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Cell Phones and Accessories

How to Buy a Cell Phone

If you've decided that you want to own a cell phone, the first thing you need to do is find the best cell phone service thats out there. Finding good service where you want it with a cell phone can be a challenge. The best way is to ask your friends and business associates, people who literally travel the same roads you do. Ask them how satisfied they are with their cell-phone service. In addition, keep in mind that Verizon Wireless has consistently come in first in Consumer Reports satisfaction surveys and so is worth considering this cell phone carrier first.

The next step in getting a cell phone will be to choose a calling plan. You need to determine when and where you’ll be using a cell phone most in order to select a plan that’s right for you. As a rule, a national calling plan (which typically eliminates extra long-distance charges or fees for roaming away from your home calling area) is worth considering first, even if you don’t travel often. With a regional cell phone plan, roaming charges can be high if you make long distance calls or calls far from your home.

How many people will be using a cell phone in your household? If two or more family members will be using a cell phone, you should consider a family plan that lets up to four people share a large monthly pool of minutes for a small additional monthly charge. If you aren’t sure how many minutes of cell phone time you’ll use in a month, choose a cell phone plan with more minutes than you think you will use. It is often better to let minutes go unused on a cell phone than to have to pay stiff per-minute charges if you exceed your alloted minutes.

Of course, you will have to then select a cell phone. You can spend as little as $20 or as much as $600 on a cell phone. You need to begin your selection in the right price tier. Once you’ve settled on a price range on a cell phone that is affordable, follow these steps:

First look for practical features on a cell phone. Cameras, games, music players, and the like are appealing, fun, and even useful features for some cell phone users. However, features such as a folding case, volume controls on the side, and an easy-to-mute ringer on a cell phone will prove useful features.

Hold the cell phone. In the store, take the cell phone in your hand and make sure you can comfortably access most keys with one hand. Try to make a test call and access the menu items on a working cell phone demo. We’ve found that cell phones with radical shapes are difficult to use. So are keys on a cell phone that are small, oddly shaped, or arranged in unusual patterns, especially if you’re trying to dial a number in the dark.

Check the display feature on the cell phone. Most color screens on a cell phone perform well in dim light, but some are hard to see in daylight. Try the cell phone outside or under bright light. In our tests, cell phones that display incoming and outgoing numbers with large black fonts against a white background were the easiest to read under most conditions. Also make sure indicator features such as battery life and signal strength are clearly visible on the cell phone.

You might want to insure an expensive cell phone. All major cell phone carriers provide insurance that covers lost, stolen, or damaged cell phones, typically for about $4 to $5 a month, with a $35 to $50 deductible. At those rates, it wouldn’t pay to insure a low-priced cell phone. Of course, if you paid $200 or more for a cell phone, then insurance may be worth considering. Some insurance plans for cell phones require a police report. Damaged cell phones are replaced, should you choose to opt for an insurance plan.