I've been thinking of getting a cell phone for very casual use, like calling or texting my girlfriend if I'm running late, or letting Mr. Analog know I'm late picking him up at D&D because I went to get sandbags for the car (sorry about that again :-[ ) Most of the time I'm by a land line at home or at work. Anyways, I was thinking of getting a 7-11 Speak Out cell phone, most of the details of which can be found in this blog (http://www.theblog.ca/?p=81), and in the below quote from this thread (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=401812).
Quote from: http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=401812
For those who missed the free phone promotion last year, 7-11 now gives you free $50 airtime voucher when you buy a phone.
You can get a Nokia 1112 (unlocked) for $75 with $10 airtime preloaded and a free $50 airtime voucher which is good for a year.
7-eleven now has other phones, also with free $50 airtime voucher:
Nokia 2610 $100, locked?
Nokia 6061 $125,
Nokia 3120b $103.99 tri-band, unlocked (old stock, if you can find one)
Rate:
20 cents per minute,
30 cents long distance US & Canada (local airtime charge included),
text message 5 cents in and out,
911 fee 99 cents per month,
no activation fee,
free voice mail if accessed from landline,
$10 start up airtime credit,
365 days expiry,
$25, $50, $100 voucher.
I'll probably splurge for the colour phone at $100. The rates are better then Rogers and Virgin. I was planning to get an emergency cell phone for my Dad anyways, so if I find my usage rates exceed a basic pay-as-you go plan I'll just give this one to my father and upgrade to a more extensive main-line provider pay as you go or monthly plan. So do you guys think I'm out to lunch as usual, or is this a good way to try a cell phone for the first time? Thanks.
Do some research at http://www.howardforums.com/index.php? first. There are only 3 true cell networks in Canada (Telus, Rogers and Bell), everything else is a virtual reseller of these services.
Going direct with Telus or Rogers/Fido should net you better customer service and coverage than the other options. Telus is launching a new sub provider this month called Amped and there has been some buz in howardforums about it.
Pay as you go is a great option for super low use, however you might blow through your cash fast as text messaging is over priced on most pay as you go plans, where as you can get 100 message or unlimited text messaging tacked on to a regular plan very easy.
You could get a cheap ass phone and plan thru Telus mobility.
http://www.telusmobility.com/ab/plans/pcs/
As low as $20 /m with 175 minutes. Not sure what you want for a phone though.
Quote from: Lazybones on March 07, 2007, 10:47:13 AM
Do some research at http://www.howardforums.com/index.php? first. There are only 3 true cell networks in Canada (Telus, Rogers and Bell), everything else is a virtual reseller of these services.
Going direct with Telus or Rogers/Fido should net you better customer service and coverage than the other options. Telus is launching a new sub provider this month called Amped and there has been some buz in howardforums about it.
Pay as you go is a great option for super low use, however you might blow through your cash fast as text messaging is over priced on most pay as you go plans, where as you can get 100 message or unlimited text messaging tacked on to a regular plan very easy.
I know 7-Eleven is a virtual provider. It runs off the Rogers network. It used to have the same coverage as Fido, ie not much out of urban areas, but the current coverage area is the same as Rogers, ie not too bad. Text messaging is 5 cents, and according to the fellows blog above incoming is now free. I know if could easily blow through the limits if I'm not careful. I just don't know how much I'll use the thing until I get it, and I don't want to lock myself into a plan until I have a better idea of usage. It'd really only cost me the $50 of airtime to figure that out, or about two months on a plan. If I manage to keep the usage down to $10 a month or so, I'll keep the phone. If I go over that, it goes to my Dad, who could use one anyways. No harm, no foul. I'll look into that Amped plan you were talking about, Lazy, thanks.
I have a fido cell, it works great and uses the Rogers+Fido network, but the pay as you go plans are crazy now. the cards are only good for anywhere from 15 to 60 days, you run out of time, too bad. and the rates go from 20-30 cents a minute. I used to blow through near 40$ a month, which is why I got the VOIP service, so I only use the cell when I'm out.
Quote from: Tom on March 07, 2007, 11:41:23 AM
I have a fido cell, it works great and uses the Rogers+Fido network, but the pay as you go plans are crazy now. the cards are only good for anywhere from 15 to 60 days, you run out of time, too bad. and the rates go from 20-30 cents a minute. I used to blow through near 40$ a month, which is why I got the VOIP service, so I only use the cell when I'm out.
The nice thing about Speakout is all cards ($25, $50, $100) are good for a year from activation, whereas most of the other providers only have that on the $100 cards. How much do you use your cell now that you only use it when you're away from your home?
I looked at the Howardforums Amped sections. A couple of promises from forum goers that it'll be good, but no specifics. I've waited this long to get a phone, so I'll probably wait until Amped comes out with its rates before making a final decsion.
Quote from: Ustauk on March 07, 2007, 11:46:45 AM
I looked at the Howardforums Amped sections. A couple of promises from forum goers that it'll be good, but no specifics. I've waited this long to get a phone, so I'll probably wait until Amped comes out with its rates before making a final decsion.
Unless you can't pass the credit check or only plan on using the phone for a few months, I find pay as you go far more expensive than the most basic of the network plans out there.
I find it interesting that the Speakout cards are good for a year... how much do they charge per text message and per minute?
I edited this into my last post a little too late :( so here it is:
My VOIP service is pretty decent, $0.015 outgoing (in North America), and $0.011 incoming, with a $3.50 monthly charge for the local phone number (4 concurrant calls). If I need to, I can upgrade to the $8.88/mo flat rate plan, and not pay for incoming at all (2 concurrant calls). But I doubt I'll need that any time soon.
Quote from: Lazybones on March 07, 2007, 12:01:00 PM
Quote from: Ustauk on March 07, 2007, 11:46:45 AM
I looked at the Howardforums Amped sections. A couple of promises from forum goers that it'll be good, but no specifics. I've waited this long to get a phone, so I'll probably wait until Amped comes out with its rates before making a final decsion.
Unless you can't pass the credit check or only plan on using the phone for a few months, I find pay as you go far more expensive than the most basic of the network plans out there.
