Phone plans (help a brotha)

[Nasty_Nate]

Hey kids. Ive had the same phone since 03 and its time for me to upgrade. Problem is I don't know **** about phone plans since this is the first time ima be paying for my own.

So I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for any good phone plans or companies out there, or if you feel that your plan is a deal post it up. Doesn't have to be really fancy, just as long as its a good price and has the bare necessities (good coverage, unlimited texting, etc etc) Ty

(plz post $/month if possible instead of a bunch of meaningless "verizon sucks" kinda posts)

 

[Adam M!]

plan to pay $80 for a bare minimum phone plan: 1500 (or unlimited) text, free nights/weekends + rollover, and some kind of data plan

don't want data (internet)? too bad, phone companies suck **** and nearly any new phone comes with some kind of internet.

bad companies (just word of mouth, not personal experience): t-mobile (but the cheapest)
awful companies from both word of mouth and experience: verizon (awful awful reception)
best company in terms of reception but awful value: cingular

this is an awful messy subject so i'd be shocked if anyone did your work for you

 

[pockyD]

it seems your definition of "bare necessities" varies from the actual bare necessities (unlimited texting doesn't really qualify in my book), so you should probably clarify what exactly you need

in terms of coverage (I haven't been in socal for extended periods of time, but this has generally been true everywhere i've lived; texas, nj, pa, norcal), t-mobile is atrocious, sprint is mediocre, and verizon is the best; AT&T is generally not noticeably worse than verizon and it's usually a toss-up for me between which is giving me the better value. i haven't tried any of the smaller companies other than those 4 (cricket, alltel, whatever that other stuff is that randomly comes on tv)

really though, as far as plans go, there's not a massive amount of variety, and given that there are only like 4-6 viable phone companies, just go to each site and check out the minimum plan that suits your needs; takes about 10 minutes

in fact, plans change all the time, so the plan that someone else has had for over a year very likely doesn't even exist anymore in the same form for new customers

the only thing you should really look for in a recommendation is coverage and specific phone (which i have nothing to say about, since i've never chosen a 'good' phone that i'd have to pay for)

 

[MarthPwnzer-]

T-Mobile is really good with giving you cheap good plans. Plus you can get any phone now from any company by unlocking them.

 

[joeplicate]

marthpwnzer i have an at&t pantech matrix c740

unlock my phone

 

[MarthPwnzer-]

I could unlock it. If you really want it unlocked for some reason : / then make sure that the new carrier allows GSM.

 

[joeplicate]

explain

my goal = unlimited free internet

edit: nvm, i just looked up what unlocking actually does

 

[MarthPwnzer-]

Umm yea, it just allows you to use a phone with another carrier to save money by not having to switch providers.