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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsIs a smart phone & coverage much more expensive than an old fashioned cell?
OffWithTheirHeads
(10,337 posts)applegrove
(118,011 posts)have HBO.
MrsBrady
(4,187 posts)if you live in an urban area, it could work for you...check the coverage area.
uppityperson
(115,674 posts)Each carrier costs differently also.
sendero
(28,552 posts)... (required for smart phone) are $30 a month in addition to the cost of your voice/text.
The phones cost several times what a plain old phone costs.
The only way to not get ripped off IMHO is to go with a virtual carrier (MetroPCS, Boost, SimpleMobile, etc) and pay month to month without a contract. This is always cheaper than getting into a contract, but then you have to buy your phone all at once instead of paying it in installments like you do with a contract carrier.
applegrove
(118,011 posts)one was not working.
Kali
(54,990 posts)trust me I know (couple kids with them and they are not real good about PAYING THEIR BILLS (maybe if I yell on DU they will hear it )
kayakjohnny
(5,235 posts)I only get 300 minutes of talk but that's working fine for now. For an extra 10 beans a month, I get 1500 minutes of talk.
So far, I am totally happy with the phone and the plan.
It's no contract, so I just go buy a phone card and top up each month.
elleng
(130,126 posts)She recently upgraded to 'smart' from old fashioned cell; I've kept mine. Actually pay a few cents less per month. No idea why. I pay $190/mo. My cable is $106.
Flaxbee
(13,661 posts)$50/month - no contract! - unlimited phone, text and Internet. Not super-fast Internet, but not bad for my purposes. So no, it's actually less expensive than my old Verizon contract. I *hated* being locked in to a contract.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)can't complain much about the phone, but why, after using Net10 for the last 5 or 6 years and always having many minutes rolling over, did I decide to spend 50 bucks a month to get email on my phone?
Still cheaper than anyone else, though, and having things like Dropbox and an integrated calendar on it are cool.
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)Or any other special plans. Also, I have always bought refurbished phones. I have a Blackberry ($8) and rejected ATT's attempt to charge for media and texting. If it ever dies, I'll probably have to pay the extra $30 a month for media, which I don't want and would never use.