Why Do You Want to Buy Unlocked Cell Phones

If you are considering buying a new cell phone, you may have heard about phones that are unlocked and wondered why you should be unlocked cell phones.

There are three main reasons why you want an unlocked mobile phone over one that is locked. In a lot of cell phones there is a small card called a SIM card. This card activates the phone and allows it to operate as a particular number. You can also store your address book contacts on a SIM card. Your phone service simply goes where the SIM card goes. If you buy an unlocked phone, you can take the SIM card and put it in the new phone and your service will work the same.

So what are the advantages of an unlocked phone? First, if you travel overseas you will want to have an unlocked cell phone. You can buy prepaid SIM cards that are designed to work in the country you are visiting. This is often much cheaper than having to deal with out of the country calls through your cell phone carrier and you might find the service more reliable as well.

In some cases, you might get a free phone when you sign up for your cell phone service if you sign a contract. But when your contract expires, you can no longer use your phone because it is locked. If you buy an unlocked phone, you can switch cell phone providers without losing your phone. You'll just have to get a new SIM card from your provider and then your phone should work fine. An unlocked phone also comes in handy if you have more than one phone. For instance, if you have one phone that has a camera feature and one that doesn't and your spouse needs the camera phone that you usually use, you can simply switch SIM cards. You'll still get your calls delivered to you on your spouse's phone. This also works if you have phones on different providers as well, such as your personal phone and business phone. You can easily switch the SIM card out if you want to use a different phone than you usually do.

The other advantage of buying an unlocked phone is that you can give it to someone else or sell it when you are done with it. If you have a nice phone but want to upgrade, there is no reason to simply throw the phone away. If it is unlocked, you can pass it on to your spouse or kids. You can also sell it and put the money towards your new unlocked phone. Having a phone that is unlocked gives you a lot of options, both now and for the future.

Natalie Aranda writes about technology. If you are considering buying a new cell phone, you may have heard about phones that are unlocked and wondered why you should be unlocked cell phones. There are three main reasons why you want an unlocked mobile phone over one that is locked. In a lot of cell phones there is a small card called a SIM card. This card activates the phone and allows it to operate as a particular number. You can also store your address book contacts on a SIM card. Your phone service simply goes where the SIM card goes. If you buy unlocked phone, you can take the SIM card and put it in the new phone and your service will work the same.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Guide to Buying a Mobile Phone

The new fashion statement

A mobile phone is no longer simply a device with which you stay in contact with others. Today, a mobile phone is a multi-function fashion accessory, as necessary to your appearance as a hairstyle. From how the phone 'flips' open in front of your friends, to the groove of the ring tone, your mobile phone is a statement about who you are and how you address the world. And as every parent of a thirteen year old knows, you simply are not a 'whole person' without one.

To purchase a mobile phone, you need to address a number of issues, not the least of which is who you will be shelling out a small fortune to each month, and under what conditions, and what you want from your phone service. On top of that, you will want to decide which handset suits best and what extras and accessories you want to go along with it. Myshopping.com.au is where you can compare a range of different offers from different phones and service providers very easily, and arrive at a decision that works for you.

The centre of communications

Different phones suit different people, but at the heart of the decision is the question: Is your mobile phone the centre of your communications. The answer to this question will mean different things to people with different needs.

The student

The student's mobile phone is very definitely at the centre of communications, but quite clearly students have little money to splurge and therefore need to buy a phone that has access to economically efficient communications. The trendy phone will be important, but at a low cost. It will need to have excellent texting facility, be able to accommodate ring tones, and be easy to carry. Of lesser concern are issues such as camera and video capacity.

The busy parent

Whether working out of the home or not, a busy parent needs to be able to be in touch at odd times and in odd places. This person will be seeking a functional handset with a good network capacity. Photographic features are handy as are texting features and long talk-time.

The executive

The executive is constantly on the go, and is always in touch while on the go. This person's phone will have added features such as a teledex, web connectivity, video and photographic features. Additional accessories will include 'hands-free' capacity and portability across travel zones.

The traveller

The traveller's phone needs most of all to be portable across travel zones and able to access networks in international zones. Long battery life, video, photographic and web connectivity features are all important features considered by the traveller.

