I need cell phone help. I'm divorcing AT&T, I'm without service now

[monmouth]

for four days. Wiring in the building problems and a slew of other stuff. I really do need to get a cell phone but some of the price plans I'm looking at are way above my budget line. For those with cell phones at a good monthly rate, please, please. I need info. I'm sort of leaning towards "Jitterbug"...my sons are bent over laughing but I don't care...lol.

[MineralMan]

1. How do you plan to use the phone?

If you'll be using it as a telephone, look into Tracfone. Phones as cheap as an $8 Motorola bar phone with no frills at all (An excellent phone, too), and minute and time buys as you need them. A year of service and 800 minutes costs about $100. If you're looking for an all-purpose device, I don't have any suggestions. All are very expensive.

[monmouth]

6. I shall check it out. Many thanks for your help...I just want the simplest

plan, call out once in a while, receive calls once in a while. The only ones calling me these days are people looking for money so this will not be a big loss. Does Tracfone give you your own phone number? Never mind, I'll google it, they may have that info on the site. Many thanks.

[CurtEastPoint]

9. MetroPCS is $40/mo, unlimited text, voice, web.

http://www.metropcs.com/

[asjr]

2. AT&T stands for Atrocious, Tacky, and Terrible.

[hlthe2b]

3. If you really really want to go on the cheap...

You could carry a pre-paid cell just for emergencies and purchase an assigned phone number through skype to use routinely. You can use it on an ipod touch anywhere you can access wifi or on your computer at home... All you need is a set of earphones with a mic. I just bought the bose mi2 earbuds with mic designed specifically for the iphone/ipod touch. I bought an unlimited skype subscription with an assigned phone number that I use on laptop and on the ipod touch.

Now, for me, I still have a sprint cell phone, so I haven't made the transition. But, I have the lowest plan possible (450 minutes) and rely on skype for those times I'm likely to be on hold for an interminable time to keep under the minutes each month. I also use skype for conference calls. (I purchased a good set of earphones/mic for home laptop use, which is very comfortable).


Just don't rely ONLY on skype as you'd need something for emergencies when internet access is not available as in the car.

[offmybrain]

4. Cheap cell phone plans

http://www.clarkhoward.com/topics/cheap_cell_plans/

[Pharaoh]

5. Look at US Cellular

they are pretty good.

[sarge43]

16. Second US Cellular

Decent rate for low end usage. Excellent customer service -- at least in our experience.

[alsame]

7. If you don't need a lot of bells and whistles, you can get

relatively low cost plans with Virgin Mobile. They have some inexpensive phones too.

[LibDemAlways]

10. I second this. It's cheap and there's no need to sign on to a long term

plan. Just "pay as you go."

[alsame]

21. Yep, I use their pre-paid plan. I've had the phone for about

4 years and it cost $20 - still works fine.

[Zoigal]

32. We gave up our i phone with AT&T and switched to Virgin's pay as you go.

No contracts, good coverage (Sprint), and reasonable prices...z

[elocs]

8. I use Straight Talk: $30 for 1000 minutes/texts; $45 unlimited.

http://www.straighttalk.com/ShopPhones?ProspectID=AF3BC43E18F041AABA4102E545F6C6F3&product=8

No contract and you can be up and running in minutes. You can order their phones online or get them at (gasp!) Walmart. It is inexpensive and easy.

[leveymg]

11. Look into Credo Mobile - the only explicitely progressive cellular carrier,

#
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[SpiralHawk]

12. AT & T seems determined to disappoint customers

Could it be they really don't give a shit about their customer base? Sure can seem that way...

[monmouth]

15. I tried to connect with them online to tell them about my problem. They

instructed me to get a screwdriver, take my phone apart and do some checking on wiring!!!! They then told me if that didn't work to "call" them. I mean "DUH!!!" Sad thing is both my dad and I worked for NJ Bell back in the day. He would spin in his grave if he knew how far they have fallen..

[SpiralHawk]

19. Yikes - AT & T is shooting itself in the foot.

So many people want to bail...

[monmouth]

20. Their attitude is "where else they gonna go?"..They're elite ya know..LOL...n/t

[Ian David]

13. Credo Mobile

CREDO is a different kind of company. We're not driven by the bottom line; we're driven by a belief. A belief that we can make the world a better place — and for 25 years we've been doing just that. Here's how.
Donations at no extra cost

Our business is based on a simple, powerful strategy: enable people to make a difference in the world by doing the things they do every day. When our members use our services — CREDO Mobile, CREDO Long Distance or the Working Assets Credit Card — we donate a portion of their charges to nonprofit organizations working for progressive change.

