I’m ready to enter the late 90’s and get a cell phone. Which company should I use? I’m leaning toward Verizon, but I don’t have any good reason for that.
I’m looking for something pretty basic and functional. I don’t need to text-message or take photos or play games. Should I sign a contract and maybe get a free phone?
Any advice or anecdotal experience would be appreciated. Thanks!
You can read the summary of Consumer Reports latest cell provider comparison here for free. More details are available to subscribers. Basically, you are right to like Verizon, they generally seem to have the best coverage and reasonable prices. I use them, and have been very happy with their service.
Signing a contract is a very personal choice, and depends on a lot of factors, particularly the price of the phone with and without the discount. I have been happy with my contract, but I don’t know what current prices are on phones are.
If you go with Verizon, I recommend that you ask your friends what cell providers they use. If many of them use Verizon as well, it may be worth it to spend the extra $5 a month to get unlimited minutes with other Verizon customers.
I have absolutely no useful information to add, but I wanted to let you know that this line made me laugh when I read it. I just got my first cell phone about a month ago (Cingular) and I told my friends that I had finally entered the late nineties.
-Mosquito
I think any of the ‘free’ phones they offer these days are pretty cheesy. You might want to spring for something a little more substantial. See if they have any rebate offers.
I’ve been with Verizon for several years and am more than happy with the coverage and service.
Be prepared for strange looks when you ask for ‘just a phone.’ I upgraded my phone last year, and insisted that, yes, I just wanted a phone. No camera, no games, no text messaging, no internet capability.
Just a phone.
I’ve had good service from Verizon’s Kyocera KX414. It’s a little clunky, but it works and the shape is smooth so it fits well in a pocket. The interface is simple and self-explanatory.
I got in on their prepay plan before they ruined it with a daily fee.
FWIW I used to sell mobile phones at Circuit City so at one time I was well-versed in all the intricacies of contracts, rollover minutes, roaming, etc, etc, ad nauseum, ad infinitum
I’m on Virgin Mobile and have been for years. I love it. I barely ever use my phone so I don’t see any reason to sign a contract and pay $50 a month when my $20 lasts up to 3 months with the Virgin Pay As You Go plan.
You have to pay for the phone, true, but you’re not stuck in a contract with a huge penalty for early release. There’s no hit on your credit if you don’t pay and you absolutely CANNOT go over your minutes. They’re at www.virginmobileusa.com if you want to check them out.
My $.02
Davmi
I’d suggest pre-paid. Virgin or T-mobile have decent plans. Verizon used to, but then added a $1 daily fee whether you use the phone or not, leading to $30/month PLUS airtime, a horrid choice for probably anyone. Like riker1384, I started with Verizon before they ruined it so I still have the good pricing, but when the phone dies I expect they’ll not renew it.
Anyway, I spend about $20/month with pre-paid. Probably use it for 100-130 minutes per month. For me, that’s a lot of talking.
If you go for prepaid, TMobile is a pretty good deal–once you buy 100.00 of minutes they’re good for a year and the per minute rate is pretty low. If you buy minutes in 100.00 increments it works out to ten cents a minute and incoming text messages are free. You also get online account management just like a regular postpaid account. Go to the web site for a personal coverage check which shows you street level coverage estimates which use the same interactive map the engineering department and customer care uses to check coverage and network issues.
TMobile is also the unprecedented holder of the J.D. Powers award for customer service three years running, and scores either #1 or #2 for coverage and network in all major markets.
When I lost mine they switched the Freeup account to the new phone I bought on EBay. Hell, if I was shopping for a new plan I might try calling them and saying I won’t go with Verizon unless they give me a Freeup plan. There must be something out there cheaper than their new plan.
Some things you might want to consider:
First, how much time do you expect to spend on the cell every month? If it’s more than 300 or so, a contract rate would probably be cheaper in the long run. If you talk for less than, say, an hour a month… a good prepaid plan would make more sense.
If you don’t care about the high-end features, the phone doesn’t matter. Don’t let them talk you into buying the latest gizmophone with 3D games and streaming video and all that useless crap. Just find an ordinary phone that you find easy enough to use and that’s the right size for you. Many should be free or near it with a contract. Go into the actual cell phone stores so you can play with the phones and get a feel for the ones you like. Expect to pay no more than $50 for an ordinary phone that’ll make calls just fine.
If you care about the price, don’t buy from the carriers’ stores directly. Small local third-party stores will sometimes have better deals (for either the phone or the contract or both) or go online. Amazon.com often has good prices and exclusive rebates and they don’t charge you sales tax.
Do you do a lot of traveling? If so, go for a plan that has no roaming charges. Do you call friends in other cities a lot? Go for a plan that has no domestic long-distance charges. Both should be widely available and not that expensive.
Which carrier do most of the people you plan on calling use? You may want to go with the most popular one and get an in-network calling plan so you won’t have to use as many paid minutes.
I think that, generally speaking, the more expensive carriers (in terms of plans, not phones) have better coverage. But it really depends on where you plan to be using the phone.
If you don’t want to use text messaging or other data features, just eliminate them from your estimates (and final plans) altogether. It’ll make comparisons a lot easier because data and text message rates vary dramatically from carrier to carrier. They’ll probably try to sell you on these “features”, but stick to your initial position and decline them all. You can always add them later if you find that you really need them.
Be aware of return policies. Some carriers will let you try the phone and plan out for a week or two and return it without penalty if you don’t like them. After that, the contract (if you sign up for one) will take effect and you’ll be locked in. So know how much time you have and use that time to drive around the city with your phone to test coverage at the places you frequent.
In my personal experience, customer service depends more on the particular agent you get – just the luck of the draw – than on the company. There are plenty of compliments and complaints for every carrier.
If you want something that will work in an emergency, I’d go with a tri-mode or dual-mode phone, which can also work with the old analog network. I forgot to mention that’s one thing I like about my KX414.
I’ve got a Virgin plan as well and really like it. I never use the thing and get good coverage, just as good as Iris’ Tmobil or better in our house. They’ve got phones that have nothing but a phone, though I’m not sure you can get away from text messages.
Thanks a lot for the replys so far. I don’t expect to use my phone all that much, so maybe the pre-paid plans make sense. The reason I’m getting it is that some of my clients are annoyed that I’m hard to reach, so I’ll mostly use it for appointment cancellations and confirmations etc. Of course once I do get it I’ll be talking to my friends on it, but I’m not a big phone guy. Mostly it’s just “where are you” or “let’s meet here.” So a plan with a limited amount of minutes might be best.
Thanks again!
Your phone usage sounds exactly like mine. I’d recommend the TMobile prepaid, as SmartAleq said in his excellent post. I lent mine to my husband, a dyed-in-the-wool Luddite, and he liked it so much he asked for one of his own (since it’s a toll call to my workplace). I upgraded mine a little bit, but it only cost $50 for a Siemens clamshell with a lot of handy features that I didn’t know I’d enjoy, such as a speakerphone feature, which is pretty useful. I get the $100 fillup plan, and I don’t need to buy any more minutes for the whole year. It’s an excellent plan, and I think it fits your needs.
Here’s a prepaid comparison page to help you decide whether or not you want to go that way. http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm