Sep 26, 2001 06:51 PM
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How to choose a mobile phone
Cellular phone buyers have a vast array of phones, service providers, service plans and even accessories to choose from today. Sorting through the choices and encountering new and unfamiliar terminology might lead you to believe buying a cellular phone - also often called a wireless phone - is a near impossible chore.
To help you narrow your choices to a reasonable few, we've provided a few pointers to help you focus on your unique needs. Once you have just a few choices, spend some time comparing coverage areas, costs and other features that are important to you to determine the best service plan and cellular phone for you.
How much will your phone cost?
Where will you use the phone?
How often will you use the phone?
Which phone features and service will you need?
How much will your phone cost?
The cost range for a cellular phone and monthly service is broad. Depending on the phone and service plan selected, most new cellular phone users find themselves spending between $30 and $70 per month.
In general, the monthly cost for cellular phone service increases based on the amount of time you use your phone. However, service providers offer a myriad of plans that help you manage your costs.
The initial purchase price of a mobile phone also varies. A phone may be free if it is analog and you sign up for an extended service plan, or it may be several hundred dollars for a fully featured digital phone.
Where will you use the phone?
Determining where you plan to use your phone the most is one way to narrow your choices.
Will you use it primarily in a defined area such as the city you live in or perhaps a radius near your home and work? Do you anticipate using the phone a lot during travel, possibly across the country? Maybe you'll need the phone in a defined area most of the time, but want to know your options for taking the phone on family vacations or occasional trips.
The answers to these questions will help you establish the local service area you'll require for your phone service. Your coverage-area needs help you narrow down the list of possible service providers.
How often will you use the phone?
Once you've purchased your phone from a cellular phone store, retail outlet, an online service or some other source, you'll need to establish a service agreement, sometimes referred to as a calling plan. (Most phone buyers purchase a phone at the same time they establish a service agreement.) The service agreement will outline the costs for your phone service features and talk time. Unlike typical local phone service, you pay by the minute for talk time; costs typically range from between 11 cents and 60 cents per minute.
Most service providers offer several service agreement options. For example, one calling plan may offer a low monthly base rate that provides for a low number of calling minutes plus per-minute charges for minutes over the minimum. This may be the perfect plan for someone that doesn't intend to use a cellular phone a lot. On the other hand, a heavy user might be better served by a higher monthly base rate offering more minutes in the base plan. Using the worksheet we provide, you can estimate your monthly costs based on several service providers' fee structures to determine the best service agreement for you.
In addition to base rates and per-minute charges that will determine your monthly costs, consider the area covered in the base rate. Will you frequently call outside this area and incur roaming charges? Will you make long distance calls? You'll want to consider these factors in the overall cost of any service plan.
But remember, price alone is not the only deciding factor in selecting the best service plan. Service agreement or contract length, phone selection and quality, as well as the features and services offered by a service provider, may be important to you, too.
Some service providers now offer pre-paid plans that allow phone users to pay for service before they use it, similar to the way pre-paid long distance cards work. Pre-paid plans allow phone users to budget their phone expenses - and avoid surprises at the end of the month with a larger-than-expected phone bill - and can usually be obtained without credit approval. Additionally, pre-paid plans don't usually require long-term contracts. With some prepaid phones, unused time expires at the end of the month.
Which Phone Features and Service Will You Need?
Cellular phones and their supporting wireless networks now allow for many of the services you've come to rely on with your home or office phone service. Call waiting, caller ID, voicemail and even short messaging services like you get with a pager are just some of the features you can add to your cellular phone service. Some of these services are available only on digital networks. If you anticipate taking advantage of these conveniences, you should consider getting a digital phone. (See Digital vs. Analog)
Make sure the service providers you're considering offer high quality, dependable phones with the features that are important to you. Cellular phones are smaller, sleeker, lighter and more colorful than ever before. Yet they continually offer improvements in performance and new features, as well as longer talk and standby time. Some of the latest digital phones such as Nokia's 6100 Series offer up to eight hours of talk time and nearly two weeks of standby time.
Along with the many phone features that cellular phones and service providers offer, accessories can make your cellular phone - and you - more productive. Nokia offers a variety of accessories such as headset kits and car kits for all current phone models. Leather carrying cases and colored faceplates are available for most current models. Additionally, Nokia offers battery chargers, batteries, carrying cases and belt clips.
