Cell phones

[Sis]

Which ones are best? We're looking into them.

We also thought of a prepaid one. I'm uneasy not having a phone in the car when I drive alone at night. If I get a flat, I'm without communication. We really only want one for emergencies in the car.

What's new, what's good, what should we watch out for?

[Ashlee]

If you won't be using it very often a prepaid one would be best.  However, if you're looking to use on in times of emergencies, don't rely on tracfone.  They don't normally have that good of service, especially in times of need.  Also, you have to buy minutes every 3 months whether you used what you have or not.  Otherwise you loose your phone number, previous minutes, and all of your info.  You have to go back through the whole thing to reactivate your phone.  It's not worth the headache.

I would check around and see which services in your area have the best reception.  Also throughly check out the service plans for the pay as you go phones.  Make sure they don't have a deal like tracfone where you HAVE to buy minutes every month or two or three. 

I would go with someone like Cingular or Centennial or something like that and not Virgin mobile or one of those you pick up anywhere.  Simply because he reception is better.  You don't want to get stuck out in the middle of somewhere without reception.  However, this comes from a country girl who lives in the middle of nowhere.  I don't know what area you are from.  For all I know you live in a big city that never lacks service.

Anyway, just a few tips.  Do lots of research and comparison with several companies before settling with one.

[SippinTea]

I'd agree with last post, especially about not using tracphones. In general, they're bad news. And you end up paying waaaaaay more in the long run.

When you're doing your research with your local companies, don't just check with THEM on what areas you'll supposedly have reception. Particularly if you do much traveling. Ask around with people you know who regularly carry cell phones out of your immediate area, and find out where they do and don't have reception.

Also, reception isn't just based on the placement of the individual cell phone company's towers--some models of phones have better reception than others. I know of a family in our area that should have coverage at their home, but because they all have different styles of phones only one family member has reception in their house. The kids' phones have all the bells and whistles and cool options, the mom's is a simple model, and guess which one works best? *grin* The mom's phone.

[MelodyB]

I agree with the above.

(I just wanted to be in this thread about one of my favorite topics...)

[Ashlee]

Yeah, I agree.  I was told that the little Nokia brands have the best reception, but that's not always true.  So far, I have seen that Razors have pretty good reception, but there is a cheaper kind of phone.  I can't remember now what the name is, but it is Motorola, and it has everything that a razor has.  It also is suppose to have better reception.  It's, I dunno, 50 to 100 dollars cheaper depending on where you get it.

[Melody]

I have cingular and love it.  I think we pay like $3 a month for roadside assistance that will come bring us gas, change our tire, or tow if there's a problem.  And they can find us via cell phone.  That brings much comfort to me and really the only reason I have a cell phone.  Otherwise most my calls are in the evenings/weekends anyway so minute pkgs aren't too tough.

[SippinTea]

My phone is a Nokia, and it seems to get better reception than some of my friend's phones do.

[MelodyB]

Nextel all the way baby!

But my second choice would be Cingular, just for the free mobile to mobile

[Ashlee]

I've had a lot of problems with Cingular.  I don't have a phone with them though, I only have the internet service.

Another tip, make sure that the person you go to to set up the service knows what they're doing.  The person that I went to said she knew what she was doing, but she was wrong.  She has messed up my account so many times it's not funny.  If it wasn't for me not really wanting the wireless internet, I would cancel the whole thing and be done with it.

[SippinTea]

I know several people that have had problems with Cingular, too.

And just for the record, Mel I have free mobile to mobile, too.

[Sis]

Ok, we're in the DC area. But there are long stretches of highway that have nothing but trees and weeds around. Even when there are stores, it's a long walk to get to them on the highway.

We don't want to get stuck in a long contract, that's why we decided on a prepaid phone. I also know me, Emergencies can run from a flat tire to calling Stevebert and asking him what kind of pop he wants. LOL 

I just didn't want to get stuck on the roadside with no communication. We have free towing and gas from our car insurance, but I need to contact them to get it.

We also travel a lot, so reception can be a problem.  There is also a stretch of highway that gets radio interference (We're near Dullus Airport, and that area is near the North tower.) so I imagine that could be a problem with a phone, too.

