At long last I am going to purchase a cell phone, drug into the 21st century kicking & screaming by the need to be easily available during my job search.
Now I’ve NEVER owned one. Hardly ever used one. I actually used to sell them ten years ago, at Sears, but that was when they were bricks and long before text messaging, camera phones, and so forth. I really have very little to no interest in anything other than getting and receiving calls, and perhaps checking email–and probably not that. Just being available to prospective employers.
So, given that, what recommendations do you have, fellow Dopers–positive and negative? I’m going to go for the pre-paid option, by the way. It’s more the reliability of the company I’m interested in than anything else, since I will probably buy the cheapest phone I can get away with
At long last I am going to purchase a cell phone, drug into the 21st century kicking & screaming by the need to be easily available during my job search.
Now I’ve NEVER owned one. Hardly ever used one. I actually used to sell them ten years ago, at Sears, but that was when they were bricks and long before text messaging, camera phones, and so forth. I really have very little to no interest in anything other than getting and receiving calls, and perhaps checking email–and probably not that. Just being available to prospective employers.
So, given that, what recommendations do you have, fellow Dopers–positive and negative? I’m going to go for the pre-paid option, by the way. It’s more the reliability of the company I’m interested in than anything else, since I will probably buy the cheapest phone I can get away with
Every company out there has a pre-paid option these days, although I’d stay away from any “exclusively” pre-paid carriers (like TracPhone and net10 or whatever). Virgin is the only exception to this rule, as far as I’m concerned.
Next, you need to deal with coverage. Are you looking to use this phone while traveling? Virgin uses Sprint’s network almost exclusively, so coverage will be great on highways and major metropolitan areas, and pretty much crap everywhere else. T-Mobile’s prepaid will be even worse in this arena.
Then you have Cingular’s Go Phone. I have no experience with it, but chances are its pretty good. I don’t know about rates or anything.
Verizon has their prepaid service, which I will now promote since I’m Verizon’s biggest cheerleader. I used to cell Verizon phones and love their service. Coverage is second to none. Prices are… well… pricey, because you get what you pay for. It’s a buck a day to get unlimited nights and weekends and unlimited “In” network, which means to other Verizon customers. I think it’s $.10 per minute in addition to that. Don’t quote me on that price.
Honestly, though, consider a contract option. It’s not THAT much more expensive, since virtually every company these days has a minimum amount of money you can put on your phone. Also, you have to buy your phone up front on a prepaid option, where they’ll give you one with a contract. Every company also offers a free trial period, so find one in the price range you want that will work where you want that has a phone you want. There’s enough options out there that you’ll find what you’re looking for.
No, I accidentally double-posted the OP, which resulted in two threads. Hopefully a mod will come along and merge these threads. How do I request that, by the way?
Many thanks. I was really hoping for some testimonials from Dopers in Memphis or Tennessee, though. I’d have said so in my OP more clearly but clearly I am brain damaged. :smack:
I had a Motorola phone last year and it was the biggest piece of crap. Two dixie cups and string would have been better. I could be standing under a cell phone tower and get no service, while my wife’s phone right next to mine would have full signal strength. I had a Nokia previously (which is my wife current phone) and never had a problem with it. I have a Samsung now and it works great. I get a new phone every year, but I don’t get the top of the line ones, I get what ever is free with one year service. As far as carriers go I use who ever will give me the biggesst discount, right now that is Cingular, but I have had AT&T and Verizon back when it was Bell Atlantic, and I have never had a problem with any of their services.
There are two basic types of phones: candy bar and clamshell (aka flip phones). Candy bar phones (which include nearly every Nokia) are the ones with the keys always exposed. These usually have a key locking mechanism to prevent accidental dialing. Even with prepaid, you’ll probably get the option of cheap phones, so you should look at the two and decide which you prefer.
Personally, I prefer clamshell phones. However, IMHO Nokia has the best phone programming (having used Nokia, Kyocera, and Samsung phones).
I can’t speak for coverage in your area, but I will tout Cingular’s Go Phone plan. It’s a good in-between plan. Not quite pre-paid, but not a full contract plan. If you plan to use your phone often, full contract plans are much cheaper than any prepaid plan. And don’t plan on checking email on any inexpensive phone. They really aren’t built for that, and web access usually costs extra.
