lot more $$$ but you can talk to a verizon dealer and get the plan knocked down real low. at&t is good but i cant use it because it has problems on ucla campus for some reason.

 

[Blindman]

Shoot . . . . I live in West Covina. Anyway, the main question would be are these accessiros after market stuff? As long as the phone is in the greater LA/Long Beach area, its all cosider the same area.

 

[rol]

Blindman!!

I replied to you 4 messages up.

 

[ih8dodgers]

Rol -
You dont have to wait 6 months to change phone numbers. I am going to school in LA but live in the Bay Area. I bought my plan in LA, called customer service and had them change my number to bay area. This also changed my rate plan "name" which ended up with the same price level, but in actuality it was even better because bay area plans have weeknight/weekend min instead of just weekend. No penalty for the change, so you dont have to wait if you really want a norcal number

 

[rol]

Ih8Dodgers-

hey, can you please email me (your email is not public) on how you did this? I have a few questions, cuz I signed some form which I didnt read, that said something about not changing plans or something. But if I could change, I would love to, cuz the plans up here have the nights and weekends like you said. I just found that out today too.

rololand@aol.com
dohc_crx@yahoo.com

thanks alot

 

[? (=Þ)]

yea, ive heard verizon is pretty solid, but no support for the nokia phones...

Between AT&T and pacbell, im not sure which is better, everyone says different things about one or the other.

 

[serialb]

hmm... well, i started verizon one-rate plan with a 949 area code but the reception is just terrible in residential areas around monterey park / alhambra. while i am studying in the midwest, the reception on my very same startac 7868 never drops below 3/5 when i am outdoor. so, i am sure the poor reception is NOT due to my phone.

from an economic point of view, pacbell definitely has the econo-rates with decent service, but be prepared to suffer from "No Service" during weekends due to their ridiculous minutes on weekends. if quality is your concern, AT&T probably has the best converage but you will end up paying a little more. even though i am a verizon customer, i would still say this is the last option among the Big-3 (don't even need to mention Next-hell) in socal.

Edit for typo

 

[Nutcase99]

Hmm, do you think I could get it from the guy considering that I live in Boston? I mean the guys here want $200 for just the phone. Can someone ask him about it? or does he have e-mail?

 

[cgclausen]

I'm looking at service providers and was wondering if you guys could take my poll about them. You can find it here http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=38&threadid=248488

 

[fazman]

Basically my impression of SoCal phone companies. *IMHO* and experience....

I loved LA Cellular until they changed to AT&T; once they did that they jacked up my plan as opposed to actually waiting till my plan expired to force me to change. I thought of this as very poor Customer Service. Since Nov ?99 I would have to call in at least once a month to fix billing problems. Needless to say I DID NOT extended my contract. However, LA Cellular/AT&T usage was very very good in the SoCal area for me. Rarely did I get a dropped call. I just don't see how a convenience such as a cellphone was convenient when I had to call all the time to fix problems that should be simple billing (stuff that worked fine for 2 years on my 3 year contract).

Pacbell just sucked... I mean the only way to access your voicemail is ONLY from the cellphone. If you lose your phone or have a dead battery you are $hit outta luck (SOL), I always had billing probs with them for the year I had service with them (the phone was for my sister). Plus the phone support is only during business hours. At least every one else offers 24/7 customer service.

As for Sprint (even tho I work for Earthlink and we have a partnership with them I probably shouldn't say this), I hate them the most. Only stuck with them for 2 weeks, I had there brain tumor plan (2000 minutes/month), my normal monthly cell usage is about 700 minutes and that is being conservative, while I had sprint I think my longest call was for like 3 minutes before it would drop signal. They just suck! I wish you good luck to get signal anywhere on the 5 freeway in LA without getting dropped (once you are able to successfully dial). The customer service is non-existent; if you get someone they know less about what is going on then you. It is a waste of your sanity and time to even bother with them in the LA area.

The only ones I have not tried are Airtouch/Verizon and Nextel (maybe one day I'll get one of the company phones).

Nextel is the bomb when it comes to everything... but just as great as this service and support is... it doesn't come cheap... expect to pay about double that of (Sprint, Verizon, or AT&T).

I've heard mixed things about Verizon... I'm kinda weary about trying them because they just switched over from Airtouch to Verizon... so probably people who were Airtouch customers should soon be feeling like a red-headed step child (kinda like my experience with LA Cellular to AT&T) I hope not tho...

My advice don't bother with getting a cellphone ; ) I've personally been on the "Free and Clear Plan" meaning no cellphone since July 7th, 2000 and I've only reallllllllly had to have access to it twice... and both times I just used a payphone.

*Myth*
I want a cellphone for emergencies... Well you can dial 911 from ANY phone (land line or cellular) even if it has no active service (must have reception if a cellular). Just dial 911 from any phone and it will work so long as u have charge in the battery. 611 and 911 can be dialed at ANYTIME and FREE from any phone.

911 = emergency
611 = phone company that provides you service.

Faz-Man

 

[? (=Þ)]

Fazman, hows reception on AT&T after they took over LA Cellular? And hows reception on pacbell? You never commented on pacbell's reception.

 

[GMaximus]

Rol: Do you know if this guy would be willing to ship out phones/accessories to Bay Area?