Cell phone for mom? Suggestions?

[penk]

Just posted this on my facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/eidolon ) - but I know some of ya'll dont' do facebook, zo....

"Need to get a cell phone for mom. Should be inexpensive monthly (< $50/mo), data plan not needed, easy to use but not childish (first person to mention Jitterbug gets a boot to the head), and quickly acquired. I'm thinking of going to Sprint (which seems to have the best service / price ratio). Any suggestions?"

Comments

[youraverageninj.livejournal.com]

why not get a prepaid? Her demographic is usually the perfect candidate for pre-paid. I've heard good things about Virgin (depending on the reception in your area, I think they piggyback on t-mobile): http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phone-plans/basic-talk-and-text-plans.html

Best reception will be Verizon pre-paid (for New England), best if safety is the main concern (which I assume it is here). They have a more complicated pricing structure, however: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=prepayItem&action=viewPrepayOverview

[dbang.livejournal.com]

Cheapest way to get her a phone is sign her on to your family plan

[penk.livejournal.com]

I am not personally on a family plan.

[dbang.livejournal.com]

If you add her to your plan, it would become a family plan. :-) Costs $10 a month, she shares your minutes. (Not your data but you said she doesn't need that.) She could get a free phone if you make a 2 year commitment -- otherwise you'd have to acquire a phone for her.

[dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com]

I can tell you, having just tried it, that acquiring a phone from a contract-based service provider without signing a contract is a nightmare. A phone Verizon or T-mobile would give away with a contract will run you $130. (Yes, it's ridiculous. No, I couldn't find a way around it.)

[dbang.livejournal.com]

It turns out to be pretty straightforward to acquire a cell phone from elsewhere, and then "unlock" it to work on any carrier (with a compatible technology.) I bought one on ebay to use with AT&T a couple years ago and it worked great.

[penk.livejournal.com]

I cannot do this. I do not own my phone account. (my cell phone service is provided to me by my employer)

[points.livejournal.com]

Clarity C900?
http://www.consumersearch.com/cell-phone-reviews/clarity-claritylife-c900

The phone itself can be bought as cheap as $40 or so, and can run off of AAs in a pinch. With a simple or a pre-paid plan, you can get the cost way down on a monthly basis, too.

[dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com]

I agree that signing her on to your AT&T family plan might make the most sense. Then you can just get her one of the totally-functional free phones, but it'll only cost $10/mo or whatever the addon fee is.

If that's not a good plan for whatever reason, you might look at one of the non-major players. Credo (which gives money to causes, but ones I think are good) has a $30/mo plan for 200 minutes+unlimited nights and weekends. Boost has a no-contract $50/mo plan that includes data and text, but no contract!

[penk.livejournal.com]

Yeah, can't do the family plan. See my comments to dbang

[nadreck.livejournal.com]

I've been pretty happy switching to T-mobile's "Even More Plus" plan (cheap rates, no contract crap, but you have to pay full price for the phone or provide your own). Been running it with a Sony Ericsson Equinox. Decent audio quality, signal, pretty straightforward (well, for a modern cellphone).

G'luck!

[dsrtao]

Sprint has a $40 450 minute talk-only plan. You can get a milspec dust/shock/water-resistant flip phone, external caller-id/time screen with a nice simple keypad interface for under $100.

Metro PCS has a $40 no-other-fees no-contract unlimited talk-and-text plan. They'll give you a Motorola VE440 candybar phone for free.

[penk.livejournal.com]

That sounds good - do you know which Sprint phone you're describing there?

I don't think mom likes the candybar phones much :(

[dsrtao]

http://shop.sprint.com/NASApp/onlinestore/en/Action/DisplayPhones?INTNAV=ATG:HE:Phones

Sanyo PRO-700: boring but ruggedized flip-phone.

[harimad.livejournal.com]

Jitterbug doesn't fit your requirements. The plan is quite pricey because of all the customer service it comes with.

Too bad - I'd love a jitterbug-type handset. I want my phone to be a phone and not a mini computer/internet connection.

[beah.livejournal.com]

I am very happy with my Sanyo Katana and my Credo Mobile plan. It's not a smart phone, but I have remarkably reliable coverage, and it does everything I need it to do easily and intuitively.