.

My significant other lives in Las Vegas.  I live in another state. 
She calls me (or I call her) very frequently, thereby recently causing
obscene cellphone charges.

Please find a better cellphone a) device and/or b) company and/or c)
plan (any combo of the three) for her.


--) She talks to one phone number (mine) probably for 3000 minutes a
month.  (LD relationships are strange, aren't they?) :-)

--) We text each other a once a day (averaged out).

--) She currently has Verizon and a Kyocera 2300, but is willing to
outlay cash for a new phone in trade for long-term savings.

--) #1 Priority: cost of plan, ie, ~3000 minutes of airtime (to one LD
number; see below).

--) #2 Priority: Good QoS on SMS delivery, both to and from the device

--) #3 Priority: Send SMS to phone via email

--) #4 Priority: Use her current phone (Kyocera 2300)




--) IMPORTANT: I don't use a cellphone, so all calls are always
between my landline and her cellphone.  I will be purchasing this...

http://www.qwest.com/pcat/for_home/product/1,1354,2035_1_13,00.html

... so that the long-distance is "free".  When she wishes to
"originate" the call, she'll call me (LD) and I'll call her back.  I
may purchase "Distinctive Ring" as well.  (See below.)

--) THEREFORE, she doesn't need mondo free LD minutes, but simply a
small number of free minutes and/or a low per-minute fee to originate
calls (which will then immediately end because I will call her back).

--) THEREFORE, a company that a) charges airtime in in partial minutes
**from the first partial minute** AND/OR b) doesn't charge airtime for
uncompleted calls (see Distinctive Ring above) would be very
beneficial.



Please provide five recommendations* of devices/companies/plans that
you believe would effectively meet our needs.

Thank you for your time and synaptical energy expenditure.  I
recognize that the firings of your neurons ultimately contributes to
the heat-death of the universe, and I'm grateful for your willingness
to make the best of it until then.

Don


* The a) number of requested recommendations and b) the price of this
question reflect the comprehensiveness of research I'm requesting.  Do
your due diligence and show your work.  :-)

---

Clarification of Question by donphiltrodt-ga on 12 Jan 2004 20:37 PST

Questions and clarification requests are gladly welcome and will promptly addressed.

---

Request for Question Clarification by darrel-ga on 21 Jan 2004 13:17 PST

I assist consumers regularly with consumer purchases such as this and
would be happy to recommend a cell phone plan based on
apples-to-apples comparisons. Would that be acceptable?
Also, fyi: after my initial review of your question, i can pretty 
much assure you that if you switch cell phone providers, you will need
to buy a new phone unit. Most phones are created - and able to be used
with - only one cell phone provider.

darrel-ga

---

Clarification of Question by donphiltrodt-ga on 21 Jan 2004 17:06 PST

>would be happy to recommend a cell phone 
>plan based on apples-to-apples comparisons.
>Would that be acceptable?

Thanks for your interest.

I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to clarify, but, yes, I am
still looking for a cell plan recommendation(s).

Hello donphiltrodt--

I have carefully considered your needs, researched your question and
have your answer. I've ultimately found about a dozen different
options for you.

The biggest need you have that will ultimately save you the most, I'm
sure you'll agree, is for free incoming calls. I've worked on this
project off-and-on for the past two days.

My goal in this research was to find a phone and service plan that
would allow for free incoming calls (which eliminates the need for the
3000 monthly minutes), moderately priced outgoing calls, good QoS on
SMS delivery both to and from the phone, and the ability to send SMS
to the phone via E-mail.

The first plan I would recommend is the Cingular SuperHome 300 plan.
This costs $29.99 per month, plus a few dollars extra per month for
text messaging .
The link is http://www.letstalk.com/product/product.htm?depId=2&pgId=101&prId=23696


I conducted a Google search for the following terms: "cell phone" plan
"free incoming calls"

You may view the results of my search online. The link is
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22cell+phone%22+plan+%22free+incoming+calls%22

One site that proved fruitful was
http://www.free-cell-phones-wireless-cellular-services-plan.com/nextel-wireless-service-plans.html

This site led me to your first option: the Nextel National Free Incoming Plan.

