Cell phone plans for calling Canada

June 23, 2005 3:22 PM

Help me find a new cell phone plan...

My boyfriend lives in Chicago, I live in Toronto. His current cell phone plan has a package where he has unlimited minutes to Canada for $20/month, and gets about 900 daytime minutes for $35. The problem is, his plan was with AT&T, and his cell phone is dying. Cingular has so far refused to provide a similar contract, and won't let him upgrade the phone and keep his current contract. Getting a long distance plan for his land line is not an option as he travels a lot for business. He would like to:

- find a plan with a similar package from a different provider
or
- keep the plan with Cingular, and upgrade the phone

The phone is a Nokia 3360 which is on its last legs. Suggestions?

posted by orangskye to Shopping (7 answers total)

Cingular's efforts to get people onto new plans is irksome. However replacing a 3360 should be cake. Tons of them on ebay, just make sure to get one that specifies "unlocked."

Or buy something new and snazzy. I got my 6620 on ebay for less than I'da have paid to Cingular for the same phone.
posted by phearlez at 3:47 PM on June 23, 2005

If the goal is to talk to each other cheaply and his travels involve a laptop and places with broadband there's Skype for you two to talk to each other. It's stupid easy to set up and you can get a $20 headset and pretend you're Madonna while you chat.

The worse thing about it when my friend in Seattle and I talk to each other on it is - no lie - that it sounds TOO good and it's creepy to have the disembodied voice in the room with me. She doesn't even use a headset, just the build in speaker and mic on her apple laptop.
posted by phearlez at 3:50 PM on June 23, 2005

wow, I stink. worsT thing and "builT in speaker".
posted by phearlez at 3:53 PM on June 23, 2005

The same thing happened to me when my cell phone died and I was on an AT&T plan. I just bought a new phone on EBay. I think any unlocked GSM phone will work. Just put your SIM card in the new phone. See this thread for more.
posted by driveler at 4:38 PM on June 23, 2005

Hmm. Another reason I love TMobile . . . I get a new phone every year when I renew my contract (you can get one free, but for 30 or 40 bucks they will give you a snazzier one). On each of two lines. Plus they just added 200 minutes a month for the same price. Plus they have really great customer service. Don't know whether they have a deal for Canada calls though. Don't all carriers give you a new phone on re-up? Couldn't hurt to ask -- and tell 'em you'll be switching if they don't.
posted by realcountrymusic at 6:14 PM on June 23, 2005

Another reason I love TMobile . . . I get a new phone every year when I renew my contract (you can get one free, but for 30 or 40 bucks they will give you a snazzier one).

Been with 3 different providers, all did the same (new contract, new phone).

Not uncommon.
posted by justgary at 6:52 PM on June 23, 2005

I'll third ebay. I'm incredibly rough on my cell phones (I end up breaking them within 6-9 months). I just got a Nokia 6200 about a month ago for $50.

<checks the 3360's specs>

hmm, the 3360 is a TDMA, so no SIM card. I don't have much experience with TDMAs. You might want to look at other carriers to see what their plans are.
posted by MikeKD at 7:01 PM on June 24, 2005