TheLongshot Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 We have a problem that needs to be dealt with in the near term. Both my wife and I have lost our cell phones. (not a huge loss. Both were on their last legs.) My father-in-law was an employee with Sprint but is in the process of retiring. We lose the employee discount at the end of August. The wife wants cell phones before we leave for our vacation in the first week of August. Now, I'm very much interested in getting an Android phone, but I'm more interested in some of the phones which are going to be released later this year (Motorola Morrison, Samsung Galaxy) than the G1. The MyTouch doesn't come out until the first week of August, so that's out for the time being. I don't mind switching to T-Mobile. So, what are our options? Buy new phones through the employee plan and stick with Sprint for a bit. I'm not sure that's possible in the first place, since my FIL is kinda retired already. Cost of the phones were $50 when we last did it, and I'm not sure if we are going to get a choice. Sprint's regular prices are also pretty pricey last I checked. Switch to T-Mobile early and maybe pick up a phone outside of contract so that I can upgrade when the phone I want comes out. I could probably find a G1 used, but I don't know if I really want to do that considering that the hardware isn't all THAT attractive. I certainly could wait for what I want. Get prepaid phones and deal with that until it is time to switch. Course, it would mean buying phones we plan on abandoning in a few months once we decided on a plan. So, what do people think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoRUSupposed2Be Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Option number 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shuler74 Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Who do you work for ..the reason I ask is your work may offer a discount to a cell phone company, I am a business sales rep for a cell phone company and we offer discounts to basically every company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbleedBnG83 Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Tmobile has the best plans. I'm not crazy about their reception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLongshot Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 Who do you work for ..the reason I ask is your work may offer a discount to a cell phone company, I am a business sales rep for a cell phone company and we offer discounts to basically every company. I get discounts for just about every cell phone company through my employer. That doesn't really answer my question, tho, since all Cell Phone discounts through my company probably come with contract commitments. Good for one phone, but not the other. I did take a look at non-contract phones and it looks like the best cheap option would be the Moto Renew at $30. It is bare bones, but it looks like a solid phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTakeover Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 We have a problem that needs to be dealt with in the near term. Both my wife and I have lost our cell phones. (not a huge loss. Both were on their last legs.) My father-in-law was an employee with Sprint but is in the process of retiring. We lose the employee discount at the end of August. The wife wants cell phones before we leave for our vacation in the first week of August. Now, I'm very much interested in getting an Android phone, but I'm more interested in some of the phones which are going to be released later this year (Motorola Morrison, Samsung Galaxy) than the G1. The MyTouch doesn't come out until the first week of August, so that's out for the time being. I don't mind switching to T-Mobile. So, what are our options? Buy new phones through the employee plan and stick with Sprint for a bit. I'm not sure that's possible in the first place, since my FIL is kinda retired already. Cost of the phones were $50 when we last did it, and I'm not sure if we are going to get a choice. Sprint's regular prices are also pretty pricey last I checked. Switch to T-Mobile early and maybe pick up a phone outside of contract so that I can upgrade when the phone I want comes out. I could probably find a G1 used, but I don't know if I really want to do that considering that the hardware isn't all THAT attractive. I certainly could wait for what I want. Get prepaid phones and deal with that until it is time to switch. Course, it would mean buying phones we plan on abandoning in a few months once we decided on a plan. So, what do people think? 1. If you've had your current phones for 2 years, you could get a couple of new phones for free. The problem is you'll have to sign a 2 year extension which it doesn't sound like you want to do. 2. It's really not worth paying for a phone without a contract, you will pay much more for it. 3. This is probably your best option unless you plan on using the phones a lot. Then it will get quite expensive. Having dealt with verizon, at&t and sprint, I'd recommend going with at&t(and this comes from a sprint customer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffSchmeff Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 If you're with Sprint, why not go with the Palm Pre? From everything I've read, it's a nice phone. I'm sure you could renew your contract and open up another line with your wife and do a family plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTakeover Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 If you're with Sprint, why not go with the Palm Pre? From everything I've read, it's a nice phone. I'm sure you could renew your contract and open up another line with your wife and do a family plan. It's battery stinks and I believe you have to have one of the Sprint Everything plans, which start at 69.99(or 129.99 if you wanted two of them). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLongshot Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 1. If you've had your current phones for 2 years, you could get a couple of new phones for free. The problem is you'll have to sign a 2 year extension which it doesn't sound like you want to do. It was an employee plan. There is no contract comitment with that. Given that, there are no free phones. I don't know what my options are under that plan, considering that it is going away in a couple of months. 2. It's really not worth paying for a phone without a contract, you will pay much more for it. Well, if I was getting the Moto Renew, I could pick that up for $30 at Best Buy without contract, while it would be $5 with contract. Considering the price difference for any sort of smartphone is going to be more than $25, that seems worth it. If you're with Sprint, why not go with the Palm Pre? From everything I've read, it's a nice phone. I'm sure you could renew your contract and open up another line with your wife and do a family plan. Well, first is the problem of finding one, since they seem to be in a bit of short supply. Second, as the poster said above, Sprint's data plan is pretty pricey. The wife isn't going to want or need data on her phone. Even with adding a data plan, I probably can keep the bill under $100 a month. (Yikes! Thats a big change from the $30 a month we pay now...) Third, I'm not sure I like the Pre. I haven't tested it out like some, but that dinky keyboard is a concern, not to mention that the apps are probably in short supply right now. Exchange conectivity isn't much of a need for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTakeover Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Are you on SERO? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurrayH81 Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 1. Ditch Sprint. 2. Get some sturdy but cheap payasyougo phones 3. Get what you really want with the carrier that best meets your needs. (if that is T-mobile, then so be it, but I didn't hear an explanation of why you believe that. I personally like Verizon, due to the plans and US coverage, but when I travel abroad, Verizon sucks. So I have AT&T (originally got Cingular) and it does the trick for me without the drawbacks of other carriers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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