Trust me on this one, I have personal experience. I went to the ATT store to see what my options for replacement were. I really didn’t want to spend the $199 on an iPhone though an iPhone would be really nice. I really didn’t want to change our current phone plan and increase the monthly expense with the iPhone data plan. Then you have the charger for the car…I didn’t want to. I’m realistic though…when it costs $130 to get a new phone without changing contract nonsense, $199 isn’t looking too bad especially when you’re talking the quality of devices and the features. I left the store without a new phone.
I then headed to Wal-mart (with my brother in tow) across the street. I wanted to look at their phones. Surely they would have something cheaper. I really liked my Motorola Razr. I did. It was a nice phone. Comfortable. Loud enough for me to hear on, etc. Another one would set me back at Wal-mart (without contract) $214. Yikes! Hello, the iPhone there is only $197! There wasn’t much there that was cheaper than that. The lady at Wal-mart was WAY MORE helpful than the guy at the ATT store. Well come to find out, with the “sim cards” that are in the cell phones, there is no activation fee on a phone. In theory, I just need to replace my phone with any phone that will take my “sim card.” Of course, this is assuming that the “sim card” is still good, and also was not damaged/destroyed in the washing machine.
After looking at the phones and this revelation of information (which the ATT guy did not offer because they are in the business of making sure they’ve sold me the most services to go with those nice shiny flashy new cell phones), I asked the lady what was the cheapest phone they had. $20. *gasp* My jaw hit the floor. She recommended one of the “ATT Go Phones” – the prepaid phones. Now looking at this $20 it wasn’t the best phone and I likely would not be able to hear on it. It was similar to the previous phone that I had which I had a hard time hearing on. But, right there on the shelf, hanging there were 4 different “Go Phones” to look at. Different prices, ranging fro that $20 all the way up to $99. That $99 was a brand spanking new original black Motorola Razr.
Now, I left Wal-mart without a phone as well. I wasn’t buying today. I wasn’t. I wanted to shop around and see what I could find. I found some “unlock” cell phones (Razrs in particular) that were running about $85. These phones have been “unlocked” to work with any service, you just swap out your “sim card” and voila you have a phone that fits your needs and wants for whatever the occasion. I am not saying this is better than buying an ATT specific phone that is guaranteed to work on the ATT network. Just an option.
At any rate, we put my “sim card” into my brother’s Razr (newer model) and it worked! It pulled up with my phone number (as if it were my phone) and it had all of my data (contacts, etc). We did not try making a phone call, but for all points and purposes, it looks like the lady was correct and all I need to do is find a suitable replacement for my phone. At least this way, we can postpone upgrading cell phone services a bit longer.
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