Cell Phone
I got my first cell phone in November 2001. I was "on call" for when my sister went into labor with Molly, so I could pick up Maggie and take her to her grandmother's house. I didn't buy the cell phone...it was a hand-me-down from friends.
I started with Verizon, $15/month, no long-term contract, more minutes than I could use. Six years later (and two more hand-me-down cell phones later!) I am still on that plan.
I am not a big cell phone user. I rarely turn it on; usually just when I'm meeting up with someone. It's been very convenient at times, but I don't really like the idea of being always available.
Chris has never had a cell phone. Generally this hasn't been an issue, but since he's been taking the train to work it has become a lot more important. There have been numerous accidents this year which cause the train to be delayed up to two hours. And he has no way of contacting me.
A month ago we went up to San Francisco to see Eddie Izzard. The plan was for Chris to take the train up to Millbrae and I'd pick him up there and we'd drive into the city. Well, right before I left to pick him up he called (using a friend's cell phone!) to say there had been another accident and I should pick him up at an earlier station.
Turns out the train stopped even earlier. Just as I was about to turn into the station, my cell phone rings with a number I don't recognize. When the train had stopped, Chris jumped off and was planning to find a pay phone when a couple of guys said "Who wants to take a taxi with us to Millbrae?" and Chris said "I will, if you let me borrow your cell phone!"
Anyway, as Chris would say, it all worked out. But I'm still getting him a cell phone.
To make a long story short... I have never bought a cell phone. I have no clue what to get. I know I'll never be able to get as good a deal as I have right now. Here's what I want:
- Cheapest possible rate (don't need a lot of minutes)
- Preferably no long-term contract
- GSM (so it will work when we visit the UK)
I'm hoping someone can suggest both a network/plan and a phone. Anyone?
6 Comments:
One way to save money is to buy a cheap phone on ebay instead of relying on the provider to give you a good deal (may help you avoid a contract). Be sure to buy an "unlocked" one. They're quite cheap on ebay.
Thanks for the suggestion Rich. Do you know, if I buy an unlocked phone, will it only work with certain carriers?
There's two main kinds of signal transmission methods around here: GSM (Cingular/AT&T, T-Mobile), and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint). Phones support one or the other. Since you said you'll need international support, GSM is the way for you, so you're after Cingular/AT&T or T-Mobile as primary carriers.
Almost all carriers offer huge subsidies for signing contracts - to the point where the bottom-end phones are free. There's no markup on these contracts versus non-subsidizing ones, so if you're going to get one, you might as well use the discount.
All of these plans are expensive. You might look into a pre-paid plan. I think for $20-$40, you get a phone with X-minutes. You can buy more minutes as you need them at a much higher rate than a monthly plan would cost. Also, you'll want to look into roaming costs - I bet they're astronomical with pre-paid phones.
If you decide to go non-prepaid, shop on Amazon. They usually piggy-back their own rebates on top of the subsidies, often to the point where you're getting money back (my crackberry with refunds gave me $50). The phones are sent super fast and signup is totally painless. I've bought my last 3 phones that way (all with extra $$ back). In fact, Amazon's got the Motorola RAZR on t-mobile for -$149 (that means you get $149 after rebates).
If you're unhappy with your contract, there are websites where you can legally trade/sell your contract, so it's not nearly the noose that everyone would have you believe.
And, if you'd still rather go the used route, I've got a couple of phones I'm not using anymore that you're welcome to.
I have a tracfone - most of them are GSM, I believe. I'm mostly happy with it, most of the phones they send have no frills but you can buy a fancier one if you wanted to.
It's prepaid, although it is kind of misleading. You pay for "points" that translate into minutes. Normally it's around one point per minute. I'm not sure how many points it takes while roaming, but it's a lot (maybe 3/minute or something). However, the points expire after some date (6, 9, or 12 months in the future) so if you don't use them by the deadline then they are gone. If you buy new points before the expiration date, the old points will roll-over.
I end up spending about $100/yr on the phone and that is pretty light usage. Mostly my wife calls me once or twice a week for super short calls (e.g. pick up milk, why are you late) and then daily phone calls when I travel out of state for around 1-2 weeks. The roaming calls suck up about half my minutes.
Like you, I'm not too big on carrying around cell phones. One of my students asked to use my desk phone since his cell phone died. He said "I don't know how you people lived before cell phones were invented!"
Thanks Chris and Kenrick..
Chris, maybe I will take you up on your offer of a used phone.. :)
I like the idea of just buying minutes (or "points") since we won't be using it too much.
Saw this story on Cnet today, maybe it fits your situation:
http://www.news.com/A-cell-phone-without-borders/2100-1039_3-6210649.html?tag=nefd.lede
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