I find it interesting that the Speakout cards are good for a year... how much do they charge per text message and per minute?
The year-long cards is one of the biggest advantages of the phone. You get dinged a $1 for every month you use the phone for 911/service charges, but you only have to use the phone once every 120 days to keep the number active, so it is ideal if all you ever use it for is emergencies. As I put in my first post, its 20 cents a minute for voice and 5 cents per text message.
The guy in the blog said they no longer charge for incoming text messages, so I could receive messages on the phone and send them from a computer for free if I'm nearby one, at least to Rogers (http://www.shoprogers.com/wireless/sendpcs.asp) and Telus (http://www.telusmobility.com/sendamessage/sendamessage.shtml) phones.
According to the guys on the forums at redflagdeals.com, the rates for Speak out are the best you can get for straight pay-as-you-go. Petro Canada has a similar plan with the same virtual provider, but the $50 airtime included with the phone until the end of March skews things 7-11's way.
Quote from: my first post
Rate:
20 cents per minute,
30 cents long distance US & Canada (local airtime charge included),
text message 5 cents in and out,
911 fee 99 cents per month,
no activation fee,
free voice mail if accessed from landline,
$10 start up airtime credit,
365 days expiry,
$25, $50, $100 voucher.
Ya, that does seem like a good deal.
Eh, if you're going for cents per minute (which I think is a naff way of thinking about it) you could get 500 minutes a month for $50 (10 cents a minute). It would include features like:
- up to 500 minutes
- unlimited local nights and weekends ?
- free 6 pm early nights and weekends for 1 year ?
- unlimited local calling for 3 months ?
? Offer available to new activations only on a 3 year contract until March 31, 2007.
? Offer available to new activations on select rate plans until March 31, 2007. Clients who sign a 1, 2 or 3 year contract will receive 1, 2 or 3 months respectively of unlimited local calling.
? Offer available to new activations only on a 1, 2, or 3 year contract until March 31, 2007.You'd also get call waiting and conference calling with any but the cheapest of digital PCS plans.
Also, Telus has an extremely wide coverage area (so if you are planning on giving your phone to someone who lives outside of a major metro area you might want to think about that). More importantly, you won't have to @%&# around with buying phone cards at a particular place AND you won't have to worry about losing your phone number.
In fact, if I were you I'd drop the land line altogether and get that number onto a cell phone plan with either Shaw, Telus or fido.
Reading this post, all I could think was, "Classic Ustauk", especially
Quote from: Ustauk on March 07, 2007, 12:16:16 PM
The guy in the blog said they no longer charge for incoming text messages, so I could receive messages on the phone and send them from a computer for free if I'm nearby one
But enough poking the bear. And no, don't text "Kapla (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Kapla)!" to her. :D
Once you get a cell you'll probably find you use it more than you planned. If at that point you switch from the 7-11 phone to a monthly subscription, you might not be able to bring your $100 phone along. So, lets compare this offer to a monthly $20 subscription from Telus (gives ya 175 minutes per month), just for fun:
If you spend 20 minutes on the phone per month and send 5 text messages, calculated for a year:
7-11 phone: Spend $106 buying the phone ($100 + GST), get a free $50 time card, get a free $10 airtime credit, use $11.88 of airtime on 911 fees and $48 on minutes and $3 on text messages (that's actually $62.88 on airtime which is more than the $50 and $10 free airtime), total cost $106.
Telus's cheapest plan: Spend $0 buying the phone (Samsung A645 (http://www.telusmobility.com/ab/pcs/handset_samsung_a645.shtml) on a 1-year contract), spend $35 activating your account, spend $30.16 per month for the plan ($20 plan + $6.95 network fee + $0.75 911 fee + $0.75 for 5 text messages + GST), total cost $396.92.
Seems like a good deal. Now, if you use your cellphone more like most people, you'll probably spend 100 minutes on the phone per month and not send any text messages. Calculated for a year:
7-11 phone: Spend $106 buying the phone ($100 + GST), get a free $50 time card, get a free $10 airtime credit, use $11.88 of airtime on 911 fees and $240 on minutes so spend $200 on more airtime cards, total cost $306.
Telus's cheapest plan: Spend $0 buying the phone (Samsung A645 (http://www.telusmobility.com/ab/pcs/handset_samsung_a645.shtml) on a 1-year contract), spend $35 activating your account, spend $29.36 per month for the plan ($20 plan + $6.95 network fee + $0.75 911 fee + GST), total cost $387.32.
Still a better deal, but not nearly as good anymore. Now, what if your girlfriend likes to call you while you're out places, and you average 150 minutes per month? Calculated for a year:
7-11 phone: Spend $106 buying the phone ($100 + GST), get a free $50 time card, get a free $10 airtime credit, use $11.88 of airtime on 911 fees and $360 on minutes so spend $325 on more airtime cards, total cost $431.
Telus's cheapest plan: Spend $0 buying the phone (Samsung A645 (http://www.telusmobility.com/ab/pcs/handset_samsung_a645.shtml) on a 1-year contract), spend $35 activating your account, spend $29.36 per month for the plan ($20 plan + $6.95 network fee + $0.75 911 fee + GST), total cost $387.32.
The more you talk, the better the monthly plan is. Having to use a landline all the time just because you have a cellphone is a pain - are you going to use the payphone at the bar to call a cab? Are you going to tell your girlfriend to call Lazy's phone number if she wants to get a hold of you when you're playing D&D? Always having to carry an extra airtime card *just in case you actually run out of airtime money during a real emergency* seems like a real hassle, too.
This is why I recommend that if you're going to get a cellphone, go full-bore and get a contract, even if it's just one year. I agree with Mr. A. that you could easily get rid of your landline and actually spend less on telephony by getting a $40 to $50 per month contract.
Telus just added new Pay and Talk features, one is unlimited incoming calls for $30/mo.
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?p=8854349#post8854349
Keep watching the providers, Number portability goes into effect on the 14th this month, so expect MANY new deals to be announced both for keeping and stealing customers from other providers.
Also note that of the providers, IF you get a contract with Telus it has the worst canceling penalty, you must pay out a minimum of $20/mo for every month remaining on the contract.
