Cell Phone Comparison Blog

If you’ve ever shopped for a cellular service plan, you know what a confusing process it can be. Monthly billing, prepaid, bonus minutes, overages, early evenings, roaming fees, access charges and networking are all factors to consider, and it can be practically impossible to sort the information and make a well-thought decision.

When comparing to find the best cellular plans, you’ll find many perks that are offered by cellular providers in an attempt to secure your business. One of the best ways to hook new customers is by offering the phone for free. While packages differ depending on the service provider you’re dealing with, you’ll usually find the phone that you want is available to your free of charge — but also, at a price. Other companies offer cutting-edge phones at deep discounts. The question that remains is, how you can tell if you’re getting the right phone, and how much are you actually paying for this phone in the long run?

The trick that many cell phone service providers use is to clear their inventory of older model phones by giving them “free” to new customers. The best picture phones, flip phones, videophones and colour models are kept on the store shelves at sold at a premium price. So, if you’re looking into plans that offer free phones, make sure that you’ll have access to the latest digital technology to make best use of the provider’s cellular system.

This may still sound very complicated, but it doesn’t need to be. There are a few basic things to look for in your new phone. First, there are two types of networks that cellular service plans use: the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, and the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) network. If you travel a lot you might consider purchasing a phone that uses the GSM network, as these cellular phones can be used virtually anywhere in the world. On the other hand, CDMA phones are able to pick up analog signals. While most service plans now run solely on digital signals, some users of older phones on long-term providers are still on analog systems. The big difference is that analog phones have higher roaming charges and burn through batteries much more quickly.

The best cellular plans will do more than offer a free phone. Another very important point to consider is the company’s history of customer service. If you’ve used the provider before, ask yourself if you were really satisfied with their service. Check with family and friends to see what they think about the plans they use. Ask if the service is prompt and helpful. You can also find a world of opinion by reading online blogs and user forums.

Shopping for the best cellular plans is about more than simply finding the best price; it’s about comparing products, user packages and customer service. There is a lot to choose from, so shop wisely and you’ll find the plan that’s best for you.]

William Moore
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/best-cellular-plans-98794.html

Each month, there are countless Americans who are faced with
phone bills that they simply cannot afford. In many cases, they
are paying fees that they were never made aware of. Many are
being charged far too much for long distance calls, as well.
This is especially true for Americans who make international
calls on a regular basis. . Many people have turned to cell
phones in the hope that their long distance costs will be
reduced. However, this can quickly lead to overages and
ridiculously high bills. Phone cards are another option, but
they do not generally offer low long distance rates. Most phone
card companies if not all uses cheap carriers to carry their
calls. This can lead to consumers experiencing bad connections
and with all the fees associated with phone cards such as
connection fees and maintenance fees, leaves the consumer with
only a few minutes left on a $5.00 phone card. Is Cheap Long
Distance Service Available? People pay for their monthly phone
plans whether they are placing 50 or 500 calls. There is a
charge for each long distance call, but there is also a service
charge that is tacked onto every bill. Due to these and other
fees, most people are not getting their money’s worth when it

comes to long distance. Prepaid Long distance Service Prepaid
plans allow a person to spend money only when he is actually
talking to someone. If a person prepays $100, he is going to
make use of every dollar that he spends. The prepaid plan
doesn’t expire, so For instance, most calling services charge
$.18 or more for calls to countries that prepaid calling plans
charge only $.10 per minute to call. Prepaid long distance
allows a person to place calls from just about any phone.
Whether using cellular phones, home phones or public telephones,
you only pay for the actual usage or in other words “talk time”.
Prepaid international calling can save people with family and
friends in other countries a considerable amount of money. It is
also beneficial for people who are traveling. Customers can
connect to their accounts through an access number from almost
anywhere using any of the 10 phones that they can register on
their account. Prepaid phone accounts function in a similar way
to calling cards. However, they do not require a pin number to
make a call.

