Cingular Go Phone - Anybody have it? Like it? Hate it?

[babiesX2]

DD13 wants a new cell phone. She likes the one Cingular Go Phone is offering. She got rid of her Tracfone to hook up with Net 10 (because she liked the flip phone), but the service has been really bad. It is nearly impossible to get a signal. Dh and I both have Tracfone and like the price and service.

For anyone who has or has tried Go Phone should she spend her money on it or go back to Tracfone?

 

[babiesX2]

Hello? Hello? Is anyone here?

 

[rgdwar1]

My wife and I have the GO phone. We like it. What would you like to know?

 

[heartsy77]

We have had the go phone since before Att joined with Cingular. I like it but sometimes it's a pain. Depending on your plan , you can do a quarter a minute or 1.00 a day fee that you use it, and then .10 a minute. We use the .10 a minute and the only thing I don't like is that if you only use it once. a day , you are paying for that daily fee for 1 call! However you can rollover your minutes if you get new minutes added before yours expire. I am going try to save my extra minutes to use @ Disney in Jan. If you don't use your cell everyday than I think the go phone is the way to go. I generally only use mine if I go out so my kids a can call me or on a trip. So it usually works out to pay that 1.oo fee for using a lot in one day. Just remember if someone calls you and your phone is on your paying that 1.00, and if you are calling another cingular customer, it's free but you'll pay the 1.00 fee for the day! Overall if you don't use it a lot it's the way to go. I paid 100 to buy my phone and get started, but I only put $15.00 a month on my phone, that's why I like it. Where else could you get a cell phone for $15 a month? If you have any other questions let me know.

 

[bethyg]

I think the GO phone is great for teens. Put a little $$$ on the phone and when the money's out, they can't use it until they reload some cash, no overage charges! Good for learning the value of money, and you can buy the reload certificates almost anywhere, or just add on your phone with credit card.

Good: Good service with Cingular, largest calling area, few dropped calls. I've had cingular for >5 years with no problems. Price is good overall. I got one for DS13 for Christmas, bought him the basic phone and put about $25 every 3 months on (he has to pay for most of it). After every call, a text message appears telling you how much the call cost, and how much $$$ is remaining on the account. When you get below $4-5, you get a voice prompt before every outgoing call to let you know your balance is low. My husband and I both have cingular, so calls between the family are free. The above poster is correct, there are 2 plans available. Either 25 cents/min. or $1.00 flat fee for every day you use the phone, plus 10 cents/min (except calls to other cingular phones are free). When i transferred my plan to a GO plan, I just switched my number and paid a $25 transfer fee. I didn't have to purchase a new phone.

Bad: All incoming calls go by the same rules, so wrong numbers (even hang-ups) cost too. If her friends call her alot, she'll run thru the cash very quickly.

I would try to calculate how many minutes/month she uses (or would use) and see how much it would cost monthly. I actually switched my regular plan to the GO phone because I had less than 200 minutes monthly, mostly to DH cell phone and didn't use my phone every day. My original cell phone cost $49/month, now I spend about $20. You would save more money if both you and DH switched to Cingular as well. If you did that, you could consider the family plan. Purchase a package with a huge amount of minutes, then I think adding a family member is $9.99/monthly. I would also look into Disney mobile. Can't beat GPS tracking on your kids, especially a teen! Don't know what the prices are, but I would think this newly launched service might have some good deals.

 

[pezheadmeg]

I've been there and done that with the pre-paid cell phone (come to think of it, Virging Mobile thinks I still own the phone ) For someone who actually uses a cell phone daily and to make calls, it was a total suck-out of the money, I found for me personally a regular cingular plan was much more affordable. (Yes, I have switched to T-Mobile, but that was due to my plan of becoming a crackberry addict, and the service being 1/3 of Cingular's )

However, back to Virgin Mobile believing I still own the pre-paid. It's perfect for my 80 something grandparents who just needed one for emergencies. And yes I find it sad that I pay less in a year for that whole phone. (they actually rarely use the phone) than I do a month for my phone-blackberry-text message service.

 

[babiesX2]

Dh and I like prepaid because we hate talking on the phone so we don't use our's much. Mostly we text each other! Seriously. I need a blackberry like Pezheadmeg. DD13 would be spending her own money on it. We already bought her a tracfone but she wants a cooler phone. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Order66]

I have recently switched to Cingular and use the "go" plan because I don't like being stuck with something for 2 years. And however stupid it sounds they charge an activation fee for a contract phone, but NOT for a Go Phone. Cingular actually has 2 plans on the "go". Pay as you go, where you recharge the phone by CC or pre-paid cards whenever you need minutes. Watch however because minutes expire depending on the value of the recharge and you have to recharge before expiration or you will lose them. They also have the Pick your Plan, where you pay a certain fee each month through your checking or CC and get "X" number of minutes each month. It's basically the same as a contract plan without the contract or activation fee. Actually they charge you a set amount per minute which will average out to whatever number they say for that plan per month. After each call or text message they will send you a message for the cost of that usage and your balance. Really great for knowing what you have left. Unused funds automatically roll over to the next month for 12 months. You can also add any extra feature to any go plan such as unlimited text messages for 2.99 a month.

With Cingular you can use ANY compatible cellphone as a go phone. It's your activation not the phone. I purchased a phone on ebay that was claimed to be used less than a month. It looks brand spanking new it's simple an 05 model. Has a MP3 player, digital camera/video and has Widows Media for viewing video, sony ericcson and I paid $50 bucks for it. So if your daughter is looking for a cooler phone, don't limit to what they offer as a Go Phone. Check out ebay and get any phone that will work on the Cingular network. Also don't be fooled into getting a SIM card. Cingular gives these to you for FREE. You just have to stop into a Cingular company owned (not a franchise AKA mall type one) and ask for a SIM to activate a new phone. They will usually even do the activation right there for you or you can do it on the phone or online.

The only drawback to Cingular I have found is adding ringtones. Easiest way is to connect to their net service (all go phones are net compatible) and there is a per kb charge. MP3 types are nearly a dollar to download. However with a phone that is USB compatible (as all camera phones are) you can download your own MP3's from your computer and use them as ringtones. I only bought 1 ringtone from Cingular before figuring out I could make my own. All you need is software to cut a MP3 to 30 seconds. There are several free ones available to download. I used one recommended called DBpower Music Converter. That along with Sound Recorder, which is standard issue on Windows XP makes cutting your own ringtones a snap. If anyone would like the directions as another money saving tip I can post them.

regards