OK, I’m lookin to get a new cell phone, so I’m asking opinions of peple who like theirs. Currently, I have a craptacular Verizon VX-somethingorother. It’s a cheap phone that came free with the service contract. I have about a year and a half left on the contract (luckily it was an x-mas gift from my parents so I don’t have to pay anything.)
As you can probably guess, my plan is with Verizon, so the phone has to be compatable with them. Of course, I have no idea if I can even switch phones and keep the same plan, but Im pretty sure I can. Anyways, here are my requirements:
Has to work with Verizon (as mentioned)
Can’t be too expensive (by this I mean no severla hundred dollar blue tooth/PDA/MP3 player phones…I’m not setting an actual limit, but be reasonable.)
Must be capable of getting new ringtones. No, I’m not going to make anything obnoxious my ringtone, but I have found I dislike almost all prepackaged ones and have a good idea of what I want mine to be.
A camera…don’t care. I can take them or leave them. While certainly not practical in any sense of the word, there are often times when I wish I had a camera to take a picture of someting that is funny or weird and email it to my friends who might get a chuckle out of it.
So, that’s it, unless i think of more. Thanks in advance!
I dig almost anything Samsung. I highly recommend Samsung. Motorola hasn’t worked well with me, and all of my friends’ Motorolas tend to break rather easily. Yep, Samsung all the way.
I have had a Sanyo (through Sprint) for the past two years and that sucker has taken quite a beating and is still working perfectly.
I use my mobile as my primary/only phone line so I’m needing to switch to a better plan, going to go with Cingular since that’s what the bf and friend I talk to most use, but the phone I’m looking at getting as soon as I have the $$ is a Samsung. I have been doing a lot of research and from everything I’ve read the Samsungs are very good phones. There have been a lot of instances over the last two years where I really wished I had a camera phone (for making notes or whatever) so that was something I was also looking for in a new model. This is the phone I am currently saving up for. This is the newer model of the phone I have right now.
I have heard a lot of not-so-good stuff about the Motorolas and the LGs. My friend got the free LG that Cingular offers with their contract, and he hates it; it feels very cheap and like it might easily break in your hands.
I have personally heard nothing but good stuff about the Nokia phones, so you probably can’t go wrong with them.
I used to sell phones for Verizon, so I should be able to help.
If you have a year and a half left, you’re not going to be able to get promotional pricing through a corporate store. eBay is your best bet.
For money to feature “bang for your buck”, look into getting an Audiovox 9900. It’s leaps and bounds ahead of the 8900 referenced earlier in this thread. It’s got a camera that does pics and video with a flash, the screen is huge and extremely high resolution, it’s got dual color screens, and the capability to email MP3s to the phone to use as ringtones. You can pick up a used on for around $200. Other options you may want to look at are the LG VX7000 or Samsung A670. All excellent camera phones with flashes and dual color screens, although I don’t believe the Samsung can use MP3 ringtones. It can use MIDIs though.
OK, maybe I will set an actual price limit. $100, give or take. I don’t need dual siaplys, or MP3 ringtones…though that would be nice, but MIDI would work fine, hell, I found enough sites online that tell you how to program custom tones that it really doesn’t matter if it takes either of those.
The second one Jin linked to is only $10 after a couple of rebates ($150 of which is an instant rebate) but I’m sure that a) the rebates are only for getting the phone with a sprint plan and b) even if they weren’t, I don’t think a sprint phone works with verizon service.
For $100, stick with what you have. Some Sprint phones work with Verizon, but ONLY voice service will. No text messages, no web, no voicemail notification, etc.
All the prices you see on VZWs and Sprint’s sites are promotional pricing, so basically, ignore those. You’re under contract… believe it or not, they’ve already taken a hit on the cost of that phone (it wasn’t free to manufacture, afterall), so you’re stuck with it until your contract is up. Your only way to get into a new phone is to buy it for retail cost or used on eBay.
Once you have a picture phone, you can send MP3s or MIDIs to your phone’s email address and use them as ringtones. Without a picture phone, I suspect you’re out of luck. If you’re willing to waste $.02 trying, try attaching a MIDI to an email sent to “yourtendigitphonenumber@vtext.com”. It may work, it probably won’t.