Free incoming calls and included nationwide long distance and
unlimited Nextel Direct Connect (Private Call).
Cellular Minutes
(mn) Direct Connect
Minutes
(mn) Night &
Weekend
Minutes
(mn) National Long
Distance Free
Incoming
Calls Nextel 
Online 
Web 
Browsing
(mn) 
300 (New!)
500
700
99-1000
 Unlimited NA Included Included Web
$3.50
Premium
Web
$10.00 


The Nextel Free Incoming Call Plan with 400 Anytime minutes can be
also be viewed at http://www.letstalk.com/product/promo.htm/depId=1/pgId=100/mt=/tNav=1/showNoProductsMessage=0/promo.htm/depId=1/pgId=100/mt=/tNav=1/showNoProductsMessage=0/nc=

This plan includes
Nextel National Free Incoming 400  
400 Cellular minutes 
Free Incoming minutes 
Unlimited Direct Connect minutes 
Free Long Distance and Roaming throughout Nextel's nationwide network! 
Includes: VoiceMail and Caller ID 
View Coverage Maps: [Local] [National] 
Monthly Fee only $59.99  

If you decide you need more monthly Anytime minutes, you can change
your Free Incoming Call Plan. Below is the chart.

Nextel Free Incoming 400 $59.99 400 NA Included Unlimited 
Nextel Free Incoming 600 $69.99 600 NA Included Unlimited 
Nextel Free Incoming 800 $89.99 800 NA Included Unlimited 
Nextel Free Incoming 1100 $119.99 1100 NA Included Unlimited 

You can view this chart online. The link is
http://www.compare-phone-plan.com/nextel.htm

I was unable to find any plan that offered a price lower than this
$59.99 for 3,000 "anytime" minutes. It appears your best bet is to
find a plan that includes unlimited free incoming calls.

The second plan I found that best meets your needs isn't in the United
States but offers free incoming calls, a daily charge, and a
39-cent-per-minute charge to U.S. phone numbers. This is ideal as long
as she would make only one-minute calls to you, and you turn around
and call her back. If she's a student, she may qualify for the lower
25.9 cent per minute rate. If you stick to these perimeters, you can
get away with paying only $1.20 or less per day, or less than $40.00
per month. This deal is called Travel Deal Israel. You would be
getting an Israeli phone number. But as long as you're getting
unlimited long-distance, it shouldn't matter.

You may read more about this phone and service plan online. The link
is http://www.traveldealisrael.com/cell_phone_deals.html

The next plan is out of Ireland. Like the Israeli plan, the Irish plan
doesn't require you to be in the country to purchase or use the phone.
This plan meets all your perimeters, as well, and may even be cheaper
than the Israeli plan. Below are the included features:

 The Ready to Go SIM card (Network Access Card) for your phone 
 Includes ?20 / $20 FREE call credit ($10 already applied and $10 with mail-in)  
 FREE incoming calls 
 Voicemail 
 SMS (Text Messaging) 
 WAP and e-mail  
 Choice of 2 Tariff plans: Standard (default) or Work & Leisure 
 International roaming available! 
 No yearly contract, monthly charges or credit check 

You may view more information about this phone and plan online. The
link is http://www.220-electronics.com/simcards/ireland.htm

Here are some other plans you may wish to consider. These below plans
assume you can spend most of your phone time during the nights and
weekends. You can conduct a comparison of many plans on the tool I
used to find these plans online. The link is
http://www.wirefly.com/wlnp/wlnpPriceWiz.aspx?referringdomain=wirefly&refcode1=&refcode2=&oflag=&agent=&phoneid=&planid=&marketid=&carrierid=&eid=&curcarrierID=&newplanid=&newphoneid=&uid=&zipcode=89101

  mLife National - Next Generation $74.99 - 1YR National $74.99 1200
Unlimited Night & Weekends 25% $25.01 $300.12
  Get More Plus National $59.99 1000 Unlimited Night & Weekends 40%
$40.01 $480.12

Search Results Carrier Plan Name Plan Type Price Anytime Mins. Night &
Weekend % Saved Monthly Savings Annual Savings Wirefly Market Coverage
Customer Care 
Cost & Service Plan Options Order 
  Nextel National 1000 Plan - 1yr National $54.99 1000 5000 Night &
Weekend Minutes 45% $45.01 $540.12
  Get More Plus National $59.99 1000 Unlimited Night & Weekends 40%
$40.01 $480.12
  PCS Free & Clear Plan $65.00 - 2YR National $65.00 1100 Unlimited
Night & Weekends 35% $35.00 $420.00
  mLife National $74.99 - 1YR National $74.99 1200 Unlimited Night &
Weekends 25% $25.01 $300.12
  mLife National - Next Generation $74.99 - 1YR National $74.99 1200
Unlimited Night & Weekends 25% $25.01 $300.12
  America's Choice (sm) 1000 National $79.99 1100 Unlimited Night &
Weekend Minutes 20% $20.01 $240.12
  Liberty 900 Unlimited National $99.99 900 Unlimited 0% $0.01 $0.12 

