Help me pick a cell phone, please--PART II

Oh, and I don't need all the frills, I just want one that is reliable and works.

When you say no frills, do you mean you just want to make and take calls, an address book, VM, just the basics?

How many minutes do you use a month?

If you don't use much, what about one of those pay as you go plans.

The phones cheap, I don't use it that much, and I figured it averages me $8.00 a month for me to have.

If you load it with minutes before your current card expires, the minutes roll over....right now I've got 240 roll over minutes....my calls seldom last more than a few minutes, you know the "so where the hell are you, I've been waiting here for 15 minutes" or "uh, do you want roast beef or boloney? Are we out of tuna"? or the ever popular, "my rear tire just blew out. come get me"

meets my needs.

I don't know how many minutes I use a month. That's why, yes, I'm thinking of getting one of those pay as you go plans for now, just so I can figure out what I'll need if and when I commit to one for the long-term.

And yes, I just want the basics. I just need something that has good reception.

So what do you have, Chai Tea? What kind of phone, I mean? The only problem I'm having in deciding whether to just sign a one- or two-year commitment rather than a pay-as-you-go plan is that a decent cell phone without a plan is going to probably cost me a hundred bucks or so at least, so I'm not sure if it's better to get one of those free ones and just bite the bullet and sign up with some carrier for a year or whatever.

Hmmm...

Just like any electronics, stick with a good name brand...Nokia, Motorola, ect. There's so many damn phones out there.

I've got a cheap Motorola, so far it's been pretty good, other than a couple glitches here and there. Had Nokia, same thing.

A combination digital/analog would probably give the best reception

The phone is the really cheap one....$49.99, and you can even get a rebate of that sometimes....It on the tmobile site, Nokia 6010

here, I cut the rates off the TMobile site....
you just buy the phone, no commitment, you can order more minutes online, on the phone, or buy a card....The worst case scenerio is you lose the phone and you're out $50.00, plus any unused minutes.

It has good reception, I've dropped it, all the regular stuff, it's fine.

Oh....you'll want to download a ringtone from their site, they're like $1.50 the ringtones that come on the phone are really lame....

but husband has a regular plan with tmobile and he downloaded the theme from "the good, the bad, and the ugly" THAT is really cool...like the phone rings around other people, and he whips the phone out like he's a gunslinger and all.....that really turns chicks on.

Refill card
value Whenever
Minutes® Gold Rewards Whenever Minutes

minutes bonus # of days
$10.00 30 50 30
$25.00 130 150 90
$50.00 400 460 90
$100.00 1000 1000 365

All minutes include nationwide long distance and roaming on the T-Mobile To Go prepaid network. If you refill before your prepaid account expires, all your minutes will extend to the new expiration date.


Sidekick pricing
$1 per day for unlimited email, web browsing, instant messaging and text messaging. $.15 / minute for calls.
*Gold Rewards
Once you've added $100.00 in refills to your account, you automatically become a Gold Rewards customer and get at least 15% more minutes with every refill and your minutes do not expire for one full year.

Thanks, Chai tea. I think that sounds just about right for me. I'm going to check into that deal right now.

oh BTW kicky, if you loss the charger thingie, DO NOT go to a T-mobile store to get another one.

I misplaced mine (found it later) and when to a tmobile place to get one...They wanted something outrageous like $40 dollars...I said dang that's what the phone cost.

Here's what ya do...Go to Target and go back to the automotive section, they have all these unviersal chargers back there, and I bought a travel charger where the prongs folded up neat inside it and it was only $9.99.

everyone wants a piece of me.
that's why I have to economize by taking rolls of toilet paper from mcdonalds.

It's not as soft as the TP from Subway, but that's farther away.

hmmm. maybe i should start a thread about street wise money saving.

shampoo? Just collect hand soap from dispensers in public restrooms.
The liquid soap found in the restrooms at nordstroms is especially nice.

discarded drink containers found in the trash make lovely, if temporary planters. I find Starbucks is one of the sturdiest, and never fails to illicit comments from friends and family alike.

Okay, I bought that exact phone, with that exact deal today. So far I've made one phone call and it seemed to work just fine.

One question: How long does it take to recharge the battery? For future reference, I mean.

Anyone? Bueller? Anyone know how long it takes to charge a cell phone battery? Anyone?

What's a'matta, did your battery run out while on the 900 line?

Dude, have you ever owned a f'n cellphone? You tell us...how long does it take to charge? I say 1-2 hours, and remember the best way to supposedly maintain good battery life is to let it run almost all the way out, then fully charge it, instead of constantly throwing it on the charger. I don't know how true this is though.

You could also charge it until the battery meter is full...that's how long it takes.

Kicky: I've so far,in the 2 or 3 years I've had it,never let my cel phone run totally out of power. To recharge just the little bit of power I use,takes only a couple of hours. If yours ever is totally out of power,allow at least 4-8 hours for a full re-charge.

Thanks guys. NO, Slappy, I have never owned a f'n cellphone before. Actually, I kind of f'n hate f'n cell phones. But since I'm going to be looking for work in the city for the next couple months and I won't have a landline at the place I'm moving into, I had no choice but to get one. Dammit!

Thanks

Looks like I need to start saving for adult beverages in New York.

Kicky...I really assumed you had a cell. You've got to be the only person I know under 60 years old without a cell phone.

Isn't it cheaper than a landline now anyway? Plus you can carry your phone around.

Ehbeth, I hope so. We'll see. This week has been a rollercoaster of ****, I tell ya. I don't even want to tell you where I'm at in this whole process, for fear of putting a damn hex on it.

I haven't even had a chance to look for work most of this week, what with all the phone calls and the subway rides and the talking to potential roommates and booking trucks and un-booking trucks and rental cars and....

I need a beer.

Slappy, it's close in price I think. I don't know how many minutes I'd need per month yet. All I know is that I had digital phone through the cable company and that was pretty cheap. 39.95/month with free long-distance and all that **** that cell phones have. The cheapest monthly rate I saw that looked like it might be right for me was a 45.95/month rate with 1000 minutes. I guess they are probably comparable.

One big thing I didn't like was the 1-year or 2-year commitment **** though. So I got this pay as you go thing so I can figure out if I like the phone and the service and then go get a plan I like if I want. I'm such a commitment-phobe.

I've had 2 cell phnes, the last one was a samsung and this one is a seimens. I liked the Samsung better because it was very easy and simple. I don't care about internet connections or email or sound files.... I like text messaging, clear and reliable call connections. All in all, the samsung was better, but the old-style antena wore out. And, I think the provider does make a differnece, but not a huge one.

I think you're right about the provider not making as much of a difference as the phone, littlek. Yeah, all I really care about is being able to hear the a-hole on the other end of the line, and not losing calls.