Phone choices

At the heart of your decision, is which phone to choose? Some limitations may apply according to the technology you need. If you live in a rural area, or travel to the country a lot, you will likely need access to a CDMA network, and not all handsets are compatible. The majority of Australia's urban population (95%) is covered with GSM technology, and there are a huge number of handsets available that are compatible.

The technology

Other technologies that may affect both your choice of handset and your choice of service provider are the GPRS technology, designed for sending data over the GSM network, enabling mobile phones to access the internet and receive email messages; and the PTT service (Push To Talk), a technology that allows mobile phones to be used like two-way radios.

The handset

The next step might be to decide on the type of handset you favour. Handsets come in different configurations, from the 'candybar' format (long and slim) that is able to fit into a protective carrying case and be operated by one hand. The screen and keypad are limited by the size and shape of the handset. Flip-phones and slider phones have the advantage of small size, but their screens and keypads can be larger because of the use of two halves of a 'clamshell' case. Some slider phones have keypads on a swivel, offering a two handed operation. A smartphone has a fully functional keypad that enables the editing of Microsoft word documents, presentations and spreadsheets.

Screens and memory

Colour screens are now standard in most models, but size, resolution and colours can vary, from between 101x80 pixels to 353x288 pixels; and between 4000 and 262,000 colours. The better the screen resolution, the better backgrounds and graphic images can be displayed. Mobile phones also now have onboard memories from between 16MB and 96MB (although this is a standard that changes quickly). Additional memory (500MB or more) is available on phones dedicated to gaming and mp3 playing, and some phones also offer slots for adding additional memory cards.

Battery and camera

Battery re-charge life of a phone is determined by the number of features and the amount of talk time used, but today's phones range between 10 and 14 days of standby time and 2 to 8 hours of talk time. Obviously memory intensive use shortens the re-charge time. Even the most basic phones now come with an in-built digital camera. Some now also have flash capacity, auto-focus, self-timing, continuous shooting and zoom and macro facilities. Many offer low-resolution video recording and can be used for video conferencing and receiving streaming video. Optimally, a camera with more than one mega pixel is desirable.

Connections and options

A USB port on a mobile phone enables it to be connected to your computer to transfer files. Wireless connectivity using bluetooth and infra-red allows connection between devices such as PCs and PDAs, as well as providing hands-free utilities. You may also want a voice-activated dialling feature, and voice recording functions that enable you to send MMS messages and voice memos. Phones with polyphonic ring tone capacity enable you to have a more musical ringtone, and produce a better sound.

At Myshopping.com.au you can compare all of the features of the different brand names and the prices offered by different vendors. This takes a lot of the difficulty out of narrowing down exactly what you want from you mobile phone.

Connection choices

There are essentially two choices for how you want to be connected to your phone network: a usage plan and term contract, or a pre-paid option. All service providers can offer both and under Australian legislation, your phone number is portable between service providers. Some however may charge a fee for early termination of a contract, and some may charge a fee for transferring your number from another service provider, and some may charge a fee for transferring you number to another provider. These fees are entirely at the discretion of the service provider and have no basis in actual network cost whatsoever. If it is charged, it is charged simply because they can.

You need to give some thought to how you intend (or do) use your phone. Call plan contracts are offered on the basis of how many minutes (or in some cases, 30 second units) of call time you use, and at what time of day. Carriers promote higher costs for high volume times of the day, and often reduce costs, or offer 'free' time during low times. Other low cost offers are made for calls between the phones on the same carrier network, while others offer discounts for bundling packages of home phone, mobile phone and Internet account. It's important to read the conditions attached to any of these offers. Free calls between midnight and six am may be of little value to you if you're sleeping at that time.

Pre-paid is popular choice, especially if you don't make many calls. It also enables a better management of limited funds. When deciding on your plan, look at costs such as 'flagfall' costs and the different rates at different times of the day. Also check the cost of calls when you exceed your 'cap' or limit. It is often in this area that the carrier can make money out of unsuspecting users.