Bernard Pragides
http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/cheap-long-distanceor-is-it-really-quotthe-search-continues-695.html

Few technological wonders have made life and communication easier than the cell phone. So long as one is within a good calling range, you can contact anybody, anytime, while traveling. Having a cell phone is especially handy in emergencies, should your car break down or should you get lost in an unfamiliar place. People without cell phones have the convenience of using pre-paid calling cards, so as not to worry about long distance phone bills. Just enter a passcode and talking to anybody you wish.

Due to their ease of use, such items have become the target of thieves.

Phone Card Fraud

While one might not think there is much benefit to stealing a simple phone card, people are finding a way to make money from stolen authorization codes. Whether you are using a card for which there is a monthly bill or a pre-paid card, once a thief has the pass code he can make calls or engage in illegal “call-sell” operations, selling long distance time to others and pocketing the profits.

How does a thief obtain an authorization code? Think about the last time you used a phone in a public place. You might have been at the airport, bus station, or your hotel. Maybe you used a pay phone or your cell, and maybe you didn’t notice the possibility that you were being watched. Thieves are becoming craftier in their surveillance skills; if one doesn’t linger around the pay phone, pretending to wait to use it, one just might be watching you with binoculars or a zoom lens, taking note of the numbers you punch into the phone. You probably wouldn’t know until the end of the month, if you are using a billed card, and find a list of calls you didn’t make.

Always be alert when making a phone call in public. Shield the phone’s keypad from sight, and keep any calling cards close. Better yet, if you can memorize your authorization code, do so. If you have to speak your code into the phone, keep your voice low and out of others’ earshot. If you have a cell phone, program any code numbers into your speed dialing system.

Phone Travel Scams

It’s early in the morning, and you’re snoozing in your hotel bed when the phone rings. The clerk at the front desk claims there is an authorization problem with your credit cards, perhaps their number is wrong. Could you give him your credit card number for confirmation? Without thinking, you do and go back to sleep, annoyed by this inconvenience on the hotel’s part.

What you might not realize is that you could be further inconvenienced by a whopping credit card bill.

We are hearing more and more about this particular scam targeted at travelers. A room is picked at random and the traveler tricked into surrendering valuable information, allowing the thief control of your identity. Assuming you spend minimal time dealing with hotel staff, you aren’t going to know the voice of the day clerk, so you don’t think much of it. It’s an easy trap, but it can be avoided. Never volunteer any personal information over the phone while away – no name, credit card numbers, anything. If you feel the call is suspicious, hang up immediately and go down to the front desk to confirm if any calls were made by them to your room. Always best to be safe.

Cell Phone Safety

As cell phones get smaller and smaller with the new technology, it’s a wonder we don’t lose them more often! Yet, it still happens, and it is important to immediately report a lost or stolen phone to your service carrier as soon as possible to avoid incurring fraudulant charges. With travelers, too, came the problem of cell phone “cloning” fraud – this occurs when a thief gets a hold of a specific cell phone’s signal and duplicates it into another phone. The thief’s phone is then recognized as your phone, allowing the thief to make illegals calls on your bill. As the major wireless companies are taking counteractive measures against this type of theft, cloning fraud should not be the problem it used to be; nonetheless, it is always suggested to consult with your wireless company about fraud.

Vigilance and proper use of your phone and phone cards can prevent theft while away from home.

Kathryn Lively
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/avoiding-phone-scams-while-on-vacation-76385.html

Convicts are using cell phones behind bars and the cellular service providers know this yet they are doing nothing about it.  Instead the carriers are stepping in the way of common sense and trying to stop jamming of cell phones in prisons. At the same time they are selling Prison Time Minutes and these needs to be stopped now. They are aiding and abetting criminal activity which is a felony and they should be prosecuted.

