Need CELL PHONE advice

[SilverKJ]

hi every1,
i'm about to head off to college, and i was wondering if you guys could give me some advice on what model cell phone and service plan to get (prolly something with long distance). and maybe if there are any deals out there

thx all!!!

[Renski]

Take a look at this site:
http://www.telstreet.com/modules/Hot...&Go.x=5&Go.y=8

I recommend Nokia with AT&T service.
If you need accessories in the future I'll hook you up.

Renski

[motkrap]

I suggest Sprint...w/free long distance...and for cheap accessories for your Nokia...I suggest Ebay.

[Talk2raffi]

I suggest a Nokia 6190 with PacBell

If your gonna be anywhere between San Diego and Santa barbara, get the phone in LA..

If your in SD or SB, even Vegas, you get incomming calls with no long distance charges....

It's great with 1000 minutes on the weekends...

But I don't suggest AT&T...i had them in LA, and it was horrible....i got onto PACBELL once my year contract was over.

[onalamwar]

I'm looking for a good deal on a phone and service too.. i'm not sure what phone i'm gonna get but check out verizonwireless.com
they have a deal where you get 150 anytime minutes, 500 night/weekend minutes, unlimited mobile to mobile, and 1st incoming minute free for $34.95

[Renski]

onalamwar,

What phone are you planning on getting?

Renski

[bri]

i dont think this goes under deals.. but anyway..
the best carrier depends on where you are.. the plans & service quality all depends on area.. at&t may suck in cali but its all over the east coast.. bell atlantic has the best coverage in ny/nj.. sprint is a great buy for metro areas..etc

[tlminh]

for those in southern cali, try going to little saigon, they have it VERY cheap

i got my 6190 fone for FREE ($25 for the phone, but there's a $25 rebate). Also got a free vibrating batt, leather case, recharger, car recharger and some other extras

btw, good luck in college

trust me, don't do premed =)

[Renski]

tlminh,

That's a pretty good deal. Where exactly is that place?

Renski

[hapoo]

CELL PHONE advice uhh

in that case i suggest you dont get one unless you want cancer

[NiceMann]

ROFL...I was waiting for someone to say that hapoo

[trae]

i got my cell fone through one of those websites like telstreet.com and ended up with a new nokia 5160 for free...all i had to do was sign up for ATT through their website...no difference in price. for a college student, the 5160 is a great fone...pretty much same thing as a 6160, just less geek goodies... believe me, i had a 6160... what the hell would i need a currency converter for on that thing ill never know hehe... i miss the calender and calculator tho.

[JIWC]

hmm, regarding the cancer, does it help if you wear headphones and mic?

[hapoo]

let me ask you a question, which is better getting brain cancer from it being next to your head or getting your sperm (or eggs)mutated by the radiation.

[tupacboy]

silverkj... if your in so cal go with pac bell... best deals and they now offer long distance for free... i basically pay 70 but i get a lot of ****... totally worth it.. plus pac bell has best reception in so cal...

[sammy]

hey TUPAC....
what deal do you have with pac bell?
i want free long distance but i think it's only for the peak mins....which isn't too good....i know they have some new deals... but i haven't looked into them...
can you inform me? thanks

[Jeffbx]

Whatever srevice plan you get - get a good phone! Stay away from Ericsson - get a Nokia or Motorola. Nextel is also great, if you can afford the service plan.

[PeteyBoy23]

Gotta agree with that. I have a Nokia 5160 and AT&T service. I pay $55 a month and get 1000 peak and 1000 off-peak per month. Can't beat it. Plus, anytime I bitch about the service, I get a month's credit weeee Oh, FYI regarding the cancer factor, I *heard* that getting a headset makes it worse because it channels the brain-scrambling goodness right into your cranium. Eek! I'll stick with it, as is. Only suggestion, is if you drive a lot, get a hands free kit for the car. Good luck!

[blxmjx]

Actually the reports that I have heard stated that headsets are supposed to help. The part that is supposed to be cancer causing is the antenna part of the cell phone, anyways thats what I read about. I have the pacbell plan here in Southern California and it's great.

[muffdivr]

i pretty much agree with everyone here. i have had airtouch, gte, and sprint but none can compare to pacific bell. you can get the nokia 6190 for next to nothing right now too. good phone and the battery life lasts like almost the whole week with moderate use.

[Rosebud]

I bought the new Nokia 8860 and AT&T and it's beautiful.

[psycho-]

No offense to anyone but...

