New cellular telephone

[Madhavok]

Right now I'm floating month-to-month with Verizon : Blackberry 8830 world edition, $94 monthly bill. I'm over having the internet on my phone, don't care for it much anymore. I'd rather save $$40 a month instead of checking facebook, craigslist, or googling something; gosh, I might miss that stuff, but I doubt it.

Anyway, I've been eligible for my 'new every two' since April and with my current plan, America's Choice (39.99), there are no good touch screen style phones. Also of note, I have the BB data plan, which I plan to cancel ASAP.

So, one phone I researched which had good reviews, the LG Env Touch, would be only $49.99 with my discount but my voice plan is not compatible with the phone? I need to upgrade to a $59.99/month plan just in case I want to use the mobile apps for it? I know it's a way to make data easy for people and basically charge the **** out of people who just go buck wild, but why can't I just use it as a normal phone?


The Samsung Omnia looks alright, but it's kind of old (circa 2007) and the Omnia 2 is on it's way apparently. The other is the HTC Touch Pro but that has gotten very, very bad reviews.

I'm taking my time with this because I'm even thinking about jumping to T-Mobile.

Anyone with those 'cheap voice plans' have either of those phones?

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Right now I'm floating month-to-month with Verizon : Blackberry 8830 world edition, $94 monthly bill. I'm over having the internet on my phone, don't care for it much anymore. I'd rather save $$40 a month instead of checking facebook, craigslist, or googling something; gosh, I might miss that stuff, but I doubt it.

Anyway, I've been eligible for my 'new every two' since April and with my current plan, America's Choice (39.99), there are no good touch screen style phones. Also of note, I have the BB data plan, which I plan to cancel ASAP.

So, one phone I researched which had good reviews, the LG Env Touch, would be only $49.99 with my discount but my voice plan is not compatible with the phone? I need to upgrade to a $59.99/month plan just in case I want to use the mobile apps for it? I know it's a way to make data easy for people and basically charge the **** out of people who just go buck wild, but why can't I just use it as a normal phone?


The Samsung Omnia looks alright, but it's kind of old (circa 2007) and the Omnia 2 is on it's way apparently. The other is the HTC Touch Pro but that has gotten very, very bad reviews.

I'm taking my time with this because I'm even thinking about jumping to T-Mobile.

Anyone with those 'cheap voice plans' have either of those phones?

It's worse than you think - if you get one of the smart phones you need to pay a $30 monthly fee on top of the more expensive overall plan. I ended up going with the Samsung Alias 2, a very cool phone that saves me about $50 a month vs the smart phones because it doesn't have a touch screen, but can still do email and the web.

We just switched from T-Mobile to Verizon. T-Mobile's customer service wasn't great, but the main factor was the signal at our house sucked, and we just dropped our land line.

 

[jackfinarelli]

In the parts of the US where my wife and I spend most of our time, Verizon is WAY more reliable as a carrier than T-Mobile (or AT&T for that matter). Be careful about picking your carrier if you ever need signal availability outside a major metropolitan area...


The phone instrument that is best for you is the one that you like best when you are making the decision. If there were truly a "best phone" out there for everyone, there would only be one phone out there...

 

[schiezainc]

I was with Verizon for four years before switching to T-Mobile in March 2008. I bring this date up because I've got about seven months before I decide whether to stay with TM or find someone else.

My phone isn't anything spectacular (Its the MotoRazr V8) but it lets me put music on it and use those songs as ringtones free so it works for me. My plan is $39.99 per month for 300 anytime minutes, free n/w and MyFav5, with $5 for 400 TXTs and $5 for Insurance added on. Roughly, after taxes it costs me a little over $60 per month.

Verizon, on the other hand, routinely cost me $75-80 per month.

Sure, Verizon had better service but I haven't had many problems with my connection with T-Mobile.

Oh, and since Verizon f**ked me at the end of my contract (I was signed up for automated bill pay and they never took the last payment out so it went in as a late payment on my credit report), they can rest assured it will take a minor miracle to get me back, regardless of how many "Please come back" pamphlets they mail me.

 

[Sneed]

The wife and I both just got the Env Touch. I'd actually bought the Alias 2 the same day, but after playing with hers some, traded the Alias 2 back in and bought the Touch. Great phone, doesn't require some extra plan either, at least not for us. Love it.

 

[Madhavok]

Do you have the Nationwide plan (59.99)?

I've used 68 of my 450 monthly minutes with VZW. Wow.

 

[playthrough]

In the parts of the US where my wife and I spend most of our time, Verizon is WAY more reliable as a carrier than T-Mobile (or AT&T for that matter). Be careful about picking your carrier if you ever need signal availability outside a major metropolitan area...

I'm pretty sure I'm overpaying for Verizon (wife and I both have phones, haven't had a land line in five years), but I've heard the stories about unreliability with other carriers. Just not messing with it.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Right now I'm floating month-to-month with Verizon : Blackberry 8830 world edition, $94 monthly bill. I'm over having the internet on my phone, don't care for it much anymore. I'd rather save $$40 a month instead of checking facebook, craigslist, or googling something; gosh, I might miss that stuff, but I doubt it.

I'm with Sprint and pay something like $75/month. I'm on their Everyday Data plan (or whatever its called).

But I know what you mean about having the Internet on the phone. I'm not big on that right now either. I just don't really use it.

Thinking about dropping down a tier that doesn't include Internet.


And like others have said, carriers vary a lot by region. One may be great in one region and horrible in the next.
I haven't had too many problems (if any) with Sprint.