Service providers

The carriers of mobile phone services in Australia include Telstra, Optus, 3 (Hutchinson), Orange (Hutchinson), Vodafone, Virgin, B and a number of smaller carriers, or agencies who provide services on behalf of other carriers.

Each of the major carriers can offer you the connection to their network on contract plan or pre-paid, as well as sell you a pre-packaged handset. Quite often a contract will include a monthly service and you pay for a number of minutes of talk or sms connections, as well as pay for the handset. Once the contract is ended, you are free to change the plan to a different one, or change carriers altogether.

Sometimes the plan you select is not right for your usage, and you find that after a few months, you could reduce your costs by changing to a different plan. Some carriers enable you to do this mid-contract without any extra penalty; others may charge you a fee to change your plan. Study any plan carefully and imagine how you will use your phone to take best advantage.

You may also need to compare the services offered by the different carriers, especially their capacity to service your area within their network. There's not a lot of point in being with a carrier whose network doesn't enable anyone to call you when you're at home.

Use Myshopping.com.au to compare different to find one that suits you. But before you sign on to any mobile phone plan, be sure you understand all of the conditions attached to that contract.

Andrew Gates for comparison online shopping service MyShopping.com.au. MyShopping.com.au helps you compare the different mobile phones from different brands in terms of specifications and accessories. You can also compare prices from hundreds of different brands and vendors.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

How To Find Cheap Cell Phones

The old perception that cell phones are simply lavish toys is now dismissed by the growing need for it. Cellular phones have now become a very important tool for everyone including parents who want to know where their kids are on a daily basis, business officers doing business more efficiently with multi-functional cellular phones and even teenagers' need cellular phones.

Vanished are the days when cell phones were toys to show off, they have now evolved to be a necessity. As a result, cellular phones of various models and designs now flood the market. You have cell phones that can perform many different functions and can be costly but there are also those basic phones that can be had at a cheap price.

Now, because of this great need and desire for cell phones, manufacturers have flooded the market with cheap cellular phones to high-tech cell phones. So if you are one of those that are fortunate enough and you can afford a high-tech cellular phone that's great for you. However, if you desire or have a need for a cell phone but can't afford high-tech cell phone prices, then you can get a cheap cellular phone.

Knowing what your needs are can help you find a cell phone with reasonable and useful features. Keep in mind; you should never expect a cheap cell phone to be able to perform tasks of a high tech phone. Simply being able to send and receive calls may be all a cheap cell phone can do which most likely is all you need anyway.

Go out and visit your local electronics stores and look at the various models available and write down all the information about each model including price and features. Now, don't forget to also do searches on the internet for cheap cell phones and check out what's available there and at what cost with the features you are looking for.

With that in mind, when shopping for a cheap cell phone the most important thing to check is the reception since this is the only thing it is good for, it has to perform well enough for this basic function. There are some cheap cell phones available that also have the ability of sending and receiving text messages however, this most likely will be limited.

If you do find a cheap cellular phone that has text messaging ability, it will most likely be better for you. Now sending and receiving internet communication may not be available for cheap cellular phones; in fact, in most cases you don't need it as much anyway. But, if you do have a need to be able to send and receive messages in your cell phone from internet sites, then a cheap cellular phone is not going to be any good for you.

Another way of getting a cheap cell phone if you can afford it is through a cellular phone plan that provides free or very low cost cell phones. Almost all, if not all of the network companies offer introductory plans that will provide either a free or very low cost cell phone and in most cases these come with reasonable and advanced features. Of course, not the high-tech cell phone features but definitely not very limited features like what you will find in cheap cell phones you can purchase in stores or online. If you can find yourself a good deal from a cellular phone plan, you won't have to be contented with a cheap phone.

Finally, even as simple as buying a cell phone, you still need to do some research in order to get what will fulfill your needs without putting a burden on your wallet. The deals are out there, you just have to look around a little bit to find them.

Garry Allen is a successful Webmaster and publisher of cellphoneandmore.info [http://www.cellphoneandmore.info]. Where you can get more Cell Phone Tips, Reviews and Information on cheap cellphones [http://www.cellphoneandmore.info/cheap_prepaid_cell_phones.php] that you can research on his website.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Cell Phone Contracts Ins and Outs

Cell Phone Contracts In General

A cell phone contract is an agreement between the buyer and the wireless service provider. Usually it is of 1 or 2 years of duration, during which a consumer is legally bound to remain with the wireless service provider. A pre-paid contract does not need a contract term but then discounts are also not offered. Cell phone contracts specify the service plan that the consumer has opted in for.

