where to buy cell phone service?

[jcmuse]

hi,

i want to get a sprint plan for 2 people (to share the minutes). i need to be able to transfer my old #s and would like to buy online and get a good deal on phones (i'd prefer free phone but cheap is good if it is a nice phone). Any suggestions on sites? I know there are a ton of promotions for cell phones so am wondering if there is any secrets to it.

thx.

 

[Lemon law]

Sadly--and maybe in my personal opinion---if you are looking for great deals in cell phones---you simply live on the wrong planet.

In terms of screwed up industries where the free enterprise model of competition doesn't work---only inkjet printers compete for consumer unfriendly.

If you buy a frugal plan for around $30.00 a month---they bill you as if each air minute was a super precious commodities that should not be wasted.

Pay $50.00 or more a month and suddenly they sell you extra minutes at dirt cheap prices---you would have to almost spend 50% of every waking hour to use them all.

Truth be told--you will spend about $30.00 a month just to pay for all the adds this industry runs telling you how great they are--while not spending any money in the infrastructure
in towers that make them demonstratedly better.-------while selling you every extra bell and whisle they can pack into a phone---which ends up meaning that feature packed phone
must be closer to a tower to funtion decently.

As for me---I finally got one of these prepaid phones for emergency use only---and it only costs me a $100.00/yr.---I would love to get a decent rate plan that offered some more use without being a total
rip off-----------I have been waiting seven years and still nothing. The cell phone industry refuses to compete on price.--yet will spend fortunes on advertising.

But if you want to be an educated consumer---find out about what makes the technology go---be it older analog, cdma, tdma, gsm, or sprints version of cdma. In my particular area sprint has very spotty coverage.
But coverage is your # 1 concern. A cell phone is worthless if its too far from a tower.--or too many people are using a tower at the same time.

Then compare plans apples to apples--which cell phone marketeers make difficult--and choose the lesser of many evils.

 

[gsaldivar]

Discounted Plan > Discounted Phone

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1760933&enterthread=y

Currently getting 1250 Anytime, Unlimited Nights/Weekends, Unlimited Internet, Free Activation... $35/mo.

 

[Lemon law]

Not too bad--but after fees its probably more like $40.00/mo.---or $480/yr.---and I am still stuck on $100/yr.---and an extra $380 would buy me more air time than I could possibly use.

But thats from my point of view only----where does this notion come from that even $35.00/mo. is cheap--like I say that barely pays for their advertising.

 

[gsaldivar]

Yes, pricing is relative from person to person.

For me, $35 a month is a very small amount to pay, especially considering that I use my cell phone as my primary line (no need for a landline). I also make extensive use of the unlimited data plan on my Treo 650:

http://www.chatteremail.com/
http://www.pdaapps.com/verichat/index.html
http://mytreo.net/downloads/details-76.html?Directory_Assistant

 

[shortylickens]

I have to agree with Lemon Law. Cell phones are a scam across the board right now.

I use a Tracfone. If you dont talk a thousand minutes a month its a much better deal than the big companies.
No weird fees, no extra taxes and surcharges. You just buy the thing. If you activate it online you get 20 minutes with the phone.
Then you buy minute cards and activate them online too (or with the phone support, which isnt that great).

You have to type in a bunch of numbers on the website, then get a crapload of numbers and type them into your phone. BUT.....
Overall its a much easier system than dealing with the major services. You can go out to Wal-Mart or Kmart, get one and be talking on it five minutes after you get home.
And some of the newer models they have arent that bad. Full color, text message, multiple numbers per contact, games, and so on.
Some of the older models remind me of the early 90's style phones.

Lemon Law was also right about the costs, a 30 dollar plan doesnt cost 30 bucks. With all the BS fees you will end paying a lot more. The Tracfone is nice because you only pay what you want and nothing more.

A lot of folks claim to have trouble with them, but I have used four in the past 4 years and they all worked fine. I keep upgrading them and giving away the old ones. The new owners are happy with them too, (even though they cant stream videos over bluetooth. )

EDIT:
http://www.phonescoop.com/carriers/carrier.php?c=17

The newer Nokias and Motorolas are nice, but tough too find. You may have to order them online.
Walmart only has the cheap models.

EDIT 2:
Do NOT buy or activate them through RadioShack. Or any other phone for that matter. RadioShack offers absolutely no advantages whatsoever.
Go to one of those cute little shops you see popping up everywhere, or do it online.

 

[erwos]

I absolutely hated Tracfone, which is what I used before I had a monthly plan. The phones were just such trash. Coverage was also so-so.

Virgin Mobile, on the other hand, I was highly impressed with. My (then girlfriend, now) wife, sister, and parents all used VM. Excellent phones, great service (essentially Sprint), and reasonable pricing. I believe they all used the "$7 flat + 10 cents a minute" plan, which ought to fit into the $100 yearly range.

As for the original topic, order the phones and such online, and then go to a Sprint store to get activated. I've heard there are some good sellers on eBay...

-Erwos

 

[Lemon law]

Many of the plans--especially the pre-paid plans are on sprint only--virgin mobile is just one example. But Like I say, sprint does not work for me.
They just don't have enough towers in my area.---but that says nothing about some other area.

But how a given company works in a given area is highly situational. In general one is best picking the company that offers the best reception in
your given area. But whatever provider plan you choose--you are likely to find certain dead areas where the service just flat out won't work. Cell reception is line of sight.
Distance can degrade the signal and building or hills can screen out reception.

So try before you buy---check with friends--get an idea which areas are dead in your area and with what providers.

And to a certain extent, TDMA technology is now viewed as a dead end, Verison CDMA is probably still best nation wide, but cingular GSM seems to spending the most
on infrastructure for the future.--at least in my area.