Man, I haven't used my cell much at all lately. I think I can get away with only paying 10 a month for it. I'll have to see.
More info
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?p=8885561#post8885561
Still shows 7-11 as the best prepaid.
So the 7-Eleven phone is $2.05 a month minimum (1/12th of the $100 card), $0.20 per minute, $6.99 for 30 minutes in a month. Since 30 minutes is only $6.00, that means that the 7-Eleven phone charges $0.99 per month for something (System Access Fee? 911 Access Fee?). Just pointing out that there's other fees... What really gets me is
Quote
Note: Rogers, Fido, PetroCanada, & 7-Eleven Prepaid use minutes when people leave VM messages for you
So I can call you and leave a few voicemails and your minutes get burned away? That sorta sucks... On top of that, if you don't use a landline you burn even more minutes
checking your voicemail.
I'm also very surprised that he only uses his phone 7 minutes a week. I spend more time than that per week talking to my wife asking her to get me a hot chocolate when she's at Timmy's getting herself a coffee...
Quote from: Lazybones on March 14, 2007, 09:24:44 AM
Still shows 7-11 as the best prepaid.
I think that should actually say that it shows 7-Eleven as the best prepaid
for the usage pattern described. For 58 minutes a month or more, PC Mobile is cheaper (7-Eleven: ($0.20/minute x 58 minutes) + $0.99 = $12.59, PC Mobile: $12.50 minimum due to card expiry).
Quote from: Thorin on March 14, 2007, 11:51:30 AM
I think that should actually say that it shows 7-Eleven as the best prepaid for the usage pattern described. For 58 minutes a month or more, PC Mobile is cheaper (7-Eleven: ($0.20/minute x 58 minutes) + $0.99 = $12.59, PC Mobile: $12.50 minimum due to card expiry).
The pattern: People who get a phone and don't use it.
For more moderate usage, say about five minutes a day or $31 a month on Speakout, would the L plan at Virgin Mobile (http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/pricesAndFeatures/html/comparison.html) be a good deal? That's 200 anytime minutes for $20, with 30 cents per minute over the 200. Some days I figure I wouldn't use the phone at all, while others I may use it for ten instead of five, so I figure this might work out. I still can't see me needing unlimited evenings and weekends, but I could upgrade to a higher Virgin Plan if that makes sense. And the coverage is the same as Bell's, quite good.
Keep in mind the following with that L plan:
Call Waiting
- free feature. Yay!
- they charge you airtime for *both* calls; the one you have on hold and the one you're talking to. Boo!
Voicemail
- free feature. Yay!
- you can have up to ten voicemails. Yay!
- you can set your phone to ring anywhere from 2 to 9 times before sending the people to voicemail. Yay!
- when checking your voicemail from your phone, you get charged for the airtime. BOO! Even more BOO when you realize while you're at West Ed that you have to clear out your voicemail so your girlfriend can you leave you a voicemail telling you where to find her.
Quote
If you are on a monthly plan and you don?t have enough funds on your monthly payment date, all your local calls will be charged 25? per minute.
Double BOO!
Quote from: Thorin on March 15, 2007, 12:15:51 PM
Keep in mind the following with that L plan:
Call Waiting
- free feature. Yay!
- they charge you airtime for *both* calls; the one you have on hold and the one you're talking to. Boo!
Voicemail
- free feature. Yay!
- you can have up to ten voicemails. Yay!
- you can set your phone to ring anywhere from 2 to 9 times before sending the people to voicemail. Yay!
- when checking your voicemail from your phone, you get charged for the airtime. BOO! Even more BOO when you realize while you're at West Ed that you have to clear out your voicemail so your girlfriend can you leave you a voicemail telling you where to find her.
Quote
If you are on a monthly plan and you don’t have enough funds on your monthly payment date, all your local calls will be charged 25? per minute.
Double BOO!
I knew about the voice mail thing. It means I'll have to be dilligent about keeping it clean. I also have to be diligent about keeping my account balace up, as you noticed. I'll probably just set a reminder on Outlook and my PDA.
I ended up going with Virgin, getting the L plan for now. If I exceed on hundred minutes after two weeks, I'll upgrade to the next plan. I was going to get the cheap Nokia, but my girlfriend convinced me to get the Nokia 6275i (https://www.virginmobile.ca/site/buyaphoneDetails.do;jsessionid=F2mfCJpzvvKtG7w1vhCv6vsJC8Jq7vxqd7psGSxyjPLvJHRnRQQT!-1057403638?phoneId=10-00039&sType=w). She argued that as I was likely to have the phone for a long time, and I might as well have a nice one. Given the razzin I've received from you guys over my thriftiness, you might says she's a good influence on me :) I considered getting the Razr, but the Nokia had more features for a similar price, and they didn't have any in stock at the Future Shop I was at. I've got a microSD card and USB cable coming off of eBay. Once I have the USB cable, I should be able to hack in MP3 ringtones, according to this thread. (http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1072219) So I've finally joined the mobile age, heaven help me. I'll pass out my number as I meet you guys. Thanks for all the advice! :)
Congrats, mobile phones are both a blessing and a curse as I am sure you will soon find out.
Read the manual, it can be frustrating trying to figure out how to respond to a txt message on some units.
Congrats!
Quote from: Ustauk on March 19, 2007, 01:46:56 PM
I was going to get the cheap Nokia, but my girlfriend convinced me to get the Nokia 6275i (https://www.virginmobile.ca/site/buyaphoneDetails.do;jsessionid=F2mfCJpzvvKtG7w1vhCv6vsJC8Jq7vxqd7psGSxyjPLvJHRnRQQT!-1057403638?phoneId=10-00039&sType=w).
Ha ha, women always get men to do things they wouldn't normally do...
Did you get the phone for free, or did you have to pay for it? If you paid for it, how much?
Quote from: Ustauk on March 19, 2007, 01:46:56 PM
I considered getting the Razr, but the Nokia had more features for a similar price, and they didn't have any in stock at the Future Shop I was at.
