I need a new phone/carrier

B

bruiser

New member
I am turning 18 soon and need to build up credit, so getting a phone under my name would help. Now I need a new phone just don't know which nor with which carrier. Right now I have a VX8100 on Verizon...the reception is good, everything is ok but I think they overcharge just a little too much...
What I am looking to do with the phone is: browse the internet (moderately), call (good reception), send text/pic messages, and listen to mp3s. Now if there is any phone that could do most of that stuff that you would recommend please let me know!

Thanks in advance.
 
Well, when I turned 18, I went with tmobile because of their smartaccess plan. Most other carriers would've made me pay a hefty deposit since I had no credit history but Tmobile just put me on a special plan.

Smartaccess is basically where you have a $150 spending limit and if your bill goes over that, you are immediately switched off, everything else is basically the same and you get new activation discounts on phones.

With that said, having a cell phone bill won't do a whole lot to your credit. Since I turned 18, I've gotten a cell phone, opened up three bank accounts and gotten two credit cards, all of which have been paid regularly and on time and my credit score still hasn't reached the national average, I'm pretty sure it takes a few years to achieve that
 
braindead5400: my friend has TMO and didn't have to deposit anything...but that seems to be the best deal to me, my bro had to deposit $400 to get verizon and thats a lot of money I cant get a hold of that right now. Thanks again for your response. Now for the phone part of this, I am a college student and would like to have a good calendar as well...what is the best phone available from TMO? I would like to know that as well. As for the credit thing, well its a start I plan on adding a debit card and other bills to get my credit going.

Thanks again.
 
you have no idea how good you have it. Why not just pay your parents for what you use? Family plans give you more bang for the buck than any individual plan will. Cingular sucks. Over half of my friends have Cingular and when they're driving I can almost guarantee they will drop the call. I was using my friend's Cingular phone in a car once and it would go from full service to nothing, to full service to nothing. It's just way too flaky and inconsistent. Sure it has it's hot spots and good overall coverage, but dead zones are quite heavy. Verizon is much more consistent, and from what I've read T-Mobile is almost as good in major metro areas but if you go on road trips, forget it.
 
Actually my parents have never paid for it, my bro takes care of that and he said its better for me to get another one 'cause my sister needs a phone as well.
Cingular indeed sucks, and am not considering. TMO on the other hand has been always my second choice next to VZW but I cant affor the $400+ deposit VZW wants to activate a new line. Thanks for your input on this and I appreciate everyone who has inputted to this thread, I will post my final decision when I make it.
 
Yup I agree, Verizon charges a lot. Im also thinking to switch with tmobile (the 39.99/m or 49.99/m plan). Currently with verizon i pay around 200ish bucks a month.

Let us know what phone you get!!
 
I'd probably get T-mobile. It's cheap and it works. the t-zones data plan is really cheap and allows you to get some web on your phone. Check out the coverage specific to your area.

http://compass.t-mobile.com
 
Cingular. Best for me. Love GSM and love the phones. Network here in Metro Detroit is great. Full signal almost everywhere. Have not been to a dead spot yet. Works better in Ann Arbor then Verizon which my bro and sis have.
 
Ok I went today to a TMO store near by and got a couple of things straight. One is that I have to deposit nothing but I have to pay $75 activation fee, that's very affordable and I can do that, however, I need to choose a phone...I was playing around with the BlackBerry and it was sweet! I also saw the SK2 but that's not my style...so I still need to see which phone I will get but the BB seems to be the choice for now, my friend just activated his Razr and he gets great coverage here so its definately my choice of carrier...just need to choose the phone!
 
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