Cell phones

craigpotter · Post by **craigpotter** » Sat May 29, 2004 8:51 pm

can't say much about the phone companies (the only ones i have used are verizon and at&t wireless) although my dad did have altell at one point and didn't get good reception, but i don't know if that would be the way where you live

phonewise i have the sony ericsson and i love it - the battery has a nice long lifespan inbetween charges, it looks good, sounds good, it's really durable ( i accidentally dropped it about five feet onto concrete and granted it has a little scratch in the metal battery cover, it hasn't affected the functionality of it)

my only problem with it is that the camera isn't as good as say samsung flip phones are, but i hardly use it anyways (the novelty will wear off after a few weeks)

i hope this helps you decide!

~Craig Potter~

WoodSheddin · Post by **WoodSheddin** » Sat May 29, 2004 9:02 pm

www.howardforums.com

Leland · Post by **Leland** » Sat May 29, 2004 11:06 pm

bloke wrote: That would put me at the beck and "call" of anyone at anytime.

For me, that's why I've got a cell phone. I have to be reachable at any time, day or night.

Even so, I held off on getting one until duty required it. I made it all the way until I almost turned 30 years old, having finished college & everything. I rather enjoyed being able to leave the house and actually LEAVE, without the risk of being interrupted by anyone while I'm out on my own time.

Oh yeah --

Cingular or Alltel? Can't say -- I've only had Sprint. I hate every wireless carrier anyway. Every single one of them is frustrating enough that I wish I had the capital to start my own company, charge decent rates, with no hidden charges or services, great coverage, outstanding customer service (cripes, even "average" customer service would be better than what anyone's doing today), and billing plans simple enough for my mom to choose. I want to BURY every wireless provider that exists today.

Yeah, I know, that's just a tad ambitious.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Sat May 29, 2004 11:26 pm

I've had good luck with Nokia phones and Cingular. I DID say luck! The whole cellphone thing is more-or-less a crap shoot depending on your service area.

However, unless you are earning your money at an occupation that requires you to be in instant touch with your clients... I have to agree with the 'Grumpy Old Man' on this one.... YOU DON'T NEED A CELL PHONE!

dopey · Post by **dopey** » Sat May 29, 2004 11:32 pm

CJ Krause · Post by **CJ Krause** » Sun May 30, 2004 8:15 am

dopey · Post by **dopey** » Sun May 30, 2004 3:30 pm

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Sun May 30, 2004 3:55 pm

I have a bad habbit of getting into hobbies and investing time and money only to either loose interest, or have no time to keep up inthe hobby.

Not a reflection on you in particular, but I seem to see a lot of kids that are overburdened with "spare time" activities. One of my students never seems to find time to practice because he's been busy with soccer, tennis, bowling, working out at the gym, or in an Eagle Scout function and heaven knows what else. Apparently he's too busy to do homework too, judging from his grades.

I don't understand where kids find even the time to do homework with all of the other stuff in their schedules. Why not drop a few activities and concentrate on one or two that matter to you and will have some payoff later in life? You might even come home early and make dinner for your family. Cooking is definitely a skill to be valued.

dopey · Post by **dopey** » Sun May 30, 2004 4:22 pm

funkcicle · Post by **funkcicle** » Sun May 30, 2004 4:32 pm

Cingular is the 2nd largest network in the nation, Alltel isn't even in the top 5, if that helps. Now, I don't know if you'll be doing much travelling-- but that's something I take into account. I've used and worked for both Sprint and Cingular, they're good companies.. I particularly like cingular but right now I use T-Mobile as I do a lot of international travelling(Canada every month, Europe sporadically, and Australia for months at a time) and T-Mobile is the ONLY u.s. carrier that will satisfactorily satisfy my int'l requirements. AND they have one of the most minimalistic plans($19.99 a month for non powerusers like myself).

Cingular also owns AT&T now.. I predict by 2006 Cingular will have surpassed Verizon. Cingular's customer service is top notch, but I've never dealt with Alltel. Cingular also rolls over your any-time minutes on the $39.99 an up plans.. they stay good for an entire year. You might not use it much in your daily life, but when you go on a band trip to Florida or a senior trip to California this is the area where Cingular stands head and shoulders above their competition. They also have free calling to Canada and Mexico(same as a local call). Look out, Verizon!

