NEWS YOU CAN USE
DON'T BUY A CELL PHONE!
My best advice is to NOT buy a cell phone. Buy a service provider instead. Why? Because regardless of what bells and whistles your cell phone has, if your service provider doesn't support them, you are the owner of a useless cell phone!
The Plan
Before you decide on a cell phone, decide on how you are going to use your cell phone, ie. a wireless plan, taking pictures, as an internet connection...
Do you need a unlimited minutes? Free long distance? Are you a weekend caller? If you are making or receiving the majority of your calls during normal business hours, the last thing you want is any plan that uses terms like "peak hour minutes". So would be a plan that offered unlimited "nights and weekends". Look for plans with "unlimited anytime minutes" regardless of the time of day or night.
Do you have a family that will share the minutes included on your plan? Look for an "unlimited family plan". These don't mean that each member of your family on the plan will get the number of included minutes, it means you will SHARE that many minutes. So be realistic and either get unlimited plans or enough minutes that sharing will not put your minutes over each month.And remember that sending pictures counts against minutes!
Prepaid Plans are a great solution for those who either don't use a cell phone as your only phone, or need to control how much calling you do. For example, today's prepaid plans like MetroPCS are much more competitive and inclusive than the original wireless prepaid services. Boost offers unlimited calling for $45 per phone per number. It's a great idea for college kids, for those on a budget, and for anyone who hates long term contracts - like me!
The Billing
What kind of billing do you want? Carriers offer different methods - paper bill, online billing, pay by phone, or pay in person at a store. Which method fits your lifestyle. Some carriers are now charging extra fees to mail you a paper bill, so be aware of any charges you will incur if you choose to have paper billing with your carrier.
So when you get to the point where you have decided on a wireless service provider, you are ready to choose a phone. Many charriers offer free phones when you sign a service contract stating that you will stay with them for x amount of time. By the time your contract is up, you will have paid many times what the phone is worth, so don't be persuaded to go with a carrier just to get a free phone.
The Features
Choose what features you want on your phone - most phones now offer pretty much the same basic features like camera/video, text messaging, internet access, games and music. Most of those with the exception of the camera will carry an extra charge. Texting is cheap in bulk, but not so internet access, email and music downloads. Your lifestyle will determine the features on your new cell phone.
So, next time you go shopping for a cell phone, shop for a service provider first. Use our patented Cellular Plugin to compare carriers, plans and phones available in your specific location. It's free and it makes the whole process quick and easy!
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