Can someone explain Cell Phones to me?

[BlaqueKatt]

Check out the smaller, more local providers, too. While the big boys have name recognition, you can almost always get more for your money from contracts with locals.

I'll second that-around here(wisconsin) we have a company that offers no contracts, no security deposits, month to month post pay service-34.99 for unlimited minutes-$5 extra for unlimited text and $5 for unlimited internet access on your phone-and the roaming rate is 0.25 a minute-my phone because it was GSM worked anywhere with my company and roaming on tmobile, and AT&T(cingulair)-I was able to use it in Las Vegas on AT&T's network.

[Shabo]

I would also like to say that the more features you want your phone to have, the more it's going to cost. Signing up for a 2 year contract will get you the biggest discount on the phone, but that's a long time to be stuck with a company.

To all those who dislike the chirp: Yeah. I have one, and I hate it too. I usually have it turned off. There's a button you can press on every single one of those phones that lets you turn the speaker off, so you have to hold it to your head when using the feature. You still have to press the button though, and it can get a little difficult to hold the button down at that angle, but it's better than broadcasting your conversation.

I use it to talk with my parents since we all have the same plan, and it's not necessarily better for the conversation, but since we have unlimited walky-talky minutes, it's better than wasting our phone minutes during the day. In addition, we get 7 pm free nights... but the plan itself is one of the most expensive you can get.

We have the Run Fast/ Tel After Nex hybrid phone, and it gets better service than any of the other phones I've had with any carrier. The software is a little wacky though. I can never really tell if my phone is going to adhere to the settings that I have it on, but for the most part it's good. Although, last night, I set it to vibrate, but plugged it in to charge, and when the BF called, it definitely rang out loud.