Cell phone recommendations?

 Hi;

I am a total cell phone newbie.    I'm interested in getting a cell
phone but there are a blizzard of options and plans available.    Most
seem to offer me more features than I want and cost more money than I
want to pay.

All I want is the cheapest option for having a phone live int he glove
compartment of my car where it will be used only for emergencies like
my car breaking down or getting lost.

I'm guessing there might be others in this group that have similar
preferences......so......can anyone recommend a cell phone/plan?

Thanks much in advance

Steve

 

Where in the world do you live?  What cellular plans in your area?

Have you found any information in the approximate 60 cellular
groups?

I'm in the USA and I went with a 'family' plan with a neighbor and
we split the the cost.

 

The cheapest option is to buy a used cell phone AND CAR ADAPTER off of ebay.
Keep both cell phone handset and car adapter in glove box.  Make sure that
it was a Cingular/ATT or Verizon phone, and preferably Nokia brand.
Cingular or Verizon, as these two networks have the best coverage.  Nokia,
as this brand of handset consistently has the best reception and audio
quality, compared to all other brands of handsets.  The plan will be free,
the phone does not need to be activated.

All cell phones can call 911, whether they are activated or not.  This will
work for true emergencies, meaning life-or-death scenarios.

The reasons this is your best plan:
1)  If you break down in a fairly populated area, you can always flag
someone down to call a tow-truck for you, or walk to a gas station or
something.
2)  If you break down in the middle of fricking NOWHERE, where there is
nobody passing by to help you and no civilization near enough to walk to,
the cell phone is going to be useless anyway (no signal).

So for what you want to use it for, it would be better to carry a
non-activated cell phone.  -Dave

 Dave wrote:

But he specifically noted that it would be used for "getting lost"
scenarios.

 
They buy a cheap GPS navigation system.  It will pay for itself eventually,
through the lack of monthly cell phone plan service charges.  -Dave