We tried tracphone, and it didn't work at all. That's why I'm interested in hearing which phones are totally junk.

[MelodyB]

And just for the record, Mel I have free mobile to mobile, too.

I do with Nextel too...if I paid the extra 10 dollars...my problem is I dont have anyone to call on Nextel any more, everyone switched to other things.... but it would be a savings on Cingular.

[SippinTea]

Pay an extra $10? That's crummy. It seems like most plans come with it included now. I think...  I'm not exactly an expert.

[Sister_Mom]

I agree with the above.

(I just wanted to be in this thread about one of my favorite topics...)

As resident cell phone expert, I came in expecting the thread to be completely directed to you. 

[MelodyB]

So did I...I was dissapointed.

[dnr1128]

I used to have Cingular.  Never again.  They have the absolute worst customer service I've ever dealt with.  When I cancelled my phone, they said they would turn it off at the end of the billing cycle.  They didn't, and I had to call them to get it turned off.  Even after it was shut off, they continued to bill me for two more months.  When I called about it, they said that it wasn't their problem. 

For national carriers, I'd go with Verizon. But, you'll pretty much always getter better service and better plans from regional carriers.  National companies don't care about their customers. 

[Sis]

We don't want to get into contract phones. Just throw-away phones, or prepaid, if you will.

I wish cell phones were like land lines. Order it when you want it, and cancel it when you want without penalties. Just having to pay off the bill before they close your account. I'm waiting. I think two year contracts are the pits. If you hate the service, you're either stuck, or you pay a huge amount of money to break the contract.

[SippinTea]

Sis, here's something I didn't know before I got my cell....

Once you've had the plan for that initial 2 years, you don't have to get into another 2 year contract. It's pay-as-you-go, with the option of leaving at any time. (At least, that's the way it is with T-mobile--I guess I shouldn't try to speak for the other companies)   My thinking was... a two year contract wouldn't make me go broke, even if I didn't like the service. So we checked all the options and went with the one that made sense. *shrug*

But you may have already known that...

[dnr1128]

Thats the way it is with most companies, at least all the ones I've dealt with.  Even on a two year contract, the cancellation fee isn't that much, usually $200 or less. 

Contracts are how the companies make money.  They lose tons of money on the phones, because they pay much more for them than you pay.  But, because it costs something like $0.000017 per user to operate a tower, the longer you have service, the more they make, hence the cheaper phones for longer contracts.  They wouldn't make money if you could just cancel anytime. 

[Sis]

I don't want to get stuck into a two year contract again. NO WAY!

And since I only get $150.00 a month for household stuff, $200 is a fortune.

[dnr1128]

I know cingular and verizon both offer prepaid service, both of which have pretty good plans.  You might want to check into those. 

[Sis]

Hmmmm. Didn't know that, maybe that's an option!

[BroTrey]

Sis, here's something I didn't know before I got my cell....

Once you've had the plan for that initial 2 years, you don't have to get into another 2 year contract. It's pay-as-you-go, with the option of leaving at any time. (At least, that's the way it is with T-mobile--I guess I shouldn't try to speak for the other companies)   My thinking was... a two year contract wouldn't make me go broke, even if I didn't like the service. So we checked all the options and went with the one that made sense. *shrug*

But you may have already known that...

sprint told me the same thing, but when i left them 3-4 years later they charged me for TWO cancellation fees for one account (had a 'add a line "free"' phone) stating that "uh..er...um...thats not how it really works, if they told you that in the store or on the website, they are mistaken and the charges still apply."

I have a local service now, Cincinnati Bell, the great thing is even if I leave the area or move out, I can keep their service as they have free mobile to mobile and free calls to cincinnati bell landlines, no roaming, no charges for long distance (continental US only)..... *shrug* so even if i move to FL or CA i can still keep my plan haha....

[SippinTea]

Eek! _Two_ cancellation fees? Ugh.

Dontcha just love it when companies can't even agree between their own depts what proper protocol is?  So annoying....

[Sis]

Don't ya mean you hate it when they LIE to get your contract, then go back on their word?