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This guide contains:
Background on cell phones
Features to look for in cell phones and cell phone plans
How to find the best cell phone for you
This independent guide was created to help you understand the basics of cell phones and to help you choose the right cell phone service for you. We do not sell any cell phones ourselves, so you can be confident that all of the information in this guide is independent and unbiased.
Background on cell phones
There are several major cell phone carriers in the US today as the last couple of years have seen a lot of consolidation in the industry. Because of the mobile nature of our population, local and regional carriers just cannot compete with the national carriers, who have purchased the local carriers and consolidated them into the major cell phone carriers in business today. At the same time, the cell phone manufacturer part of the industry is extremely competitive worldwide, and cell phone makers have been driven to deliver performance and technological innovation in their products. The good news all around is that you can now get much better products, more service, and for less money than you could just a few years ago.
Features to look for in cell phones and cell phone plans
The cell phone industry (the carriers and manufacturers) generally sell their products and services primarily through dealers. These dealers range from small mom-and-pop stores convenience stores that sell wireless from next to their cash register to store to large, national dealer stores. A few of the carriers have their own network of retail stores as well. Pricing for cell phones and service plans from cell phone carriers are not likely to vary among dealers, although you might be able to find different combinations of promotions such as free delivery, rebates, and free accessories among others.
Cell phone features
There are multiple main types of cell phones today with features and functions too numerous to mention. The major types of cell phones are:
Camera phones- phones that have a digital camera built in
PDA phones- phones that have Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) built in
Flip Phones- phones that have a cover that 'flips' over the keypad
Bluetooth Phones- phone that has special bluetooth technology
Speaker Phones- phones that can be used hands-free as speaker phones
Walkie-Talkie- phones that have a walkie-talkie feature built in
Many of the more important features of these different types of cell phones include size, weight, battery life, display type (black and white or color), alert/ring options,
address book capability, text messaging capability, Internet browsing capability, installed and/or downloadable games, and so on. The list of available features you can get for cell phone models would be quite extensive, and this list will continue to grow over time.
Important cell phone calling plan features
Cell phone carriers charge you for the time that you are on their network to either talk, browse the Internet, or send/receive text messages. Most times this is a monthly fee based on combinations of how many minutes you are allotted to talk, where those calls are made, what time of day it is, and who you are talking to. With all these various components, it can be confusing to compare cell phone calling plans. Here is a short breakdown of the important terms:
Calling area- this is the geographic location that, for you and your plan, is considered to be a local call. It may be your city, your state, your region, or the entire country; you can make calls from within this area to other cell phones in this area without incurring additional 'roaming' or long distance charges.
Roaming- this means that you are not in your calling area, or 'home base'. Calls made while you're roaming may carry additional charges, depending on your calling plan.
Long distance- these are calls made from your calling area to calls outside your calling area. Long distance calls may carry additional charges, depending on your calling plan.
Nights and weekends- this term refers to the time that you make calls, and is generally past 7:00pm or so during the week and all day on Saturday and Sunday. Calls made during this time period, when the neworks are slower and can handle more volume, are often included and/or defined in your plan.
Rollover minutes- these are minutes that remain credited to your calling account above what you have used in a given month but below your allotted number of minutes. For example, if you are paying for 400 minutes per month, and you only use 300 in 30 days, the 100 minutes that you paid for but didn't use remain as a credit on your account to use in future months.
In-network calling- this term typically refers to call that are made- and received- by parties using the same wireless carrier. There are may be discounts for these types of calls.
How to select the best cell phone and plan for you
Searching for new cell phone service can be complex because there are a lot of variables to consider- how many minutes, when those minutes are, what the calling area is, etc.. Then, when you try to balance the cell phone features itself- how much it costs, color vs. black and white, any promotions, etc., it's easy to get lost. In order to
help sort through the maze of combinations, it might make sense to do some shopping and comparisons both online and in retail stores (if this is convenient). Most web sites make it very easy to compare cell phone plans across multiple carriers, so that you can take your time, make some notes, etc., so that you're not trying to juggle this while in the store. Finally (and if you want) you can visit a retail store and actually see the phones, hold them in your hands, work with the buttons and controls to make sure that they work for you.
Regardless of the particular carrier, cell phone plan, or cell phone that you select, we recommend that you keep your contract commitment as low as possible. Since you are now able to keep your cell phone number when switching carriers, these cell phone companies will try to lock you into longer-term contracts. There is typically a penalty for early termination of your contract, so pay particular attention to the details here.
In conclusion, we hope you have found the information we have put together on this site useful. We understand that this guide was in no way exhaustive, and that there are more to cell phones than what is included here. We suggest that you use the information in this guide as a beginning point in your search for the right cell phone for you.