Further, one of the best cellular rate comparison tools I've used over
the years for consumers is SaveOnPhone.com. With this tool, you simply
type in your zip code and it does the rest of the work. The direct
link to this site is http://saveonphone.com/wireless.html

And along the way I found a site called Cellular Search Guide. They
claim to be able to find you a better deal. And if they can't, they
claim to pay you $50. The link to this site is
http://www.cellularsearchguide.com/

WireFly.com will have the most information on offers by the seven
major U.S. carriers, plus service and network quality ratings from
J.D. Power and Associates data. The link to that site is
http://www.wirefly.com/

I hope this helps. If you need further information or any
clarification, please don't hesitate to click the "clarify" button.

Thanks,

darrel-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by donphiltrodt-ga on 23 Jan 2004 20:52 PST

The "free incoming calls" is a great idea.  Thank you very much.

1) Cingular SuperHome 300 doesn't have free incoming calls.  Why did
you recommend it?  Am I missing something?

2) The letstalk Nextel link is wrong.

3) Your idea for cell companies outside the country is really
creative.  Too creative.  IMO, common sense (and common usage as well)
dictates that "free long distance" is domestic-only.  I give you big
ups for thinking very creatively, but wish you would applied a little
common sense, or at the least, confirm your *assumption* to take "free
long distance" so literally (but not pragmatically).

4) Since the international recommendations are a complete loss, I'm
left with, essentially, 1) the Cingular recommendation (which is
baffling, apparently lacking ICF), 2) the Nextel recommendation (a
good recommendation -- the only one) and 3) some helpful links.  Not
exactly a good answer, nor an answer worth $40.  :-/

5) Therefore, please provide a table of a)companies, b)plans and c)
monthly prices that offer the following features...

a) free incoming calls
b) free long distance
c) >2000 Night and Weekend minutes
d) 600-1000 day minutes
e) two-way texting

If generating such a list would exceed what you think is equitable for
the fee, let me know what price you'd consider equitable (I THINK
that's ok with the GA rules).

---

Clarification of Answer by darrel-ga on 24 Jan 2004 13:28 PST

Hello donphiltrodt--

Thank you for your additional questions. 

I will break out your individual questions and answer them.

"The "free incoming calls" is a great idea.  Thank you very much."

Yes, more consumers could take advantage of "free incoming call"
plans, but they either don't think of it or they can't find such a
plan. Very few wireless companies offer such plans.

"1) Cingular SuperHome 300 doesn't have free incoming calls.  Why did
you recommend it?  Am I missing something?"

You had requested five different options for her cell phone needs. If
the "free incoming calls" plans didn't seem to work for you (even
though it seemed perfect to me), I wanted to make sure you had other
options like the Cingular SuperHome 300 or the other plans listed near
the bottom of my answer.

The Cingular SuperHome 300 plan allows 5,000 night-and-weekend minutes
and 300 anytime minutes. And unlike other lower-end plans, this one
allows you to add on the wireless web and two-way text messaging for
an affordable monthly charge.

"2) The letstalk Nextel link is wrong."

You are correct! And now that I have tried several more times to get
the correct link for you, it appears there is no set link, rather it's
a rotating promotional link at that comparison tool web site.

To access the correct link, first go to this page:
http://www.letstalk.com/product/promo.htm

Scroll down, and at the bottom-left-hand corner of the page, you'll
see a pull-down menu that says "Select a different carrier." Click on
the down arrow and select "Nextel." Let the new page load.

Once the Nextel page has loaded, scroll down to the bottom of the page
again. This time on the bottom right, click on the pull-down menu that
says "Select a different plan." Select the plan you'd like to view. In
this case it's "Nextel National Free Incoming 400." You may also wish
to look at other Nextel National Free Incoming plans.

"3) Your idea for cell companies outside the country is really
creative.  Too creative.  IMO, common sense (and common usage as well)
dictates that "free long distance" is domestic-only.  I give you big
ups for thinking very creatively, but wish you would applied a little
common sense, or at the least, confirm your *assumption* to take "free
long distance" so literally (but not pragmatically)."