 

[Madhavok]

I mean, don't get me wrong, the internet has been great at times: getting tickets for ball games on craigs, looking for places to live and such. But, I just could really use the extra cash on other things.

And Verizon hasn't been too bad with me. They've been pretty good with the few times I've paid my bill late and honestly, haven't really cracked the whip on me. I just wish this phone was on the basic plan and let me decide if I want to add data to it or not. Oh well.

 

[Bad Guy Zero]

I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile a few months ago. It's been nice not having my calls dropped. I went with the G1 [aka The Google Phone] which is one of the main competitors to Apple's line of iPhones. I'm on a plan with 600 anytime minutes, myFaves, free nights and weekends, unlimited texting and internet, and insurance. It runs me right at $100 a month. I'll probably switch to a plan with fewer anytime minutes as I have yet to use more than 40 anytime minutes within a given month. The G1 is a fun little phone!

 

[Mystery Meat II]

I've been having a good run with T-Mobile (two, actually, sandwiching a regrettable stint with AT&T). Too bad their phones are so pedestrian. And whatever you do, steer clear of the T-Mobile Dash. I'm on my fourth since my contract started in Dec. 2007. It's awful.

 

[Madhavok]

Yeah, one of my coworkers last summer had the Dash and it seemed to fall apart every other two weeks. I'm leaning towards the Omnia. It's only $49.99 with my discount and honestly, just as long as it calls, texts and takes decent pics, I'll be fine. I really want the new Touch and I'm going to do my best to sway Verizon on the phone tomorrow about keeping me on my current plan with it. If not, I'll get the Omnia and hope for the best.

As for T-Mobile, I was going to go for the Android because of the horrible reviews for the new MyTouch. The data and voice plans are pretty good in comparison to Verizon, but again, trying to avoid a 80+ or so bill.

Thanks all.

 

[Jack_Kerouac]

I have the Omnia and like it quite a bit. The call quality is exceptional, the pics are the best of any cell phone around (5 MP), but I'm not a fan of texting and e-mailing with the touchscreen buttons. That's a few years from being perfected still, so if you're going to use it mostly for texting and e-mailing, I'd go with something with a real QWERTY keyboard with physical keys.

 

[KYSportsWriter]

I'm in the market for a new phone come Christmas. I want an i-Phone, or at least something with a QWERTY keyboard.

I may even think about switching from AT&T, although I've not had a lot of problems with them. Only thing I hate about my current phone, a Sony Ericsson X-something or other, is it shuts itself off a lot of times. I've had it looked at five or six times, and nothing has worked.

 

[Bad Guy Zero]

I'm in the market for a new phone come Christmas. I want an i-Phone, or at least something with a QWERTY keyboard.

I may even think about switching from AT&T, although I've not had a lot of problems with them. Only thing I hate about my current phone, a Sony Ericsson X-something or other, is it shuts itself off a lot of times. I've had it looked at five or six times, and nothing has worked.

T-Mobile's G1 Android phone has a slide out QWERTY keypad as well as a touchscreen keyboard that pops up when the keypad is closed.

 

[JackReacher]

CELLULAR phone? What are you, 80? :)

 

[Madhavok]

Sometimes I like to talk in such a manner, Ryan.. ha.

I've been spoiled by my Blackberry. Love the keyboard, scroll knob and display. But, she's falling apart and I just want to get back into the normal phones/plans. Having my email has been great and I do enjoy browsing SJ and some other sites on down time when I'm away from my Mac, but in all honesty I can do without those add ons..hopefully.


@Jack-I text a bit, probably 200 times a month which is super low compared to when I used to text around 800-1,000 times a month. I'll fiddle around with it today at this store before work. I think this place is a VZW specific store. Gosh, sometimes living in the mountains can suck. I hope I don't have to drive to Denver just to decide on a new phone.

 

[Sneed]

Do you have the Nationwide plan (59.99)?

I've used 68 of my 450 monthly minutes with VZW. Wow.

We got something like that, yeah. I think we got the nationwide select plan for $119.99 a month, which gives us 1400 minutes to share, unlimited text, picture and video messaging, mobile-to-mobile, long distance. No internet, no email. We can pay to download games if we want.

 

[slappy4428]

Right now I'm floating month-to-month with Verizon : Blackberry 8830 world edition, $94 monthly bill. I'm over having the internet on my phone, don't care for it much anymore. I'd rather save $$40 a month instead of checking facebook, craigslist, or googling something; gosh, I might miss that stuff, but I doubt it.

I'm with Sprint and pay something like $75/month. I'm on their Everyday Data plan (or whatever its called).

But I know what you mean about having the Internet on the phone. I'm not big on that right now either. I just don't really use it.

Thinking about dropping down a tier that doesn't include Internet.


And like others have said, carriers vary a lot by region. One may be great in one region and horrible in the next.
I haven't had too many problems (if any) with Sprint.

I'm with Sprint and pay 39.99 a month; Vision plan (which I dropped for the summer cause of cost) was 15 bucks more
I looked at a touch screen in my last upgrade but like PC said: I wasn't going to pay 99 bucks a month for the interwebs plan for that phone.
So I have my plain old phone with web and photo capabalitiy, 750 anytime, 3000 night and weekend, Sprint to Sprint calling all for free, $5 for texting and $5 more for roaming...

 

[Madhavok]

I'm on the basic America's Choice for $39.99 and have been on that plan since 2004. I don't see why I should have to upgrade my plan which gives me nothing but this whole data plan for dummies scheme for an extra $20.