# Advice on choosing a cell phone, carrier and plan
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 31, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384 "2009-03-31T01:49:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/1 "2009-03-31T01:49:47Z")
I’m trying to enter the current century, but they won’t let me in without a cellphone.
We’re getting cellphones soon, for the first time. What should I look for, and look out for? We’re leaning towards ATT (our current ISP and landline provider) or Verizon (coverage looks good across Michigan (according to them anyway)).
We’ve got three kids, and the price for both of those providers seems to be the same: $130/month for 700 minutes and text messages, for five phones. Of course, there are gobs of add-ons
My wife says that there are also surcharges and fees. Any way to figure these out?
Then we’ve got to choose the phones themselves. They seem to have free basic phones with a 2 year commitment, or we could upgrade one or more of them. Any features I should especially look for? I’d want mine to double as an MP3 player, but what else might be worthwhile?
Also, where’s the best place to buy them? Online, or go to a store? Verizon (or ATT) store, or multiple provider store like radio shack?
ETA: Obviously, we don’t spend that much time on the phone, or else we’d already have cellphones, so 700 minutes/month between us seems like enough, but if we find we need more, is upgrading to more minutes considered part of our two year commitment, or will they nail us for that?
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### Author:  [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/2 "2009-03-31T03:28:40Z")
I’ve been out of the carrier-to-carrier comparison game for a few years (been SO happy with Verizon) so I’ll let more informed people deal with that and try to answer the other questions.
With Verizon, upgrading or downgrading your plan doesn’t affect the length of your contract (it used to, but not anymore). You may want to ask your carrier beforehand (and ask to see the contract in writing if you’re paranoid). Also, all the major carriers have something like 15-day guarantees, so feel free to try one out and change if you don’t like it.
700 minutes may be enough for you and your spouse, but most kids (least the ones I know) will quickly outgrow that… once their friends know they have cell phones, the usage will probably go up exponentially. If you’re on a family plan, minutes and texts between your five phones are often unlimited, and some carriers are now offering “pick 5 people, any 5 people” for unlimited service, which is a great thing if your kids have a few best friends they speak to most often.
Surcharges and fees: Ask your carrier. They’re usually government-imposed, not just arbitrary fees the carrier decided to tack on.
Features: Well, that’s up to you and the fam. Cell phones can be little more than ordinary phones all the way up to mini-computers like the iPhone, Blackberry, Palm, etc., and everything in between. Don’t let others tell you what to get in a phone and be goaded into complexity you’ll never need or want… _you_ decide what you want out or your phone.
Where to buy: Buy from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), [Buy.com](http://Buy.com), or some other online site that gives you their own rebates in addition to whatever the carriers are offering. I’m often gotten phones for $100-$200 less than the carrier price from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) with no additional strings attached as long as you don’t break your contract before 6 months (if you do, you’ll owe both the carrier AND Amazon). I’m surprised anyone buys direct from the carrier.
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### Author:  [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/3 "2009-03-31T06:49:17Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#):
>
> We’ve got three kids, and the price for both of those providers seems to be the same: $130/month for 700 minutes and text messages, for five phones. Of course, there are gobs of add-ons
**Monitor how many text messages your kids send.** I’ve heard more than a few stories of monthly bills in the THOUSANDS of dollars because little Susan didn’t realize she went over her 200 text limit (by roughly 4000 text messages). Make sure this function is either OFF or your kids know their limits. With 5 phones you may consider a “family text” plan. IIRC it’s only about $30 with ATT for unlimited texts for all phones.
> [@](#):
>
> My wife says that there are also surcharges and fees. Any way to figure these out?
Yes. Not really.
> [@](#):
>
> They seem to have free basic phones with a 2 year commitment, or we could upgrade one or more of them. Any features I should especially look for? I’d want mine to double as an MP3 player, but what else might be worthwhile?
Going from no cell to iPhone would be a huge leap but I love mine as does everybody I know. And you could fit as much MP3s as you want on there. Downside is it’s a required $30 a month data charge with your iPhone. I know there are other MP3 player models but I don’t know much about them. If worse comes to worse, you can get great deals on iPods for less than $100 these days anyway.
If you kids are into text messaging and that’s a route you want to go down, maybe think of a phone with a full keyboard if you can find one cheap.
> [@](#):
>
> 700 minutes/month between us seems like enough, but if we find we need more, is upgrading to more minutes considered part of our two year commitment, or will they nail us for that?