The Top Names In Cell Phone Contracts

Cingular and T-Mobile plans let the subscriber roam the world with the same phone for a fee. National plans give the facility of roaming within the nation, from state to state without any extra charges. Some carriers also include Canada in their coverage areas besides the local area. Regional plans are valid only for tri-state areas and they give more talk time and save money. How to Simplify Billing for Your Household Family plans allow splitting minutes between two or more lines thereby becoming a popular plan in households, where cell phones are replacing landlines.

Cell Phone Trials And Discounts

Carriers generally give a trial period before enforcing the contract term. Almost all carriers give at least 14 days whereas Cingular gives 30 days of trial period. A 1-year cell phone contract has a shorter commitment period, which may prove to be beneficial if the phone needs repairs, or is lost. In addition, since the period is short, one may avail of new discounts that come up with their new contract. After the term of 1-year ends, the phone can be kept without any contract and no penalty is charged for not renewing. However, in a 1-year contract, the activation fee and/or the phone may not be cheap. Certain discounts and promotional offers cannot be availed of as in a 2-year period.

Watch For Activation Fees In Cell Phone Contracts

In a 2-year cell phone contract, the activation fee and/or the phone may not be expensive. Huge discounts on the phone may be availed. Special promotions may be availed. However, the phone is kept for a longer duration and hence, more money may be spent on repairing, insuring, or replacing. The opportunity to buy a new phone reduces, and thus may not be eligible to switch carriers. It is always advisable to read the fine print on the contract form. Expensive phones may also opt for phone replacement insurance plans; however, due to the costs of such plans, few subscribe to these plans.

Pre Paid Gets Rid Of Cell Phone Contracts

Pre-Paid or No Contract phones are not available with all cell phone companies. They are attractive as they require no commitment, you can get them even if you have bad credit, and there is no penalty whatsoever for switching companies or stopping the use of your cell phone. However, call charges may be more expensive, and no promotional discounts etc., may be availed of.

Penalties Included In Cell Phone Contracts

After the trial period of 14 or 30 days is over, when the phone is bought, the penalty for breaking the contract can range from $150 to $600, depending on where the phone was bought. Before the contract finishes, if a new phone is to be bought, then some companies give a customer loyalty discount, which in effect extends the contract. This may prove to be expensive when compared to buying a new phone with a good discount. Cell phones generally last for 19 months and phone batteries for a year.

Ian D. Major is the editor of Cell Phone Search [http://www.cell-phone-search.info]

Please visit the site for the latest information on

Cell Phones-Cell Phone Contracts-Cell Phone Accessories. This weeks Special Article is all aboutCheap Cell Phones and where to get them [http://www.cell-phone-search.info].

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Cell Phone Lookup - Made Simple Just For You

Reverse cell phone lookup services for locating free people finder and cell phone number search tools. Cell Phone reverse Lookup - Reverse Cell Phone Numbers - Find Cell Phone Numbers - Free cell phone lookup - Address lookup-Reverse

Mobile lookup.

Does any of the above sound familiar?.....

Sure, there has been a huge influx of these investigative sites. But how many of them really deliver quality results? Find out how to get reliable results every time you perform a cell phone lookup. For a quick reference on these service providers , please read our review on cell phone lookup mentioned at the resource box in the end of this articlee.

To understand better about the cell phone lookup mechanism, one does not need to be tech savvy, but

have a basic understanding of the following information. For ease of readability, I have put them in Q & A form so that you can pick up pertinent information that you wish to know about cell phone lookup services.

What exactly is the cell phone lookup services meant for?.. How does the cell phone lookup information help you?

- Most of these cell phone number lookup services are great for

* Locating or tracking harassing phone calls

* Finding out cases of possible fraud.

* Easily track down people who owe you money

* Easily locate long lost friends / relative you want to reconnect with..............