Background on cell phones
Features to look for in cell phones and cell phone plans
How to find the best cell phone for you
This independent guide was created to help you understand the basics of cell phones and to help you choose the right cell phone service for you. We do not sell any cell phones ourselves, so you can be confident that all of the information in this guide is independent and unbiased.
Background on cell phones
There are several major cell phone carriers in the US today as the last couple of years have seen a lot of consolidation in the industry. Because of the mobile nature of our population, local and regional carriers just cannot compete with the national carriers, who have purchased the local carriers and consolidated them into the major cell phone carriers in business today. At the same time, the cell phone manufacturer part of the industry is extremely competitive worldwide, and cell phone makers have been driven to deliver performance and technological innovation in their products. The good news all around is that you can now get much better products, more service, and for less money than you could just a few years ago.
Features to look for in cell phones and cell phone plans
The cell phone industry (the carriers and manufacturers) generally sell their products and services primarily through dealers. These dealers range from small mom-and-pop stores convenience stores that sell wireless from next to their cash register to store to large, national dealer stores. A few of the carriers have their own network of retail stores as well. Pricing for cell phones and service plans from cell phone carriers are not likely to vary among dealers, although you might be able to find different combinations of promotions such as free delivery, rebates, and free accessories among others.
Cell phone features
There are multiple main types of cell phones today with features and functions too numerous to mention. The major types of cell phones are:
Camera phones- phones that have a digital camera built in
PDA phones- phones that have Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) built in
Flip Phones- phones that have a cover that 'flips' over the keypad
Bluetooth Phones- phone that has special bluetooth technology
Speaker Phones- phones that can be used hands-free as speaker phones
Walkie-Talkie- phones that have a walkie-talkie feature built in
Many of the more important features of these different types of cell phones include size, weight, battery life, display type (black and white or color), alert/ring options,
address book capability, text messaging capability, Internet browsing capability, installed and/or downloadable games, and so on. The list of available features you can get for cell phone models would be quite extensive, and this list will continue to grow over time.
Important cell phone calling plan features
Cell phone carriers charge you for the time that you are on their network to either talk, browse the Internet, or send/receive text messages. Most times this is a monthly fee based on combinations of how many minutes you are allotted to talk, where those calls are made, what time of day it is, and who you are talking to. With all these various components, it can be confusing to compare cell phone calling plans. Here is a short breakdown of the important terms:
Calling area- this is the geographic location that, for you and your plan, is considered to be a local call. It may be your city, your state, your region, or the entire country; you can make calls from within this area to other cell phones in this area without incurring additional 'roaming' or long distance charges.
Roaming- this means that you are not in your calling area, or 'home base'. Calls made while you're roaming may carry additional charges, depending on your calling plan.
Long distance- these are calls made from your calling area to calls outside your calling area. Long distance calls may carry additional charges, depending on your calling plan.
Nights and weekends- this term refers to the time that you make calls, and is generally past 7:00pm or so during the week and all day on Saturday and Sunday. Calls made during this time period, when the neworks are slower and can handle more volume, are often included and/or defined in your plan.
Rollover minutes- these are minutes that remain credited to your calling account above what you have used in a given month but below your allotted number of minutes. For example, if you are paying for 400 minutes per month, and you only use 300 in 30 days, the 100 minutes that you paid for but didn't use remain as a credit on your account to use in future months.
In-network calling- this term typically refers to call that are made- and received- by parties using the same wireless carrier. There are may be discounts for these types of calls.
How to select the best cell phone and plan for you
Searching for new cell phone service can be complex because there are a lot of variables to consider- how many minutes, when those minutes are, what the calling area is, etc.. Then, when you try to balance the cell phone features itself- how much it costs, color vs. black and white, any promotions, etc., it's easy to get lost. In order to
help sort through the maze of combinations, it might make sense to do some shopping and comparisons both online and in retail stores (if this is convenient). Most web sites make it very easy to compare cell phone plans across multiple carriers, so that you can take your time, make some notes, etc., so that you're not trying to juggle this while in the store. Finally (and if you want) you can visit a retail store and actually see the phones, hold them in your hands, work with the buttons and controls to make sure that they work for you.
Regardless of the particular carrier, cell phone plan, or cell phone that you select, we recommend that you keep your contract commitment as low as possible. Since you are now able to keep your cell phone number when switching carriers, these cell phone companies will try to lock you into longer-term contracts. There is typically a penalty for early termination of your contract, so pay particular attention to the details here.
In conclusion, we hope you have found the information we have put together on this site useful. We understand that this guide was in no way exhaustive, and that there are more to cell phones than what is included here. We suggest that you use the information in this guide as a beginning point in your search for the right cell phone for you.
Guide created: 02/09/07 (updated 04/08/08)
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