Cell Phone Opinions Please!

[grnspot110]

Dear old AT&T is at it again! Got a letter a few days ago that my cell phone will not work after Feb. 28, 2011 if I don't update. I stopped by an AT&T store yesterday to see about it, looks like they want my bill to increase from $25 to at least $39+. So I'm looking for options!

Rural Midwest location.
I only make & receive calls (no texting).
Don't use the camera feature.
Some times don't use it for weeks at a time, but carry it ever day.
I want something simple to use that I don't have to change my number.

I'm thinking maybe a "Jitterbug", anybody have experience with one, good or bad?

Any other possibilities? ~~ grnspot110

 

[yooper1]

I got the same letter.

They are forcing us to upgrade and then even charging around $39 to activate the updated account.

Pure extortion

I pay $19.99 a month for 200 minutes of which I use maybe 10 minutes a month. the fees and taxes bring it to about $24 a month.

The lowest service they offer that I now have to choose is $39.99 a month, plus fees and taxes and a $39 activation fee.

There is no way in HECK I will ever pay $40 for a phone...cellular or land line


Have you thought about a trac-phone?

I too have thought about the Jitterbug...I will have to check a dealer here that has them

 

[yooper1]

It would be nice if they would make a cellphone that would make clear phone calls. Screw the data plans and the cameras and the text crap....how about a clear call?

That is out of their way of thinking

 

[Travelover]

If you don't make a lot of calls, look at a prepaid option that works off the provider network that has the best reception in your area.

I'm an extreme case, but I have a Virgin Mobile phone that runs on Sprint network (OK in my area). I pay $15 every 90 days and calls are 20 cents a minute, taken from that $15 fee. Phone was free. Any excess credit rolls forward indefinitely. I don't make many calls, but like to have it for emergencies.

 

[Andy in Gap]

I use Net 10 prepaid and have been very satisfied with it. I won't ever have a cell contract again, not with all the hidden fees and "extortion" as someone mentioned earlier. I believe Net 10 uses the AT&T signal, costs 10 cents a minute or less, and is capable of calling internationally for a bit more per minute. Phones are basic, but for $20-30 dollars a month, it's all I need.

 

[grnspot110]

Wife had a Trac-phone for a while, always a pain-in-the-*** to add time to it, so I really don't care for them. I'd rather just have a monthly bill & be done with it! ~~ grnspot110

 

[Bird]

I, too, am one of those who makes and receives voice calls only, and very few of those. In 1999, I started with a plan for $29.99 a month plus taxes and fees (about $36 a month) and just over a year ago, I changed to the prepaid twenty-five cents a minute deal; much cheaper for me. And I kept the same phone number.

 

[Travelover]

Wife had a Trac-phone for a while, always a pain-in-the-*** to add time to it, so I really don't care for them. I'd rather just have a monthly bill & be done with it! ~~ grnspot110

Not sure about Trac-phone, but with Virgin Mobile, I have money added automatically every 90 days via credit card. Only problem is updating expiration date on credit card every 3 years or so.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

The only reason ATT would make you change is because you are using a really old network that they are turning off. ATT is GSM based, but it uses different freq ranges, so you might have an old phone using a range they are turning off. newer phones support more frequencies. Everyone will have to get a new handset for 4G LTE, but that's another year off.
my wife uses an inexpensive ATT prepaid. We load it $100 at a time, which will last a year before it expires (lower amounts expire quicker). It's real easy to go online and add the time to it with a credit card.

Watch out for some companies calling things "prepaid" that isn't the what most people consider prepaid. some are advertising a monthly set fee and causing it prepaid. prepaid means buying a block of time, or dollar amount, and using it whenever (but most have an expiration time of 3-6 or 12 months), but it's not a set monthly amount.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Was the old phone from the cingular TDMA network days? cingular changed over to AT&T, which now advertises 100% GSM, but I think they did have an old TDMA network.

edit - I just found that they turned off TDMA in 2008, so wasn't that.