Cell Phones?

[decemberlily]

Just wondering:
1. What is the best priced network?
2. Do you use cells? Whats the frugal thought on these?
3. Have you cancelled your landline for a cell line?
Thanks!

[travelgeek]

1. depends on your calling pattern
2. I'm on the $100 a year rogers pay as you go plan.... evenings and weekends 1 cpm, 39cpm on weekdays 8-8. I'm in the office 9-5 most of the time, so I rarely have to use the cell during the 'expensive' period.
3. yes

[Young_Freebie]

1. In my area, Telus is cheapest with a hidden Talk 18 plan that is VERY basic.. and runs for around $25 a month.
2. Make sure you get the unlimited weekends and after X o'clock and make most of your calls then.
3. Never had a land line. And if my battery lasted longer, I might not bother.

[Kate]

1. I'll second it depends on your calling pattern.

2. My boyfriend and I both have cellphones, that are on a couples plan. We get 100 shared weekday/weeknight minutes, 50 shared bonus weekday minutes, and "Between us Calling" (which is the only thing we call on our cellphones). It all costs about $35 for both cellphones a month.

3. Nope. Never going to either. Cellphones can be lost, dead, anything...

[Love2save]

we have telus with the mike phones. we have a big plan so its quite expensive, we are slowly making our plan smaller but my husband used to travel to the states every week ,so with free miking it worked out great
I find if you can get the same server as the people you talk to most have it usually works out to be cheaper, all our kids have telus as well so we can all beep each other for free

[abfab]

1) I've had Fido for years, but Solo (Bell) has identical plans last time i checked.
2) Bills by the second not minute which really adds up. Plus does not charge until the call connects. Others charge once phone starts ringing.
3) Cell phone only household for years, but recently added Vonage for home office.

[Dee09]

Anyone have any experience with the Speak Out pre-paid cell phones?

[angel48]

I have had a cell for some time - innitially it was because I had dial-up and the land line was tied up all the time - also with the four teens I had at home at the time needed to make sure there was no excuse for them not to let me know their whereabouts - and living in the country it gave me access to a phone in case the car broke down and I needed a tow - (I can't walk long distances and not a lot of houses or places to use a phone along the highway)
I have always used bell - they have the most towers in this area so reception is usually not a problem
If you do a lot of texting I would recommend that you include a set cost for that service as now you pay for incoming and outgoing texts at .15 cents/per also remember that if you make long distance call the cost per minute can be very high ,
still have dial-up so still use have the land-line -

[Natalka]

Anyone have any experience with the Speak Out pre-paid cell phones?

We got one of these for our son about a year and a half ago, and since then he has upgraded with them twice, when they have had promotions - usually twice a year, when you buy a certain amount of air time - used to be $100, you got a free phone (basic) or could use a credit towards an upgrade.
Nokia phones, good quality.
He likes it a lot, because he has friends who are on calling plans, contracts, etc. who have had to pay lots for their phones, too - and they all think he's the smartest one!
By the way, a big bonus is you don't pay that 6.95 or whatever it is, activation fee per month. Just pay for 911.
Another huge bonus is that minutes are good for longer than any other carrier - a year! - and as long as you bump them up by even $5, they are extended. (not that his have ever lasted....) They do have a new one, which is $15 airtime, but limited to a month - and that's not a good idea!
Petro-Can has similar plans, but they only allow six months for airtime...

http://www.speakout7eleven.ca/
This next site is run by users - some good info there -
http://www.speakoutwireless.ca/
- their forum (watch the dates)
http://www.speakoutwireless.ca/speak...-plans/page-1/
When the summer promo comes out (hopefully there will be another one), they'll post it on their site.

And, in general, I found this site to compare cellphone plans to suit different circumstances
http://cellplanexpert.ca/

[Justine]

I have a cell phone from rogers, the screen has a giant scratch on it (I've had it for over a year). Can I get it replaced? for free?

[Jacq]

, they will usually replace your phone when the contract expires if you renew. If you bought the phone straight out, without a warranty, you're out of luck.

1. I use Telus, but I didn't shop around much. I think they're all pretty much the same. I'm looking to maybe switch to Koodoo when my contract expires, though.
2. I have a basic Talk $15 plan, but with fees / long distance I usually pay about $30/month. It's not bad.
3. I originally got a cell phone because I couldn't afford the $200 deposit to set up a landline when I first moved out. I like having the cell because it gives me a good credit rating.

[Justine]

The phone was free with a contract, I think the contract was 3 years. My bf got a warranty on his, but it was only good for year I think and his phone is fine.

[itsjustmebub]

3. yes. we haven't had a land line in probably 5 years.

[Justine]

I should really get rid of my landline, $30+ every month for something that I don't use.

[save_girl]

1) For me, the best price was with Virgin, but they depend so much on your own usage.
2) I love having a cell for emergencies, meeting up with people, calling home from the store to see what we need, and texting my brother (as this is about the only way he communicates). This is pretty low usage - I buy minutes and average spending around $10 a month. Because I'm with Virgin I get free caller ID, VM and CW, plus no system access fee.
3) Still have the landline - with super heavy long distance usage I think it'll be a necessity for a long time.