Cell phone help

[monty_]

I'm looking to purchase a new cell phone and I'm wondering if anyone can help me out.

There are so many different types out there these days and I'm not really sure what brands are good and what brands I should avoid.

I'm not looking for anything too fancy, just something durable and easy to operate. Also, are camera phones and color screens really worth the extra cash?

All opinions would be greatly appreciated since I'm not very educated in purchasing electronics. Thanks in advance.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Since you're not requiring your phone to be fancy, I'd think that what's more important for you to consider is the service provider. Out of the four obvious choices of Fido, Rogers, Telus, and Bell, IMO, Fido has some of the better packages. They have a $25/month plan right now which gives you unlimited incoming calls/text messages (all incoming calls to your phone are free). On top of this, you get 1000 weekend and evening minutes and 100 weekday minutes. This is an awesome deal, and I'm actually going to switch over to this plan soon.

As for durable phones, from personal experience, my Nokia has been super durable. I too, don't feel the need for the $400 phone with the fancy ring feature, digital camera and bright lights, so I chose to go with the FREE phone when I signed up with Fido 2 years ago. I dropped it down three floors on the stairs of the university. The basing broke open, but I put it back together and continued using it!

Other than Nokia, I also used to have a Motorola Startac... trouble!

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally posted by HelloHockeyFans@Sep 20 2004, 09:17 PM
Since you're not requiring your phone to be fancy, I'd think that what's more important for you to consider is the service provider. Out of the four obvious choices of Fido, Rogers, Telus, and Bell, IMO, Fido has some of the better packages. They have a $25/month plan right now which gives you unlimited incoming calls/text messages (all incoming calls to your phone are free). On top of this, you get 1000 weekend and evening minutes and 100 weekday minutes. This is an awesome deal, and I'm actually going to switch over to this plan soon.

As for durable phones, from personal experience, my Nokia has been super durable. I too, don't feel the need for the $400 phone with the fancy ring feature, digital camera and bright lights, so I chose to go with the FREE phone when I signed up with Fido 2 years ago. I dropped it down three floors on the stairs of the university. The basing broke open, but I put it back together and continued using it!

Other than Nokia, I also used to have a Motorola Startac... trouble!

Well sir you just might have convinced me to switch. I think FIDO got sold to Telus though, like today.

As for the phone Monty -- unless you are going to take pictures for more than the first week (which you probably won't) try to get a freebie phone or a cheapo job with the deal. I got a Motorola (Model number/name unknown) for 25$ bucks with a Rogers deal a couple years ago. It still works. While I never did drop it down 3 flights of stairs, I did manage to immerse it in a bowl of vanilla extract about a year and a half ago and it still works and it smells great.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Right now Fidos coverage is really really really bad though, if you leave calgary you don't get any service whatsoever, and well lets put it this way, if you plan to go out of any major center and need a cell during that time, don't go fido.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Originally posted by RougeUnderoos@Sep 21 2004, 03:25 AM
Well sir you just might have convinced me to switch. I think FIDO got sold to Telus though, like today.

I'm the unofficial spokesperson for Fido! :P

[CaramonLS]

Fido has absolutely garbage reception - I couldn't even get a signal when I lived in a half basement, so unless you live in a park (not under a tree because trees block fido reception) do not get fido.

Rogers/Telus have about 100x better reception, but I would go with Telus since Rogers I have had some sh*tty service as well (lost connection 5x while talking to someone driving through downtown the other day over a 5 minute span).

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Right now Telus has the better system and I think they share it with Bell (who have no hidden charges, they just charge you more to your face) but rogers is upgrading their system at the current time so it will be about equal.

[calf]

I thought that Rogers had horrible reception around town.

Telus and Bell, I believe have comporable coverage in and around Calgary.

Get the plan that works best for you, and how much you think you'll use it - if you think you'll use more minutes than the lowest plan, go one up because you don't want to pay the overage charge ($.25/min or so) and end up paying more than the next plan up. Also works the otherway.

As for phone models, I think in this day and age, they're all comporable - you have the phonebook, you can talk into it, and you can hear what people are saying. The extra $$$ comes from style, colour, cameras, etc. Personally, I think a phone is for communication with people, and all phones let you do that. If you need to take pictures, buy a real camera - otherwise you're wasting your money

[Deelow]

I took a Kyocera from bell, it was free..I'm on my second one in 6 months. I am not overly impressed. When it broke they charged me for a loaner. I would stay away from this brand, it just seems quite fragile.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally posted by HelloHockeyFans+Sep 20 2004, 09:31 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (HelloHockeyFans @ Sep 20 2004, 09:31 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-RougeUnderoos@Sep 21 2004, 03:25 AM
Well sir you just might have convinced me to switch. I think FIDO got sold to Telus though, like today.

I'm the unofficial spokesperson for Fido! :P [/b][/quote]
Then MeanMr.Mustard and Caramon must be the unofficial spokesman for "Not Fido" because they've already changed my mind.

Cel phones are just evil. I never wanted one, then I had to have one, now I don't want one but I can't give it up.

[monty_]

I'll be out looking for one tomorrow, thanks for all the advice. Telus seems like the best deal, $25/month will suit me just fine.

Camera phones and fancy colours, ring tones, etc. don't really interest me so I think I will just look for the best freebie I can get. Thanks again.

