Cell Phones

Mai-Kero

So, somehow I've managed to make it so far without one, but since I'm starting college this fall I figured I should get around to getting one and maybe a plan.

So, a few questions:

Plan, or Pay-as-you-go?

What providers?

What model of phone?

And that's about it. As far as features go, I guess stardard. Being able to upload my own ringtones from my computer would be fantastic, though.

archonwarp

Pay as you go is probably what you want to start off with. If you find that you're using your phone a lot, you can always go into a contract from there. I recommend finding out what works on the campus you're going to be going to, and where you're living (if they're the same place, then that simplifies things quite a bit).

http://www.wirefly.com/ is a pretty good site to check out cell phone plans and different plans. Since you don't currently have a phone, let me just advise you to stay away from the Razr, Crzr, Chocolate, and whatever other shitty trend-phone they try to push on you for free (if you get a contract) in favor of something that has good reviews and good features, such as a smartphone. T-mobile is probably the cheapest contract based, with 1000 minutes starting at $40.00 and a decent phone to go with it. I have cingular, and I know cingular, sprint/nextel, verizon, and alltel work really well on the akron U campus.

Doc

archonwarp wrote: »

Since you don't currently have a phone, let me just advise you to stay away from the Razr, Crzr, Chocolate, and whatever other shitty trend-phone they try to push on you for free (if you get a contract) in favor of something that has good reviews and good features, such as a smartphone.

Seconded. I made that mistake once, I won't be making it again.

rchou

Doc wrote: »

archonwarp wrote: »

Since you don't currently have a phone, let me just advise you to stay away from the Razr, Crzr, Chocolate, and whatever other shitty trend-phone they try to push on you for free (if you get a contract) in favor of something that has good reviews and good features, such as a smartphone.

Seconded. I made that mistake once, I won't be making it again.

Third[ed?]. I had the slvr for about four months; it was the worst electronic device i've ever had. Frequent split calls, hurt my hand pressing the buttons, and just plain stupid design.

Mai-Kero

Hrm.

The Motorola C139 looks pretty good, since it's cheap, and also seems to have the longest battery life out of any phone on Wirefly. But, it's also not a fliptop or clamshell or whatever you call it phone, so I'm not sure how long it would take for the screen to be scratched into unreadability. It does look rather cool though.

Re: nholder

I just did some research on a phone for myself. For me the best deal was pay by day with alltel. If you use the phone everyday for a month the "bill" is only about $25. They have a nice nokia phone for $30, $35 activation fee, and $20 to start off your minutes....so that makes it only $90 to start with tax included.

deadonthestreet

Sony Ericsson makes pretty much the best phones in the world.

Gihgehls

deadonthestreet wrote: »

Sony Ericsson makes pretty much the best phones in the world.

for me to poop on. I hated that T68 I had.

gneGne

I like my Sony-Ericsson w810i... if you care...

Lucky Cynic

Just look for some consumer reports on certain phone models. Usually they are free and won't take anything from you but maybe 30min.

Dark Moon

Samsung SGH-D807


This is my current phone and I really like it. Great battery life, call quality is excellent, very customizable if that's your thing, MP3 playback/ringtones if you feel you must, and it actually comes with all the cables you need (USB/power/headhpone). I found this very impressive). Though very small, it still feels quite sturdy, which is important on a slider since the design itself requires a lot of strength to keep from falling apart. Only downside I can see is that the headphone port is a proprietary port that only works with the included headphones, which are mediocre at best.

Sony W810


I've also heard great things about this phone. If I remember correctly, in the last cell phone thread in H&A everyone agreed this was the phone to get if you're willing to put out the money to buy it, as it's not a particularly cheap phone. More expensive than the Samsung above, I think the big selling point was superior customizability. The interface is already pretty decent(I played with one at a store the other day), but you can retool how the controls on the phone itself work and screw with most every setting.


I seem to recall another phone being discussed in that last cell thread which had a startlingly high MP camera in it. I believe it was a Motorola. What phone am I thinking of?

Pheezer

The Nokia 6265i is a killer phone that's an absolute steal if you can get it where ever you are. It has: Mini SD slot for movies and MP3 playback and storage, 2.0 MP digital camera, Bluetooth and GPS, and it's a nifty little slider and I love mine.

King Kong

I honestly don't understand all the RAZR hate. I have a RAZR V3M thru Sprint and love it.

My buddy has one thru Verizon and they disbaled most of the features that make it an awesome phone so maybe it depends on who you have service thru.

I honestly can't think of anything I'd want to do and it doesn't. My bill with unlimited weekends and after 7 pm with 500 anytime and 300 texts is 39.99. Altogether up front I paid 50 bucks.

I had pre-paid for awhile and its a fucking waste. You burn thru the minutes and most of the phones are gimped since most pre-paid plans dont support things like ringtones and texts. Not to mention the phone selection sucks ass.

Aegis

When purchasing a cell phone that has any kind of rebate on it (or if you're at all having to decide between phones based upon any type of rebate that may be offered) make sure you read everything on the rebate form, even if its size 1 and requires a magnifying glass. If it says it on the rebate form, it is 99% correct regardless of what the guy selling you the phone says. Fill the form out yourself (you wouldn't believe how many times, working in Cingular's rebate department, people would call in after their rebate never got to them and them finding out a totally different name was on the form, or it was mispelled completely, etc. because the worker at the store filled it out) and make sure you know what you're getting: if it says a debit card, you're getting a debit card back, not a check.

cuntstarrunner

It all depends on your income. Are you going to be able to pay $40 every month? And if you fuck up are you going to be able to cover the late fees? If not pre paid might be the way to go...which is what I'm thinking right now.