Cell phone question

[atari1356]

I'm a T-Mobile customer and have been satisfied with their service... but not satisfied with the Nokia 3660 phones my wife and I have. So, I want to get new phones. I'm not under any contract with them any more, since I've had my current phones for over a year.

If I stick with T-Mobile, I can get new phones through them at a discount - but it still costs some money. ($99 for a Motorola RAZR V3 and a 2 year contract extension)

However, if I cancel my service with them it appears I can just start a new 1 year contract and get the phones for free (after mail-in rebates), for example:

Am I missing something here? Some fine print that prevents me from just cancelling my old service and just starting a new contract? Phone numbers aren't an issue, since my wife and I moved a while back and need new phone numbers anyways.

 

[leftbanke7]

I have had the experience with various different companies that if you look hard enough in their 45,000 page terms of service guide that even if you cancel, you are still considered a "customer" and are not eligible for new customer deals. This was the case with Comcast Internet. They were offering a really good deal for newbies but put in the print that existing customers were not eligible and seemed to word it somehow that also implied current customers that cancelled.

 

[tribe3]

They have a similar deal going on at Cingular. If you call T-mobile and tell them you want to cancel your account to take advantage of the Cingular deal they'll give to you so to keep you as a customer.

 

[Chundles]

RAZR's are so passé, everybody has them now. Are there any other phones you could get?

 

[atari1356]

RAZR's are so passé, everybody has them now. Are there any other phones you could get?

Well... is there anything else you'd recommend? I like the size of the RAZR phones, which was my main reason for looking at those (our old phones are huge) - plus, I think they look nice, and they have bluetooth. I don't really care how many other people have them, just so long as they're small and function properly.

I was thinking of staying away from Nokia, since my 3660 shuts off randomly and my wife has been having problems with hers as well. I've also never gotten the bluetooth file transfer to work.

 

[puckhead193]

get a side-kick II, after all according to snoop "everyone needs a side-kick"

If u want the razr look into the new version i have no idea whats it called but i think it has a transflash ability

edit - after looking at the phones on t mobiles site, i can see why u want the razr...i think its worse then verizon

 

[Counterfit]

They have a similar deal going on at Cingular. If you call T-mobile and tell them you want to cancel your account to take advantage of the Cingular deal they'll give to you so to keep you as a customer.

Actually, if you're going to switch, you don't have to cancel your account, your new provider will do that. It's best not to cancel before you switch, because if any hiccups occur (which doesn't usually happen when switching from T-Mobile), you could lose your number.

 

[atari1356]

get a side-kick II, after all according to snoop "everyone needs a side-kick"

heh... had no idea what you were talking about, so I looked it up... a sidekick II is pretty much the opposite of what I'm looking for.

 

[atari1356]

Actually, if you're going to switch, you don't have to cancel your account, your new provider will do that. It's best not to cancel before you switch, because if any hiccups occur (which doesn't usually happen when switching from T-Mobile), you could lose your number.

Good to know, although we're going to want new phone numbers anyways (since we still have phone numbers with an area code from before we moved).

It looks like if I order through wirefly.com and sign up for a 2 year contract with Cingular I can get a silver RAZR for me and a pink one for the wife for free (after mail-in rebates). I think that's my best option so far...

I'm very open to any opinions on other cellphones though, as I don't know much about them. I just know I want something small with bluetooth.

Thanks for all the advice so far.

 

[atari1356]

So, after a bit more research, I'm now seriously considering the Sony Ericsson W600.

It's a bit larger, but can play MP3's and has a built in FM tuner. It's stuck with only 256MB memory, but that should be enough to store a couple of albums worth of music and leave room for other stuff.

My wife will probably still want the pink RAZR though.

 

[CorvusCamenarum]

I'm a T-Mobile customer and have been satisfied with their service... but not satisfied with the Nokia 3660 phones my wife and I have. So, I want to get new phones. I'm not under any contract with them any more, since I've had my current phones for over a year.

If I stick with T-Mobile, I can get new phones through them at a discount - but it still costs some money. ($99 for a Motorola RAZR V3 and a 2 year contract extension)

However, if I cancel my service with them it appears I can just start a new 1 year contract and get the phones for free (after mail-in rebates), for example:

Am I missing something here? Some fine print that prevents me from just cancelling my old service and just starting a new contract? Phone numbers aren't an issue, since my wife and I moved a while back and need new phone numbers anyways.

You can change your plan with T-Mobile and just restart the contract with no termination fees. My girlfriend and I did that so 1) we could take advantage of the family plan and 2) I could get out of the vile black hole that is Bellsouth. If you're looking to change providers, be sure to read the fine print in your current contract first about any fees that might be assessed if you cancel early, they can be quite significant.

As for phones, don't know what to tell you, as everyone's taste varies. I spent $50 and got the Motorola v188, and it suits me just fine. Then again, I just wanted a phone, not some space age, nuclear powered gizmo with 12,000,000 bells and whistles that I'll never use.

 

[TheMonarch]

You mentioned that T-Moble gave you satisfactory service. You're milage may vary, but over here where I live (North California) word-of-mouth hasn't sounded too well for Cinguar/AT&T.


Just be careful with those 2 year contracts those free RAZRs might want to lure you in.

 

[pseudobrit]

Well... is there anything else you'd recommend? I like the size of the RAZR phones, which was my main reason for looking at those (our old phones are huge) - plus, I think they look nice, and they have bluetooth. I don't really care how many other people have them, just so long as they're small and function properly.

I gots me one of these Samsungs:

It kicks the **** out of the Razr and is just about as small. A little narrower and something like 1 mm thicker and 1 gram heavier.

Has a better screen (65k color) in QVGA, Bluetooth, EV-DO (3G), upgradeable miniSD (AFAIK), and a much better OS interface than the Moto.

I'm a happy camper.

 

[saabmp3]

much better OS interface than the Moto.

I'm a happy camper.

That's not hard. I will never buy another moto phone just because the OS is a POS.

Ben