The cheapest phone you can get with a sure-fire way to send ringtones is going to be either an Audiovox 8900 or LG VX6000. I’m not sure how much they’re going for on eBay… probably in the $150 range.
I carry an Samsung A660. My service is through Sprint, but it is available with Verizon as well. Here’s some info on the A660
Highly recommended. I’ve shocktested mine more than once, and it keeps on trucking.
Just last month I switched to Verizon, and got a Samsung SCH-a670. So far, I love this phone!
[ul]
[li]$130 (before $50 rebate; easy forms, and I got the check two days ago)[/li][li]flip style[/li][li]downloads ringtones[/li][li]camera w/flash (easy to use, and will even make short videos)[/li][/ul]
Also, Consumer Reports recommended it in their Feb '05 issue, which is one of the reasons I got it.
I have Verizon’s Samsung a650 phone. Simple phone, a few bells and whistles, and with the iBuy thingy, you can download ringtones, wallpaper, and games.
Clothahump> The Verizon version is the A610, and its just as awesome. No outer screen, but I carried mine for almost 8 months… a long time for me and my phones. It’s now discontinued, but probably cheap on eBay.
Misnomer> The 670 is fantastic, but the cost you got is a promotional/contract pricing. That wouldn’t apply to the OP. He would probably pay almost $300 for that phone. Maybe $200ish on eBay. Great phone though.
Casey> My bro-in-law has that phone and loves it. Again, contract and promo pricing wouldn’t apply, so there’s no way he’d get it for $40.
If he upgrades his plan (even $10/month), he should be able to get promo pricing. You can upgrade mid-contract with Verizon, as far as I know, with no penalty. I’m on 500 shared minutes with my wife, and I asked the guy if we get penalized if we need more. He said as long as the plan is higher than what we had, then no. If we wanted,say, just 200 shared min./mo. we’d need lube.
His plan, yes. His phone, no. I used to work for Verizon. There is some flexibility… for example, if you’re on a 2 year plan, you can upgrade in your 22nd month. If you’ve had your phone for a year and go on a $60 plan, you can get 1 year promo pricing on a new phone (which is more expensive than 2 year). If you’ve had your phone 6 months… you’re stuck. There’s flexibility if he wants to get on a $99/month plan, but otherwise, he’s SOL. The big V gave him that phone for free when you know they had to pay LG for it. His first 3 months of service, he was basically just paying for the phone. That’s why you can’t get a new phone at promotional pricing whenever you want.
But yes, he can upgrade his plan whenever he wants. This requires a contract extension, not does not mean you get promo pricing on the cost of the phone.
Thanks, wasson, for clearing it up. Sorry for passing along faulty info. The phone still is great though. Great size, too. I can’t stand holsters, and mine fits comfortably in a front pocket but isn’t the size of Zoolander’s phone.
Yep, I got that price with a new 2-year agreement. My bad. I guess I’m just excited about this phone, 'cause it’s so much better than any other cell phone I’ve had … I want everyone to have one!
Also, despite what the salesman told you, you can downgrade your plan whenever you want too (and you may want to check with the big V, since they just changed their Family Share options. Under the old system, you’re paying $69 total for the 2 lines… new system you’d be paying $59).
The salesman gets a higher commission if you sign up for a higher rate plan, but he gets docked a percentage of that commission if you lower it within a few months. Those salesmen are ticky people.
For that matter, if the OP hasn’t changed his plan in 6 months, he’d probably benefit from the new price plans as well. As I mentioned, this will extend your contract, but won’t effect when you get a new phone.
Is the converse true, as well? I signed up for the lowest rate plan when I switched to Verizon, but within a week or two I called them and switched to the next highest plan (and added a text messaging package). Of course the salesman’s total commission doesn’t make any difference to me, but now I’m curious.
I must say, I was impressed with the guy who handled my business: I walked in knowing exactly which plan and which phone I wanted, and while he offered me everything under the sun (accessories, packages, etc.) I only had to say “no” to each thing once. The only thing he really tried to sell was a higher rate plan (now I understand why!), but even then I never felt pressured. I’ve definitely been “handled” worse by other salespeople.
