Cell phones forum: First time smartphone owner...help!

FWIW, I usually suggest finding a plan, coverage & carrier before recommending a particular phone.


Generally speaking, prepaid/pay as you go data options aren't as robust in the U.S. as is post-paid service. With ATT for example (since you probably want a GSM/UMTS provider), you would get 500MB for $25 as an add-on data plan with one of their PAYG plans. Compare that with the standard 2GB/month with their lowest priced post-paid voice plan. Page which lists ATT's add on data packages for PAYG; http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-plans/pyg-cell-phone-plans.jsp?_requestid=34982

Simple Mobile is T-Mobile's more value driven MVNO (prepaid carrier using T-Mobile network) which you might look into as well. More info:
http://www.mysimplemobile.com/Simple-Mobile-Plan.aspx

If you don't require much in the way of roaming coverage, you could try one of ATT's MVNOs such as H2O for prepaid voice/text/data that gives you more data each month but frees you of a contract. Again this will depend on where you need to use your phone/data service. It's only going to give you access via ATT's native network footprint and not with any of their U.S. roaming partners. $50 gives you everything including 1GB/month. Examples of their rates:
https://www.h2owirelessnow.com/pageControl.php?page=plans&category=B

Keep in mind going with an unlocked smartphone will set you back quite a lot of money. Ballpark $500-600. If you are looking for something advanced like the SII, you could find it via Amazon-
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Galaxy-SA-I9100-Unlocked-support/dp/tech-data/B005M3518G/ref=de_a_smtd

Don't forget to make sure the phone you buy also has the appropriate frequency bands for the carrier you intend on using. For example, the above phone I listed lacks T-Mobile's 1700 AWS frequency band, so it would be used on ATT or foreign GSM/UMTS networks only.

Where outside the U.S. are you mostly living, btw?

Thank you for the info!!! I really want to avoid getting locked into a plan and since I tend to move around a lot. I live in Costa Rica several months out of the year. I don't have a smartphone down here but that being said I pay about $5/month tops and the thought of going back to $80-100/month phone bill is no fun. In the long run I would rather pay more for a phone that pay ridiculous bills every month and face the potential plan cancellation fees (I have had to do this twice, with two companies, tmobile, and att, despite the factt hat I proved that I had moved out of the country I still ended up paying about $300 each time I cancelled my plan)

Thanks especially for the tip on finding a phone with appropriate frequency bands for the carrier. I don't know which carrier to use yet but that is a tip I wasn't aware of.

Thank you again for the information!

...always make certain you have someone interpret the fine print for you. Nowhere do such wireless contracts state that you can sever a contract unpenalized because you opt ot move abroad for work, etc., with a notable exception being military service.

Bottom line is, you can pick and choose between phones, but you are limited to what frequencies are being used by a particular carrier or partner/roamer where you use the phone.

T-Mobile frequencies used in U.S> (GSM-850 , 1900; UMTS/HSPA+ 1900, 1700/2100)
Abroad w/partners (GSM- 900, 1800; UMTS 850, 2100)

ATT in U.S. (GSM 850, 1900; UMTS/HSPA+ 850, 1900)
Abroad (GSM- 900, 1800; UMTS/HSPA+ 850, 900 , 1900, 2100)