These contributions are made at no cost to our members but they make a huge difference to the causes our members care about. Since our founding in 1985 as Working Assets, we've raised over $65 million for nonprofit groups in our five issue areas: civil rights, environment, peace & international freedom, economic & social justice, and voting rights & civic participation.

Who decides where the money goes? Our members play an important part. Every year we ask them to nominate nonprofit groups to receive funding. We evaluate the nominees, then our employees and board of directors select the 50 groups we'll fund for the year. Our members then vote to decide how much money each group will get.
Activism made easy

CREDO members use our easy activism tools to speak out every day for causes they believe in.

In every phone bill we update our members on hot-button issues and give them easy ways to speak out — with a free call or a low-cost advocacy letter sent on their behalf. We explain what's at stake and encourage them to make their voice heard. And they do. Every month our members generate over 80,000 calls and letters to Congress, the White House and corporate leaders.

We also offer CREDO Action, our activism Web site where you can stay current with issues of the day and take action to influence decision-makers.

By using our activism tools, our members have helped win significant victories over the years. They've pushed for landmark global-warming rules, helped defeat anti-abortion measures in states around the country and pressured Congress to protect over 2 million acres of wilderness from logging and development.

We're also a powerful progressive force come election time. We helped 2.5 million Americans register to vote in the run-up to 2008. We've led successful campaigns in several states to pass election-day registration, a proven means of lifting turnout. And we're active in the Election Protection Coalition, which deploys lawyers around the U.S. to ensure voters don't face obstruction at the polls.
Green in every way

CREDO is not just green, it's real green. We're the only one that prints our bills with soy-based ink on all-recycled paper. We're the only one that plants 100 trees for every ton of paper we use (enough to make another ton of paper). And we're the only one that's donated over $10 million to groups like Friends of the Earth, Vote Solar Initiative, ForestEthics, Greenpeace and the Rocky Mountain Institute.

We work with our partner Carbonfund.org to offset the estimated lifetime electricity usage and shipping of all our mobile phones. We were the first phone company to offer solar-powered chargers. And we're a leader in phone recycling: to make it easy for our members to send in their old phones for reuse or recycling, we've teamed up with Flipswap, an eco-friendly organization that offers cash back or makes a donation to CREDO's nonprofit groups if your phone has any value.

More:
http://www.credomobile.com/Mission/Progressive-Social-Change.aspx

[Monique1]

14. Credo all the way

I am a Credo user, they are great. A truly progressive cell phone company.

[monmouth]

17. Many thanks to all of you. I have much "checking out" to do....n/t

[monmouth]

33. Thank you for this info. I had not heard of them but will definitely check them out...n/t

[ThomCat]

18. Here is the basic info:

West Palm Beach is an area that gets pretty good coverage from every carrier, so you should have no problem choosing whomever you want. That is good.

So, the choice is going to be based on how much you plan to need your phone.

If you rarely use your phone, go with a pre-paid plan. Virgin Mobil has good service, a good reputation, low cost. You pay to put minutes on your phone, and then you only pay for additional minutes when or if you use them and need more. If you aren't using them, then you aren't paying for them.

If you are using your phone regularly, either sending or receiving calls, then get calling plan. Do not spend more than $40 per month. Why? Because you can get an unlimited plan for that. If anyone tries to charge you more than that, go someone else. MetroPCS or Straight Talk is good if you are only going to need 1 phone. They get really expensive if you want more than 1 phone, or a family plan. Their niche is only single users with 1 phone.

CredoMobile is good if you want some of your spending to go to a cause.

It is okay to spend some money for a decent phone though, and if you are away from home a lot, a backup charger.

If you only use your phone as a phone then don't get something with lots of extra features as a personal organizer, mini-computer, video-camera, do-everything hand-held-machine (your blackberries or iphones or clones of these two devices). Get a phone with a couple of extras.

But if you are a gadget person and you will use apps and features then by all means get something that does everything. Wherever you go, they will probably try to steer you towards something. Know basically what you need and tell them.