I've found a lot of the features added into the phones nowadays don't get used all that much. I've taken a few pictures and videos with the camera, but at 1.3MP and no optical zoom, they don't look that good. I don't bother using the calculator or calendar, either. I don't even bother getting different backgrounds or ring tones onto my phone, and I actually have legitimate software to do it without hacking anything. The only real feature I use on my phone, besides calling people and talking to them, is the contact list. It's nice to have an electronic rolodex.
For me, the real draw to the Razr was its form factor. It folds up compact and thin, yet opens big enough that the earpiece is at my ear and the microphone is at my mouth - my wife's old flip phone was way too small for my head. But what's comfortable for me might not be comfortable for you, which is why it's nice that there are so many different cell phone shapes and sizes out there.
Oh, and let us know what your first full month's bill is like - I wonder if there are any "hidden charges" tacked on.
The phone was $179 +GST from Future Shop. I might have gotten the Razer if they had one, but I had read the Nokia was good as well, and they had it handy, plus it was cheaper. Its a bit bigger then a Razer form-factor wise, but I'm used to hauling around a PDA, so that doesn't bother me.
I already had my PDA for keeping track of contacts, so that wasn't really a factor in getting it. However, both my phone and my PDA have Bluetooth, which made transferring my contacts over fairly painless.
There isn't a monthly bill per say, since you pay for the month ahead of time with whatever you topped up the pay as you go account. I pay $20 up front each month for 200 anytime minutes, plus 15 cents per outgoing text message, and 30 cents a minute for any minutes over the 200. You can have the plan set to auto-top up by a certain amount from a credit card if your balance drops below a certain point, and/or you can set it to draw a certain amount on a given date from the credit card to pay for the plan. I'll use the latter eventually, along with an automated transfer from my chequing account to my credit card to cover it. Right now I've got to burn through the $25 top up card I bought, the $10 activation credit, and the $10 kickback/referral bonus I got from a guy on Howard Forums. My second month on the plan is also free. So I basically got $40 of credit on signup, which is nice.
I can check my balance at any time, but for more detailed listing of usage I have to request an email from customer service, which is one place Virgin is substandard compared to the other providers. If I exceed 100 minutes in the first two weeks, I'll bump up to the next plan. I'll let you know how things go as I use the phone.
Thanks to this post (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4828707&postcount=40) and RedFlagDeals, I found out that Walmart had my phone on sale for $147.83. Since it was under two weeks since I bought my phone, I was able to take my receipt back to Future Shop and get a price match. I got the difference, plus 10% of the difference, plus the extra GST I paid back for $37.50. The final price of the phone ended up being 144.61, not including GST. Being the cheapskate I am, I'm very happy about this :)
Quote from: Ustauk on March 21, 2007, 01:18:31 PM
Thanks to this post (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4828707&postcount=40) and RedFlagDeals, I found out that Walmart had my phone on sale for $147.83. Since it was under two weeks since I bought my phone, I was able to take my receipt back to Future Shop and get a price match. I got the difference, plus 10% of the difference, plus the extra GST I paid back for $37.50. The final price of the phone ended up being 144.61, not including GST. Being the cheapskate I am, I'm very happy about this :)
If you were a
real cheapskate you'd just use a payphone for all your calls and collect the change from empty cans.
Quote from: Mr. Analog on March 21, 2007, 01:26:25 PM
Quote from: Ustauk on March 21, 2007, 01:18:31 PM
Thanks to this post (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4828707&postcount=40) and RedFlagDeals, I found out that Walmart had my phone on sale for $147.83. Since it was under two weeks since I bought my phone, I was able to take my receipt back to Future Shop and get a price match. I got the difference, plus 10% of the difference, plus the extra GST I paid back for $37.50. The final price of the phone ended up being 144.61, not including GST. Being the cheapskate I am, I'm very happy about this :)
If you were a real cheapskate you'd just use a payphone for all your calls and collect the change from empty cans.
:Bows head in shame:
You're right. I still take in my bottles and cans for change, but I can't afford to be as much of a thrifty person now that I have a girlfriend. Time to turn in my Scrooge club membership :sigh: :)
Quote from: Ustauk on March 21, 2007, 01:41:58 PM
Quote from: Mr. Analog on March 21, 2007, 01:26:25 PM
Quote from: Ustauk on March 21, 2007, 01:18:31 PM
Thanks to this post (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4828707&postcount=40) and RedFlagDeals, I found out that Walmart had my phone on sale for $147.83. Since it was under two weeks since I bought my phone, I was able to take my receipt back to Future Shop and get a price match. I got the difference, plus 10% of the difference, plus the extra GST I paid back for $37.50. The final price of the phone ended up being 144.61, not including GST. Being the cheapskate I am, I'm very happy about this :)
If you were a real cheapskate you'd just use a payphone for all your calls and collect the change from empty cans.
:Bows head in shame:
You're right. I still take in my bottles and cans for change, but I can't afford to be as much of a thrifty person now that I have a girlfriend. Time to turn in my Scrooge club membership :sigh: :)
Being a skin flint does not make you cool, ever.
Heh, I have about 20-40$ in bottle returns I bet :) Its _hardly_ "change". To me at least.
$144.61 Phone + $8.68 GST = $153.29
$20/month, automatically topped up, x 11 months = $240
$10 credit and $10 kickback = $20
$153.29 + $240 - $20 = $373.29.
Keeping in mind
Quote from: http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/customerService/html/customer_faq_price.html#5
5. How am I charged for my calls?
Your incoming and outgoing calls are charged by the minute (that means calls less than a minute are charged for one full minute). So if you make a call that lasts a minute & 47 seconds, you?ll be charged for 2 minutes.
and
Quote from: http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/customerService/html/cs_updates.html
Call Connectiom
On March 5, 2007, we?re changing the way we charge for connected calls that you make from your Virgin Mobile handset. A connected call is any call that you make that is answered, either by the recipient of your call or that individual?s voice mail.
What?s Changing?