And many other reasons that you could use the results from the cell phone lookup.

How exactly do people find where these cell phone lookup services on the net are; What kind of search terms do people use to find cell phone number lookup information?

While this list may not be exhaustive this could be a place where you could start and perhaps explore more on the cell phone lookup providers. For example, you could use commonly used terms like the ones mentioned below to perform

a search for

* cell phone lookup.

* Phone & Address search

* Cell Phone Lookup

* Cell Phone Number Lookup

* Reverse phone number lookup

* Reverse telephone number lookup

* Find phone number

* Cell phone directory

* Cell phone lookups

* Reverse address lookup

* Cell phone magic number lookup

And the list goes on and on for cell phone lookups. Interestingly enough one day, I even bumped into a phrase called " Reverse lookup - unlisted phone". Now let's find out the privacy and sensitivity aspects of cell phone lookup

services. How much of snooping is allowed through these services. Is safety of important information jeopardized ?.. Read more.

Do these cell phone lookup websites provide sensitive information like SS numbers, SIN numbers etc?

- As a matter of fact, the sensitive information is masked to the one who queries the database to prevent misuse of the cell phone number lookup feature. With every privilege comes a responsibility and so abuse of their system is not permitted.

Where and how can you find the best services for cell phone lookup?

- You could probably read my previous post for information on this, but for a quick snippet, try this cell phone lookup review.

What kind of report information can one get from these cell phone lookup

services?

- Here is a snippet of information about what one of these cell phone

lookup service providers supply you with, should you opt in for their service.

REVERSE LOOKUP:

* REVERSE PHONE NUMBER LOOKUP - Reports include full addresses, names, contacts, account history.

* REVERSE CELL PHONE LOOKUP - Reports include full addresses, names, contacts, account history.

* REVERSE ADDRESS LOOKUP - Reports include full addresses, names, contacts, account history.

Typically these providers have access to many years of data, in some cases they say its even up to 20 years or so.

What countries do these cell phone lookup services cater to?

- Mostly they allow you to lookup information about people in US, Canada and United kingdom. Some of them have limited options for cell phone lookup features for other countries.

How does this process really work in a cost-effective way?

- You locate one of these "reliable" cell phone lookup sites on the internet.

- Perform a FREE teaser search to validate the reliability of the results.

- Get a yearly membership ranging from $20 - $40 depending on the service

provider and viola...you are all set to investigate the string of things you

always wanted to know.

what should be your qualifying criteria for selecting the site?

Here are a few tips just for you.

- Find if they are reputed and if they are in the business for long.

- Check out from customer support how frequently their database is updated.

- Ask them if they provide information on unlisted phone numbers.

- Perform your teaser search on a phone number you already know so that you

can validate the search results.

We hope that this information helped clarify some concerns you may have had

on the cell phone lookup services.

About the author:

===========

Sylvia Jayakaran is an Electronics & Communications engineer, with an IT background. She writes information snippets & software reviews on [http://www.reviewandbuyhub.com]. Please read our review on cell phone lookup at [http://www.reviewandbuyhub.com/cell-phone-reverse-lookup.html]

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

What are the Best Cell Phones for Kids? The Secret that can Save You Money on Your Cell Phone Bill

What are the best cell phones for kids, tweens (between a kid and a teenager), or teens?

What is the little-known secret that can save you money on your cell phone bill?

Let's talk about kids and cell phones! Then I'll tell

you the secret!

If you are thinking about getting a cell phone for your

children, kids , tween, or teen,

then you can ask yourself these questions:

Can your child handle the responsibility of keeping up with a phone and not

talking away or text messaging away all your minutes?

Can they keep the batteries charged?

Does your child participate in after-school and weekend extracurricular activities?

Do these activities occaisionally get canceled or have irregular starting or completion times?

Are there public phones available where your child who attends those activities can call you?

Is the traffic in your area so unpredictable that you are frequently late

picking your child up from activities?

Do you need to get in contact with your child regarding changes in your plans?

Do you live in a high-risk area (e.g. a major metropolitan area)?

No place is immune from crime these days, and a cell phone can even make you a crime target, but

do you need the security of knowing the where your child is at any given time?

