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

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Knowing the difference between Cell Phones and Cell Phone Plans Will Save You Time and Money

Many people go looking for cell phones without too much emphasis being put on the cell phone plans. Many new users who sign up to the different networks have been sold to rather than choosing the best option the suits them. Research is important. Cell phones & plans can be an expensive commodity.

Types of Cell Phones:

·Camera Cell Phone

·PDA Cell Phone

·GPS Cell Phone

The cell phone itself is not an ongoing expensive. It's a one off purchase that should last in good working order until you want to upgrade. Your own personal tastes and styles should determine what cell phone you want (not the sales assistant behind the desk). Many phones on today's market have a built in camera. The camera phone is by far the most popular phone for it's multifunction use. Not only can you capture that perfect photo you can also send pictures to friends and family or upload to your PC. Many of the camera phones have a zoom in/out option and a rotating lens.

Personal Digital Assistant or PDA cell phones are generally the most expensive of the range. This type of phone has specifications similar to that of the PC. The have their own processor and memory and even have the excellent TFT display. This type of phone is ideal for sales reps or people who like to work from different locations apart from the office. This phone has word processor capabilities.

Global Positioning System or GPS cell phones are proving more and more popular. The newest on the market between the different cell phone types. Many companies who issue company mobile phones especially to sales reps or drivers are diverting to the GPS cell type. The type of phone will give a precise location and whereabouts to the receiver.

Cell phone plans

Cell phone plans are the most important factor when looking to purchase a cell phone for the very first time or changing from one network to another. Before you sign up on a plan you need to ask yourself the following questions:

·Will the phone be used mainly for calling friends or family?

·Is the phone going to be used for business?

·Are you allowed your cell phone on during working hours?

·Will you need your cell for international calls?

·Will you be sending many SMS texts?

It is important to be honest with yourself in answering the above questions, if not you will end up the long-term loser. Remember you will more than likely have to sign a one-year contract with the cell phone carrier, if you think things through now it will only save you money and stress. Do not get taken in from carriers offering you a certain amount of free texts per month. The calls themselves are the expense.

Watch out for the roaming rates

Watch out for the roaming charges. If you intend to travel from state to state or one country to another different carriers have different rates. The can vary dramatically, be warned.

What about the prepaid cell phones?

If you find that you intend using the phone only a minimal amount of time, you should consider a prepaid cell phone. The pre paid option is more expensive per minute during use but it has it's own advantages such as:

·No contract to be signed

·No monthly line rental

·No service fee

·No credit checks

·No deposit required

·No penalties if you decide never to use it again as you have no contract to begin with

Many people think that you cannot get a prepaid cell phone with built in camera. This is incorrect as many carriers are offering the prepaid phones that are camera mounted. Be careful, sending pictures by text with a prepaid cell to friends or family is much more expensive than with a bill phone. With the prepaid option you know exactly what you are spending at all times. Ideal for those who are on a tight budget.

Where do I get credit for my prepaid cell phone?

It's very easy. You can top up your credit in most stores. Just tell the assistant what carrier you are with and how much you need to top up for with credit. Many stores have vending machines where you operate the top up yourself. You can also call your cell phone carriers with your credit card and top up from your own home. Always choose a carrier that has a free toll number. There is nothing more annoying than a carrier charging it's own customers for phone calls.

About the Author
Declan Tobin is a successful freelance writer providing advice for consumers on purchasing a variety of Cell phone plans which includes Cell prepaid plans, Carriers, and more! His numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched resource of interesting and relevant information for all of your phone interests and needs.

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