Voice and Data Service for Your Smartphone
Picking the right cell phone carrier and service plan is just as important—if not more so—than picking the right smartphone. A calling plan alone won't cut it: If you're planning to use your phone to surf the Web and send text and e-mail messages, you need a data plan, too. Here's what you need to know to pick the perfect service plan for your mobile phone.
If you've bought an unlocked smartphone, you'll need a SIM (subscriber identity module) to get service.
When purchasing an iPhone 3G, you'll need a voice plan, a data plan, and a text messaging plan in order to use the phone. Since the iPhone 3G only works on AT&T's network, your choices are limited to the plans that AT&T offers. Here's what you can expect to pay.
Research In Motion has rolled out the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220—the first ever BlackBerry with a folding, clamshell design. The result is a sleek phone with excellent messaging features. But you do make some sacrifices to get a compact clamshell-style BlackBerry.
A new iPhone 3G may be cheaper than the first-generation iPhone, but in the long run, you can expect to spend more on the new iPhone 3G. That's because the phone's service plan is more expensive. An iPhone 3G with 8GB of storage will cost you $199; a first-generation iPhone with the same amount of storage cost $399 at its cheapest. So why will you spend more on the iPhone 3G?
PC World offers a list of what you need to know about cellular service before you go shopping for your next smartphone.
CNET tackles reader questions about which cellular carrier is the best.
PC Mag's readers share their opinions of the companies providing their cellular service.
ConsumerSearch analyzes the various plans available from the nation's biggest cellular carriers.
WirelessAdvisor.com aims to cut consumer confusion, by offering explanations of the various voice and data plans available for today's smartphones.