Phones with Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking are available now so that you can know where your child is at all times.

As I'm sure you've guessed, if you can answer any of these questions yes, read on!

Here are some points to consider:

Many schools do not allow you to bring a phone to school.

Be sure and check with your school officials on the policy

regarding cell phones.

You may want to limit placing and receiving calls?

You may want to control who can call the phone as well as who can be called with the phone.

Maybe you don't want internet access, instant messaging, or chat capabilities

because of the costs or the interference with your child's concentration.

If controlling your budget is important,

there are phone plans with prepaid minutes so your kids can't go over.

Regarding cell phones for children and teens there are basically two

broad categories that you can consider.

In one category there are cell phone providers (or carriers) with specialty phones

and special plans.

In the other or regular category are various options using standard cell phones

from providers (or carriers). Let's look at each category.

In the speciality category you can find TicTalk, Fireflymobile, and Wherify Wiress.

The options are more limited.

TicTalk

The TicTalk phone is $99.99 and the phone plan is a pay-as-you-go rate plant(more or this later).

Minutes can be purchased in denominations of $25 (100 minutes), $50 (200 minutes),

$75 (300 minutes), and $100 (400 minutes).

Airtime minutes expire 90 days from purchase.

WIth TicTalk, parents use an Internet website to:

set up parental controls. Enter phone numbers that can be called anytime

and phone numbers that can only be called during permission-based times. Choose what times the phone can ring.

Send your child a reminder message. And, you can enable or disable features on the phone whenever you like.

Firefly

The Firefly phone is priced at $79.99 and is available at

Justice, Limited Too, Target and Toys R Us stores.

Fireflymobile minutes are priced at $0.25 per mintues on a

pay as you go plan.

The minutes expire in 90 days.

Refills with airtime cards are available at Target and refill by phone or online

in amounts of $25, $50, and $75.

The Firefly phone is also available through partner wireless carriers,

who offer their own wireless service and plans.

Wherifone

Whereify Wireless has just announced the Wherifone which has

a GPS allow parents to track the phones using the world-wide web.

The phone will will initially

be distributed by Wynit.

The Wherifone GPS Locator Phone will retail for $99.95,

and fixed-usage Wherify Family Locator Service plans that include both voice and location services

start at just $19.95 per month.

The competitively priced, all-inclusive service plans are straightforward and easy to understand,

and there are no hidden costs for additional required services, so parents always know exactly what to expect.

Dynamic service plans are available to help save money when actual usage

exceeds the current service plan's limit by automatically upgrading to the next higher service plan for that month.

In the regular category you will many providers (or carriers) with many options

but most all of the providers (or carriers) will give you a choice of prepaid (pay-as-you-go) or

a monthly plan, so we can consider prepaid and monthly as two subcategories of this category.

Most monthly plans require a contractual committment of one or two years to

start, but usually include a "free" phone, low-cost phone, or substantial discount on the phone

over the regular retail price.

You may be able to "bring-your-own-phone" and avoid a contractual committment, or you may not.

It depends on the carrier.

Many providers (or carriers) have family plans that let you add on new phones at

monthly costs much lower than their standard rate.

However, many times you can't add a line to your service unless you are already

using a plan that higher than the minimum.

In this situation your add-on phone can cost about the same as a regular

minimum-priced plan.

You might think that prepaid plans would always be the cheapest way to go for cell phone

plans for people who need a cell phone for emergency or infrequent use.

Unfortunately the way these plans are implemented often include extra

costs or hidden costs.

You phone can wind up costing you much more than

you anticipate.

Watch out for the incredible, shrinking, vanishing, expiring minutes!

We mentioned these already.

Some phone plans offer you prepaid minutes with a long expiration time -- up to a year.

Look for these plans.

But remember that most cell phone plan minutes

expire at some point, so it's almost impossible

to have a phone for a long period without incurring some cost to keep it.

Beware the dreaded daily charge!

Some plans charge a daily fee for the first call each day.

This can really add to your charges and I think you

should avoid plans using this technique.

So how can you avoid busting your budget?

And by the way, what's that big secret?

