How much did you spend on your cellular phone? (1 Viewer)

[Peter Kim]

I'm thinking of replacing my old phone with a new one. It's been a while since I've looked at newer models - there sure are some whizbang fancy phones. In that group, some have squeezed in a lot of functional stuff, too. But, chissakes, the prices can be huge.

My dilemna...balancing my bleeding edge, tech toy mentality with fiscal responsibility (and my wife's ever auspicious eye). I'm not sure if I even want to venture into the $300 + territory that some of these phones command (e.g., Motorola 60c).

So...how much do you folks spend on phones these days? Prices to include activation.

 

[Bill Balcziak]

$0.

I left my phone on top of the car and drove off (it's the second time I've done it). Needless to say, the phone ended up lost. I called my service provider, Voicestream, and they said to go get a new one at the nearest Voicestream store. Apparently, they have a "lost or stolen" policy that provides a $100 credit on a new phone. I guess it's worth $100 to them to ensure you don't pick another provider when you buy a new phone.

Heckuva deal.

 

[Ryan Wright]

$10.

Got a Nokia 8260. ~$200 phone. I have a friend in the business; I only had to pay for shipping.

 

[James_S]

$0.00

Got a Nokia 5165 and AT&T Service.

$40.00 rebate from Nokia

$40.00 rebate from AT&T

 

[Sean Conklin]

$0, to start.

Free Motorola talkabout with 1 year service.

$29.99 per mo. 250 anytime minutes, 3000 night and weekend minutes.

 

[NickSo]

Nokia 5190...
$25 CAD, 200 Minutes $20 CAD a month.. Though i rarely use it to the limit...

 

[Alex Spindler]

$350 for a Kyocera 6035 Smartphone. Worth every penny and more to have a cell phone and a standard Palm built into one. But if I didn't work like I do, I probably wouldn't be able to justify it. But it's been completely integrated into my life. It carries my DVD list, a bunch of HP Lovecraft stories, all my business and personal contacts, and all of the meetings I have in Outlook. Plus, it synchronizes at the touch of a button and the free software available for a Palm opened up the real possibilities for the phone. Again, if you need a Palm and a phone, this is one I heartily recommend.

 

[Carl Johnson]

I don't remember exact figures but just over a year ago I spent about $100 on my Sprint SCP-4500. It's small enough to carry without getting in the way without being so tiny to be easily lost.

 

[Randy Tennison]

I just bought a Sprint TP-5200. It was $199.00, but Sprint gave me a $100 credit on my old Nokia 5200, as they will no longer service it, or upgrade it, and I am missing half of the new transmitters.

I'm not in love with my new phone yet. I may end up trading it for something else. The sound quality isn't that great. But, it's small and has Blackjack on it. That's pretty cool!

 

[PaulG]

$100. Well I gave my wife the money for it, and she bought a different phone. It's a Motorola i1000plus. It has been dropped many many times and once I fell and the thing was cought between me and the driveway. It still works good. Tough peice of equipment.

 

[Chad Isaacs]

THe phone was $29.99 but I got it online so it had free activation which was $35

I got it through verizion wireless,i have the 350 anytime and 3000 night and weekend plan.I wish night started before 9p.m but what can you do.I looked at a.t.t but my address was not in their calling area,which I found odd.Verizion covers like 99% of the u.s and I can call from Indiana to California and its not long distance...that I like

 

[BryanZ]

$0.
Don't have a cell phone.

 

[Frederick]

I have Cingular Wireless, and I upgraded my phone to the Nokia 3360. I love this phone. As a matter of fact, my entire company just took our pagers and old cell phones and replaced them with this model. I paid about $100, but that's because I upgraded early in my contract (I couldn't stand my old phone). If you get new service, the phone is much cheaper. Are you looking for a new provider or just a new phone? Who are you using now?

Freddy C.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

About $20 each, after rebates, for two phones (one Qualcomm, one Nokia) under a Sprint PCS plan. When the Nokia started acting flakey for my wife, Sprint replaced it for free with another Qualcomm (after I threatened to switch to a different provider).

 

[DonRoeber]

About $130 for my Nokia 6100, a year ago. As far as service plans go, I'm no longer traveling for business, so I just have a$29/month contract with AT&T, which suits me fine. When I was traveling, my cell bill would easily hit $200/month, using all of my minutes on my national one rate plan. But hey, I didn't have to pay for it then

 

[Scott Strang]

I'm destructive to cellular phones plus I like to switch about every 1.5 years.

Recently I got the Panasonic Duramax from AT&T wireless. It's a great phone that has speakerphone capability. The best part is that it's coated with rubber and appears very sturdy. It weighs almost nothing and the battery is supposed to have a 400 hour stand-by time. Also it has the built-in vibrate capability.

It retailed for $150 but I got for $70. By far the best phone I've ever had.

By now Panasonic has probably come out with other models that are even better. They had a non-rubber model called Promax that was even lighter and smaller.