As a result of changes in the way Virgin Mobile is charged for calls you make, we are now aligning our systems to start your call length from the moment you press the SEND button on your handset to initiate a call that is carried on our network. Previously, you were charged from the moment your call was connected. Virgin Mobile calls are billed by the minute, so we expect that the majority of our customers will not be impacted by this change in the cost of their average calls. We do not charge for usage on unanswered calls.
and
Quote from: http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/customerService/html/customer_faq_voicem.html#1
1. Is voicemail included with my Virgin Mobile service?
Sure is. However, you will be charged airtime for calls to your voicemail from your mobile phone.
Bill-by-the-minute instead of bill-by-the-second (which old providers like Clearnet used to have, so providers nowadays can't say the technology is too difficult for bill-by-the-second) can help you chew through your minutes pretty quick, especially since you start getting billed the moment you press SEND on your phone. Since you're also using it to check voicemail and the voicemail system probably takes more than a minute to just play a single message, you may be burning two or three minutes to check a twenty-second voicemail.
Best of all, though, is how they really make
Auto Top Up sound like the best thing for the consumer since sliced bread, but really it's just a more efficient way for them to take your money. If I were you, I'd set up Auto Top Up, but put the threshold at $5 and the automatic top-up amount at $15. That way if your phone gets stolen you're out no more than probably $30 if you figure it out by the next day.
By the way, for three years you'd pay $153.29 + $240 - $20 + $240 + $240 = $853.29. My three year contract for a RAZR on the Telus
Talk & Spark 30 was $0 for the phone, $39.96 per month, and $50 Best Buy gift card = $0 + $1,438.56 - $50 = $1,388.56. My plan has 100 minutes instead of your 200, but unlimited nights and weekends and 100 free text/video/picture messages per month. So your plan is about $535 cheaper over three years, so long as you don't use the phone extensively on nights or weekends (which I will be doing, I'm sure, since the wife and I will probably be at different arenas/pools/dance classes/etc on the weekends as we shuttle our kids around). I hope the $535 in savings helps you restore some skin-flintiness-feeling. :D
Thanks for the advice Thorin, especially about limiting the auto-topup and theft; I hadn't thought of that. I already knew about the roundup to the minute thing. I didn't know the time started from when you hit the send button, assuming the call was answered, so I'll keep that in mind.
My reason with going with Virgin was only partially financial. I'll admit I wanted to get away with the minium plan I could get away with, keeping the option to move up in plans should that become neccessary, but I likely could have moved up in the plans with another provider by renewing contracts. It was more my aversion of being tied to a specfic cell provider for a number of years that made me start with pay-as-you-go. I didn't want to be locked to a specific provider, as I had know idea if I'd like that provider. If I get fed up with Virigin for whatever reason in a couple of months, I could probably cell the phone for a bit of a loss and move on. I like that flexibility. I probably won't do that, but I like having that freedom.
Should my usage warrant it, I'll upgrade to the next plan up. It'd cost me an extra $360 over three years to move up to a thousand evening/weekend minutes and a hundred daytime minutes. And I'm not such a skinflint that I won't pay that extra cost should it prove neccesary. I probably wouldn't bump up to the $40 unlimited evening and weekend plan unless I dropped my land line, which might be a possiblity in the future. I'd be paying a premium over your plan by that point, Thorin, but once again there's nothing stopping me from selling the phone and moving onto a full up plan with another provider.
Thanks again for the advice.
PS: You forgot to knock $20 off my total for the free second month promotion going on now :)
Quote from: Ustauk on March 22, 2007, 09:14:45 AM
I could probably cell the phone
Pun intended? :P
Quote from: Ustauk on March 22, 2007, 09:14:45 AM
It was more my aversion of being tied to a specfic cell provider for a number of years that made me start with pay-as-you-go. I didn't want to be locked to a specific provider, as I had know idea if I'd like that provider. If I get fed up with Virigin for whatever reason in a couple of months, I could probably (s)ell the phone for a bit of a loss and move on. I like that flexibility. I probably won't do that, but I like having that freedom.
Yes, definitely a good idea to try it out, and the plan's not terribly expensive. Pay-as-you-go phones used to have the Achilles heel of being able to run out of money in the account at the most inopportune times. That Auto Top Up takes care of that particular little problem.
Quote from: Ustauk on March 22, 2007, 09:14:45 AM
Should my usage warrant it, I'll upgrade to the next plan up. It'd cost me an extra $360 over three years to move up to a thousand evening/weekend minutes and a hundred daytime minutes. And I'm not such a skinflint that I won't pay that extra cost should it prove neccesary. I probably wouldn't bump up to the $40 unlimited evening and weekend plan unless I dropped my land line, which might be a possiblity in the future. I'd be paying a premium over your plan by that point, Thorin, but once again there's nothing stopping me from selling the phone and moving onto a full up plan with another provider.
If/when you consider dropping the landline, have a look at the Share 30 (http://www.telusmobility.com/ab/plans/pcs/share30.shtml) plan from Telus. Yes, it's meant to be shared between two or more people, but it doesn't *have* to be. $30 gets you 225 minutes per month plus unlimited nights (9pm to 7am) and weekends (9pm Friday to 7am Monday) plus
unlimited local incoming calls. It already has Call Waiting and Conference Calling. Add in Spark 7 (http://www.telusmobility.com/ab/wweb/how_bundle.shtml) for Caller ID and 100 text messages for $7, and Voice Mail 10 (http://www.telusmobility.com/ab/services/pcs/voicemail.shtml) for $6 or Voice Mail 25 (http://www.telusmobility.com/ab/services/pcs/advancevmfax.shtml) for $8. Add in $6.95 system access fee and $0.75 for 911 access fee and GST, and you're at $53.74 or $55.86, depending on voice mail level picked.
That's $54 for a portable phone with lots of daytime minutes, unlimited evenings/weekends, unlimited (local) incoming calls, caller ID, voice mail, and text messaging all included. Compare that to what you pay now for your landline and your cell phone separately; it'll probably save anywhere from $5 to $15 a month, and allows you to have one contact number to give out to everyone.
The Virgin XXL plan (http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/pricesAndFeatures/html/comparison.html) at $40 is cheaper, but with only 100 minutes daytime you can pretty easily go over the limit if you're not counting minutes closely (yes, nights start at 7pm instead of 9pm; I was thinking of people who call you right after work). And on the XXL plan, if someone calls you during the day, the minutes get counted; on Telus' Share 30, those calls are considered local incoming so they *don't* count.