Over the past several years my company has been involved in attempting to get the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congress to revise the 1934 communications act to allow local and state governments the ability to use ‘cell phone jamming’ equipment while making the punishment for the illegal use of this equipment far more harsh than currently is provided by law.  Quite simply, we want local and state law enforcement to have the same ability to protect us as federal law enforcement does.  Currently, state prison authorities are forbidden by federal law to use jamming equipment to block inmates from continuing their criminal behavior with smuggled cell phones.  Indeed inmates have continued to conduct drug deals, harass domestic violence victims, and even order murders with illegal cell phones.  Likewise, local bomb squads do not have the authority to use jamming equipment in preventing bomb detonations by cell phone – the tool of choice for terrorists.  Should be simple right? Change the law to let local and state law enforcement protect us.  Nothing is ever simple.  We and law enforcement have been opposed in our efforts every step of the way.  Not by criminals and terrorists but the cellular providers and their trade organization, CTIA – The Wireless Association.

Why would lawful businesses oppose something so simple as allowing law enforcement the ability to protect the public more effectively?  It sounds insane that this would be the case.  After all, the cellular providers spend millions annually in promoting all of their good works in our communities.  Then why would they oppose something to ensure our safety?  The answer is simple – greed.

Like Claude Raines in Casablanca, the cellular providers and CTIA will say they are shocked, shocked that their cell phones and prepaid minutes are winding up in the hands of criminals and terrorists.  Yet it has been estimated the cellular providers are making at least $50,000 per prison weekly on Prison Time Minutes with cellular phones that are smuggled into prisons.  Take that nationally, with 1800 prisons and 2.5 million inmates and we are roughly talking about 1 to 2 % of the cellular providers $156 billion annual revenues.

Obviously, the cell providers are not selling their phones directly to inmates and terrorists.  However, they may acting as middlemen (like we hear in arms deals) and are selling them to friends and family of inmates who then smuggle them into prisons, where criminals continue their drug deals, murders, and harassment of domestic violence victims from the very prisons that are supposed to protect them from the public.  Yet if they know nothing of these problems and are so innocent, why are cell towers located by prisons and often aimed at the prisons.  State and local law enforcement are openly saying illegal cell phones in prisons are one of the fastest growing problems they face.  Indeed the criminals have grown so brazen that one death row inmate in Texas actually called and threatened a Texas State Senator.  Not one of them, including the CTIA can hide their head in the sand on this issue.  Yet the cellular service providers are not held accountable for any of this.  Can we think of any other industry in the country is not held accountable for even harming person second hand?  Think about it, we punish the tobacco industry for second hand smoke.  New York is seeking to punish soda makers and the fast food industry for making us fat.  Yet, the cellular phone industry is not held accountable in any way and then actually has the gall to oppose attempts to ensure public safety. 

The cell phone industry argues that there are other methods to tackle the problem and ‘cell jamming’ isn’t reliable.  The cell providers argue that jamming in prisons will affect normal prison operations and affect the cell phones of people living or working near prisons.  These are false arguments.  Sure there are other ways to detect illegal cell phones.  There are cell phone sniffing dogs and cell phone locators that are not only unreliable, but need to be deployed at the cost of the taxpayers and will mean higher taxes if introduced during these slim budget times (unless the cell phone industry wants to pay for these methods).  Cell phone jamming is 3 to 4 times cheaper than the methods proposed by the cell phone industry.

As to the other argument, that jamming will affect prison operations and people outside prisons, that was disproved in South Carolina.  Jon Ozmint, the Director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections recently contacted my company, CellAntenna Corporation to hold  a cell phone jamming demonstration at one of South Carolina’s prisons.  He was contacted by CTIA and told what we were going to demonstrate was technically impossible.  Dire predictions were made by CTIA such as prison staff would not be able to communicate with each other on their radios; outside cell service would be interrupted; they even suggested that some elderly woman would be in need of an ambulance but would not be able to call an ambulance because of our demonstration.  Surgical Jamming, a phrase we use for what we do, is exactly that. Surgical.  We can jam a chair, a room, or a building while leaving everyone else able to enjoy their cell phone to their hearts content (and that elderly woman can call her ambulance).

