getting a cell phone

[meancode]

hey all,

well i have sworn for years that i would not become subject to those digital dog collars, but after further investigation i have come to the conclusion that i would be cheaper for me and have a lot of advantages over a phone in my apartment. verizon charges 24$ just for the landline, not to mention all the other fees.

i am moving into a house shortly (1 to 2 months) and my buddy i am rooming with has a cell phone. i can get a plan for something under $40 and i wont have to pay long distance with a cell phone. we will get cable internet cuz that is cheaper than my current DSL (can you tell im trying to keep to a cheap budget 🙂) .

but what cell phone to get? i have looked at the PDA cell phones but am not impressed with any of them. they are big, bulky and pricey. i have a Palm m515 and am quite happy with it. it would be nice to combine the two devides, but i dont see any complelling options right now in the PDA cell phone market.

My buddy has a T-Mobile sidekick and that thing rocks, until you actually want to use it as a phone. I dont care about wireless web or SMS or IM or sending images or games (after all i have 16 bit gaming on my m515 😛 ) but i do want a phone that is not gonna be redudent in 2 months. although i know that is a hard thing to get in the computers & gadgets category.

any1 here recommend a cell phone? this is a verizon town so to speak, so i will be using their service. i may get sprint but i am pretty sure i will get better deals and coverage with verizon.

thanks for your input!

 

[jonifen]

i dont know anything about verizon or anything... nor how much mobiles cost in the US (as I'm in the UK).

but, I've tried many mobiles from diff manufacturers etc, and it might be worth it to get something like a Nokia 5210 ( http://www.nokia.com/phones/5210 ) or something similar. At the minute, its a reasonable price for a decent phone - its one of those than can be dropped etc without damaging (depending on how high u drop it from of course)...

you could look at the other nokias available at http://www.nokia.com - or look around at:

http://www.my-siemens.com
http://www.panasonicmobile.com
http://www.samsungelectronics.com/mobile_phone/index.asp

good luck in finding what you want 🙂

 

[gonaads]

I use Verizon service for my phone and am quite happy with their service (have been using them for 5 to 6 years, since before they actually merged all those companies into Verizon).

I would say go to the Verizon Wireless web page and check out the phones that they list for their service. Remember not all phones work with their service, just like other Services (T-Mobile, AT&T, Cingular, etc...) have certain phones for their services.

I use a Motorola T-720... before that I always used Motorola Star-Tac phones. I still have two (2) of them.

Me luvs Motorola... "Hello Moto" :happy:

 

[the_music_man]

cingular is the best. has most towers and best reception and good price

 

[Zedric]

Sony Ericsson has some good phones too.
http://www.sonyericsson.com

 

[muzikool]

Like you, I waited a long time before I jumped on the cellphone bandwagon. I just got a phone this past January. I personally like Samsung a lot, but my opinion is biased since I have a Samsung phone. My main suggestion is that you get a phone that has polyphonic ringtones. Part of the reason I would never got a phone sonner was that the rings annoyed the heck out of me, but the polyphonic tones sound 1000 times better.

 

[macromp]

make sure you get a nokia phone! i've had 4 phones and nokia are by far the best and most reliable, i found motorola to be the worst :-\

 

[melon]

I use AT&T w/ a Sony Ericsson T68i.

http://www.attwireless.com/mobileinternet

AT&T plans seem to work out best for me.

Melon

 

[gonaads]

Originally posted by prodj88
cingular is the best. has most towers and best reception and good price

Ooooh contrare... Cingular has the worst "Track Record" of any other Mobile Phone Company.

This here is an Article for a Comsumer Reports Story for just the BayArea here in California.

