April 26, 2004

1:12 PM

After many years of dogged resistance, I'm taking the cell phone plunge. I don't want to use it much beyond emergencies and logistical stuff -- e.g., calling someone from the road to give them my ETA. (Ring, ring... "who's there?" "More inside!")
posted by scody to (20 comments total)

The only bells & whistles I'd like are voicemail and caller ID (and that last one is negotiable). I'm leaning towards T-Mobile's basic or basic plus plan, but I'm also curious about these "pay-as-you-go" plans. I'm also leaning towards getting a flip phone -- though again, nothing very fancy. Any feedback or recommendations? (I'm in L.A., if that makes a difference in terms of coverage, reception, etc.)
posted by scody at 1:15 PM on April 26, 2004

from what I understand T-Mobile only works in metropolitan areas. So, if your car breaks down in bfe you're probably hosed. Also, a buddy of mine has T-Mobil and he doesn't like it too much.

Verizon has been good to me. Good coverage everywhere I've been with it. Nationwide roaming on my plan and no charges for calling anyother Verizon phone nationwide.
posted by trbrts at 2:40 PM on April 26, 2004

I've been using Verizon for the past year or so in LA. The service has been generally good, though there are a few odd troublespots here and there. The Verizon plan I use ends up between $60 and $70 a month and I've found that I usually use a good portion of my minutes. The phone was $150 with a $100 rebate. Its a good solid LG phone and hasn't given me any trouble. Had to sign the 2 year contract to get the price though.

My only experience with pay as you go plans is through a friend. It was frustrating for him because he kept running out of minutes. If you were to use all the minutes in a monthly plan it would be cheaper than the pay as you go. If, as you suggest, you will use the phone rarely, you might see a savings with the pay as you go.

RE: T-Mobile, i had a different friend on T-Mobile in New York who was frequently disappointed with the service, both in phone and through the company. They gave her a hard time replacing a broken phone (she was paying insurance) and she stayed with them exactly until the number switcheroo thing took effect and then she split. I don't know if this was a local problem or an endemic one, but its the only one I know.

Best of luck.
posted by shotsy at 2:41 PM on April 26, 2004

If you get a flip phone, don't get a Motorola T720, or any of its kin (such as the T720, 721, 722, 720i, or 730). The T720/730s are pretty bad in terms of reception. In all honesty, the user interface isn't that great either.

In LA, Cingular and T-Mobile share a network, so they will be more or less equivalent in terms of coverage. I'm given to understand that the network is pretty extensive there, but I'm all the way on the other side of the country, so I honestly don't know.
posted by zztzed at 2:46 PM on April 26, 2004

Sounds like Virgin Mobile is your best bet. $0.25/minute no strings attached. No plan, no extra costs. If you make one 5 minute phone call this month, you pay $1.25 etc. It includes voice mail (no caller id though) and uses the sprint network so has pretty good coverage. I've had mine for a year and spend on average $10/month.
posted by batboy at 2:52 PM on April 26, 2004

Second for Virgin Mobile. I got one for just what you describe. It's the cheapest choice I could find for extremely infrequent use.
posted by willnot at 2:57 PM on April 26, 2004

For prepaid, I recommend Virgin Mobile. I have T-Mobile for my plan phone, and have been very happy with them so far. I used to have Sprint before, and they were terrible.

With Virgin Mobile, you can set it up so it will automatically charge an add funds to the account when it runs low, so you don't have to worry about running out of minutes.

You also have to consider GSM or CDMA, which are two very different networks.

Also, remember if you get a prepaid phone, your number is temporary. A plan phone, the number is all yours from now until the end of time, or at least until they reconfigfure something.
posted by benjh at 3:37 PM on April 26, 2004

Well, I've only used Sprint, and I would not recommend them, due to poor customer service and pretty greedy contractual agreements. And shitty phone coverage in every area I've lived in since using them.

SCODY, my recommendation to you, however, is to admit that you are probably going to become reliant on your cell phone, and plan accordingly.

I resisted getting one forever. Thought they were rude, gaudy and unnecessary. But, after two years (hell, after two months) it became clear that they were absolutely necessary to my continued existence. My pocket feels empty without a cell phone in it.

Sorry, you will probably become like the rest of us too, so don't just rush off and buy the cheapest phone you can find. Get something you will like using now, since it will be expensive to upgrade.