Well, thank you. I think. 

The point of the international cell phones is actually quite
realistic, especially if you know someone in another country or are
one of those who travel. (And knowing your liking of long-distance
relationships... I figured I'd include them.) These international
phone plans actually can work out to save a ton of money in the
long-run. If you don't travel, you may know someone in one of these
countries who might be able to help you out and send you the phone.
You can achieve cell phone rates of $30 per month or less by using one
of these phones for your needs. They can be used in the United States
if you read the features. And if you don't happen to know someone in
the countries I chose to post, you may find that you have a friend in
another country that could help. These kinds of deals are rampant
outside the U.S.

"4) Since the international recommendations are a complete loss, I'm
left with, essentially, 1) the Cingular recommendation (which is
baffling, apparently lacking ICF), 2) the Nextel recommendation (a
good recommendation -- the only one) and 3) some helpful links.  Not
exactly a good answer, nor an answer worth $40.  :-/"

Well, perhaps you overlooked the 10 or so other plans I listed. I will
re-list them right here. These are other plans that meet your needs.
They may not be as good as the Nextel plan (which appears to be the
best), but they are fair prices considering how high of prices some
people pay for wireless.

Here are some other plans you may wish to consider. These below plans
assume you can spend most of your phone time during the nights and
weekends. You can conduct a comparison of many plans on the tool I
used to find these plans online. The link is
http://www.wirefly.com/wlnp/wlnpPriceWiz.aspx?referringdomain=wirefly&refcode1=&refcode2=&oflag=&agent=&phoneid=&planid=&marketid=&carrierid=&eid=&curcarrierID=&newplanid=&newphoneid=&uid=&zipcode=89101

  mLife National - Next Generation $74.99 - 1YR National $74.99 1200
Unlimited Night & Weekends 25% $25.01 $300.12
  Get More Plus National $59.99 1000 Unlimited Night & Weekends 40%
$40.01 $480.12

Search Results Carrier Plan Name Plan Type Price Anytime Mins. Night &
Weekend % Saved Monthly Savings Annual Savings Wirefly Market Coverage
Customer Care 
Cost & Service Plan Options Order 
  Nextel National 1000 Plan - 1yr National $54.99 1000 5000 Night &
Weekend Minutes 45% $45.01 $540.12
  Get More Plus National $59.99 1000 Unlimited Night & Weekends 40%
$40.01 $480.12
  PCS Free & Clear Plan $65.00 - 2YR National $65.00 1100 Unlimited
Night & Weekends 35% $35.00 $420.00
  mLife National $74.99 - 1YR National $74.99 1200 Unlimited Night &
Weekends 25% $25.01 $300.12
  mLife National - Next Generation $74.99 - 1YR National $74.99 1200
Unlimited Night & Weekends 25% $25.01 $300.12
  America's Choice (sm) 1000 National $79.99 1100 Unlimited Night &
Weekend Minutes 20% $20.01 $240.12
  Liberty 900 Unlimited National $99.99 900 Unlimited 0% $0.01 $0.12

"5) Therefore, please provide a table of a)companies, b)plans and c)
monthly prices that offer the following features...

a) free incoming calls
b) free long distance
c) >2000 Night and Weekend minutes
d) 600-1000 day minutes
e) two-way texting

If generating such a list would exceed what you think is equitable for
the fee, let me know what price you'd consider equitable (I THINK
that's ok with the GA rules)."

There is only one U.S. wireless company that currently is offering
"free incoming calls." That's why I believe the Nextel plan would best
meet your needs, if you do in fact have free long-distance to call
her.

If you would like me to create a table based on your other needs
listed in your clarification question #5, I'd be happy to. Just let me
know.

I look forward to hearing back from you.
darrel-ga

Researchers,

A good starting point to narrow down the plans to analyze would be:

http://www.inphonic.com/WLNP/WLNPRatePlanList.aspx?minplanminutes=2001&maxplanminutes=99999&eid=&ReferringDomain=numberportability&ci=&zipcode=89117

(based on zipcode 89117 in LV, NV)

aht-ga

The cover story in the current (January) issue of CONSUMER REPORTS is
an indepth analysis of current cell phones, cell phone plans,
including a breakdown of costs, drop outs, customer satisfaction,etc.
all over the U.S.