When that did not deter Ozmint, CTIA stated that the demonstration would be illegal.  It is perfectly legal.  Yet that threat from CTIA while not deterring South Carolina actually led the State of Texas to cancel a scheduled jamming demonstration even after the FCC implicitly agreed with us and said it could proceed.  CTIA even called for my arrest prior to the South Carolina demonstration and called the Governor minutes before the demonstration.  None of which happened.  I was not deterred from this threat but did comment that if I do get arrested, at least I can still use my cell phone behind bars while awaiting trial. The legal demonstration was done successfully in front of law enforcement, members of the media, and representatives from federal and state office holders.  Yet despite this, CTIA and the cell providers will still argue, that jamming is impossible to do.

This week the FCC gave us permission to perform a simple demonstration at the Washington D.C. Prison.  Instead of coming to the event, the CTIA once again is trying through court action to stop the event from taking place. Is it because Prison Time Minutes are in jeopardy?

Why would the cellular providers be so resistant to a jamming demonstration when if it failed they would be vindicated and the case would be closed?  Why when after jamming has been shown to work and law enforcement says they want to use it to protect the public, do the cellular providers continue to oppose this? The answer is as I said earlier, greed.  They will lose money if law enforcement is able to do their job of public safety by using jamming equipment. 

It is time to hold the cell carriers accountable.  They need to stop selling Prison Time Minutes to criminals. They need to  stop preventing law enforcement officers  from doing their jobs.  Unless the cellular service providers join us and law enforcement in working with Congress to change the laws and allow local and state law enforcement the ability to use jamming equipment, we need to hold the CTIA and its members accountable for aiding criminal activities.

It is common sense and good public safety.

Howard Melamed
http://www.articlesbase.com/criminal-articles/cellular-service-providers-have-new-plan-prison-time-minutes-742546.html

Sell cell phones with one of the fastest wireless resellers in the country. Visit our website today to learn more! Distributed by Tubemogul.

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Cell phones are everywhere. Everyone has one or so it seems. Some people even have multiples. Carriers advertise attractive plans and promise the best networks, companies advertise the latest and most high tech phone technologies on the market. Lots of bling, rings and things can make buying a cell phone confusing to say the least. So how to cut through all the talk and determine which one is right for you. Consider your requirements:

How will you use the phone?

-Emergency use only. You just need the basics.

-Heavy usage, daily or almost constant use. Battery life can be important.

-Occasional. Take it with you but not attached to it or it to you.

-Family. Stay in touch with parents and children.

Make a list of your NEEDS:

-Coverage. Regional, national, or international, satellite.

-Contracts or pre-paid.

-Walkie-talkie type capability. Keep in touch with family, teams, co-workers, individuals or groups with the push of a button walkie-talkie style.

Make a list of your WANTS:

Style – Flip or clam shell, candy bar, slide or swivel and dual face design. A flip can be convenient as it is small and the flip feature provides protection for the keypad and screen and when open is large enough to cradle. The candy bar style is simple and quick to use while the swivel and slider phones are cool to use and can offer the protection features of a flip. The dual face is just that one face is the phone and the opposite face is for video, music etc.

Color and size – Pink, red, copper, silver, black, yellow – thick or thin, short or longer, large screen

Options – Into high tech? Then a phone on the cutting edge is for you. With a built-in Camera-always on hand you can delete, store or send your latest shots and video shots. Use your favorite pic as background. Music MP3, internet capabilities keep you in touch with email and web browsing, touch screen, keyboard, GPS etc.

Emergency use only. Most likely it will be stored in a compartment in your vehicle or on your person when you leave home but not used for casual convenience. Keep it simple.

Students and Children enjoy and you may too, many of the features offered other than simply talking verbally on the cell phone. To text message between friends is almost essential today. Some carriers now have television viewing capability. This can be a wonderful way to keep a child entertained instead of asking “are we there yet?” or “when are we going?” You get the picture.

