I am in need of a new cell phone (all three I have at the moment either have totally dead batteries or aren't working at all, and they're all crappy phones anyway), but I have no idea how to choose a good phone that fits in my price range. I'm reading reviews at CNET.com, but it seems that I can't get a good, honest quote for a price. Basically ALL the phones I'm interested in are priced as "$0" because of the all the special deals where you get a majorly discounted phone for signing up with a new plan to company X.

I already have a SIM card and a prepaid plan that I'm happy with for the moment. Buying a plan and/or getting a contract or whatever is not an option as I won't be in the USA for much longer.

All I want is a site or something with honest bloody reviews and honest bloody prices, without all this "get this for free when you buy other crap" nonsense.

Help!

Well, cellphones are the second worst market for consumers after auto. You are going to have to splurge a couple hundred if you want a nice phone without any strings attached.

[QUOTE=Connection Problem]Well, cellphones are the second worst market for consumers after auto. You are going to have to splurge a couple hundred if you want a nice phone without any strings attached.[/QUOTE]



And man, I don't doubt for a second that it's a bad market for consumers.

If you don't want to sign up for a contract your best bet is probably ebay.

All I can tell you is to avoid the razor. I got sucked in by the sales lady to get it and now I regret it.

- yeah it can take videos but they are only 10 seconds long. therefore worthless.
- bluetooth feature dont work that great. connection with the headpiece. no matter how nice-a-one is staticy
- bluetoothing to another phone does not allow you to keep pics that they send to you, only preview them
- taking a pic with the camera and setting it as the background does not fill the whole screen. there are ugly white borders around the pic.

My girlfriend has a motorolla V551. Shes had it for awhile now and it seems pretty great. I recomend looking into that.

Just DO NOT trust sales people. no matter how attractive they are

Yep. Look for something used or refurbished.

I've got a Razr, and I like it. of course I didn't get it for the camera or bluetooth. I got it because it was a graduation gift and it stored numbers, names, and had an alarm. It depends on what you're looking for.
And I can get a picture I've taken to fill the whole screen, it's under personal settings for me.

I would second the ebay opinion. Phones are really really cheap, if you're buying them with a new service. Otherwise, they're a complete ripoff.

I would recommend the LG VX-5200. I have it myself, and I know a lot of other people that do, and I've never heard of any major problems with it that weren't PEBKAC.

As a phone, it works great. It has a camera that takes acceptable pictures for a camera phone, and it doesn't have many other "advanced features" that you'll never use and that cause the price to shoot up. It is a great phone for it's price range (which isn't rape you in the *** so much as it is just shove a stick up it, which, as far as phones go, is a good deal. :p)

If you have any questions, or want more details, just let me know and we can chat.

A phone that stores names, numbers and has an alarm is any cell phone made in the last DECADE. No, seriously. ANY.

On the subject of RAZR's you can also mod them. But as for best phone right now. I really do enjoy the Nokia 6131 with it's high-res screen and fair price at around $200 on ebay. It's the best I can come up with for you. I have owned tons of cellular devices and Nokia is definitely up there on the list with their smartphones. Currently I have the Samsung d807 and this is the first samsung I've owned. Very slick and nice. About the same price range as the Nokia with EDGE (high-speed data), 1.2 mp camera and video. MicroSD slot for expandable storage, slim and very classy. I like it myself. I don't know, each person has their own opinions on phones. If you were to get a razr though may I highly suggest the v3i model. Expandable memory on that one as well. Higher res cam, etc.

Thanks everyone!



What carrier is that?

I also think it'd be cool if everyone could post what they use currently and what they think of it.

My mom's Motorolla *have no idea what the phone is* because I lack a job yet and can't afford it, and have no need for one that badly (living out of town and all...not much time out of the house).

[QUOTE=Cool Matty]A phone that stores names, numbers and has an alarm is any cell phone made in the last DECADE. No, seriously. ANY.[/QUOTE]
Which is all a phone needs to do, anything more is just excess luxury.

My cell phone has a small address book and makes calls... do I need it to do anything else? No...

Verizon is my carrier, but Cingular may work as well. (I'm not sure, I know LG sells phones to both, maybe they're interchangable, maybe not.)

Phones come locked into one provider, but they can be unlocked so that they'll work on any network.

I got myself a Razr and I like it. The only problem I've had is the screen is a bit hard to see in the daylight.

Which is why it would be cheaper for you to get a pay as you go phone on a certain network, then just get it unlocked and stick your current SIM in it.

I heard the battery life blew. This true?

The RAZR actually has fairly decent battery life. Long as you aren't playing with it 24/7 lol. That goes with any phone though.