Anyway, just providing some alternatives, not saying you didn't find a good deal in that Virgin M plan :P
This is why I'm happy with my setup (for now). $6/mo VOIP, $10(ish)/mo pay as you go cell phone. The $10 card's minutes are uber expensive at 0.30$/min, but I _normally_ don't use that much now that I have my inexpensive voip plan.
edit:
Oooh, I've actually surpassed $6 this month on my voip :o wow. $6.98 for 188+ minutes. (includes the service and local phone number fee)
Quote from: Thorin on March 22, 2007, 01:44:37 PM
Quote from: Ustauk on March 22, 2007, 09:14:45 AM
I could probably cell the phone
Pun intended? :P
No, I just had cell phones on the brain at the time.
Thanks for your advice about the Telus plan you spoke of. I'll think about it for the future.
Futureshop has my phone on for $129.99. (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10080538&catid=22517) It's been just over thirty days since I bought my phone, so I exceeded the length of their price protection policy, but they were nice enough to give me the $15.50 in in store credit that was the difference between the current price and my last price match against Wal-mart.
Quote from: Ustauk on April 17, 2007, 11:18:35 PM
Futureshop has my phone on for $129.99. (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10080538&catid=22517) It's been just over thirty days since I bought my phone, so I exceeded the length of their price protection policy, but they were nice enough to give me the $15.50 in in store credit that was the difference between the current price and my last price match against Wal-mart.
I printed out the FS product page, gonna see if the Southpark location has one they can put aside for me for the end of the day.
Thanks for all your research, hopefully I'll benefit from it :)
PS: some other info/reviews for this model:
http://www.nokia.ca/english/products/6275i/6275i_features.asp
http://www.prairiemobile.com/nokia_6275i.html
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/user_reviews.php?phone=1025
http://www.cellphones.ca/cell-phones/phone/513/
I found out about the sale by reading this thread (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419363) at Redflagdeals.com, which also happens to contain information on where to get various accesories on the cheap and how to mod the phone to run Java apps and use your own MP3s as ringtones. If you don't care to get an microSD card for music, but want a custom ring tone, you could come over to my place and we could use my USB cable and software to do it.
The phone's been pretty good to me so far. Which plan do you intend to get? Good luck with the phone :)
I plan on getting whatever plan (http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/pricesAndFeatures/html/pricesAndFeatures.html) the hard-sell suggests I get ;)
Seriously, gonna go for the cheapest as I'm hoping I can stick to just using it for emergencies, calling cabs, checking BusLink info, etc. And I don't want to have only 30 days for my prepaid minutes to expire (http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/pricesAndFeatures/html/topup.html), which is why I have been delaying this purchase for so long...
Hmm, hell must have frozen over, firs Mr. A, then Ustaulk now the Dirtman is getting a cell? What is this world coming to?
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 18, 2007, 11:32:02 AM
I plan on getting whatever plan (http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/pricesAndFeatures/html/pricesAndFeatures.html) the hard-sell suggests I get ;)
Seriously, gonna go for the cheapest as I'm hoping I can stick to just using it for emergencies, calling cabs, checking BusLink info, etc. And I don't want to have only 30 days for my prepaid minutes to expire (http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/pricesAndFeatures/html/topup.html), which is why I have been delaying this purchase for so long...
The nice thing about Virgin is the topups range from 45 days to a year in expiry, depending on how much you get.
I'd say start with the 200 minute anytime plan for $20. The equivalent would cost $50 if paid straight pay-as-you-go. If you do it that way, your second month will be free. If you find you use less then that you can downgrade in the third month. You can request a usage spreadsheet from Virigin, though they leave to you to figure out how many minutes you've used. As noted to me by other board members, you'll use it more then you think.
Quote from: Ustauk on April 18, 2007, 12:01:00 PM
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 18, 2007, 11:32:02 AM
I plan on getting whatever plan (http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/pricesAndFeatures/html/pricesAndFeatures.html) the hard-sell suggests I get ;)
Seriously, gonna go for the cheapest as I'm hoping I can stick to just using it for emergencies, calling cabs, checking BusLink info, etc. And I don't want to have only 30 days for my prepaid minutes to expire (http://www.virginmobile.ca/site/en/pricesAndFeatures/html/topup.html), which is why I have been delaying this purchase for so long...
The nice thing about Virgin is the topups range from 45 days to a year in expiry, depending on how much you get.
I'd say start with the 200 minute anytime plan for $20. The equivalent would cost $50 if paid straight pay-as-you-go. If you do it that way, your second month will be free. If you find you use less then that you can downgrade in the third month. You can request a usage spreadsheet from Virigin, though they leave to you to figure out how many minutes you've used. As noted to me by other board members, you'll use it more then you think.
Miserly minds think alike.
I was actually gonna go that route, only cuz of the "2nd month free" deal. In fact, I was considering the next step us, since the 2nd month is free (if equal or lesser rate). Then I can have a look at the account after the first month and see how I'm actually using it.
Quote from: Ustauk on April 18, 2007, 12:01:00 PM
The nice thing about Virgin is the topups range from 45 days to a year in expiry, depending on how much you get.
I'd say start with the 200 minute anytime plan for $20. The equivalent would cost $50 if paid straight pay-as-you-go. If you do it that way, your second month will be free. If you find you use less then that you can downgrade in the third month. You can request a usage spreadsheet from Virigin, though they leave to you to figure out how many minutes you've used. As noted to me by other board members, you'll use it more then you think.
Now that you've used it for a bit, have you found you use your phone more than you thought you would? I've found I use mine less than I thought I would, although I'm not carting around to hockey arenas every weekend at the moment...
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 18, 2007, 09:09:35 AM
I printed out the FS product page, gonna see if the Southpark location has one they can put aside for me for the end of the day.