Hands-free head sets. Choose what style best fits your needs: ear bud (wired or Bluetooth), boom style headset with a microphone at mouth position, installed or portable car kits that allow for conversation through the car stereo or external plug-in speaker. These portable kits are also available with Bluetooth technology.

Durability and reliability are important issues. Read reviews and ask friends about their experiences. Do your homework.

As a final note, read the fine print, understand what you are buying and ask questions. Know the law in your area, when where and how can you legally use a wireless device. Many states require hands-free use while driving.

Matthew Hick
http://www.articlesbase.com/cell-phones-articles/cell-phone-buying-tips-plans-and-service-advice-298852.html

Enjoy the convenience and peace of mind

“Pay as you go” service is the other name for prepaid mobile service.  In this method you can save money by paying only for the minutes you use. There are no hassles of annual contracts or surprise bills. Some services are available even without age restrictions offering complete freedom from stress as far as mobile phone bills go.  Pay as you go phones are overwhelmingly patronized all over the world because of the simplicity of the method that requires you to buy the prepaid cards in advance and use it within a stipulated period.  You have to renew the account by adding credit before the expiry of this card or you may lose the remaining credit.  This fair and straight forward nature of the pay as you go method of bill payment is the reason behind its popularity far and wide. 

Virgin Mobile- Kyocera Wild Card Pay As You Go Cell Phone

This mobile phone comes with 3 hours talk time, TFT LCD screen, built-in 1.3 mega pixel camera, built-in alphanumeric keypad and super phonic ring tones apart from other regular features.

T-Mobile Samsung T329 Pay As You Go Cell Phone

This gray colored phone has up to 385 minutes talk time, TFT LCD display, and built-in digital camera with 4 x zoom, vibration alert, text, multimedia and instant messaging.

Motorola F3

This is a mobile phone that has a great feature that automatically reports the status of your pay as you go account after each all or message letting you to be in complete control of your mobile usage. There is a Clearvision display in Motorola F3 that provides you high contrast screen which you can view clearly even in bright sun light.  It uses a newly redesigned user interface that is easy to use.  All other functionalities like music, messaging, memory, organizer and other capabilities are retained like in all pay as you go phones.

Dharmendra Chaudhary
http://www.articlesbase.com/cell-phones-articles/npay-as-you-go-2o-stress-mobile-phones-638905.html

A pixel is a single point in a graphic image. The more pixels used to represent an image, the closer the result can resemble the original. The number of pixels in an image is sometimes called the resolution, though resolution has a more specific definition. Pixel counts can be expressed as a single number, as in a “three-megapixel” digital camera, which has a nominal three million pixels.

A megapixel is 1 million pixels, and is used not only for the number of pixels in an image, but also often to express the number of sensor elements of digital cameras. For example, a camera with an array of 2048×1536 sensor elements is commonly said to have “3.1 megapixels” (2048×1536 = 3,145,728).

Thus the more Megapixels; results in a larger higher quality image. So you would want to go for a camera with a megapixel display that is 1.2 megapixels or higher. Right now, a really good phone would have around a 2.0 megapixel camera or greater. I haven’t seen any with a megapixel display greater than 3.1 as yet.

My advice… Go for the Motorola V3X that is a good phone with a 2.0 megapixel camera with flash and 8 x zoom.

I’m not aware of any prepaid plans that offer an option through the plan to directly download pictures to your computer. I believe that your best bet would be to determine what phone would allow you to connect it to your computer via USB cable and has PC Suite, for example, and then use the phone’s software to download the pictures to your computer. For example, you can purchase a special USB cable for the Motorola Razor that will allow you to connect it to your computer. You can charge it that way and also download the contacts and pictures to your computer.

If your cell phone has Bluetooth, you can also purchase a Bluetooth USB Adapter (Iogear makes one, model GBU221P) that will allow you to use Bluetooth to connect to your computer.

To my knowledge, the cell phone providers do not sell the phones with these cables. You would need to purchase the cable from the cell phone company or a third-party provider. I purchased my Iogear Bluetooth adapter at Best Buy.