There are two ways you can go..

You can go the Sprint PCS/ Pacfic Bell GSM way which runs in the "efficient" 1900mhz range. That range actually isn't the most efficient range for cellular service (compared to traditional 800 mhz cellular service carriers). Also, the 1900 mhz frequency range was just dished out approx. 4 years ago (vs. 24 for traditional cellular), which means that network buildout is not as great. Because of that, traditional carriers also have analog backup when necessary (I used that when I was in the desert the other day)

Services like Verizon, AT&T or GTE in my opinion are the best services to get. If you want to go cheap, you can go with the other carriers...but that's only if you don't care about call reliability.

I compare my sprint PCS service to my Verizon service for in-city coverage, rural coverage, and call dropping. Verizon wins hands down. On the downside, I pay 20 more/month for my Verizon phone.

It just depends on what your priorities are

Victor
http://www.psychokid.com http://www.rurouni.org

[ken]

GTE? You gotta be kidding. As far as I know, GTE is analog only. Plus, being a baby bell, they're living in the dream world where they're still a monopony - look at their prices.

As far as selecting a phone and a company, nokias are the best (but they have a uncomfortable shape, except the 8860) in terms of battery life and durability.

You can't go wrong with Pac Bell in Los Angeles. AT&T is good as well, except in parts of west LA where you'll get one bar out of 5. Sprint can be a big mistake in LA, coverage is weak.

Check out all the plans, they've recently changed and with the addition of Verizon, its work to sort out through all the plans. Most people here won't know the plan differences, they've all changed within the last few months.

[hapoo]

yeah i heard something about that to, They said that hands free kits are a lot worse than using it normally

[SilverKJ]

wow!! hehe, didnt expect so many replies....
thanks alot everyone for all the good advice! =)

i live on the east coast tho, so i'll prolly take a look at verizon and att&t...

college is gonna bring lotsa freedom! (and hopefully lotsa fun *wink wink*)

[psycho-]

By the way, GTE is mostly CDMA in majour metro areas. They run on the 800mhz range except for the Seattle, where they only got FCC license for the 1900 mhz range. They use Nortel networks systems and a mix of Motorola BTS systems.

They are merging with Bell atlantic, so they will become part of Verizon wireless.

Now, in terms of comparison, I carried 3 cellular phones (Sprint PCS, Pac Bell, Verizon) around, and I actually tested the capabilities of the phones. Pacific Bell GSM and Sprint PCS are just horrible. They are of no comparison. Once again, they are cheap, so alot of people buy them. Apperantly, they've never experienced the concept of "anytime, anywhere" (Cheap, that's a chinese concept. Don't kill me, I'm chinese too)

Don't get me started on Nokia phones. Nokia is the largest manufacturer of cellular phones in the world. They are popular, but they, depending on what model of phones you buy (6190 (GSM 1900), 6185 (CDMA 1900/800 AMPS/NAMPS 800), 6160-6162 (TDMA 1900/800, Amps/NAMPS 800), 6150 (GSM 1800/900), and so on..) The phones vary in quality, including the models made in Malaysia, Finland, Germany and the US. I've generally found all the US model phones, ones made in the US to be of poor quality. The only real exception is the 6160-6162 which is the TDMA trimode dualband. The 6150 (Rest of the World) is an awesome phone in comparison. I'd have to say that the old 2100 series nokias are the most reliable phones around. As nokias became popular, the quality has generally declined.

If you want WAP, hold out for the 7100 series, as the Nokia 6100 series is near the end of the life cycle.

I have this saying.. Nokias are popular phones, and that's about it. I went through 4 nokia 6100 series phones in the span of a year. I don't think I'll buy a nokia for a while.

(Added)
By the way, GTW is not a oligopoly. They do charge alot, but they are a traditional carrier that is now competing with PCS carriers. FCC regulation on PCS carriers are slightly different than that of cellular carriers. In fact, PCS doesn't even have an Aside/Bside.

[This message has been edited by psycho- (edited 05-16-2000).]

[SilverKJ]

onalamwar, i was looking thru the verizonwireless site and i found the single rate plan but i couldnt find any mention of the 500free nite minutes or the 1st free incoming minute details, could ya tell me where u were able to find mention of those?

[StarvingCollegeStudent]

no more essays please!

[SilverKJ]

hehe....
essays r useful, just harder to read

[tlminh]

renski

the place is in either westminster or garden grove and it's in a supermarket called "vanco"

i think it's on westminster street

good luck