Features to think about:
1. If you get a flip phone, try to get one with a secondary (usually LED) display on the outside. That way, you won't have to open the phone up to see what time it is, or who is calling you.

2. Speakerphone is not that great. As with speakerphones on regular land-lines, people on the other end HATE it when you use it, since they can't really hear you very well, and they have no privacy. The only thing I use speakerphone for is when I'm being put on hold, so that I can put the phone down and still know when the opeator has come on the line.

3. When you are testing out the phone, check to see if, when you put it up to your face, it is comfortable -- that is, if you put the speaker to your ear, is the microphone somewhere on your cheek, or down near your mouth, where it's supposed to be. Also check to see how it feels in your pocket, if that's where you will be carrying it around. Is it too big to fit in there with your wallet and car keys?

4. Cameraphones are nice, but gimmicky -- You probably wouldn't use it, even though you secretly want one.

5. EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: Ask your friends with cell phones to come over to your house and tell you how the reception is with their various providers. You will use your cell phone mostly in your house, so it has to get good reception there.

I did not pay attention to reception when I went apartment shopping, and consequently I have to go out on the balcony in order to receive phone calls in my own home.
posted by Hildago at 4:00 PM on April 26, 2004

also note: pay as you go is a total ripoff. the minutes are very expensive. think about it: $1.25 or more for a 5 minute call. have had great service and experience with verizon, nationwide calling, and i've been to BFE - way outside of any metro area - and the phone works! also eveything hildago said.
posted by quonsar at 5:24 PM on April 26, 2004

Hildago - maybe it's just me, but we had GREAT coverage with Sprint at every point on our drive from Seattle to Boston (along I-90) last fall, with the exceptions of Montana and North Dakota (duh). Coverage in Seattle and here in Boston has been exceptional as well.

I agree the contracts are for shit, and contractually I'd rather be on the plan of that company that offers unlimited Internet for $5/mo (T Mobile?), but I definitely can't complain about Sprint's coverage.
posted by Ryvar at 5:30 PM on April 26, 2004

Welcome to 1995! We are glad to have you! Ok you're going to use your cell phone about 5x as much as you think you will. It is one of those things you think "I'll never really use" and then after about 3 months you're on the 1000 minute plan. I've had bad experience with T-Mobile in NYC, but in the Midwest it is the best coverage out there. I've been about 40 minutes away from civilization (erm, 40 minutes of nonstop driving at 80mph+). Mine quit working once I got out on a boat in the middle of a lake. The only person who had a working cell phone (among the Verizon, Sprint and TMobile) was my friend with Cingular... but he had a one of those huge old school Nokias.

I've had nothing but good things to say about T-Mobile's customer support, as oppose to the Sprint horror stories. I've had a few billing issues that they could have easily gone "too bad" and left me angry -- instead they were very accomodating and gave me extra minutes.

So to sum it up, write off $40 a month right now.
posted by geoff. at 5:49 PM on April 26, 2004

Well, in contradiction to Hildago and geoff, I'll testify that I got a pay-as-you-go phone several months ago, have used it less than once a month--perhaps three times total--and see absolutely no likelihood of using it oftener than that. It's for emergencies and logistical stuff (as you state), and I've had no difficulty whatsoever keeping it that way.

On that basis, it's a heck of a deal--I went with AT&T Free2Go (not to be confused with GoPhone). It did cost me a chunk of change upfront to buy the phone, but now all I have to do is remember to top it up with $10 worth of time every 90 days. If I actually *used* the phone with any frequency, it'd be pricey, but I don't. The coverage seems to work well for me--the service maps indicate a wider coverage area than Virgin, which seems to peter out as soon as you get out of major metropolitan areas. (Not that I'm sure how far you can trust the maps.)

But anyway, rest assured that having a cell phone does not, in fact, mean that you're automatically going to end up with it glued to your ear and a $40+/mo. bill.
posted by Kat Allison at 6:04 PM on April 26, 2004

Just wanted to concur with those who are suggesting pay as you go plans. I have owned a Virgin Mobile phone for about two years and have spent less than $100 on minutes in that time frame. (The phones are frequently on sale at various retailers and through various web sites, which is nice too.)