I’m pretty sure you can move WITHIN the contract as much as you want. The contract seemed to me more of a “You are hereby property of ATT until X date” instead of actually having the contract details itself set in stone.
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/4 "2009-03-31T13:39:03Z")
Ask around among people you know to see who has the best actual coverage. A carrier might cover an area, but have lots of low-signal zones. I’ve known any number of people who’ve said “xx provider works GREAT. Everywhere but my house :(”. That can suck.
For the kids, honestly no need to splurge a lot on their handsets. If they want something really cool, let 'em chip in on the cost. I think even the low-end phones have cameras built-in though.
Definitely consider an unlimited texting / messaging plans - the kids will do this a LOT, if they have any social life at all. Picture messages should be included in that, I believe (with camera phone, kids WILL send pix). We don’t have a text plan, as we do it so seldom (just Typo Knig and myself, kids don’t have cell phones yet) it’s cheaper to just pay by the message. I’ve heard of multiple-hundreds-of-dollars bills just from texting. There are often times where texting is better than calling - anyplace either too quiet (the library) or too noisy (Disney World), or with too poor a signal (text may get through when voice won’t).
Some plans also allow you an allowance of x number of messages but shut you out after that . This can be useful if you don’t go for an unlimited messaging plan.
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### Author:  [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/5 "2009-03-31T13:59:04Z")
I did this recently and found the shopping very confusing- so many companies, so many plans, what services do you need, etc.
I made a sheet to help sort and order the info to help us decide. It included information like this:
Company\_\_\_\_\_
Plan name\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_ minutes for \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ fee for overage\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
\_\_\_\_\_ minutes for \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_ minutes for \_\_\_\_\_\_\_
add’l lines $\_\_\_\_ ea
free nights/weekends? \_\_\_\_ after what time?\_\_\_\_\_
text included? \_\_\_ text extra?\_\_\_\_ text includes video/picture text?\_\_\_
activation fee$\_\_\_
Phone cost$\_\_\_\_
Etcetera.
There was just so much information to sort through!
Anyway, I made several copies and then filled out all the info using the various companies websites. This really helped us comparison shop and decide which plan worked best for us.
I wanted 4 phones and wanted the kids to text rather than call, so we wound up with a Sprint texting plan and some free phones.
Be sure to check if you get any corporate discounts from work and include that info. My company had a contract that allowed free activation and a 22% plan discount.
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### Author:  [@Spezza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spezza)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/6 "2009-03-31T14:26:19Z")
The last time I shopped for a cell phone and plan all the agents tallied up the total monthly cost for me, including those “hidden” surcharges (this was in Canada). I was accustomed to having to do this myself, but employees at Rogers, Telus, and Bell all voluntarily added the numbers up for me.
My advise is to go back and ask specific questions. First, ask what the first months bill will be. The first month is always the biggest bill as you have activation and other fees attached to it. Second, ask what the total monthly bill will be. If they can’t or won’t tell you, walk away. Third, make sure you know the ins and outs of any contract you sign. Make sure you can change your contract (e.g. change to a plan with more/less minutes, etc).
Also, take the above advice and monitor text message volumes to avoid ridiculous charges (monitor your phone minute usage at the beginning as well, just to make sure you have the right plan). Finally, think about adding on free weekends / evenings onto your plan. If you have teenagers the majority of their phone usage should occur during these times.
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### Author:  [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/7 "2009-03-31T15:25:13Z")
> [@Reply](#):
>
> Where to buy: Buy from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), [Buy.com](http://Buy.com), or some other online site that gives you their own rebates in addition to whatever the carriers are offering. I’m often gotten phones for $100-$200 less than the carrier price from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) with no additional strings attached as long as you don’t break your contract before 6 months (if you do, you’ll owe both the carrier AND Amazon). I’m surprised anyone buys direct from the carrier.
I _love_ you! We were just at the Verizon store this weekend, pricing phones to see if we want to switch from AT&T. (AT&T is fine, but their coverage is spotty at several points near both our house and workplaces, whereas Verizon has a reputation for excellent coverage across the Bay Area.) We decided to hold off, solely because we’d have to pay so much to get two new phones (and they apparently don’t use SIM cards, so we can’t keep our current phones). The [$400 phone](http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Phone-Black-Verizon-Wireless/dp/B0019ZTYEI/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1238512793&sr=8-1) I was looking at, which was $250 from Verizon? $0.01 on Amazon.
