I'm thinking of getting a cell phone... (1 Viewer)

[Morgan Jolley]

I want to get a cell phone basically for texting purposes and being able to contact people/be contacted wherever I am. I want to get a good enough phone (I don't care about the newest this or that; a small enough one with a low price will do). I'm looking to find unlimited texting, unlimited nights and weekends, and for less than $40 a month. Anyone know of any specific plans that would help me out or of anywhere I should start looking? The sites for Verizon, T-Mobile, and Cingular are pretty annoying and I already tried them out. A friend of mine says he gets Verizon unlimited texting for $30 a month (barely makes regular calls, though) but the site doesn't have that anywhere.

 

[Leila Dougan]

What providers do most people you know have? Not all text messaging systems are compatible with each other. I prefer GSM.

I know you said T mobile was annoying, but you could get the basic 19.99 plan, then add the 29.99 Sidekick unlimited (unlimited internet and text messages). If you don't plan on using the phone so much, the Sidekick is much more conducive to text communication than regular phones are. If you'll almost never use the phone, then you can drop the basic plan. The sidekick plan gives cell calls at 20 cents/min.

But, that may not work for you if you want to use the phone a lot during nights/weekends cause then you'd have to get a better plan, making the whole thing really expensive.

I will say, though, that for an extra 2.99 you get 300 messages a month which is quite a lot (10/day). After that it's 5 cents each but even so, that's still much cheaper than getting a dedicated plan.

 

[Scott L]

Consider saving up for one of those neat picture phones so you can send your buds photos. Verizon has one available for around $100 after MIR.

 

[Matt Butler]

Go ask Vince Maskeeper what he thinks about cell phones and service.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Most of my friends have Verizon, and the one I mentioned before has Verizon. I want to get Verizon (we use them for DSL, too) but I don't want to pay that much for the service. I'm probably going to use text messaging more than anything, so I'm trying to find a way to get as many as I can in a cheap deal. Rates for calling beyond allowed minutes and such I don't mind, it's mainly texting that I'll need.

 

[Andrej Dolenc]

If you're primarily looking for text messaging, I would recommend staying away from sprint pcs. I'm on that and absolutely hate the text messaging system. You have to use their slow wireless web to log into a webpage and send / receive text messages that way.

 

[Leila Dougan]

If you want a plan just like your friend has, then I think you ought to call Verizon up and ask! Cell providers will do just about anything to sign up a new customer. Just tell them that your friend has this plan and that you want it too. If they say no, then tell them you're not interested in anything else. The employees you'll talk to have the ability to make amendments to plans so if you play hardball enough, you should be able to get what you want.

 

[Scott L]

What I love about Verizon text messaging is you can go to their website and type it in from there too. Do other services offer this?

And one guy did it to me from AIM.. how does that work?

 

[Leila Dougan]

Scott, yes every cell provider that offers text messaging that I know of has a way to do this from their website. Most also match an email address to your phone so that you can send a regular email there. I use my phone like this all the time.

The AIM works similarly. The person with the phones sends a special text message that logs them into AIM, then they appear on everyone else's buddy lists. A simple message sent to them will appear on their phone.

These are all pretty standard features these days.

 

[RossTerry]

AT&T!

 

[MarkHastings]

Verizon has some of the best service, but definitely check out each providers selection of phones. I know that Verizon carries different phones that other companies do.

For instance, there is a phone that has a flip out mini-keyboard that would make instant messaging MUCH easier than without a mini-keyboard. I don't recall Verizon offering that one...I almost want to say (as Ross mentions) that AT&T had that phone.

EDIT: I think this is the phone:
http://www.attwireless.com/personal/...&titleNumber=3

Here is Nokias page on that phone:
http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,,4486,00.html

It has a keyboard that flips out. I'm not sure if Verizon still carries a lot of Nokias, so definitely check around. A friend of mine has the Nokia 6800 and it definitely was pretty cool (especially if you mainly plan on messaging with it)

 

[Kirk Gunn]

If you are mainly talking to your friends that have Verizon phones, get Verizon's cheapest plan. That way all your minutes to other Verizon phones are free and don't count towards your minimum. No long distance/roaming charges on them either !

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I'm also going to college in August. What should I do about that? Should I try to get a contract and then have them change my local plan to where I'm going?

 

[Leila Dougan]

Morgan, yes you can do that. As long as you're sure there's decent coverage where you're going, they'll be happy to transfer your account to a new location for the remainder of the contract. Be sure to call ahead of time and ask, but typically this is what they'll do.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I looked up some stuff for Verizon and found that I can get basically what I want for about $40 a month. Not bad, but I'm still considering it.