Thanks for all your research, hopefully I'll benefit from it :)
For me, the real deciding factor in buying one phone over another is the form factor - how does it feel in my hand, against the side of my head, when I'm using it for it's primary purpose, or in my pocket when I'm just carrying it? Although phones nowadays have lots of extra gadgets built in, after the honeymoon phase is over those gadgets don't get as much use as you'd think. For me, short phones with little buttons drive me nuts - that's why I went for the longest-when-open flip phone available. For others, long and wide phones might not be comfortable for them. So I suggest that you try out a few models to see how they feel when holding them to the side of your head, or try to imagine them in your pocket all day - if they're not immediately comfortable, try a different model.
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 18, 2007, 09:09:35 AM
PS: some other info/reviews for this model:
http://www.nokia.ca/english/products/6275i/6275i_features.asp
http://www.prairiemobile.com/nokia_6275i.html
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/user_reviews.php?phone=1025
http://www.cellphones.ca/cell-phones/phone/513/
Keep in mind, too, not *everyone* is happy with Virgin Mobile: http://theweaselking.livejournal.com/2146269.html. I wonder how much juice will get sucked up playing the radio/MP3 player... That's the problem I have with convergence - when multiple devices are converged into one device, there's only one battery to do all the different jobs of all the different devices.
Ust, do you find you listen to the radio/MP3 player a lot, or take a lot of pictures with the phone? Do you do a lot of text messaging, or is it mostly voice calls?
Darren, keep in mind that Virgin Mobile lets you set up "auto top-up" which will reduce the likelihood that your minutes expire, if you go on straight pay-as-you-go. Also, you don't have to mess around buying cards. Also, I'll suggest the same to you as I did to Ust - do the math to see how much money you'd save if you get a big plan for the mobile and cancel your landline. Since you claim to be miserly...
Quote from: Thorin on April 18, 2007, 01:32:01 PM
Ust, do you find you listen to the radio/MP3 player a lot, or take a lot of pictures with the phone? Do you do a lot of text messaging, or is it mostly voice calls?
On my trip to Canmore we alternated between MP3s on the speakers of my girlfriend's and my phone, since my FM stero doesn't work in my car for an FM transmitter, and my tape deck is not friendly to tape adapters. My Tungsten can play MP3s, but it's speaker isn't as loud and it's limited to 1 gb cards, whereas I grabbed a 2 gb microsd card off of eBay for my phone. I've used the FM radio and MP3 player while I've been walking to work, as well. I've used the camera on the phone a couple of times, mostly for spontaneous shots. The MP3 and radio do cut into my battery life when I use them, but I have a car charger and a charger at both home and work, so that's not too much of an issue.
My girlfriend likes to send me text messages, which are free to receive. I usually phone back, since it uses my plan minutes instead of me paying for an outgoing text, plus I still suck at text message typing :) I've sent a couple, though. I recently finished my month, and requested my usage sheet, so I'll be able to figure out how many when I get that.
I was going to get the cheapest phone possible, but my girlfriend intervened and managed to convince me to get the nicer phone. Did I need all the convergence stuff on it? No, but since I've got in anyways, I'm going to use it.
As to your link to weasalking, it is a valid point, but it is fairly painless to bypass the DRM locks on the phone once you have the USB cable. I agree their advertising any MP3 as a ringtone when they mean any MP3 they can sell you sucks, but at least there's a way around it.
I agree Darren should get whichever Virgin phone (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/subclass.asp?catid=22517&logon=&langid=EN) fits him best, if he does go with Virgin. I read some negative reviews about the LG 3300 (http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/user_reviews.php?phone=312), though. The LG-150 (http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/user_reviews.php?phone=992) has some positive reviews, but its the same price as the Nokia with less feature, though it is a flip phone. If you want a very basic phone, the Nokia 2125 (http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/user_reviews.php?phone=772) has some good reviews, but it felt kind of cheap when I looked at the display model, and it only had a ninety day warranty compared to a year for my 6275i (http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/user_reviews.php?phone=1025), which also has some good reviews. Wal-mart may have deals on the other Virgin phones. And you should be able to do price matches at Staples and Best Buy if you can make it to either. Good luck with whatever you get, Darren.
My 6275i is charging now... Ustauk, is it true what some user reviews said, that it takes a few full charges to properly "condition" the battery (i.e. the first few charges it seems to last a shorter time than the specs ... specify?)
I'm charging it as I leave for work, will assume the Lithium Ion batt will be fully ready to go in 10 hours -- is that how long you did first time? (I couldn't find info. in the manuals that said how long for the First Charge)
PS: some really interesting user comments here: (including a list of software, suggested enhancements to check out, etc.)
http://www.cnet.com.au/mobilephones/phones/0,239025956,240063801,00.htm
Quote from: Darren Dirt on April 19, 2007, 08:30:09 AM
My 6275i is charging now... Ustauk, is it true what some user reviews said, that it takes a few full charges to properly "condition" the battery (i.e. the first few charges it seems to last a shorter time than the specs ... specify?)
I'm charging it as I leave for work, will assume the Lithium Ion batt will be fully ready to go in 10 hours -- is that how long you did first time? (I couldn't find info. in the manuals that said how long for the First Charge)
Let me jump on this one, for most Lithium Ion batteries you will have to fully charge and nearly deplete the battery to get the longest possible duration out of the battery (if it's important to the battery your phone uses it should say so in the manual). Otherwise the effectiveness of doing this is going to be so insignificant you either won't have the phone long enough to care about the long-term condition of the battery or you'll be able to justify the cost of a replacement without thinking about it too hard.
Your battery may only take a few hours to charge (well under 5, let alone 10 hours)
The first of Dan's Letters at this link (http://www.dansdata.com/danletters017.htm) has a pretty good explanation of lithium ion battery charging. I drained the battery twice initially as the manual suggested (leaving the radio on is a good way to do this), but after that I throw it on the charger when it drops to 2/3 or 1/3 charge. The phone is pretty good at not overcharging; I've seen the fully charged indicator come up, and when this happens the phone stops charging, according to the battery/charging indicator. I just left it charging overnight the first time. I think the manual had the recommended charing time, but I could be wrong.
Quote from: Ustauk on April 18, 2007, 03:02:14 PM
On my trip to Canmore we alternated between MP3s on the speakers of my girlfriend's and my phone, since my FM stero doesn't work in my car for an FM transmitter, and my tape deck is not friendly to tape adapters.
