Cell phones

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

ThomasDodd · Post by **ThomasDodd** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:11 pm

TubaTinker wrote: 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.

QUAD? I know TRI-band phones, but not quad.

In fact if I ever need to trave out of the U.S.A. for business, I'll buy an unlocked tri-band phone and use prepaid services. May even trade the tracfone for it in the US, if I ever get GSM coverage locally.

These sites cater to U.S. customers needing European, phone services. I like this phone
http://www.cellularabroad.com/motorola_t260gsm.html
http://www.telestial.com/products/m_p73 ... _phone.htm

But they have others.

-Thomas

ThomasDodd · Post by **ThomasDodd** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:15 pm

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

I forgot, they have a 30 day, money back guarantee. So if you try it, and have poor coverage, no big loss. Try to get that from Alltel or Cingular!

You can also get phones and airtime at stores like Wal Mart or K-Mart.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 5:53 pm

ThomasDodd wrote:
TubaTinker wrote: 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.

QUAD? I know TRI-band phones, but not quad.

It's all Greek to me. That's the term those who SHOULD know at Cingular told me. I can tell you this... I'll NEVER depend on a wireless for my sole means of communication! I'll use it for my primary but not only means. I still like the idea of being listed in a book.