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March 7, 2008 at 6:57 pm #586518
katydidMemberOK, this Luddite is considering purchasing a cell phone. What are the most important considerations to keep in mind? And if you have any other info to give me, it would be appreciated. BTW, not looking for lots of bells and whistles, just something to contact home base with when I’m out and about. Thanks.
March 7, 2008 at 7:20 pm #616933
JenVMemberKatydid- pay a visit to Gary Larkin at Sound Advice in the junction. He is very no-nonsense and if you tell him what you are looking for, he will be a great help. Good luck with the no bells and whistles idea. All phones come standard with that now!
March 7, 2008 at 7:39 pm #616934
JoBParticipantKatydid. you might find bells and whistles more useful than you think.
my current cell phone allows me to check real time bus schedules to see how long i might have to wait.. to look up the location of the nearest store when i am looking for something.. to check my google email no matter where i am… and to check google maps when i am lost.. and.. and .. and
didn’t think i would use any of it except if i was traveling.. but i do.
i especially love the note pad. i always have the phone with me and when in a store.. especially a book store.. i can note the titles (or products) i am interested in for later… with books sometimes that means for the library….
it really has made my life simpler… and i am a person who failed at using an electronic personal organizer…
i figured out if i just turn the ringer off i don’t have to be available to any idiot who rings my purse;-> i love that!
March 7, 2008 at 7:49 pm #616935
JeraldParticipantI thought having a camera in a phone was ridiculous, but now I couldn’t live without! I take pics of furniture when I’m comparison shopping, house colors I like, interesting plants & landscaping.
March 7, 2008 at 8:20 pm #616936
KeithMemberJoB, where/how do you look up real time bus schedules?
March 7, 2008 at 9:30 pm #616937
JoBParticipantMarch 7, 2008 at 9:35 pm #616938
beachdrivegirlParticipantJoB-Do you have an iphone?? It sounds like it…thats what I have and I love it….my mom does too (she’s 58!) and was so mad at her kids for her Christmas present that she felt was to much….she said it is the easiest phone she has ever used..her old basic phone she couldnt even fidn the address book…
March 7, 2008 at 9:49 pm #616939
SueParticipantJerald, I think it’s almost impossible to find a cell phone that *doesn’t* have a camera these days! Although that can sometimes be a drawback. My husband had this contract job a while back at a super high-security faciliy where camera phones would be confiscated – risk of him taking photos of proprietary info and sharing it with the world. So he could not carry his cell phone on him during working hours at the facility because of the camera.
March 7, 2008 at 11:24 pm #616940
squareeyesParticipantI am a phone hater and use any phone as rarely as possible. However, I have a basic cellphone and prepaid account through AT&T. I bought the phone, plunked $100 on the account, and that $100 lasts me a full year. The phone has text capability and that’s about it. You don’t have to put that much money on it, but if you do smaller increments I think they have penalties – something like your $25 is good for three months, but don’t quote me on that.
March 7, 2008 at 11:38 pm #616941
KayleighMemberI’d recommend Verizon as the best carrier for the area. I’d call their customer service line and ask what current phone/service package specials they have for new service and choose the best deal in your price range.
March 8, 2008 at 12:09 am #616942
JoBParticipanti have something called a wing and it is through t-mobile because they were the only ones servicing the upgrade when we bought.
March 8, 2008 at 2:08 am #616943
AnonymousInactiveDon’t know if you’re a AAA member, but they are advertising cell service with no contracts. Plans start at $10.00 for the basic emergency phone on up.
March 8, 2008 at 8:00 am #616944
WSBKeymasterFor very very basic service, one other decent option is Virgin Mobile pay as you go. You can order the bottom-line phone, the Oystr (no camera), online basically for free (you pay $20 but you get $20 prepaid airtime). Then you can “top up” online. We did this for our business phone when we first set it up late last summer after “pledge day” made that possible; we kept it that way till we ported the number to Verizon just a few weeks ago because finally we were using the phone enough that the pay-as-you-go pricing was adding up to more than a semi-basic cell plan (now we have a family share on Verizon for the home and business numbers, both now mobile phones). If you have friends with different carriers, you might have them come over and check the signal strength at your house. Because of West Seattle’s unique topography, some carriers do better in some spots than others. Just so happens that Verizon does better at our house.
March 8, 2008 at 7:03 pm #616945
KenParticipantBus info by line and route. Links suitable for mobile phones.
The best coverage in West seattle right now is actually AT&T/Cingular. The merger a while back created overlapping zones in much of WS and allows my phone to work in a basement of a plaster and lathe house (otherwise known as a faraday cage)when verizon users have to go out to the front yard.
Each location is going to be different, but since cingular built towers and then merged with AT&T which already had lots of towers, the coverage is better in most places I have tested. (poking around in cell phone software can tell ya some esotheric and interesting things about signal strength and inrange towers.)
However, the concentration of users on the afternoon West Seattle Bridge will often overwhelm the towers between Pigeon Point/Delridge way and the Alaska Junction.
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