Holiday Mobile Phone Deals

It's a good bet that if there's someone between the ages of 8 and 18 in your house, there's a cell phone on their holiday wish list. Whether you're planning to fulfil that wish is a bigger decision than what size sweater to buy, since cell phones are the gift that keep on costing, month after month.

Ben Patterson offers his sharp-eyed picks for teen phones, but most of the cool handsets, like the Sidekick LX and LG Voyager, are pricey ($200 to $300). So if you're looking for phones for family members and a bargain this holiday, I've scoped out a few of the offers from the major carriers. My quick take: Motorola RAZRs can be had for free with two-year plans, but don't expect deals on the season's hottest phones—no discounts on the iPhone or the LG Voyager.

Alltel: Speaking of RAZRs, Alltell is offering a buy-one-for-$20, get-one-free deal. The carrier also is highlighting the Motorola ROKR Z6m for $80 with 50 free song downloads. That's after the $30 purchase of an accessory kit.

Verizon: The $99 Samsung Juke, which makes Ben's list, is offered for $49.99 with a two-year contract. Buy one and you can get a second red Juke free. Other deals include a Motorola KRZR for $20 and a free Samsung U410 with free Bluetooth headset and car charger—both phones with two-year contracts.

Sprint: It's the only carrier to debut Palm's $99 Centro, a slimmed-down version of the Treo to appeal to younger and older users who haven't made the jump to a smartphone because of price.

T-Mobile: You'll find free Motorola RAZRs (v3 pearl gray) and a free Samsung t439. The Motorola W490 is $25 and the Motorola RIZR z3 is $50.

AT&T: The biggest offering by AT&T, of course, is the iPhone. No discounts—$399 for the 8GB phone. (You knew that already.) But I did find a Motorola KRZR K1 through Amazon for 1 cent with a two-year AT&T contract.

Pay as you go: If you're just starting one of your kids out on a phone and want to test the waters with a pay-as-you-go plan, check out these holiday deals.

Kajeet: The well-designed phone service for tweens and teens is offering the usually $80 Samsung m300 for $60 with a $25 airtime credit. This deal just came in handy at our house when we replaced my 14-year-old's original and lost Kajeet phone.

T-Mobile: This carrier offers some of the most reasonable pay-as-you go plans. For the holiday, T-Mobile is providing $25 prepaid refill cards with purchases of phones, including a $400 Sidekick 3, a $60 Samsung t219, and a $40 Motorola V195.

If you've found deals as good as or better than these for your family this season, please share.

Related: Top Teen Phones for the Holidays