people the most
important decision in choosing a cell phone plan is how much money
they are going to spend every month. Most monthly service plans
require you to sign at least a year long contract so you don't want
to be stuck with a monthly bill that puts a strain on your budget.
The easiest way to get a monster
phone bill is to choose a basic phone plan that doesn't met your
needs. So don't choose cell phone plans solely on price. You'll end
up paying more in additional minute charges. You are better off
getting a service plan with more minutes up front. A good rule of
thumb is to get cell phone plans with a couple of hundred more
minutes than you think you will actually need.
Here are some other factors to
consider:
- Will you use your phone in rural
locations?
- How much money are you willing
to spend?
- Will you use your phone to make
phone call to or from overseas?
- Are you going to use your phone
to send text messages (SMS)?
- Do you need access to WAP sites
(wireless web)?
- Will you use your phone as a
wireless modem?
- Are you going to use your phone
away from home for extended periods of time?
You also may want consider if you
will be using your cell phone overseas. International service plans
will allow you to use you cell phone worldwide, but this is
considered a luxury feature so plan on paying quite a bit more than
typical.
SMS (short message service) or text
messaging is also becoming a very popular service, especially among
the younger generation. If you plan on sending and receiving text
messages from your cell phone be sure to check your cell phone plan
to verify SMS is available.
Most cell phones support SMS, and
many cell phone plans allow you to receive 50 or so text messages
for free, but some service plan charge you a small fee, like 5 cent
per message sent.
WAP or wireless web is a most text
version of the Web available through many of the newer cell phones
and cell phone plans. If your cell phone supports this service, and
you choose to make it available through your service plan, you may
be able to use your cell phone as a wireless modem.
But be prepared to pay at least an
additional $10 or more a month and be aware of the that minutes of
your service plan will apply.