Gah, you spent four hours in a car driving to Canmore listening to music on being played on the speakers of cell phones? Could you even *hear* the songs over the road and wind noise? How about bass, could you hear any bass? I don't mean sub-bass like you hear from a 12" subwoofer, I mean bass like you hear from a 4" mid-range speaker... If your car already has speakers in it, how about spending $150 on a deck? $106 for the deck (http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10084313&catid=21981) (includes GST), and $40 for installation. You can plug your MP3 player into the plug on the front, so you can still listen to all that music on your portable music player, but
actually hear the music.
Sometimes being cheap causes you to miss out on enjoyable experiences. Like hearing lower frequencies in your music.
Sorry if this sounds like a personal attack, it's not intended that way. It's just that I'm a closet car audio enthusiast (can't afford the best systems :( ), and I can't imagine not spending at least a couple hundred dollars on a car stereo that lets me actually *enjoy* music while driving.
Wait, headphones would make it sound better because the speakers are placed right next to (or inside of) your ears. You weren't using headphones, were you?
Oh, and if I manage to convince you to buy a car stereo and you're not willing to pay to get it installed (which is probably the smartest thing to do since those guys have all the tools and connectors they need), someone like Melbosa or myself could probably help you install it.
LOL, chill man, he only listens to Nickelback so it wouldn't sound good on anything.
:D J/K OF COURSE :D
Quote from: Thorin on April 19, 2007, 02:27:19 PM
Quote from: Ustauk on April 18, 2007, 03:02:14 PM
On my trip to Canmore we alternated between MP3s on the speakers of my girlfriend's and my phone, since my FM stero doesn't work in my car for an FM transmitter, and my tape deck is not friendly to tape adapters.
Gah, you spent four hours in a car driving to Canmore listening to music on being played on the speakers of cell phones? Could you even *hear* the songs over the road and wind noise? How about bass, could you hear any bass? I don't mean sub-bass like you hear from a 12" subwoofer, I mean bass like you hear from a 4" mid-range speaker... If your car already has speakers in it, how about spending $150 on a deck? $106 for the deck (http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10084313&catid=21981) (includes GST), and $40 for installation. You can plug your MP3 player into the plug on the front, so you can still listen to all that music on your portable music player, but actually hear the music.
Sometimes being cheap causes you to miss out on enjoyable experiences. Like hearing lower frequencies in your music.
Sorry if this sounds like a personal attack, it's not intended that way. It's just that I'm a closet car audio enthusiast (can't afford the best systems :( ), and I can't imagine not spending at least a couple hundred dollars on a car stereo that lets me actually *enjoy* music while driving.
Wait, headphones would make it sound better because the speakers are placed right next to (or inside of) your ears. You weren't using headphones, were you?
Oh, and if I manage to convince you to buy a car stereo and you're not willing to pay to get it installed (which is probably the smartest thing to do since those guys have all the tools and connectors they need), someone like Melbosa or myself could probably help you install it.
I've been meaning to get my car stereo replaced for a while; I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. The radio works in the summer, so it wasn't as much of a concern until winter. By that time, it was too cold to work on the deck outside (Melbosa said he'd help me with it, I didn't know you (Thorin) fiddled with decks as well), and the last time I checked at Future Shop the wait for installation was a couple of weeks long, so I planned on getting it done in the spring. Now that spring is here, I'll get the deck installed one of these weekends.
As you said, the phones had no bass, but they were suprisingly loud, especially given the wind noise I get in my car at high speeds. You're right though, they're nothing compared to proper speakers, even the stock ones that are in my car.
Yeah, sorry Ust, I'm not trying to be mean, I just really can't imagine road-tripping like that...
Quote from: Ustauk on April 19, 2007, 03:04:38 PM
Now that spring is here, I'll get the deck installed one of these weekends.
Have you got your eye on a particular deck or a particular set of features you want in your deck? CD playback, MP3-on-a-CD playback, front-panel audio input to hook up portable music players? Removable faceplate, since your car is pretty easy to get into and doesn't have an alarm system?
Quote from: Thorin on April 19, 2007, 03:15:41 PM
Quote from: Ustauk on April 19, 2007, 03:04:38 PM
Now that spring is here, I'll get the deck installed one of these weekends.
Have you got your eye on a particular deck or a particular set of features you want in your deck? CD playback, MP3-on-a-CD playback, front-panel audio input to hook up portable music players? Removable faceplate, since your car is pretty easy to get into and doesn't have an alarm system?
All of the above would be nice. I just noticed that Best Buy has free installation with a deck over $149. (http://www.bestbuy.ca/popup/promotionpopup.asp?logon=&langid=EN&ndx=0&sku=0926INGFS10072818)
Quote
Installation Included on all Car Decks over $149 ? Click for Details
Installation Included on Car Decks over $149*
*Applies to basic car deck install only, parts and extensive labour extra. Exludes prior purchases. Offer available in store only. See store for details.
I don't know if ripping apart my dash would qualify as extensive. Given the age of the vehicle, I imagine converter cables would be required. I might wait for Mel to come back from Mani, though, since I know he swapped the stereo on his old '82 Supra among other Toyotas, so he'd know the quirks of replacing a deck in a vehicle like mine. If you'd like to give it a try in the meantime, Thorin, there'd be a 26 of your favourite beverage in it. Or do you think I'd be ok with the Best Buy guys? I get nervous at the thought of strangers touching my baby.
Most Toyota's dashes fit the after market dashes quite well. All that you really need to find is a tray if you have a 2 DIN deck in there now.
As for helping you out, you know its no problem for me. As you said I've done many Toyotas and well about 50 other ones as well. All I would suggest is that we try and find a Wiring Assembly adapter, as those make the installs easier and quicker. Other than that we can always do it the other way, just need a test light to figure out which wires to splice into (I never cut the original wiring plugs out of any car, just splice into the wires behind it).
Looks like I should be back from Mani next wednesday guys.
I started a new thread for this here: http://forums.righteouswrath.com/index.php/topic,5069.0.html