Help me pick a cell phone please!

[Tizzy]

My latest money saving scheme is driving me bonkers because I just don't know where to begin.

We are getting hosed with our current internet cost ($25 for unlimited dial-up). I NEED a cell phone, I was originally planning to just recycle one of my old phones and put it on a pay as you go plan.
But then a friend got a new one with a full keyboard and unlimited internet - it's considerably cheaper than my current internet plan, plus it's faster.

DH does not want to use the internet on a cell phone so we would still have to pay around $5/mo for 5-10 hours which would work perfectly.
Then I could use a cell to do the rest of my e-mail/facebook/mdc stuff, and not be tying up our phone line which would eliminate the message system from the phone company which costs $10/month.

I could potentially save $30/month by doing this, but how much is a cell plan going to cost?

But I don't know what kind of phone to get or what companies have the best plans for internet usage. I would VERY RARELY use the phone for actual phone calls. Are there any websites you would recommend that have the details on several different companies? Or do you have any personal experiences or recommendations? Thanks!

[Leta]

Well, you are in Canada, and I am not, so I don't know if this applies to you, but you can get unlimited talk/text/data from Straight Talk (a TracFone/WalMart joint venture) for $45/mo. There's no contract. The full keyboard phone is $100.

[josybear]

each province has different companies servicing them, different deals, etc. google might be your friend, here.

[RainbowTurtle]

I'm in Ontario as well and I've been pleased with Koodo. There's no contract, which was the biggest selling feature for me. I don't use my phone for browsing though, so I don't know about that.

You can check them out online or at Future Shop, Zellers or their own booths in various malls, etc.

HTH!

[Ola_]

I have a Koodo phone also (only because my work pays for it though, lol). They seem to have good plan options and I love the no contract. Plus it lets you earn "points" towards the price of a new phone or pay off your current one with the "Koodo Tab".

I don't use the internet on my phone though - that seems like it would be a pain in the butt with the tiny screen and keyboard. But Koodo has unlimited web browsing for $10/month it looks like, if you want to go that route.

Since you're not going to be using your phone to make many actual calls perhaps it makes sense to get a better Internet provider?

[Tizzy]

Okay, I didn't even consider Koodo! Thanks

As for internet provider, we have two choices - Bell and a local company. Satellite internet is not in out budget at all.

I'll keep looking for comparison website...

[Proxi]

We had 2 Solo phones (and Solo is basically Bell) and they both broke. Solo sent us to Bell, who said we weren't covered under warranty because they couldn't tell what had happened to the phones (one inexplicably stopped working, the other we think got banged somehow). It was a mess, so I wouldn't recommend either of those companies.

[eirual]

After paying out the wazoo for a Bell contract, when that was over I renounced Bell and considered either Koodo or Virgin. We ended up going with Virgin. I paid $100 for the phone outright, then $15/mo for pay as you go (I wish it was less 'cause I don't use it that much, but it's the lowest month you can buy unless you buy $100 worth of minutes which then lasts you the year). Our phones have the full keyboard (LG Rumour) which I love for text'ing, but I've never loved being online with it. I don't do much web browsing except for the first few months it came free. They do have a package for it (http://www.virginmobile.ca/vmc/en/home/index.html).

That all said, DH got himself an iPod for Christmas, and that is a DREAM to go online with. It's actually functional and enjoyable. Being only an iPod, not an actual phone (unless you get headphones and a mic for it and use an internet phone service) it connects to your wifi service, which may not work in your case. It's pretty much the same idea as an iphone though, I believe, so maybe that would best suit your needs as long as you could figure out the best way to get service?

[Kyamo]

I was under the impression that data plans on cell phones are pretty expensive, so I'm surprised to hear you say its cheaper than dial up. I don't really know anything about cell phones, so I'm no help there. But if you do find them too expensive for internet, consider switching your internet to Teksavvy. They have unlimited dialup for cheaper than you're paying, or DSL Basic 200GB for the same price you currently pay, which would free up the phone line.

[Tizzy]

I would definitely like to stay away from Bell or any of its subsidiaries. Customer service alone drives me batty, but we have no choice for our home phone service. Plus living in the country dictates that we cannot get DSL. KyamoThanks for the Teksavvy suggestion! I don't know how reliable they are, but it appears to be a fair bit cheaper than our current service!

My friend (the one that got me thinking of this in the first place!) is with Telus - her entire phone plan including unlimited data is $15/mo. The last phone contract I had was Telus but I could never get service at home unless I was standing in a particular position in front of a specific window I tried out a rocket stick from Rogers, that only worked in the bathroom. So I don't know if a cell is even a viable option, I'd like to think that different models of phones get better reception?

Internet access is definitely our biggest luxury item in our budget so it needs to be addressed...I've been ignoring it for far too long

[Kyamo]

Originally Posted by Tizzy

I would definitely like to stay away from Bell or any of its subsidiaries. Customer service alone drives me batty, but we have no choice for our home phone service. Plus living in the country dictates that we cannot get DSL. KyamoThanks for the Teksavvy suggestion! I don't know how reliable they are, but it appears to be a fair bit cheaper than our current service!

I agree with you about Bell, we are glad to be away from them. We switched our home phone to Teksavvy too, in addition to the DSL. For us the home phone was almost the exact same price as Bell, saving less than a dollar a month, but I think the price might depend on location, so check that, as I know you aren't in a city as we are. As for reliability, we have had no problems in the 4ish months since we switched, and way better customer service.

[CarrieMF]

So I don't know if a cell is even a viable option, I'd like to think that different models of phones get better reception?

It depends on the towers. Get a friend to come to your house. You may/may not get service.

in Saskatchewan Rogers won't work in alot of places becuase they don't go off the sasktel towers. Now some of their phones(that require data plans) are switching to sasktel towers & will work once sasktel gets their stuff uploaded on their end.

My parents live in the country. They live on the slightest hill possible & are surrounded by trees. They can see the cel tower from thier house. They do not have cel service in their yard, they must go outside the trees to get some.

Satellite will work though.

We have 3 options in Alberta/SK. Bell, Rogers, Telus/Sasktel(depending which province you're in. WE had rogers, but as I said it won't work where we need it to when we go to my parents house. We looked into Telus. The $15/month plans were not enough for what we needed. I think their lowest plan was $20/month. We went with Bell, partially because we were getting satellite too.