 

[muzikool]

I don't think anyone can say that this plan or that phone is "the best" until they have tried most all of them. If you prefer one, say so and explain why. I'm not here telling you that Sprint is the best because it's all that I have used so far. Sprint works fine for me and I love my Samsung phone, but I can't say for sure that they're the best. A ZDNet review of my phone is here

 

[jdn]

I think I have owned 9 cell phones since 1990 starting with the Motorola "brick".
I presently have a Motorola v60 (cdma) and t280 (gsm)
If you plan to travel out of the US or Canada alot get a GSM phone. I recommend the Nokia in this case as it switches frequencies automatically.
If you want to download or check email alot get a 1x cdma phone.
They are as fast as a 56k modem, sometimes better.
If you just want a phone, check with your friends( better still try their phones) as to where dead spots are. Then find the cheapest phone (free) with the best minute plan.
Check out North America wide plans if you do alot of LD.
Fixed antennas are the best if you have a strong signal area as I replace my v60's twice.
If you get a straight phone (no flip) make sure you can lock the keys easily. I don't no how many times my buddy in San Fran has phoned by hitting a speed dial key when sitting on it.
The toys that come with a phone can save you a buck or two; car charger - essential; extra battery - nice to have; holder or clip ; these come with some phones but not many.
Get a tri mode phone if going with cdma or tdma: not all areas are digital and you will get better reception in fringe areas
I hope this helps

 

[gonaads]

I most definetly agree with what jdn has posted. Especially if yer freinds, all or most each have different phones and different services.

Plus if you are still in school (College) most if not all have phones 😛.

Ask around about their Phones and Mobile Providers.

Don't be afraid to ask, since you don't have one, that they might... ummmmm, laugh 😉 Tell'em that you are looking to upgrade yer old phone or it has been broken for a long time or that you are fed up with yer current Provider.

LIE! 😛

 

[Zedric]

There's a new brand coming up for you tech-freaks. 🙂 Neonode. Their website is utter crap but the phone seems promising. It's not released yet, but it's supposed to be out before the summer.
www.neonode.com

 

[muzikool]

Definitely be patient and wait for promotions that will get you a great phone for free, or a good plan really cheap. My phone was listed at $150, and I got it for free.

 

[jonifen]

Originally posted by Zedric
Sony Ericsson has some good phones too.
http://www.sonyericsson.com

forgot about them when I listed all those above...

one phone that's not bad - but nobody could afford is a vertu - http://www.vertu.com/


I've had several mobiles since my first...
1. philips brick - awful ringtones - easy to use phone though.
2. vodafone (blue front with horrible slanted top - big aerial - awful thing - awful ringtones).
3. sagem (cant remember which one) - nice phone, small aerial - hideous ringtones - awful to text on.
4. nokia 8210 - nice phone, common fault with screen where it goes dicky - still got it though - ive found a fascia that doesnt press on the screen, so it works fine now.
5. siemens c45 - not a bad phone, hard to text on - battery life left some to desire.
6. nokia 3310 - easy as hell to text on and use. still got this although its at home not being used.
7. nokia 6210 - best phone ive had - easiest to text on - best signal, fastest wap, not the smallest phone, but the nicest imo.


nokias are the best as ive not got the others now - only 3 nokias 🙂

 

[ZipTriX]

Originally posted by gonaads
Ooooh contrare... Cingular has the worst "Track Record" of any other Mobile Phone Company.

This here is an Article for a Comsumer Reports Story for just the BayArea here in California.

Agreed. I had Cingular and will never use them again. Wife couldn't hold a strong signal 10 miles from home and this is within the city limits. 😡 Dropped my Cingular service for Verizon. :happy:

 

[the_music_man]

hmmm well i guess it depends where your located. here cingular is the best because we have friends that use verizon and ATT. and a guy said Verizon sucked butt and the phone got crappy reception in a snow storm, and ATT was ok but you still had to move side to side to get some reception lol. but no problems with cingular although being inside buildings can be tedious.

 

[melon]

Originally posted by jonifen
one phone that's not bad - but nobody could afford is a vertu - http://www.vertu.com/

Okay...I don't care how stinking rich someone is. USD $21,000.00 (GBP £14,950.00) for a cell phone is not worth it. Get a Breitling watch or get some big ass home theater at Bang & Olufsen. 😛

Melon