You are my hero.
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### Author:  [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/8 "2009-03-31T17:01:16Z")
> [@Giraffe](#):
>
> I _love_ you! We were just at the Verizon store this weekend, pricing phones to see if we want to switch from AT&T. (AT&T is fine, but their coverage is spotty at several points near both our house and workplaces, whereas Verizon has a reputation for excellent coverage across the Bay Area.) We decided to hold off, solely because we’d have to pay so much to get two new phones (and they apparently don’t use SIM cards, so we can’t keep our current phones). The [$400 phone](http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Phone-Black-Verizon-Wireless/dp/B0019ZTYEI/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1238512793&sr=8-1) I was looking at, which was $250 from Verizon? $0.01 on Amazon.
>
> You are my hero.
I’d advise you to think twice before ordering that phone. I wouldn’t recommend this model at all. I myself am a Verizon customer, and I own this one. I got it for free about 8 months ago via Verizon’s “upgrade discount” program (whereby you get a substantial discount on new phones for renewing your two-year contract).
I thought this would be a great, low-budget phone with mp3 capabilities, a camera, and Verizon’s VZ Navigator. This phone is good for making phone calls, bu that’s about it. It has a 2.5mm headphone jack (not the standard 3.5mm) and so requires a special adapter. No big deal, but the sound is only in stereo 20% of the time. You have to jiggle the adapter to get it to sit just right to play stereo, and then the slightest bump sends the sound into only one earphone again. Also, it exhibits a really bizarre phenomenon in which the phone will occasionally redial automatically the most recently dialed number if the headphone plug or adapter is jiggled in the socket. The camera takes really awful quality pictures. The screen is tiny with terrible resolution rendering the maps worthless.
I’m actually in your reverse situation. I can’t wait to get out of my contract with Verizon (still another year…), and I’ll probably go to AT&T afterward. I’ll take a look at some of the most recent smartphones from Verizon (Samsung Omnia et al) to see if I reconsider, but I doubt I will. AT&T seems to have a larger variety of smartphones, they consistently rate better (at least at [phonearena.com](http://phonearena.com)) and, it has the iPhone. Even if I don’t get an iPhone (although I think I’d like to) AT&T still has some feature-rich, quality phones.
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### Author:  [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/9 "2009-03-31T17:24:25Z")
Wow, thanks for the information. The funny thing is, all I want is a phone with good reception and sound quality for making phone calls. (And Bluetooth.) I don’t want to take pictures, listen to music, etc. And it’s hard to find reviews which only talk about how good a phone is at making phone calls any more. It’s all about how many megapixels the camera is, or whether you can play movies on it from a flash card.
Edit: Anyone have any recommendations? That phone sounds like a piece of crap, even ignoring the music and camera issues.
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### Author:  [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/10 "2009-03-31T18:25:04Z")
Giraffe, if you want cell phone reviews (albeit not from friendly SDMBers), these are some pretty good sies:
[http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/home.php](http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/home.php) (You can browse all phones by carrier at this neat site)
[http://www.phonescoop.com/](http://www.phonescoop.com/)
[Phones - CNET](http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/)
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### Author:  [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/11 "2009-04-01T00:15:39Z")
> [@Giraffe](#):
>
> I _love_ you!
> [snip]
Hah, glad to help. I love Amazon 🙂
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### Author:  [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/12 "2009-04-01T00:22:23Z")
> [@hobscrk777](#):
>
> I’m actually in your reverse situation. I can’t wait to get out of my contract with Verizon (still another year…),
You should double check this because it might not apply to your contract, but per my Verizon 2 year agreement which began 2 weeks ago, the only penalty for breaking the contract is $175 penalty minus $5 per month of contract used. So in your case, assuming you have used 12 months of the contract, the early termination penalty would only be $115.
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### Author:  [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/13 "2009-04-01T01:25:03Z")
Thanks everyone. After checking out the coverage maps for Nextel and Sprint, it’s definately going to be ATT or Verizon. Once we settle on one, we’ll figure out which phones to get.
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-choosing-a-cell-phone-carrier-and-plan/491384/14 "2009-04-05T04:47:47Z")
I just got my first cellphone at age 44 and asked a lot of cell-using friends in the area (NE Ohio) what they’d recommend. The overwhelming consensus was Verizon. I followed their advice, and five months later, so far, so good.