by Diane Dilov-Schultheis

Created on: September 11, 2008

If you have not owned a cell phone before, you can become overwhelmed with the services existing for them. You may already be on a plan and are curious about changing the provider you have now. There are vast differences among the various carriers' services. If you are willing to spend a little time answering a few questions and doing research on this subject, you can easily choose what cell phone service to buy. The following steps detail what you need to consider when you are buying a cell phone and service plan.

Step 1 - Write down your cell phone needs. To help find the best service, you need to know what you want. Answer the following questions: Do you need a phone for emergencies only or do you plan to use it all the time? How many minutes do you desire? Do you want a camera on it? Text capabilities? Web connection? GPS tracking or other such services? What type of coverage area do you need? Will you be using international or only domestic service? Do you need Bluetooth or MP3 hookup? Make note of these on paper and any thing else you would like to have included in your cell phone service.

Step 2 - Figure out how much money you want to spend on your cell phone and the service for it. This can narrow your search tremendously. Cell phones can be free or they can cost you hundreds of dollars. The free ones may not be as good and will usually only come with a signed contract. How much are you willing to spend on the phone itself? The price for additional services can add a lot to the monthly cost also. Is this worth it? (Only you can answer this.) Figure out an amount you are comfortable with for both the phone itself and the monthly service charges.

Step 3 - Decide on the contract type. You need to consider what form of a contract you want for your cell phone service. Most of the popular service providers require you to sign a year contract or longer. Do you want to be committed this long? Many times you can get better deals by signing a contract; however, this is not always the case. There are numerous "pay as you go" (prepaid) cell phone services existing that may work better for your situation. Do you want to be locked into a specific carrier and have a monthly bill? Or do you want to have no contract, no commitments and no monthly bills? Make your mind up as to which you prefer.

Step 4 - Compare the various cell phones and services existing. There are a few links in Resources (below) to sites that have reviews on both types of cell phone services (contract

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