[browna]

Telus.
I have been with Fido, and the problem being is if you past Okotoks to the south, past Banff to the west of east anywhere, you get zero coverage.

I was with Telus for 4 years now, and coverage can't be beat...I went 2 months ago to Rogers reluctantly because they had a good minutes sharing plan and decent phones for cheap...but after about a week I know I made the wrong choice. Coverage is garbage, with dead spots all over the city...and then get out of the city and places where Telus works, Rogers doesn't. ( I was just out of town for a week and know this because I kept my Telus account just in case I didn't like Rogers (aka not lose my plan or my number).

The phones have less "cool" features.

As for brands, go Motorola. All I've had, and never any issues with the phones. They're built well and have no issues as far as reception. Even look in the bargain finder for cheap phones and get a new battery...then get a month to month contract, saving you getting locked into something like that.

[BlackArcher101]

I use a Motorola T720 on the rogers network. I have no complaints. I used to work the highways and I got better coverage on the rogers network than I did Telus. It all depends where you go. Some places have coverage by Rogers only, and some by Telus only.

[Wookie]

As soon as Fdio gets bought won't they be on thesame network as whoever buys them? I was holding out for FIDO unti they were bough. I had one and it basically acted like a pager. It woud buz that I missed a call or had a message whenever i got reception, but I never got any calls. Why, because the service was so bad I'd rarely get enough to get reception except for breif seconds which it would pick up my missed calls from 4/10/15/30 minutes aog... I could drive from one end of the city to the other and gte one ring in on a call..

[Reaper]

Originally posted by RougeUnderoos@Sep 20 2004, 09:25 PM
Well sir you just might have convinced me to switch. I think FIDO got sold to Telus though, like today.

Telus failed in its $1.1 Billion to acquire Fido in May. Yesterday, Rogers Cellular submitted a bid of $1.4 Billion to acquire Fido and they will probably have it accepted.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally posted by CaramonLS@Sep 20 2004, 09:39 PM
Fido has absolutely garbage reception - I couldn't even get a signal when I lived in a half basement, so unless you live in a park (not under a tree because trees block fido reception) do not get fido.

This was true a few years ago, but now Fido has some of the best coverage in Calgary, and no contracts.

The only discouraging factor with them is going out of town. From my experience:

Nanton to Edmonton you get signal (never gone past Edmonton)

Calgary to Banff (with some gaps) then absolutely NOTHING until vancouver, where is was good everywhere except for UBC... very very very weak signal there. Although at U of C I was the one who had everyone borrowing my phone because I actually got service.

Southern Ontario/Quebec/Northern NY State. Everywhere. Signal didn't drop on me once.

Fido also offers alot of GSM phones so you will get service everywhere but Japan.

[Shawnski]

Having worked in the industry since 1988, all I can say is "Watch out"!! Many topics have been listed here to consider, but the industry is still fluid, with buyouts of the small guys and ever changing corporate focus, the consumer is sometimes left out in the cold.

I quit one of the major players three years ago as quality of product was no longer a focus. They already had huge market penetration and the new executive took the marketing of the product over the product itself.

No player can be counted on to provide bullet proof service, nor coverage. Rates are subject to change with the wind, as are service charges. Even if you think you are buying service from one company, you may actually be using another's towers/service.

Caveat emptor.

[ah123]

If you're looking for service "almost anywhere in Calgary/Alberta", I would choose Bell or Telus...Rogers has major problems with their coverage, you might not have coverage if you live in certain parts of South Calgary or certain parts of NW Calgary. Don't know anything about Fido...

When it comes to phones, unfortunately, the most versatile phones are sold by Fido & Rogers (e.g. BlueTooth phones, ease of transferring address books, etc) - mainly because they use GSM technology. Fido & Rogers phones usually have more bells & whistles...

One more thing on phones, if you look at Telus/Bell/Fido/Rogers websites, they try and sell the "bells & whistles" of the phone (who cares you can download ringtones if you can't use it to make a phonecall!!)

I would suggest reading the reviews on phones, talk to friends to see how their phones work and then go to a store and ask to try one or more phones (ask the clerk to call a service number on two phones and see which phone has clearer reception)...

Here's some websites which might help you:

www.comparecellular.ca

www.howardforums.com (forums on all the major providers, you need to register if you have questions, but it's free and there are interesting nuggets of information here)

www.howardchui.com (review of phones, but a large number of the phones are not available here

www.geckobeach.com (website which has reviews of cellphones)


Good Luck...

[scottie]

I think this is where the UK is far ahead. We have 5 (main) providers, all have great coverage throughout the UK (accepting the fact the UK is a wee bit smaller than Canada!).
For a 1 year, £25/month contract (which gives me 200 minutes free / month), I got this phone free:

Brief Phone Review

[ah123]

Blame it on the "unregulated environment" in North America...In Europe, governments "forced" providers to use GSM technology while in N America, providers chose technologies they felt comfortable with (TDMA, CDMA, GSM, ...). Given that GSM is used worldwide (and CDMA only used in N America and maybe some other places), phone manufacturers focus their R&D and manufacturing effort on GSM...that's why there are more nifty GSM phones out there... I was in East Africa this past summer, and the cellphone technology there puts us to shame...