Cell Phones....

[agnes!]

My DH's cell-phone(a 2 year-old RAZR) has decided to *die*. I also have a RAZR. Our 2 year contracts(we have AT&T) are up, so we qualify for new/reduced-price phones. Any recommendations?

Right now we have a Friends-&-Family plan for the family(99.99 for first line, 9.99 for each additional). I would prefer not to pay any more fees and add-ons other than what we already have, the unlimited messaging package.

DH went to the AT&T store last night & came home with an LG-CU515. (I couldn't tag along, I had a rehearsal.) The main reason I'm not crazy about the LG is it takes a whole new charger. Right now we have car chargers in the cars and a house charger & our two phones can use them all. I hate the thought of getting all new chargers for just one phone.
But I don't really know anything about the new phones, so recommendations, etc. appreciated.

I also think the sales rep somehow screwed up our billing. I checked our bill online & it looks like we're paying an extra $99.99 for the same service?!? Yay, a trip to the AT&T store to look at new phones and get our service straightened out...

agnes!

 

[maelstrom]

I just got the Pantech Matrix and I love it.

 

[Christine]

I have an LG model (can't tell what the model # is) and it has held up well. I've had it for almost 2 years. I have to say, my DD went through two Razr phones and they seemed to be *crappy* phones. She now has a Palm Centro that we paid a lot of money for but it is SO much better than the Razr.

 

[RitaE]

I've been looking at phones, thinking of buying one for my Mom.

If I was going to buy one just for calling and texting, I like the look of those dual keyboard phones.

 

[agnes!]

DH just wants a phone that *works*. He doesn't seem too interested in the whiz-bang phones, like the iPhone & its ilk (and I'm not interested in the additional charges an iPhone can bring). Even though all the 3G phones (like the iPhone & its ilk) are being touted, he's a computer/business systems analyst, an iPhone wouldn't be able to handle his data-processing needs. He doesn't text at all, but does need a phone with a great long-lasting battery, able to grab the signals the best and to withstand hard use. No finicky phones that have easily-breakable parts, like the LG he came home with. Gack, but it has a truly stupid chintzy piece of plastic cover that goes over where the charging cable plugs into the phone. I just KNOW that itty-bitty piece will break off in a week or two.

Any other recommendations? Keep 'em coming .
agnes!

 

[agnes!]

I know it hasn't been long, but I wanted to give this a bump. Am looking for DIS-input before I go to the AT&T store later this morning.

agnes!

 

[agnes!]

Am looking at the RAZR 3G. Anybody have this phone? We're not that interested in a Querty keyboard or anything more bulky. I text some, DH not at all and I don't want anything bigger than what we have now.

agnes!

 

[asta]

I know that you say that you aren't interested but I love my iPhone. I had never used my cell phone that much for texting until I bought the iPhone. Texting is so much easier than on my old Razor. I am a gadget person and I just love being able to play around with the internet when I am waiting.

 

[agnes!]

asta -

A couple of questions...
*What does your cell-phone bill look like now, compared to the bill when you had your RAZR? Is it more? Don't you have to pay more to have more services available?
*Wasn't the iPhone more expensive than other phones just to buy? Did you find any deals?

agnes!

 

[asta]

Agnes,
I paid the standard $199 charge that you get with renewing your plan with AT&T. To my knowledge there aren't any other deals out there. I will have to look for my bills and I will give you a comparison on the monthly charges. I am sure that they are more but we use our phones a lot more since we have the iPhones. After I bought mine, I also bought one for my college age daughter when her cell phone died. Since almost all of her campus is wireless it is very useful for her and it does help with her facebook addiction. For me it is like having a small laptop for communication and web browsing. I use the map function in lieu of having a GPS system. It doesn't speak to me but I can get street level maps to help me find things and satellite maps for when I just want to be nosy. And I also enjoy using it as an Ipod for music and video. If I was younger, I would probably already have a laptop and Ipod but the iPhone serves this purpose for me.

 

[mickeymedic]

DH and I have Tracfones. The phones themselves cost between $10-20. I spend approx $50 every 2-3 months for minutes. DH spends less - he texts more and talks less.

We have the same model of Motorola phone. He has had his for almost 2 years. I have only had mine for a few months. These phones have taken a beating and have not broken yet.

But, this won't help if you are planning on continuing your AT&T contract.

 

[horseshowmom]

Agnes,

I don't know about your area, but we just got 2 of the RAZR V3xx phones at Wal-Mart for free (our contract had expired, so we just had to do the 2 year renewal). We had to get gray to get it free (could have gotten another color for a small fee though). I think we paid a $38 upgrade fee but not sure. We have the ATT Family Talk plan.

I had already had one of the phones through work and really liked it. We're in a very poor reception area, and it's the best I've found.