Cell Phones

[Gandalf]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking at getting a cell phone, but I don't know much about them.

What do you guys use? What kind of plan are you on?

I basically want a Pay as You Go phone, nothing fancy. Something that can send and receive text messages, that's about it.

[Oni]

I'm w/ Bell Mobility, and I have an Audiovox 8500. I got a 250 minutes/mo (I think it's 250 . . . might be 200) for $25/mo. Not bad, imo.

If you can, find a Wireless Wave booth in the mall, and browse there. They're not affiliated w/ any of the major cell providers, and have various models and plans for the three major providers in Canada: Bell, Rogers/AT&T, and Fido. That's where I got mine. The staff was more than helpful, too.

[Gandalf]

Ok sounds good. Do you know if there's one in the Pen or Seaway?


EDIT: And how much did your phone cost?

[Oni]

I think there's one in the Pen, but I can't be sure. I don't know about Seaway.

I got mine at the one in Lime Ridge, just off of The Link.

My phone cost ~$80 or so, plus tax, plus activation fee. The activation fee comes on the first bill.

You can also check out www.wirelesswave.ca

[RoadWarrior]

I use pay as you go Fidos, if you get a used one for cheap, all you need is the number on the SIM card and the number on the phone and you can activate it online for only the cost of the cheapest card.

The cheapest they are to run is $10 every month, that's 30 days service and $10 worth of talk time at 30C a minute.

Cards AFAICR are
$10 30 day service, $10 @ 30c/min
$15 15 day service $15 @ 15c/min
$25 60 day service $25 @ 30c/min
$30 30 day service $30 @ 15c/min

I think that's right, but you should be able to check at www.fido.ca
You can send text messages online from there, costs 10c to receive them.

New fido phones I think are under $100, and that covers the phone, activation and gives you quite a bit of time I think.

There is a fido booth in the Pen center and a lot of Avondales seem to have the basic packages these days. Cards are on sale everywhere, the easiest to find of all the pay as you go ones.

My wife and I usually buy a $25 card for 2 months of service, and if we use it a lot and time gets low we get a $15 card to top up the talk time (Worth $30 talk time)

Coverage is pretty good, unless you go camping down on Lake Erie, it's a bit spotty down there. But they cover all the major highways and a large proportion of Niagara.

regards,

Road Warrior

[Illah]

T-Mobil is good'n'cheap. Don't think they're a generic company or anything as is the rumor, T-Mobil is one of the biggest carriers in Europe.

I get 1000 anytime minutes a month for $40/month plus a free phone. My girl gets 1000 anytime plus free nights & weekends for $50 w/ a free phone.

Check it out, they got crazy deals sometimes.

--Illah

[cursor]

You might check out the deals they have at amazon.com. They usually have great deals on the phones themselves, and a regular deal on the wireless plan. I don't know much about their pay as you go plans though.

[stompah]

Having had several cell phones and several different companies find the best coverage for you first. Then judge by pricing plan. Free nights and weekends are great but if you are home at that time and the phone doesnt work in the house what good does it do you?