Not Your Parent's Cellphones
Thu Jul 13, 2006 9:50PM EDT
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The New York Times did a story on cool phone services for young adults. These days most teens have more than one phone, and Jupiter Research found that almost half of young people aged 13-16 own cellphones. So it's no wonder cellphone companies are eager to attract this population of tech-savvy mobile phone users.
Besides throwing celebrity-laden launch parties, and producing hip commercials for the MTV generation, companies are also attracting these young consumers with special plans, exclusive phones, streaming video and games. So what are the "it" phones these days? Among the contenders are:
- Sidekick 3 which costs $300 with a two-year contract.
- Helio's Hero and Kickflip which start at $275
- Motorola RAZRs
- Amp'd Hollywood, Jet and Angel models
Companies like T-Mobile, Earthlink, Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and Amp'd Mobile have teen customers on their crosshairs, but they offer these expensive pay-as-you go plans and pricey handsets that couldn't possibly be affordable to teens on a monthly allowance. Most cellphone reps I've talked to actually discourage folks from buying into pay-as-you-go plans.
My question to you is: How many of you actually have a pay-as-you-go plan? Are you happy with it?
Comments on Not Your Parent's Cellphones
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2 Posted by randyfernandez on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:29PM EDT Report Abuse
I have a Cingular monthly plan but my wife and eldest son are on a T-Mobile prepaid plan. By my calculations, it's the cheapest plan (cheaper even than Tracfone!) and after you've bought $100 worth of minutes, you get a 15% bonus and more time to use them. Minutes can be purchased by anybody for anybody from their website with no hassle. I bought a Tracfone for my mother because she wanted the cheapest upfront cost. Well, if she actually uses it, it will cost nearly twice as much as T-Mobile and the minutes last less time!
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3 Posted by bbbiemer on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:03PM EDT Report Abuse
The Tmobile plan is the cheapest plan on earth! Pay for $100 worth of minutes, and as long as you buy $10 more minutes once every year, the minutes are good FOREVER!
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4 Posted by jesus_walks_with_me93 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:33PM EDT Report Abuse
i had a track-phone but i hated it so i got a new phone from cingular and its the best one i've ever had.
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5 Posted by nicollex0 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:38PM EDT Report Abuse
Hi! I'm 14 years old and have a Virgin Mobile phone with Pay-As-You-Go service. The only thing expensive about Virgin Mobile is the phone itself, mine was about $100, but there are cheaper phones from Virgin Mobile that one can buy. The "Top-Up" card that I buy to add money to my phone costs me about $20-$30 a month, and the money I make from babysitting two or three times a week covers that. And not only is it reasonably inexpensive, the phone itself works really well, so it's worth the 100 bucks you'll spend on the phone. So yes, I am very happy with my Pay-As-You-Go service.
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6 Posted by melainemmyers on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:15PM EDT Report Abuse
I have a Cingular prepaid phone. I love it because it has free nights and weekends. It also has rollover for certain plans , so whatever minutes are not used rollover to the next month. It also has free mobile to mobile on certain plans. Most of the phones of under $100 so the start up isn't much. You can choose from pay-as-you-go or a prepaid monthly-type plan.
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7 Posted by johns2jc on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:39PM EDT Report Abuse
I have Virgin Mobile. I've been with them for a while now and it's great. That have so many talking/texting options for you to pick from and the phones are not that expensive. They have some fairly cheap ones (in price) and you can also purchased used phones at a discounted price. Every now and then I think about signing up with a provider but then I'm like nope. I'm on my 3rd phone now and thinking about getting another one. I give my old phones to family members. Virgin Mobile is alright with me.
1 Posted by moushie89 on Fri Jul 14, 2006 12:10AM EDT Report Abuse
I have a Pay as you go plan and yes I am very happy with it it is a Tracfone but I dont care about the expenses I care about good coverage and honest service without having to sign a stupid contract and that is the only thing standing in my way of getting a postpaid plan. I use it quite a bit but then I dont have to pay for what I dont use because it rolls over known as rollover. I think they are very affordable for teens but I dont rely on my phone to be a primary source of communication as I have a landline home phone also. But it does have its advantages like nationwide long distance etc. Tracfone has been my first cellphone and I have had it for 4 months and I was so satisfied I bought a year of service much cheaper than a postpaid plan and when I get low on minutes again I'll just buy them. Tracfone has 3 new happy customers that will intend to want to keep there service including me.