The cell phone providers want you to use their wireless service to send pictures, because they charge you either a monthly fee for a specific amount of kilobytes or typically $0.02 per kilobyte for this service.

The answers to your questions are dependent on the phone you choose, to generalize most camera phones do have the capability to transfer picture to PC. You may have to purchase a cable as an extra or it may come with the phone, it depends. Depending on how you transfer you picture from phone to phone, e.g. sending them as a picture message (you will be charged for this) or via Bluetooth (this is free), will determine how much it cost.

You do not have to pay for a text service to be able to use the camera, but if you want to send them on then you will. Once again photo quality and format is very much dependant on the phone, most Nokia phones have reasonable quality cameras and save pictures as .jpg in 640×480. With the quality of Lithium batteries these days I would not worry about the phone running low due to camera use, most models will last at least 48 hours before dying! It’s a good habit to charge a phone over night anyway so no problem there.

Most camera phones that take photos in 640×480 can store about 600 picas, if you can use a memory card like i do with my Nokia 7710 u can potentially store around 10000, but that a bit excessive! Depending on how much you spend on the phone will depend on the quality; if you can I would advise you to go for a Nokia, as they are extremely user friendly.

Victor Epand
http://www.articlesbase.com/cell-phones-articles/camera-phones-and-how-to-download-80235.html

How many times has this happened to you? You think your cell phone is in your pocket or purse…but when you check, it's missing. Or you drop your phone and, just like that, it's ruined. Buying a brand new replacement can really cost you, so why not ring up savings by going used?! Experts say the used cell market is really taking off, with phones only costing about five to fifty dollars. But, is it the right call? From warranties to activations to battery life …it's a Heads Up! on what you need to know!

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While pre-paid phone cards can save you a great deal of money on your phone bill, they are also useful for those who are going on commercial fishing trips. They are also useful for anyone who is taking a long trip. One of the best places to buy commercial pre-paid phone cards is online. Because you will be traveling, you will need a form of communication that is just as mobile as you are. This rules out landline phones, and even cell phones are out of challenging, since they are limited in their coverage area unless it’s a global cell phone. You also won’t have to worry about the limitations you will face when using local carriers on your trip.

Perhaps one of the most important things that commercial fishing phone cards will bring you is anonymity. It is harder for people to know who you are talking to, and it will be easier for you to keep your conversations private. If you have been on international commercial fishing trips in the past, you are probably very familiar with the high rates for international phone calls. When you purchase Commercial ship phone cards, you will be able to get the lowest possible rates available. When most people first hear about these cards, they wonder why they should buy them online as opposed to a regular store?

There are a number of advantages that you will gain by purchasing phone cards online. First, you have a large selection of phone cards that you can purchase from one location. Unlike physical stores, which are limited in the number of products they can carry, digital stores can hold a much larger selection. This means that you increase your chances of finding the exact card you’re looking for. Online, it is also easier for you to compare the cost of the cards. Offline, this will require you to leave one store and go into another. Online, all you have to do is click a few buttons, and you can go to another website.

When you purchase an international mariners calling card, you will be able to get the PIN immediately. It can be accessed anywhere to check your account, so long as you have access to the Internet. You will want to use the verification process so that you can avoid having to go through a lot of delays. While many people are familiar with these cards, they don’t know exactly how they work. When you buy a phone card, you are simply paying for advance call time, and you are reducing the balance as the calls are made. When you look at the costs you’ll save by using these cards, it is easy to see why they are so popular.

They are especially popular among those who are taking commercial fishing trips. It is impossible to use landline phones during these trips, its best to use these commercial fishing calling cards to make International calls from your cell phone or any phone. To be able to communicate with the outside world, you need a product that is reliable, high in clear call quality, and cost effective commercial phone card rates. It seems obvious that commercial shipping phone cards are the perfect solution.

Jose Hernandez
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/commercial-prepaid-phone-cards-for-boating-mariners-to-cargo-ship-staff-calls-135434.html