I never use the phone unless it is an emergency. When I commuted, emergencies consisted of calling the boss or home when there was traffic or when I was the cause of traffic. :-)

It's perfect if you use the phone:

1) When the conversation is worth $20

2) If you don't want to make a $175 or 12 month (or longer) commitment to cellular providers.

This may no longer be true, but after 10 minutes for the day, Virgin Mobile used to be only 10 cents a minute.
posted by sequential at 6:59 PM on April 26, 2004

The best site for cell phone information is Howard Forums. I use T-Mobile and a Nokia 6100. I'd check out the forums to find something right for your needs.
posted by swank6 at 7:41 PM on April 26, 2004

My wife and I have used the virgin phones for a while now and really like it. I do have the occasional $60 month, but those $10 months more than make up for it.

Even the most basic model has the features you want. Coverage has been great nationwide for me (I believe it is sprint). The flipphone model is $99.

I don't use it for idle chatter, like a lot of people with more expensive unlimited plans. When you are paying 25 cents a minute (10 cents after 10 minutes), you tend not to talk and drive.

I got one for my folks and they love it. They only use it when they travel and don't have to spend a fortune on a plan.

and what sequential said.
posted by sciatica at 8:28 PM on April 26, 2004

yep, i'd like to fithies or sixithies the pick of virgin mobile.

25 cents a minute for the first 10 minutes a day, 10 cents a minute after that. if you aren't planning on using it ver much, it is a pretty cheap way to go.

incomining text messages are free. outgoing are 10 cents a message.

has caller ID. if the caller supports it.

has voice mail. so, if ya want, you can use it as a pager and just check it via a land line for free.

i think, they require 20 bucks every three months on the phone, but it rolls over.

got one a year ago, it's been good to me. then again, i don't make many calls.

think it's a good deal if you aren't going to use it much for talking to people.
posted by jeribus at 8:36 PM on April 26, 2004

Yes, it's nice to be here in the mid- to late-'90s. (I understand there's something on the computing machine called goggle that's very handy as well.) My head's been turned by all this giddy talk of Virgin Mobile (and I looked -- they have ringtones by The Clash and The Small Faces! Whee!), though part of me is wondering if Sir Quonsar et. al. are correct in saying that once I have the damn beastie... er, blessed piece of technology in my pocket, I will indeed use it more frequently than I presently imagine. But thanks, everyone -- I definitely feel I have a better sense of what I'm really in the market for and how to proceed (beyond just wandering glassy-eyed into the T-Mobile store and being swooped down upon by scary salespeople in Catherine Zeta-Jones masks...).
posted by scody at 11:07 PM on April 26, 2004

Ok you're going to use your cell phone about 5x as much as you think you will.

No, you won't. I have one and have for years. I take it with me about half the time I leave the house, and I use it for 1) calling my parents every week (long distance is included in the plan so it's basically "free" as long as I wouldn't be using those minutes anyway) and 2) perhaps ten 1-minute calls a month to various people telling them I'm going to be late or are leaving now or whatever.

On some occasions I have used it slightly more and paid through the nose for the privilege. Bit of advice from personal experience: be sure you know exactly what you'll be paying per minute if you ever go to Canada; you'll probably decide to buy a prepaid SIM there to avoid being anally raped by international roaming charges. Also, if you're going on a trip and think you might use your cell phone a lot, it might be worth it to upgrade your plan just before you leave and downgrade it when you get back. (Some carriers may not allow you to change twice in the same month, but it's probably still going to be cheaper than going over your plan.)
posted by kindall at 12:41 AM on April 27, 2004

Oh yeah -- if you take my advice and buy a prepaid SIM when going to Canada, beg your carrier to give you the unlock code for your phone, or the foreign SIM won't work in your phone.
posted by kindall at 12:46 AM on April 27, 2004

BTW, the minimum refill for the Virgin phone is $20 every 90 days. So about $6.67 per month, which gets you 27 minutes at worst.

So if you don't plan to use it much, it is vastly cheaper than a standard plan, which won't be less than $25 per month after taxes. In fact, I figure that if your usage is any less than 100 minutes per month, Virgin really makes sense. If you use more, obviously it's too expensive.

Interestingly, Virgin even does number portability.
posted by smackfu at 6:39 AM on April 27, 2004