Well many phones sold on regular plans such as the Nokia and Motorola

have options to restrict incoming and outgoing calls.

This is frequently referred to as a "fixed dial list" or a "fixed dialing list".

It is usually tied to the address book and set with a password to

allow only selected incoming calls or outgoing calls from numbers that are

in the address book.

Many corporations use this plan to control communications costs so that company

issued telephones can only be used to make and receive calls to and from

company authorized numbers.

Check out your existing phone for this feature.

Or if you considering a new phone, make sure it has this option.

So whether you use a prepaid (pay-as-you-go) plan or a regular monthly plan,

you can control your costs and get the maximum benefit from your cell phone.

Mike Furlong

More cell phone reviews and recommendataions at ShoppingDroid.com

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Free Mobile Phone Upgrades: How Do You Know If You Are Getting The Best Deal?

Mobile phone upgrades are easy to do - if you know where and how to do it.

A "mobile phone upgrade" is where an existing customer of a network (eg T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange, O2, 3G, Virgin etc), who has been with that network for about 1 year since getting their last mobile phone, gets a new mobile phone from the network at a free, or cheap discount price, in return for agreeing to stay with that network for another 12 months, under a 12 month contract agreement. The customer keeps their existing mobile phone number, and stays with the same network. This is called a "mobile phone upgrade" - often it is a free mobile phone upgrade!

To get the best offer for a free or cheap mobile phone upgrade you must understand this. The mobile phone networks pay a mobile phone dealer more for a new customer (new mobile phone contract) than they do for a mobile phone upgrade customer. This odd situation has been the same for many years. The only network that seems to pay mobile phone dealers nearly as much for an upgrade customer as for a new free mobile phone customer is Three (also known as 3 or 3G). The other mobile phone networks simply do not seem to value their existing customers as much!

The craziness of this situation is that it encourages you to be disloyal to your current network.

What does this means to you? How can you get the best deal from knowing all this, so you can get a free mobile phone upgrade AND get other benefits? Read on ...

The amount that a mobile phone dealer can give to you will depend on how much money he is making. If he is making more money from a 'new' mobile phone contract customer than for an upgrade customer, then he will be able to give the 'new' mobile phone contract customer a bigger discount or a free mobile phone or maybe more!

Now, did you know that instead of upgrading your phone on the same network (where you probably will not get such a good deal or a free mobile phone etc), you can switch to a NEW and different network AND keep your existing mobile phone number? This is true.

Now, knowing that you can keep your mobile phone number, and that you can usually get a better deal as a 'new' customer on another network, what are you going to do?

You can simply become a 'new' customer on a different network ... this new network then treat you as a new customer, give you all the free mobile phone bonuses and gifts etc, AND you keep your mobile phone number!

So by simply looking around at all the offers available to you on all the other networks

The next article will tell you how you can get an even better deal ...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Free Mobile Phones - How to get an even better Upgrade

Before you take the jump and switch to a different network for your free mobile phone upgrade, think about this ...

Imagine you call your current network to tell them that you are thinking of leaving them to switch to another mobile network. Often that person you speak to will be on a commission to keep your business ie they will earn a bit of money if they can convince you to stay with that mobile phone network.

This means that you can use this to your advantage.

Tell them that you have had a great offer from another network (and do not lie - they will most likely know exactly what you could and could not get with another network). Simply ask them if they can equal or better the deal offered by this other network.

If they can equal it, then it is probably not worth the hassle of switching mobile phone networks and the paperwork. It is not too much hassle to do the switch but obviously it is easier to stay with your current mobile phone network.

Free mobile phone upgrades can be got in this way quite easily by simply understanding how the system works and how the money works in mobile phones and free mobile phone upgrades.

So next time, simply ask you current mobile phone network if they will better the free mobile phone offer from another network. Always ask if they can better the offer - don't ask them to equal it or they will only equal it.

Good luck.

There is more tips than this at free-mobile-phone-upgrades.blogspot.com - other tips on how to get the best free mobile phone upgrade.

Duncan Elliott runs a number of mobile phone websites including http://www.mobile-phone-upgrade.com and [http://www.free-mobile-phone-uk.org.uk/]

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.