The blackberry is better is your primary need is email and phone service. The iphone is better if you mostly want hand-held internet and apps, use the phone less, and don't live in your email. The monthly plan for a blackberry or iphone is more expensive. You can't get this for the $40 per month unlimited because this isn't just a phone. You are also paying for a monthly internet plan for your device. So, again, don't get this unless you need it. Stick with a phone if that is all you need.

[monmouth]

23. Thank you ThomCat for the great advice. I don't need any of the bells

and whistles just a friggin ability to call out and receive calls in. I have the PC in my apartment and have no desire to spend more time than I already do on it...LOL. I'm thinking I'm going to start out on a tracfone (Samsung) until I get used to the whole process. I've been landlined for more years than I care to count. I remember "party lines" for gawds sake, so you just know this is an adjustment. My eldest works for Verizon and suggested I start out this way. Verizon is way too pricey for me and too many apps, etc. Thanks again.

[ThomCat]

27. Please avoid Verizon Wireless like the plague.

Horrible company, especially since they deliberately hired all non-union people in new locations a few years ago just so they could then fire all their union employees. It destroyed their knowledge base of experienced people who formed their core backbone, and service went all to hell.

No offense intended against your eldest. S/he might like working there and probably a really good employee. I'm only talking about the company as a general whole. :)

Tracfone is an good national company on their own. My only gripe with them from a progressive standpoint is that they do a hell of a lot of business with and through Walmarts. Walmarts actively discriminate, destroy wages and the local economies in the communities where they are located, and create poverty while exporting manufacturing jobs and profits for that manufacturing to outside of the US. Just me personally, I've been participating in a boycott of Walmart for close to 20 years now. So I'm not happy with any business that partners with them.

If you go with Tracfone, you will probably like them and probably good decent inexpensive service. So I'm not telling you that you personally shouldn't use them. But if you are personally aware of how destructive Walmart is, be aware of that relationship.

[monmouth]

28. I'm looking at K-Mart for this purchase, don't know how they fare

against Walmart, but I agree with you thoughts on them.

[TreasonousBastard]

30. If you see Net10 around the TracFone display, it's the same company, but...

Net10 minutes are about 10 cents a minute vs TracFone's 25-30 cents.

That's not as crazy as it sounds-- they worked it out so you end up spending 30 bucks every two months with either company, but get a lot more minutes with Net10 if you plan on talking a lot or are in an area where they whack you for double minutes when roaming off their normal network.

After I retired and didn't need the Verizon plan for work any more, I got a TracFone. When that got lost I went to Net10 and have had great service with both of them. You can buy a refill card just about anywhere or refill online.

Look for deals, like hundreds of minutes or double minutes with a certain phone purchases.

[rgbecker]

22. Tracfone is the only way to go if you want low cost, good service.

Less than $10 per month gives you plenty of minutes and you can always add more if you need to....pay as you go, quit anytime.
Local convenience store sells the phones for about $20 or shop online.

[monmouth]

25. I agree. I'm going to start with Tracfone and if it serves my needs

then I'm good. I don't need bells or whistles just the ability to call out and get a call in. Many thanks.

[kestrel91316]

24. I use a Virgin Mobile cell phone. I just buy a $20 top-up every couple of months.

You can get 1 year of service for $100, but if you use lots and lots of minutes you will go over the allotment and have to top up more minutes, but it's still way cheaper than a contract.

[still_one]

26. Depending how you are using it, tmobile pay as you go is extremely competitive. However, you need

to determine which carrier has a better singal in your area, that is, GSM verses CDMA

[2Design]

29. I use virgin mobile pay monthly no contract

I have their simplest plan

You can buy their phone at kmart or target

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/

[Paper Roses]

31. TracFone user here. Well, I really don't use it much but....

the plan is cheap, the phone is good and even my simple, non-electronic mind can figure it out.

I carry it for emergencies and cell phone parking lot at the airport. Not much else. Have accumulated about 500 minutes because I have to renew it every 90 days for about $20.00. I renew on the Tracfone web site.
I still use a land line at home. Old habits die hard.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

34. GreatCall (f/k/a) Jitterbug

has phones and services geared to seniors - or others who just want to make and receive phone calls

http://www.greatcall.com/Plans/

[shanti]

35. metropcs

if you have it there. it's a flat rate unlimited plan and works great.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

36. The Hartford Courant had an article in the Sunday 1/30

edition (Which I just got to this morning) on Cell Phones for Seniors

http://www.courant.com/business/custom/consumer/hc-ls-seniors-cellphones-box-20110130,0,5110643.story