(I'm not affiliated with any of these companies, but I'm a big fan of Cingular.)

craigpotter · Post by **craigpotter** » Sun May 30, 2004 7:56 pm

if you're only going to be calling motherdearest for rides, then why not get one of the cheaper plans? Unless you have to be calling long distance or you travel a lot out of state and area where you'd want to get a national plan, which usually don't coincide with the cheapest plans, then why not get the $19 plan or so

just a thought

~Craig Potter~

dopey · Post by **dopey** » Sun May 30, 2004 9:51 pm

CJ Krause · Post by **CJ Krause** » Mon May 31, 2004 12:25 am

dopey · Post by **dopey** » Mon May 31, 2004 11:26 am

Rick F · Post by **Rick F** » Mon May 31, 2004 12:42 pm

Well this might not work for you, but I wanted my wife to have a phone in case of emergency on the road and to let me know when she arrived safely, etc. "Virgin" mobile has a "no contract" plan. It's a pre-paid service. It has free long distance (or nation-wide calling is the same price). That price is 25 cents per minute. Sounds high but when you only need it once in awhile, it works out great. The only caveat is you have to add $20 to your pre-paid plan every 90 days to keep your number active. The cost of the phone is not discounted either. You can get a good phone for about $60. (Kyocera?)

Virgin Mobile uses Sprint's cell towers.

TMurphy · Post by **TMurphy** » Mon May 31, 2004 10:57 pm

schlepporello wrote:Unfortunately, I haven't tried this yet because I haven't had to.

That's unfortunate???

But you are correct...any cell phone, whether activated or not, is capable of dialing 911 for free. And to Joe...while I agree that the average high school kid has absolutely no need for a cell phone, unless they're old enough to drive, and do so regularly. Then I think it becomes important (not so they can chat while they drive, which it should be stressed they NEVER do), but because breakdowns, and unfortunately, accidents do happen, and then it becomes important to be able to contact someone.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 4:36 pm

I just had a major go-round with Cingular over international cellphone usage. I called them three weeks ago to find out if my Cingular phone would work while I was touring England. They said it would and they were even nice enough to add $3.99 a month to my bill in enchange for $.29 a minute instead of the normal $1.29 per minute. What a deal! However, the incredibly stupid customer service moron overlooked the fact that in order for a phone to work on systems in the UK if has to be what they refer to as a 'QUAD' phone. That is... it has to be compatible with four different frequency systems. This came after I even gave the woman on the other end my phone model, serial, and other (?) numbers.

Before you make a decision as to what carrier to go with, find out if their customer service people have IQ's over 70. In this case, Cingular has been OK with me up until this last problem. They DID refund by $3.99... but couldn't offer anything further even though I was completely without a phone for two weeks.

Stefan · Post by **Stefan** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 7:43 am

Lets face it - owning a cell phone is a complete luxury. I made it through most of my life without a cell phone. Now that I have had one for about 4 years, it is hard for me to think about getting rid of it. But I have never actually NEEDED it. It's just a cool item to have. I completely agree with bloke, but I can understand the need to have a new cool gadget.

If you must spend the money, I say go for Cingular. If you had Verizon in your area, go for that. Remember that you get locked into these 2 year contracts which are expensive to break. So make surre you can afford the $45 (yes, it will end up costing more then $40 no matter how hard you try) the whole year.

And on a side note - if your mother is so worried about your saftey (no bikes, no riding with friends), she ought to not let you stand out there waiting forever.

Stefan

ThomasDodd · Post by **ThomasDodd** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:05 pm

Rick F wrote:Well this might not work for you, but I wanted my wife to have a phone in case of emergency on the road and to let me know when she arrived safely, etc. "Virgin" mobile has a "no contract" plan. It's a pre-paid service. It has free long distance (or nation-wide calling is the same price). That price is 25 cents per minute. Sounds high but when you only need it once in awhile, it works out great. The only caveat is you have to add $20 to your pre-paid plan every 90 days to keep your number active. The cost of the phone is not discounted either. You can get a good phone for about $60. (Kyocera?)

Virgin Mobile uses Sprint's cell towers.

I'm joining a bit late, but would agree, the pre-paid services are the bst way to go.

Personally I use Tracfone. I normaly get 300 units of air time and 1 yr of service for $150. If Virgin doesn't have that option, you might want to check Tracfone out, www.tracfone.com. calls from you home area are 1 unit/minute, roam in calls are 2 units/minute, regardless of where you call.

I use a Nokia 5100 phone. It supports analog and digital signals. Locally the carrier is Alltel, and probably would be for Jacob. The phone is older, but support text messaging at 1/2 a unit per message. Accessorise are very common and inexpensive, like spare batteries, charger, and headsets. They have other phones too, but the 5100 is a great, well tested phone.

Jacob, if you "need" a phone, prepaid is a much better alternative. Take a fgew months of you funds buy a phone and airtime. put the rest in savings incase you need more airtime. You'll earn interest on the money, which "rollover" wont give you.

I just looked and I see a refurbished phone, 1 yr service, and 250 units for $95.

Thomas