# Cell phone newbie
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-newbie/587293
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 29, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-newbie/587293 "2011-06-29T18:33:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-newbie/587293/1 "2011-06-29T18:33:36Z")
For purely financial reasons, I’ve never owned a cell phone. But I figure it’s about time for me to dip my feet in the market. And I’m looking to go super-cheap.
Currently I pay about $100/month for cable internet and cable landline phone. I’m looking to maintain cable internet (which is about $50/month including taxes), and otherwise minimize my bill. I make very few long-distance calls, and generally spend less than two hours a month on the phone anyway.
Any thoughts as to my best options? Is it possible to get a decent plan for less than $50/month?
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-newbie/587293/2 "2011-06-29T18:51:49Z")
Pay-As-You-Go. Every major carrier has their own version and rates, but you can easily find one for $50/month or potentially much less. Just search “pay as you go” and look at each company’s program. Or you can go to [Best Buy](http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Mobile-Phones/No-Contract-Phones/abcat0801002.c?id=abcat0801002) or [Radio Shack](http://www.radioshack.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=4314708) and look at what they have.
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### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-newbie/587293/3 "2011-06-29T18:58:24Z")
Are you interested in anything that would use mobile internet and data service, such as a smartphone or connecting your computer to the net via the phone? If not, pay-as-you-go is the way to go. I’m not sure about pay-as-you-go data plans; these have lagged behind in availability in Canada and the USA because of the relative lack of unlocked phones. But if you just want a basic voice phone, no problem.
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### Author:  [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-newbie/587293/4 "2011-06-29T19:14:49Z")
I’d go with T-mobile prepaid. You can buy a phone/starter minutes combo for as little as 20 bucks. If you buy $100 in minutes you become a gold member they don’t expire for a whole year. If you buy them $100 a time they run around 10 cents a minute/text. If you only spend about 2 hours a month on the phone, you can probably make the initial $120 last almost the entire year. That’s what I did when I worked all the time and never had time to talk.
I still use T-mobile prepaid, buy now that I talk more I supplement it with Magicjack($20 for the jack/$20 year). With 2 T-Moblie $100 refills this year that will be $220 for phone service for the year.
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-newbie/587293/5 "2011-06-29T19:15:26Z")
paygo is probably my best option; I’ll check out Best Buy and Radioshack. While I’d love to have a data plan, I’m not particularly interested in paying for one.
Thanks!
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### Author:  [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-newbie/587293/6 "2011-06-29T19:26:53Z")
I missed your last line. $50 bucks a month? That’s heavy spending. Go with Boost mobile. $35/mo for 1000 min + 1000 texts. $45/mo unlimited talk/text. And $50/mo unlimited talk/text/web.
There’s no contract, so start with a cheap phone. If you hate 'em fire 'em and go with someone else. I’ve heard they are pretty decent though. I listen to Clark Howard all the time and he doesn’t get many complaints.
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-newbie/587293/7 "2011-06-30T20:50:47Z")
> [@I\_Know\_Nothing](#):
>
> I’d go with T-mobile prepaid. You can buy a phone/starter minutes combo for as little as 20 bucks. If you buy $100 in minutes you become a gold member they don’t expire for a whole year. If you buy them $100 a time they run around 10 cents a minute/text. If you only spend about 2 hours a month on the phone, you can probably make the initial $120 last almost the entire year. That’s what I did when I worked all the time and never had time to talk.
>
> I still use T-mobile prepaid, buy now that I talk more I supplement it with Magicjack($20 for the jack/$20 year). With 2 T-Moblie $100 refills this year that will be $220 for phone service for the year.
Yup. If you get lucky, T-Mobile Online sometimes runs specials where when you buy the phone, you get a 25 dollar refill card right off the bat. My kids’ first phones had a net cost of 5 bucks as a result :).
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-newbie/587293/8 "2011-06-30T20:58:33Z")
Question about pay as you go.
What has prevented me from giving up my land line is that while I, like LHOD, only use my phone about 2 hours a month, there was a year when I was using it more like 30+ hours a month. On my cuurent plan that would have cost me about $225 a month – double that with the plan I had at the time. I saved money by keeping my land line.
If I do PAYG, can I change it later, still without a contract?
Suppose I get a Smartphone/iPhone/Crackberry. Does Internet/GPS usage count as minutes?
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### Author:  [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-newbie/587293/9 "2011-06-30T21:02:42Z")
> [@tdn](#):
>
> Question about pay as you go.
>
> What has prevented me from giving up my land line is that while I, like LHOD, only use my phone about 2 hours a month, there was a year when I was using it more like 30+ hours a month. On my cuurent plan that would have cost me about $225 a month – double that with the plan I had at the time. I saved money by keeping my land line.
>
> If I do PAYG, can I change it later, still without a contract?
>
> Suppose I get a Smartphone/iPhone/Crackberry. Does Internet/GPS usage count as minutes?
PAYG has seperate rates for data, provided your cell provider even offers it. And you’d have to be crazy, with all due respect, to try and buy an iPhone or blackberry out of contract. The hardware alone is PROHIBITIVELY expensive without a contract, never mind the exorbitant usage rates for data and voice.
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)
#### Post date: [July 5, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-newbie/587293/10 "2011-07-05T14:14:17Z")
> [@antonio107](#):
>
> PAYG has seperate rates for data, provided your cell provider even offers it. And you’d have to be crazy, with all due respect, to try and buy an iPhone or blackberry out of contract. The hardware alone is PROHIBITIVELY expensive without a contract, never mind the exorbitant usage rates for data and voice.
Seconded.
If you want a smartphone but not a contract, Cricket seems to have something worthwhile for 55 dollars a month:
> **[Cell phones and unlimited plans with no annual contract | Cricket Wireless](https://www.cricketwireless.com/?utm_campaign=parked-star.mycricket.com&utm_source=parked-redirect)**
>
> Find great buys on cell phones, plans, & service at Cricket, where you get reliable nationwide coverage, affordable rates & no annual contract.
As does Virgin Mobike:
[http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phone-plans/beyond-talk-plans.jsp](http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phone-plans/beyond-talk-plans.jsp)
Verizon’s look to be pricier:
[http://www.verizonwireless.com/plans/global/prepaid.shtml](http://www.verizonwireless.com/plans/global/prepaid.shtml) You pay the 30 dollars, on top of the “talk” portion.