Question About Cell Phones

[StillAWarrior]

I thought I would bring this question to the board and see if anybody has some advice or thoughts.

I'm looking to get a new cell phone because my new car has bluetooth, but my phone does not.  I have Alltel service with about 12 months left on my contract.  I can't get an "upgrade" phone for another 9 months or so.  As a result, they're telling me that I will have to pay their "full retail" if I want to get a phone from them.  I don't know if you've ever looked at Alltel (or any service provider's) "full retail" price, but they are ridiculous.

I stopped by the Alltel store yesterday and the kid working said that I would either have to wait for the upgrade or pay full retail.  He suggested that I go to eBay or Craig's List and buy a good phone from there and then sign it up on Alltel.  He said I could do that without extending my contract and suggested I could get a nice phone for about $100 (compared to the $300-$450 on Alltel).

It seems I have several options:  (1)  wait until I can get an upgrade from Alltel for very cheap; (2) try to raise hell with Alltel and see if they'll give me an early upgrade (but probably have to extend my contract to do so); or (3) buy a phone from someone else.

So, has anyone bought a cell phone from a source other than the provider?  I found a lot on eBay and the prices were very good.  It seems that on eBay I can either get an "unlocked" phone that will work with any provider, or I can get one that is limited to Alltel.  I think this probably doesn't matter too much to me from a provider perspective because if I stay with Alltel I can use it, and if I change to another provider I'll be able to get a cheap/free phone when I sign up.  But I was wondering if one was definitely better than the other.

Sorry for the long message, but I'd appreciate any thoughts or advice.

[🏀]

I've been in a similar situation. I can tell you that option 2 will never work out for you.

I've bought several phones off of EBay without any problems, and it's probably your best bet.

[StillAWarrior]

I've bought several phones off of EBay without any problems, and it's probably your best bet.

Thanks.  Do you have any opinion on "unlocked" phones versus Alltel phones?  I saw one dealer in California with 62,000+ rating and figure that's probably a fairly safe option.  They've got "unlocked" phones as well as Alltel.

[mu_hilltopper]

I am totally interested in the answer to this question.

This has some info:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Guide-to-Buying-an-Unlocked-Cell-Phone&id=391866  

http://reviews.ebay.com/Buying-a-Cell-Phone-on-Ebay-How-to-avoid-scams_W0QQugidZ10000000000845898

[🏀]

I've mostly bought unlocked phones. I recently got my Blackberry that was branded to T-Mobile because of the myfaves plan. Never had a problem with any of the service as long as Alltel has SIM cards. The only thing I would warn you of would be international phones, while they will still work, they often will have different spellings such as the extra 'u'.

Just buy from someone with a good rep and you'll be fine.

[mu_hilltopper]

But .. do all phones have SIM cards now?  I know my 3 year old phone does not.  (Verizon).  So I'd need to get one of those, first. 

[🏀]

Verzion is the only company that I know of that doesn't use SIM cards.

[robmufan]

US Cellular also does not use SIM cards

[mosarsour]

Verzion is the only company that I know of that doesn't use SIM cards.

I manage a Verizon store. Alltel, Verizon, Sprint, Cellular One and US Cellular are the only local companies that do not use sim cards because of the type of network that they use (CDMA). Therefore, an "unlocked" phone will not work with those providers, because an "unlocked" phone typically runs on the GSM network that is used by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Einstein. CDMA is typically a more reliable service in the states because it uses not only a digital service, but an analog service in most rural areas. Also, you cannot "unlock" a CDMA phone at this time. GSM's advantage is that once you unlock a GSM phone, it can be used with any GSM provider...including Europe and Asia, where GSM is the only type of network used.

Your best bet is to purchase an Alltel specific device either from Ebay or Craig's List until your contract expires. By then, the Verizon/Alltel merger should be complete and you can either choose to migrate over to Verizon, or jump ship to another wireless provider.

BTW...The new Blackberry Storm is an amazing device that will work on both CDMA and GSm networks...Internally, Verizon is calling the device an "IPhone Killer". I've been messing around with it for about a week now and have to say that I've come away extremely impressed with it and recommend any tech savvy Scooper to at least check it out.

[StillAWarrior]

Your best bet is to purchase an Alltel specific device either from Ebay or Craig's List until your contract expires. By then, the Verizon/Alltel merger should be complete and you can either choose to migrate over to Verizon, or jump ship to another wireless provider.

BTW...The new Blackberry Storm is an amazing device that will work on both CDMA and GSm networks...Internally, Verizon is calling the device an "IPhone Killer". I've been messing around with it for about a week now and have to say that I've come away extremely impressed with it and recommend any tech savvy Scooper to at least check it out.

Thank you so much for this information.  This is exactly the kind of "idiot proof" advice I was hoping for.  There are quite a few Alltel phones available on eBay.  Most of them are Motorola RAZR's or Q.  I'm leaning away from the "smart phones" so it likely will be a RAZR.

[mosarsour]

Thank you so much for this information.  This is exactly the kind of "idiot proof" advice I was hoping for.  There are quite a few Alltel phones available on eBay.  Most of them are Motorola RAZR's or Q.  I'm leaning away from the "smart phones" so it likely will be a RAZR.

The Razr should hold you over until the end of your contract. if you can find a decent LG model for Alltel, you might be better off. Typically, the LG devices work a little better on the CDMA network...now that is just my opinion.

[robmufan]

When I do testing for work on the CDMA network, we use LG phones, so I agree, if they are operating around the 1900 mHz go with the LG

[StillAWarrior]

The Razr should hold you over until the end of your contract. if you can find a decent LG model for Alltel, you might be better off. Typically, the LG devices work a little better on the CDMA network...now that is just my opinion.

I've had good luck with LG models.  Unfortunately, on eBay one of the only LG bluetooth models I can find is the AX8600, and with just a few minutes of research, I've come to the conclusion that the AX8600 is not a "decent" LG model.

I see so many RAZR's that I thought they must be fairly popular, but I'm quickly learning that nobody really likes them much.  Oh well, I may just get one for now.

Thanks again for all your help.

[mosarsour]

I've had good luck with LG models.  Unfortunately, on eBay one of the only LG bluetooth models I can find is the AX8600, and with just a few minutes of research, I've come to the conclusion that the AX8600 is not a "decent" LG model.

I see so many RAZR's that I thought they must be fairly popular, but I'm quickly learning that nobody really likes them much.  Oh well, I may just get one for now.

Thanks again for all your help.

The Alltel's LG ax8600 was exactly like Verizon's LG vx8600, I've had that phone in the past and have to say it was pretty bad. But LGs for the most part are very good devices.