Cell Phone Connections
June 28, 2011
We finally did it.
We finally caught a phone deal at the right time and although I missed out on the “ideal” plan that I had in mind before, the one we settled on comes out a bit cheaper than the previous one so PiC and I have consolidated ourselves from a three service group (each of us and my parents) to one single carrier, upgrading him to a smartphone in the process.
Our two smartphones are free, and thanks to a corporate discount, the activation fees were waived ($35/each) and we get a 10% discount on the phone-only parts of the plan.
We have unlimited data, although only the first 2Gs are high-speed. After that, they throttle the speed, but so far, it doesn’t seem like we even come close to using a G each in a month.
It might have been a mistake to just go with PiC’s phone choice, though. He picked the G2 which was free with a 2 year plan and he liked that it came with the slide out keyboard. That’s perfect for him but with small hands and a very differently configured touchscreen in combination with the very thick phone and case, I still can’t adjust to either option and typing has become a huge chore. I’m frequently tapping away while walking and grumbling: “I hate you!” as I make mistakes.
Interruption: I caved. I found another touchscreen sans slideout keyboard option for free and quickly called for a buyer’s remorse exchange. Thanks to a quick on the trigger CSR, though, the order was put through without overnight shipping which I was willing to pay for at $12. Unless UPS works a whippy shippy by Friday, I’m traveling over the holiday weekend without a phone since this one has to go back by Friday. That’ll be a challenge to coordinate.
Ah well.
Back to the good stuff. We’re now paying, after taxes, around $150 for four phones, two with data, two without, unlimited texts for all, 1000 minutes between the four of us. We were paying something like $210 across three carriers for three dumb phones, all falling apart, and 1 smartphone that didn’t work 80% of the time. It’s not an enormous savings but it will add up and so long as I can get back to functioning, we’ll all be the happier for it. 😉
That’s an awesome deal! I pay $170/mo + for 2 phones! One isnt even a smart phone. Stupid expensive canada!
Wow! That is a great deal! Do you mind sharing who your provider is (I understand if you don’t want to, or if you’d prefer to e.mail it to me let me know) — my husband and I are moving back to NorCal in 2 months (from Germany) and have had many many debates about which cell service to get. We had Verizon before, and were happy with the service, but it was NOT cheap.
Agreed on the price being cheap! My phone is $72/month, but that includes caller ID. Canadian prices are $$$$$
@Daisy: You could absolutely pay that much for not a smartphone here. Insane.
@Jennifer: Not at all, we’re using T-Mobile. They were just recently acquired by AT&T so with any luck, they will still have great plans for a while longer before AT&T changes that and then perhaps they will upgrade the availability of better equipment later on.
Verizon service is still most prevalent but you’re right – they are so very expensive.
@chipsforsupper: you have to pay extra for caller ID??